Kelly Holmes

@kellyjholmes

Writer, small business owner, book-loving troublemaker raising 4 book-loving troublemakers in ATX. My love language is baked goods. She/her. ✨ Libraries are magic. Use yours! ✨ Saving democracy one tiny step at a time: mollysarmy.com 💪

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Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· 29d

The Road to Tender Hearts is a road trip adventure story with a splash of magical realism ✨ 5-star read for me!

Cover of The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett, featuring an illustration of a man pushing a station wagon with a child and another adult inside, plus another child on top of the car and a cat running alongside the car

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Feb 16

Here’s the setting…

StoryGraph to be read page, showing the option to switch away from infinite scroll

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Feb 4

Here’s an example! The first person had 15 4/5 star books that I also read, and my rating for those averages out to 4.67. Books that they love, I also tend to love 🥰 The second person and I have 7 books overlapping, and my average rating for their 4/5 star reads is 3.86. Not as good a fit for me.

Spreadsheet showing: The first person had 15 4/5 star books that I also read, and my rating for those averages out to 4.67. The second person and I have 7 books overlapping, and my average rating for their 4/5 star reads is 3.86.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Jul 6

1000 times yes.

I try to be charitable to folks who say they are happily chatting away with a large language model as they do their work of writing, seeking feedback and critique, receiving insights that they say would otherwise not be available, but deep down I see it as a kind of madness, babbling at an algorithm that cannot think or feel, the very things writing is meant to engender in the reader.

When I truly think on it, when I envision it, it is grotesque.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Jun 17

lol at the grand total of two Yelp reviews for Fastest Labs of South Austin, one of which is this

Review on Yelp: “I went here to get a drug screen for employment. It was on a list of places near me printed out by my future employer. I am glad I was able to go somewhere close, but I wouldn't go back again. There's something too casual and too run down about the place where you question things. I don't know if they do blood work there, but I would never get my blood taken there. The two people I saw seemed to both be about 19 years old. They were very nice and polite, but just again like me questioning if everyone knows what they're doing. The bathroom door was supposed to be able to close and lock, but a few seconds later I found it hadn't locked and was a few inches open. I could barely get it to stay closed. It's just not one of those regular professional lab places I'm used to where everything seems super hygienic, super clean, super up to date.”

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Jun 15

An anti-authoritoadian axolotl in Austin! #NoKings #ATX

Person in an axolotl costume holding a sign that says: ATX salamanders against authoritoadian regimes

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· May 10

Wordle, but make it bookish: Name That Novel 📚💙 Play daily at namethatnovel.com I'm kind of horrible at this (I spectacularly failed my first puzzle a couple days ago), but I got today's in 12 points, so now I feel like a proper book nerd. 💃🏼 #BookSky #LibrarySky

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Mar 22

I'm not an information worker, but I wanted to spread the word to the workers at my library when I visit today, so I made this in Canva real quick so I could print it and give them a physical copy! (time shown in Central)

Poster that reads: HOW TO DE-ESCALATE IN LIBRARY SPACES
Join your fellow librarians and information workers for this virtual workshop:
27 March 2025
5:30–7:00 PM
AGENDA:
ICE
De-escalation
Reproductive health
Register at bit.ly/crim202

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Mar 18

I love T. Kingfisher but haven't read Thornhedge yet. Adding to my TBR! My absolute FAVORITE by her so far is Nettle & Bone. ❤️ #BookSky 💙📚

Cover of the book Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher, featuring a person shown from the back wearing a dark green tunic, with thorns and branches growing out of it

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Mar 18

The number of kids who read for fun at ages 6-8 decreases by *24 PERCENT* by the time those kids are 12-17. 😬 Lots of factors are at play, some of them systemic. But we ARE in control of one big factor: Which books we encourage (or even force) kids to read... 🧵 (1/14) #BookSky #books #kidlit

Chart from the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, 8th Edition, titled "How Much Do You Enjoy Reading Books for Fun?" At ages 6-8, 70% of kids love or like reading for fun. At ages 9-11, 61% read for fun. And at ages 12-17, 46% read for fun.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Mar 17

“If organizing consists of building movements through finding common ground and motivating people with a sense of confidence and possibility, this is…a tactic of disorganizing, of coalition prevention and driving people away by making them fearful of getting anything even slightly wrong.”

The mushy middle can be too welcoming to the right, but the puritanical part of the left has a perpetual unwelcoming committee for people who are not in perfect agreement or all up on the terminology and stuff. If organizing consists of building movements through finding common ground and motivating people with a sense of confidence and possibility, this is pretty much a tactic of disorganizing, of coalition prevention and driving people away by making them fearful of getting anything even slightly wrong. It can be a conscious technique of sabotage, but I believe it's most often an unconscious technique by people who think the assignment is to be perfect rather than to be powerful. By powerful I mean achieving your goals, realizing your hopes, and that's most often done incrementally, imperfectly, and by working with people who don't agree with you about everything. Maybe getting them to agree with you through an exercise of skill and even compassion.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Mar 10

On Tyranny is a must read. I also just finished On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy. Eye-opening, important, and quick. Just 144 pages!

Cover of the book On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Feb 20

Is there anything more delightful than logging into Libby and finding a book you've been waiting on forEVER in the Lucky Day Collection? 🥰 Thanks to my most recent Lucky Day find, I'm already 15% into Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch. 💙📚 #BookSky

Screenshot of the Libby app, showing the Lucky Day Collection section and several book covers. Text below the Lucky Day Collection heading reads: "Titles shown in this list are available for immediate 7-day checkout. No holds. No renewals. If you already have a hold on this title, it won't be canceled by a Lucky Day check-out." Book covers shown are: Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks, The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, Never Say Never by Danielle Steele, and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Feb 13

Dove into a new book this morning and found this gem... 💙📚 #BookSky

The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is in the gift of paying attention. — Julia Cameron

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Feb 12

I’ve been using Finch for a week and loving it 🥰 While I will 100% deprioritize taking care of myself when living through a dumpster fire, I don’t want to abandon my birb. Here’s Pebble… ❤️

Screenshot of the app Finch, showing a birb named Pebble in its cozy home

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Jan 21

If you need a comfort read but you've already read The Spellshop, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and Legends & Lattes, check out Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy... 💛 Cozy fantasy 💛 Scalawag main character 💛 Deliciously slow burn romance 💛 Grumpy/sunshine with forced proximity #BookSky 💙📚

Book cover: Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Jan 20

Exactly this! What board games are you gravitating towards today? We just played a new one this weekend called Art Society that we all enjoyed (ages 9 to 16 plus the adults) 🥰

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Dec 17

You can charge your devices faster by swapping an outlet or two to this one with USB-C ports: www.amazon.com/Leviton-T563...

Wall Outlet with USB Dual Type-C/C Ports

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Dec 17

If you know an avocado lover, I use these avocado huggers every day. Cut an avocado in half, put the other half in the hugger, then pop in the fridge to save. No gross brown spots the next day! www.amazon.com/Avocado-Hugg...

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Dec 17

I gave this to my husband as a stocking stuffer last year, and we use it ALL the time: the Zero Waste Cap to get the last few drops out of soap, lotion, etc bottles. Easier than putting the bottle upside down for days and accidentally knocking it over + having to start over! www.zerowastecap.com

A collage of 4 photos showing the Zero Waste Cap in use

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Dec 10

Unpopular opinion: Food bloggers are writers, and they don’t deserve to be ridiculed for having the gall to write about a recipe they took the time to develop, test, and photograph—often with no upfront payment for their work. BUT if we're being honest with each other… (1/12)

Robert Downey, Jr. holding his hands to his chest while closing his eyes and sighing in relief, overlaid with the text "When you're trying a new recipe and the blogger includes 'Jump to Recipe' button on the page"

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Dec 6

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is one of my all-time favorites! 💙📚

The will to be polite, to maintain civility and normalcy, is fearfully strong. I wonder sometimes how much evil is permitted to run unchecked simply because it would be rude to interrupt it.

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 26

If you love books + libraries AND you hate book bans, have you heard of the group For the People? They're organizing against book bans, library funding cuts, and attempts to privatize libraries. 💙📚 #BookBans But they're doing something a little different than other groups... 1/4

Illustration of a person carrying a book in one hand and a library card in another hand, with the caption "Library defenders"

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 21

Ooh I loooove Milka! This is my go-to lately: Tony’s Chocolonely Everything Bar

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 19

Here's my Menu of Joy. What would go on yours? 🥰 8/8

My menu of joy

* Update my reading tracker spreadsheet
* Eat something yummy: a baked good, piece of chocolate, oatmeal
* Drink a warm coffee
* Read a good book
* Pick my next read
* Research books the kids might enjoy
* Browse book reviews
* Climb into a freshly made bed with clean sheets
* Play a board game with the kids
* Read aloud to the kids
* Hug someone
* Listen to new-to-me music and find a new favorite song
* Look up when I start my morning walk and notice the stars
* Skip setting my alarm in the morning and wake up when I wake up
* Listen to Christmas music
* Organize social media bookmarks in my Notion database
* Spend time with the bunnies
* Do something to make the kids giggle

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 17

Exactly! But I feel like I need to educate myself on how we got to this moment, no matter how much it turns my stomach. 😬 Also, I might have gone a little overboard at the library this week…

Stack of patriarchy-smashing books: Yes Means Yes, Believe Me, Unscrewed, Unladylike

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 15

That last paragraph. 🔥🔥🔥

If we are going to ever defeat Trumpism, modern fascism, and wage a viable challenge to gendered racial capitalism, we must revive the old IWW slogan, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” Putting that into practice means thinking beyond nation, organizing to resist mass deportation rather than vote for the party promoting it. It means seeing every racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic act, every brutal beating and killing of unarmed Black people by police, every denial of healthcare for the most vulnerable, as an attack on the class. It means standing up for struggling workers around the world, from Palestine to the Congo to Haiti. It means fighting for the social wage, not just higher pay and better working conditions but a reinvestment in public…”

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 14

This part about the young German immigrant…eerie how spot on it is for this moment.

The people in the room think he is not an American, but he is more American than almost any of them. He has discovered America and his spirit is the spirit of the pioneers. He is furious with America because it does not realize its strength and beauty and power. He talks about the workmen in the factory where he is employed. . . . He took the job “in order to understand the real America.” He thinks the men are wonderful. “Why don’t you American intellectuals ever get to them; talk to them?”

I grin bitterly to myself, thinking that if we ever got into war with the Nazis he would probably be interned, while Mr. B and Mr. G and Mrs. E would be spreading defeatism at all such parties as this one. “Of course I don’t like Hitler but . . .”

Kelly Holmes@kellyjholmes· Nov 14

Case in point: This chart. If you read a newspaper, odds are you voted for Harris. Source: www.politico.com/news/magazin...