Picking Favorites: Heavy on the Feminism

George Bailey dreams of a life perpetually out of reach, always right around a corner he can never quite round. He makes all the responsible choices, the safe ones, the necessary ones, and in exchange gives up nearly all of his youthful ambitions—an adventurous Man of the World becoming, instead, a Family Man stuck back in his old hometown, running the family business. It’s heartbreaking to watch. And worse, it happens to almost every single one of us, in one way or another. — It’s a Wonderful Life?

I’m a tree now where the trunk is strong enough, and the roots are deep enough, that I can branch out in any direction: teaching, acting, my cabaret endeavor. And I’m getting stronger all the time. So let’s find out what I can do. — In Conversation: Kathleen Turner, the actress on righting Elizabeth Taylor’s wrongs, Donald Trump’s “gross” handshake, and the co-star she slapped.

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I’m not saying Aretha shouldn’t have talent and I’m certainly

not saying she should quit

singing but as much as I love her I’d vote “yes” to her

doing four concerts a year and staying home or doing whatever

she wants and making records cause it’s a shame

the way we’re killing her.

We eat up artists like there’s going to be a famine at the end

of those three minutes when there are in fact an abundance

of talents just waiting — Poem for Aretha

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I had been cracked open to the divine, I read books that I would have laughed at before the cracking, and the stars lined up and there was God, and then I knew, and then I said it out loud to a third party, and then I giggled. — Nicole Cliffe: How God Messed Up My Happy Atheist Life

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These mental health experts come from a variety of backgrounds, like marriage counselors, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychotherapists, cognitive behavioral therapists, and family therapists. And they’re covering topics like ADHD, substance use, depression, anxiety, relationships, trauma, chronic illnesses, and so much more. While these podcasts’ insights can be helpful, it’s important to note that, they’re not a substitute for therapy. — 11 Therapy Podcasts That Offer Professional-Level Self-Care From The Comfort Of Your Own Home

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Ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking (what traditionalists call addiction) is a normal response to the adversity experienced in childhood, just like bleeding is a normal response to being stabbed. — Addiction doc says: It’s not the drugs. It’s the ACEs…adverse childhood experiences.

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So much of what matters is incalculable and immeasurable: you could not attempt to stop a pipeline in the Dakotas on the assumption that it would cause a woman from the Bronx to run for office against a powerful senior Democrat and clean his clock and open up a bunch of new conversations about what we want and what’s possible. You just have to do what you believe in with as much skill and passion as possible and believe that it matters, and how it matters may be unforeseeable. — FB Post by Rebecca Solnit

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Dating is what most people in the American culture do. Courtship is what most people in the American culture aspire to do, but conform to dating because either they don’t know how to court, they realize dating is easier, or they have been socialized and conditioned to find their mate one way, not the other. — Courtship vs. Dating: The Breakdown

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The women of the new Congress clearly picked their swearing-in wardrobes with care, and to ignore their clothes or write that off as frivolity is to miss an important message about how they intend to govern: as themselves, rather than as hackneyed, subdued stereotypes of what lawmakers are supposed to be like. — Talking about Pelosi’s pink dress isn’t sexist. It means you’re paying attention.

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With series like The Princess Diaries and The Mediator, Cabot was once the champion of the nerd hero, urging her YA readers to give the quiet nerd a chance as a romantic prospect. In the decade-plus since, we’ve seen nerd culture come to dominate everything from tech to pop culture, as well as the dark side that can come with that. For Cabot, her heroes are no longer specifically nerds so much as equal, respectful partners. — How Hurricane Irma and a gym mix-up inspired Meg Cabot’s new books

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I am very passionate about developing an inclusive and diverse library collection. And I want to help YOU diversify your own collections. So I am curating a list of the diverse books coming out every month to help make sure you see them and add them to your purchase lists. — Diversify Your Shelves: Young Adult {January 2019}

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As I ponder the broad questions and tune in to the #MeToo movement’s demolition of all things Weinstien, though, something surprisingly encouraging does become clear: pushing the pervs to the margins of their own fields (where women, gender minorities, people of color, the poor, and LGBT artists and thinkers have been for too long) leaves room for more of us. Like how that female-led group of investors sought to buy the Weinstein Agency (and may still buy up its assets), we can replace the false good guys who have fallen. — “He Too”: What Happens in the Arts When the Innovators Fall?

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Do you want to read more books?

Most people I talk to say yes, yes, definitely yes. Then two seconds later they say “But I just don’t got that kind of time.”

Well, you know what? I’m calling shenanigans on that BS excuse. — 8 More Ways To Read (A Lot) More Books

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This is not an article telling anyone how to live; this is not an article advocating the wisdom or foolishness of different paths. It is simply an article in which a diverse group of creative people articulate how their own lives veered off course, and about some of the ways they each found to correct that, and about what they believe they have learned about themselves and about living in the process. — Creating While Clean

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This Sudbury, Massachusetts 6-year-old boy already his own fashion brand. — Meet a First Grader With a Fashion Line