Karen Wise

T H A N K S ! ! !

@dsri.bsky.social Hello! Will you be offering a 2026 compact calendar? I hope so!

My mind is a CLEAN BLANK WHITE SLATE...

Thank you, @ivacheung.com! I keep forgetting to hang out here. Nice to see you.

It's my 21st Blogiversary! I remember having to explain to people what a "blog" even is, then social media took over and blogs went by the wayside ... but Verbatim is still around if you're interested in book and movie reviews, recipes, and general chitchat. verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/202...

Was it because I gave out chocolate? 😉 #ACESchat

Hi #ACESchat, I'm Karen Wise, a mostly niche editor of cookbooks, but I also do other trade nonfiction, like self-help, parenting, health/wellness, memoir, etc. (And because I got my start in textbooks, I still a little of that too!) And I'll proofread anything of interest, including fiction.

Feeling powerless? VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET. Today I returned an item at Target, then walked straight out without spending another penny. Next I returned an item at Costco, then proceeded to do a Big Shop.

Another Episode of "Read It. Watched It. Ate It." I told you how much I loved Ithaca by Claire North, but I wanted to take a break before reading the second book in that trilogy, so I decided to try one of her many other non-Greek books. (This is...

On the blog: another book review, another movie review, and an excellent new recipe. verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/202...

We had the kind of record player where you could load up a stack of records—after the last song, the arm would swing off to the side, then comes the CLATTER of the next record dropping, and the arm swinging back into play.

Not just dialing a rotary phone, but specifically my aunt's phone number, which ended in 1117—you'd do three quick bursts for the 111, then all the way over to the 7 and coast back home.

You read that right: I blogged again! verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/202...

Yes, I still have a blog even if I keep forgetting about it! Today's belated update: verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/202...

Happy Birthday to Steph, my solstice baby! I haven't yet told the story on this platform: 28 years ago, I had been in labor for 55 (!) hours. A new nurse came on shift and wrote the date on my chart. She said, "Oh, it's the longest night of the year!" I could only blink at her and say, "YA THINK?!"

Anyone else find this to be an exceedingly easy #NYTimes crossword for a Friday?

Woman in striped shirt kissing gorgeous black and white cat.

I dreamed that Calvin was our family’s consigliere.

The Many Plurals of 'Octopus' Which is correct? We'll get into it.

Octopodes if you go by the Greek! But octopuses since the word has entered English. More here: www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/the-...

Re the election, someone online said “I’m nauseously optimistic,” and that sounds pretty accurate here.

Best line so far from one of the many Elsa trick-or-treaters: “I’m a queen, not a princess!”

YouTube video by Bernie Sanders “I disagree with Kamala’s position on the war in Gaza. How can I vote for her?” Here is my answer:

This is fantastic. I only wish he had also mentioned that voting for Jill Stein is just as bad because she can't win, and that vote could've gone to Kamala. youtu.be/Vf5MThSniiY?...

Editors, linguists, and lexicographers can rejoice that today I got to explain the octopuses/octopi/octopodes thing to the author of a Greek cookbook! That little recess of my brain was like, "Wait, what, who turned on the lights in here after all these years?!"

How do the feeds actually work? Like I follow one for "Freelance Editors," but how do individual posts show up there? There don't seem to be any hashtags.

Trump on Truth Social: "If you vote illegally, you're going to jail."

If you vote legally, he's going to jail.

Hi (again), everyone! I was an early adopter here after the Evil Place, but then somehow didn't feel like it was working for me, so I went over to Threads. I'm enjoying it over there but decided to give Bluesky another try. Happy to see so many of my edibuddies here!

LOL, that's hilarious—and scary......

Celebrating two decades of blogging! verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/202...

Having my car serviced, and they supplied a Lyft for me to get back to work. Somehow the subject of cooking came up with the driver, and I mentioned I'm a cookbook editor. A lively conversation about tahdig (Persian rice dish) ensued.

Such a person has never heard the song "Long Black Veil," which is a shame.

"speak your peace" —> "speak your piece" #AmEditing

LOL, I do that ALL THE TIME!