Yes, please move to fucking Florida, where apparently the biggest threat to our lives is nude Renaissance statues and drag queens, and not our children being shot to death in their schools.

Clifton is fine. Lots of shops and restaurants there, two really nice libraries, and a thriving, diverse community. A lot of South Asian families have moved there, so there's some really great food options.

Passaic is fine. Very Latino, and also very Orthodox Jewish, so again, some really solid food options. Some beautiful houses, lots of great restaurants, and Third Ward Park, with its little lake, is gorgeous.

Paterson, on the whole, is also fine. Some of the best restaurants in North Jersey are in Paterson, especially if you want Middle Eastern or Caribbean food. I eat in Paterson all the time.

I'm instantly wary of anyone who says Clifton, Passaic, and even Paterson are bad. What they really mean is "not white." I've had no problem shopping and dining in these places, and I've never felt unsafe driving through them at night. Get a fucking grip.

I'll be honest, I hated the fucking book.

Like every single thing about it, I hated. I found the entire thing insipid and reductive, but I kept reading it because I had heard so much about it and kept hoping it would get better. For me, it didn't. I'm a cynical old broad, and books like that just don't work for me.

But that doesn't mean you can't love it or that you're wrong for loving it. I'm glad you can find inspiration and joy in it where I couldn't. Your reaction to the book makes you happy, and we could all use a little bit of happiness in our lives.

Take the damn uber.

>Seriously spend the money NYC is not a safe place these days.

Tell me you've never been to NYC without telling me you've never been to NYC

BookTok is for teenagers who are just discovering progressive vocabulary and ideology, without yet having any of the nuance to be anything more than moral purity crusaders.

In other words, it's a toxic fucking cesspool, and the quicker you're away from it, the better.

NO GUILT! ONLY PLEASURE!

I'm too old to feel any kind of guilt or embarrassment about any of the shit I like, even if it's widely hated or considered "cringe" or whatever.

I like King's Spa in Palisades Park. It's maybe not as bougie fancy as Sojo, but it's nice and relaxing and I've easily spent the entire day there every time I visit.

I moved out for the first time at 24, a few months out of college, but for various reasons (including a medical emergency back when ACA wasn't a thing and I was still on 90 probation), I had to move back home. I was only making $27k at the time. Rent had been about $1100 for a 2 bedroom, split between me and my roommate.

5 months later, I took a job out of the country and was away for 2 years.

On return, my partner and I stayed with her parents for about a year while we saved enough money for both a wedding and to move out. A mutual friend of ours joined us, and we got a 2 bedroom apartment that was probably $1200 a month. Very simple, no WD or dishwasher or anything, but it was great. We stayed there for 3 years, and have lived in various places since.

We bought a home in Bergen County in 2017.

Probably Romeo and Juliet.

I realized that Shakespeare could be a lot of fun, that the jokes were bawdy, and the language was actually a treat once I learned how to read it.

I'm in two now, and I've been in others in the past.

In the two of that I'm part of right now, we take turns hosting in groups of 2-3 at someone's house. The hosts provide food and wine. We spend about 20 minutes talking about the book - sometimes more, sometimes less - and spend the rest of the time socializing.

I suspect a book club in a library will have less emphasis on food and socializing, and more book discussion. But no one will be quizzing you about how much you read or understood. It's generally all very lowkey. People are just there to have a nice time.

No.

The idea of book burnings makes me feel physically ill. There's a long history of regimes burning books and celebrating while doing it.

Yes, he very much did. That was a key part of the plot, in fact.

I would convict your ass, Victor.

You ABANDONED the monster as soon as you saw he was ugly. Then you took to your bed for a few months while the monster ran off to do whatever.

You knew the monster murdered your brother and framed Justine, but you let her hang for that to cover your good name.

You also failed to alert the authorities to the monster, definitely making your negligent while he kept murdering your friends and family. And you reacted to that by taking your bed. Again.

You suck, Victor. But you might be insane, so maybe try pleading mental incompetence? You were pretty clearly insane toward the end.

Remember when it was supposed to be XANADU and was just a collection of multicolored trailers?

Look, if I'm going to get stabbed, I want it to be by someone who bothered to bring a good fucking knife after we've both paid for parking.

Nutley's great.

Lots of shops and restaurants, some beautiful old houses, and a very family oriented town with good schools. Great community theater there too that does at least 6 shows a year. I love Nutley.

OMG I HEAR THAT FUCKING CHIPMUNK VOICE IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW!

Dude's just out for a walk. Leave him alone.

I'd donate it to Goodwill and let other people make the choice about whether or not they want to read it.

But if you really can't stand that idea, tear off the cover and throw the whole book away. My friend used to work at Barnes and Noble, and she said they did this on the regular with unwanted merchandise.

Who the fuck is going to pay $4600 for an apartment in East fucking Brunswick? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

I mean, unless it's some precious, out of print book that can only be found for thousands of dollars, why not?

Where's the risk? I fuck up a $10 book while experimenting with art? Either way, I've learned something and probably had a good time.

My friend used to color in the pages of the manga she bought. The books weren't worth anything and she enjoyed doing it.

I don't like an awful lot of American culture or politics, which I largely find divisive, cruel, reactionary, and anti-intellectual. I sure as fuck don't identify with "don't say gay" Florida or "more guns, but no birth control" Texas.

So I suppose I identify more as a Jersey Girl, if I have to identify by country or region at all.

American Girls Collection of books started me on a my lifelong love of social and class histories.

I'm at the point in my life where I DNF books (mostly) without guilt.

In fact, I just deleted Thursday Murder Club AND You'll Grow Out of it from my kindle. The first one, I got about 20 pages in and just didn't vibe with it. The second one, after about 27%, I realized I couldn't relate to this straight, white, wealthy woman's neurotic problems.

Onto something good.