I’m a librarian, but I don’t do whatever you think of when you think of what librarians do. I also host trivia on Monday nights at a local Tex-Mex restaurant, work on a master’s degree in theology, and listen to too many podcasts during whatever free time I have left. — Amanda McClendon

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PHYSICAL

• Oven pull – These are wood or silicone sticks with two notches. You grab your oven rack with it to get it in and out of the oven while putting some distance between yourself and a very hot metal box, so you’re less likely to burn yourself.
• Keats & Co. Evensong Chai – Caffeine free (it’s rooibos), plus all the profits go to tuberculosis treatment. Good.store, which runs the brand, is a great company run by internet celebrities John and Hank Green and they have all kinds of other good products as well.
• Public libraries! – Listen, I work at an academic library, and I still hit up my local public library all the time, because they have items for checkout that my workplace doesn’t have, and they’re one of the last places in American society where you can hang out and they won’t ask you for money (save for maybe late fees). Plus they may have programs and items you weren’t expecting, like board games, odd kitchen equipment, tax prep help, passport services, free museum passes, or makerspaces.

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DIGITAL

• Kung Fu Grandpa in the Food Lion parking lot! – The narration combined with the absurdity of the guy messing with nunchucks in the grocery store parking lot is pure gold.
• Worlds Beyond Number – If you had asked me a year ago if I would be interested in a podcast of four people playing DND together, I would have said no. Past me would have been wrong. Some of the best audio storytelling, and a lot of that is due to the friendship between the four players, all with improv backgrounds. (But also: The editing and sound design are pretty killer as well.)

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INVISIBLE

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it” — Pirkei Avot, 2:16

Especially helpful in these times!

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03/4/26