Molly Templeton
@mollytempleton.com
I read, I write, & I pet cats. Column, news, & book reviews at @reactorsff.bsky.social; publicity, prize, & more for @ursulakleguin.com. Once a bookseller, always a bookseller. PDX.
https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/
https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/
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Molly Templeton
@mollytempleton.com
· Dec 9
Okay, I've compiled all the recommendations below into a list here. Happy to add more titles basically indefinitely!
the plethora of depressing articles about reading lately made me think about how a person winds up a reader—and stays that way. it's not a science, that's for sure! the weird alchemy of childhood and curiosity and countless variables that all could have easily been different
It doesn't take a lot for people to start reading. But year after year, what keeps you coming back? In this week's Mark As Read, @mollytempleton.com discusses reading as a lifelong habit:
What Keeps You Reading? - Reactor
Becoming a reader is different than *staying* a reader...
reactormag.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM
the plethora of depressing articles about reading lately made me think about how a person winds up a reader—and stays that way. it's not a science, that's for sure! the weird alchemy of childhood and curiosity and countless variables that all could have easily been different
I probably say this every Bandcamp Friday but you should buy everything by Worriers, Oceanator, and Perennial, at least
I sometimes forget so don’t forget, bandcamp friday is tomorrow!
December 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I probably say this every Bandcamp Friday but you should buy everything by Worriers, Oceanator, and Perennial, at least
if you were going to order yourself a couple of books from the UK (that you cannot get in your country of residence), what would they be?
December 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
if you were going to order yourself a couple of books from the UK (that you cannot get in your country of residence), what would they be?
my year-long quest to stop putting any money into substack has finally come to its end and I feel pretty oddly relieved about that
also so very very grateful for all the newsletters that have moved to other platforms!!! I hope more folks follow suit
also so very very grateful for all the newsletters that have moved to other platforms!!! I hope more folks follow suit
December 3, 2025 at 11:06 PM
my year-long quest to stop putting any money into substack has finally come to its end and I feel pretty oddly relieved about that
also so very very grateful for all the newsletters that have moved to other platforms!!! I hope more folks follow suit
also so very very grateful for all the newsletters that have moved to other platforms!!! I hope more folks follow suit
how quickly the internet forgets
Spotify stands by ICE recruitment ads despite artist backlash
Spotify stands by ICE recruitment ads despite artist backlash
www.avclub.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
how quickly the internet forgets
Reposted by Molly Templeton
Remember the “where can we travel to get vaccines?” panic earlier this year and we made noise and it was all fine?
1. That’s probably because they were too chaotic to figure out how to do this very bad thing.
2. You both need to make all the noise in the world -and- start figuring out your plan B
1. That’s probably because they were too chaotic to figure out how to do this very bad thing.
2. You both need to make all the noise in the world -and- start figuring out your plan B
If new proposals detailed in an FDA memo are put into place, experts told me it would mean the end of annual flu shots. And end of most vaccines for pregnant people. And maybe the end of updates to pneumonia vaccines. And more.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
FDA official proposes ‘impossible’ standards for vaccine testing that could curtail access to immunizations
www.cidrap.umn.edu
December 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Remember the “where can we travel to get vaccines?” panic earlier this year and we made noise and it was all fine?
1. That’s probably because they were too chaotic to figure out how to do this very bad thing.
2. You both need to make all the noise in the world -and- start figuring out your plan B
1. That’s probably because they were too chaotic to figure out how to do this very bad thing.
2. You both need to make all the noise in the world -and- start figuring out your plan B
thought that NYT article about men having a crisis about their manly glassware was a joke but tonight I watched a dude who looked like he was cosplaying glen powell in the running man ask for his espresso martini in a "masculine glass"
December 3, 2025 at 4:00 AM
thought that NYT article about men having a crisis about their manly glassware was a joke but tonight I watched a dude who looked like he was cosplaying glen powell in the running man ask for his espresso martini in a "masculine glass"
ah, yes, lovely, my list of "books I should have read this year" hovers around 50 titles, that's totally manageable, I can do that 🙃
December 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
ah, yes, lovely, my list of "books I should have read this year" hovers around 50 titles, that's totally manageable, I can do that 🙃
the only thing I read before I saw Wicked: For Good was the news where Chu said the sexy song wasn't going to be sexy, and then I read the piece about the cardigan, and then I needed to Understand!!! so I investigated and I have solved the mystery, you're welcome
There Is Only One Explanation for Elphaba’s Cardigan in Wicked: For Good - Reactor
When you're trying to make a scene really unsexy, add a drapey sweater, I guess?
reactormag.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:11 PM
the only thing I read before I saw Wicked: For Good was the news where Chu said the sexy song wasn't going to be sexy, and then I read the piece about the cardigan, and then I needed to Understand!!! so I investigated and I have solved the mystery, you're welcome
Reposted by Molly Templeton
ANNOUNCING...THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF 2025 POLL!!
Books! Movies! TV shows! Book covers! Video games! MORE!!! Reactor Magazine wants to know your favorites from the year!
Books! Movies! TV shows! Book covers! Video games! MORE!!! Reactor Magazine wants to know your favorites from the year!
Favorite SFF Stories of 2025
Reactor Magazine wants to know: What were YOUR favorite scif-fi/fantasy/horror/romantasy genre books, movies, and television shows of 2025??
We’d like you to share your favorite genre fiction books, m...
forms.gle
December 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM
ANNOUNCING...THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF 2025 POLL!!
Books! Movies! TV shows! Book covers! Video games! MORE!!! Reactor Magazine wants to know your favorites from the year!
Books! Movies! TV shows! Book covers! Video games! MORE!!! Reactor Magazine wants to know your favorites from the year!
Reposted by Molly Templeton
Hi CNF writers with a book, if you're interested in teaching a 1-1 for the next two to three years while you're hopefully working on your next book and want to live in the Twin Cities, please consider applying to be our next writer in residence: hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/371...
November 25, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Hi CNF writers with a book, if you're interested in teaching a 1-1 for the next two to three years while you're hopefully working on your next book and want to live in the Twin Cities, please consider applying to be our next writer in residence: hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/371...
Reposted by Molly Templeton
December 1st is #WorldAIDSDay, so I gathered a handful of nonfiction and art books off my shelves to recommend. Of course there are many, many more this—but for anyone who’s just beginning to learn all the community histories that aren’t taught, I hope this lil’ stack might offer somewhere to start.
December 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM
December 1st is #WorldAIDSDay, so I gathered a handful of nonfiction and art books off my shelves to recommend. Of course there are many, many more this—but for anyone who’s just beginning to learn all the community histories that aren’t taught, I hope this lil’ stack might offer somewhere to start.
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF ADVENT CALENDAR SEASON TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!!!
(no I don't really do Christmas yes I LOVE advent calendars; this year I have TWO)
(no I don't really do Christmas yes I LOVE advent calendars; this year I have TWO)
December 1, 2025 at 2:20 PM
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF ADVENT CALENDAR SEASON TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!!!
(no I don't really do Christmas yes I LOVE advent calendars; this year I have TWO)
(no I don't really do Christmas yes I LOVE advent calendars; this year I have TWO)
the car battery was dead because we hadn't driven in weeks. the domino's order was ready. the car was manual. the street was flat. we knew what to do.
two younger gents walked up, saw my partner single-handedly trying to push the whole-ass car, and asked, perplexed, "what's the endgame here?"
two younger gents walked up, saw my partner single-handedly trying to push the whole-ass car, and asked, perplexed, "what's the endgame here?"
What's a charming memory you have from the worst period of the pandemic?
November 30, 2025 at 6:11 AM
the car battery was dead because we hadn't driven in weeks. the domino's order was ready. the car was manual. the street was flat. we knew what to do.
two younger gents walked up, saw my partner single-handedly trying to push the whole-ass car, and asked, perplexed, "what's the endgame here?"
two younger gents walked up, saw my partner single-handedly trying to push the whole-ass car, and asked, perplexed, "what's the endgame here?"
is Link actually a chosen one or do troubled monarchies just all need a physically skilled, good-hearted himbo?
November 30, 2025 at 6:05 AM
is Link actually a chosen one or do troubled monarchies just all need a physically skilled, good-hearted himbo?
my decades long one-person nike boycott shows no signs of ending
Nike co-founder Phil Knight makes record-setting donation to help elect Republicans
It is the single largest donation Knight has made to an Oregon candidate or political action committee.
www.oregonlive.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
my decades long one-person nike boycott shows no signs of ending
having a real "CATS! why???" kind of week over here
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
having a real "CATS! why???" kind of week over here
they should use the technology that created the Eno doc to make a @themountaingoats.bsky.social concert film that pulls from a jillion hours of footage (that I imagine is out there?) to create a new setlist (and assorted stage banter) every time it screens
yes I'm listening to the new record A+++++
yes I'm listening to the new record A+++++
November 25, 2025 at 1:35 AM
they should use the technology that created the Eno doc to make a @themountaingoats.bsky.social concert film that pulls from a jillion hours of footage (that I imagine is out there?) to create a new setlist (and assorted stage banter) every time it screens
yes I'm listening to the new record A+++++
yes I'm listening to the new record A+++++
I love them, your honor—well, mostly the green one—but this movie could not win me over with its plasticky charms
"For Good is not here for nuance. It is here for strangely lit spectacle, for beautifully detailed costumes, and odd flashback choices, and often peculiar stagings of beloved songs, and for eventually winding up in the one place that it works well: The space between Elphaba and Glinda"
Wicked: For Good Is a Less Magical Return to Oz - Reactor
But if you like crying over CGI animals, it will give you that
reactormag.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
I love them, your honor—well, mostly the green one—but this movie could not win me over with its plasticky charms
it was my birthday yesterday so I feel obliged to say I am too old for this shit (where by "shit" I mean "oh fuck me not another day of fighting about star wars movie rankings")
November 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
it was my birthday yesterday so I feel obliged to say I am too old for this shit (where by "shit" I mean "oh fuck me not another day of fighting about star wars movie rankings")
what I need to do: write about six overdue things
what I want to do: play Tears of the Kingdom from the beginning again
(I mean, yes, I want to write the things! but I have 2025 senioritis and I wish to reunite whiny little koroks, also)
what I want to do: play Tears of the Kingdom from the beginning again
(I mean, yes, I want to write the things! but I have 2025 senioritis and I wish to reunite whiny little koroks, also)
November 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM
what I need to do: write about six overdue things
what I want to do: play Tears of the Kingdom from the beginning again
(I mean, yes, I want to write the things! but I have 2025 senioritis and I wish to reunite whiny little koroks, also)
what I want to do: play Tears of the Kingdom from the beginning again
(I mean, yes, I want to write the things! but I have 2025 senioritis and I wish to reunite whiny little koroks, also)
Reposted by Molly Templeton
man fuck the atlantic for this headline are you serious
Over many interviews, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Michael Scherer about how he plans to remake America’s public-health system. Can he lead the scientific establishment he’s spent much of his life crusading against?
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
Read more in our new cover story: theatln.tc/q9hXxlbM
November 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
man fuck the atlantic for this headline are you serious
hello, friend
An American holiday looms ahead. Can we offer Dev Patel and Mr. Robot instead?
What to Watch and Read This Weekend: Wicked: For Good, Mr. Robot For Chaos - Reactor
Plus: Dev Patel is David Copperfield and all the books you haven't read.
reactormag.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
hello, friend
Reposted by Molly Templeton
oh yeah well *I* voted to condemn the house of representatives
November 21, 2025 at 8:43 PM
oh yeah well *I* voted to condemn the house of representatives
how much time am I going to spend trying to figure out what "12 tide turns" (the amount of time passed between Wicked and For Good) is supposed to mean
November 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
how much time am I going to spend trying to figure out what "12 tide turns" (the amount of time passed between Wicked and For Good) is supposed to mean