I am currently listening (on a loop for the last week pretty much straight) to a playlist of favorite Mountain Goats songs that I have been slowly compiling on Spotify. Before that it was about two months of cycling through several albums over and over again. i just discovered them/him and it is all I want to listen to ever. Every song cuts right through to the exact emotional point that I need it to touch. Thanks for this piece; it's nice to know that I'm joining people who understand.

I just left a PhD program in Theatre, which (like Classics, I imagine) really only leads to further academia after the 5 (7) years that it takes to finish. I did three years and passed my qualifying exams and realized that I had roughly four years left and was completely unexcited about them, and I left. And now I feel mostly lost and I have no idea how to do what I want I want to do (which is write) in any sort of sustainable way, and it's been a pretty rough transition into a world of temping and 9-5 jobs and commutes during rush hour, and I mostly just want to run away to a small island and live as a hermit, BUT, the one thing I AM sure of right now is that leaving was the right decision. I don't regret going to grad school; I learned a lot both academically and about how I function in a self-disciplined environment, but watching all of my friends go back this semester, I realize that I don't miss it at all; that I am glad to be out despite life being hard.

I don't know. I don't know if it helps to hear about other people's decisions in cases like this, and my best friend is entering her fourth year in a Renaissance Lit program and loves it, but I thought I would just share the perspective of someone who recently went through the same (long, anxiety-ridden) decision process. Good luck with it. Truly.

And definitely read Tam Lin

I love Arabella and Cotillion and Frederica was the first one I read years ago, while bored and moping at my Grandmother's house.

This is exactly what I do with Heyer. My mother and I have a rotating collection that moves between my house and hers and I use them like a security blanket. I have my favorites (The Grand Sophy, Cotillion) and sometimes I read them all the way through, but at this point, after having read each of them at least 5 times, I mostly just dip in and out, with the amount of time I spend corresponding to my anxiety level. Currently Friday's Child is sitting by my bed, and I plan to go home and read it before bed tonight.

And now I'm going to go finish your piece, because I was so excited that I jumped down here to say "Oh My God, Yes. You get it, and Heyer is a genius." before I got to the end.

It HAS been a rough week. For everyone I know. I don't want to relive it, but it's nice to know that I'm in good company. Here's to a better weekend.

I went back and found the When Harry Met Sally quote. Because it sounded familiar the first time but I couldn't place it.

And I love the idea of a round-up. And I'm excited about an advice column. And I'm getting used to having only features too and so far it's working out nicely. And the books! I don't have specific ones to suggest right now, but I love the focus on books and I'm starting a reading list.

I followed you both here from The Hairpin. I've never been involved with a site before from the beginning. It's exciting.

writing always seemed to me like one of those talents that only get better with age. Like wine. And unlike gymnastics or violin, which you have to start at like, three, in order to make a career out of it.