I just finished Sarah Tolmie's The Fourth Island. I want to shove it at my friend Helen, who is from Ireland, and talk about how it reminds me of everything from the Irish play series she and her husband were presenting in the Before Times.

My reading has slowed down significantly and a lot of my new reading material is electronic, which makes it difficult to read before I go to sleep - I sleep in little cotton gloves to keep my hands soft and moisturized, especially since I wash them a lot, and the e-reader does NOT respond to gloved fingers.

Toddson, I use a Space Pen with a rubberized stylus tip at one end with my Nooks; might something similar work for you?

I find that with gloves on I need to tap on the Nook instead of trying to swipe.

Oh wow, look at the lineup for this event honoring Octavia Butler!

I am here for it - [link]

Longtime friends Hillary Clinton and author Louise Penny are writing an international political thriller, "State of Terror," out in October. The plot:

A novice Secretary of State joins the administration of her rival, a president inaugurated after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage. A series of terrorist attacks throws the global order into disarray, and the Secretary is tasked with assembling a team to unravel the deadly conspiracy.

I did not know they were friends. Cool. While I'm not much for political thrillers (politics has had enough tension for me over the past few years), I do like Louise Penny's writing.

I am just tickled when I see two women I respect collaborating and have to support that!

I would LOVE to hear their co-writing sessions.

OMG, that's amazing. I have seen shout-outs to the family in Penny's book notes, and wondered how close they were.