Search results for tag #books
Book of the week: The Bill Gates Problem by Tim Schwab
At some point we need to start looking in the mirror, asking why we have allowed Bill Gates and other billionaires to take so much power from us for so long.
Humanitarianism aimed at real human progress – equality, justice, and freedom – requires us to challenge unaccountable power and illegitimate leaders.
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A book about the Bill Gates Foundation
I just finished reading Frankenstein. If you’ve never read it before, I cannot recommend it enough! Such a good book
#OTD In 1860, George Eliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss is published by John Blackwood in three volumes.
https://lithub.com/lit-hub-weekly-march-30-april-3-2026/
"The Mill on the Floss" at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Mill+on+the+floss
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Portrait of George Eliot by the Swiss artist Alexandre-Louis-François d'Albert-Durade - picryl.com. She is facing front.
Painting from my series "BURNHAM: WINTER/SUMMER" hanging in the parlor of artist friends Jon and Marilyn. I love their ever-changing decor. #art #artwork #painting #paintings #oilpainting #oilpaintings #oilpainter #artist #artists #fellowartists #artistfriends #artcommunity #communityofartists #winterscene #summerscenes #bookcase #books #library #homelibrary #homelibraries #wallgraphics #artcollection #booknook #homeinterior #homeinteriors #homedecoration #homedecor #interiordecoration
A Poet of Science Who Shook Faith in God
Biographer Richard Holmes reveals how Tennyson predated Darwin and speaks to us today
By Kevin Berger
https://nautil.us/a-poet-of-science-who-shook-faith-in-god-1279489
Tennyson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2987
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Portrait of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Samuel Laurence, 1840.
Tennyson is portrayed with abundant dark chestnut hair swept back from a strong, angular face, gazes slightly to his left. The features are sharply defined — a prominent nose, firm jaw, deep-set eyes — and a loose dark coat with white collar.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alfred_Lord_Tennyson_1840.jpg
A Reader’s Guide to Poetry for National Poetry Month
By The Editors
Read poems, learn poetic forms, and discover writers in this National Poetry Month roundup.
Poetry at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/637
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Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.
A small black and white decorative vignette — a quill pen thrust diagonally through a curling scroll or sheet of paper.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43224/43224-h/43224-h.htm
Earlier: "I entered this profession just as the storm clouds of the current book-banning push were starting to gather, but I enrolled in a librarian certification program hoping it would pass over me as if lamb’s blood were painted on my doorframe." https://www.texasobserver.org/abilene-isd-librarian-book-ban/
Thirty previously unpublished verses by Empedocles discovered on a papyrus from Cairo
by University de Liege
edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed by Robert Egan
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-previously-unpublished-verses-empedocles-papyrus.html
Empedocles at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Empedocles
#books #literature #old_manuscripts
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The Strasbourg Empedocles papyrus contained over 50 lines from Empedocles' work On Nature that were not published until 1999.
Multiple torn, irregular fragments of ancient papyrus, dark brown with age, bearing neat columns of Greek uncial script in black ink.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empedocles#/media/File:Empedokles_fragment_Physika_I_262%E2%80%93300.jpg
"Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved."
First-Ever ‘Jane Goodall Day’ Will Take Place on April 3 To Honor the Late Conservationist’s Mission
By Regina Sienra
https://mymodernmet.com/jane-goodall-day/
#books #nature #animal_welfare
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Photo of Jane Goodall.
Image despicts Jane Goodhall with silver-grey hair pulled back loosely, wearing a camel turtleneck sweater beneath a teal cardigan. Around her neck she wears a small pendant in the shape of the African continent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall#/media/File:Deputy_Secretary_Higginbottom_Poses_for_a_Photo_With_Dr._Jane_Goodall_and_the_State_Department's_Global_Health_Diplomacy_Director_Jordan_in_Washington_(22365513310)_(2)_(cropped_2).jpg
The Secret Library of Hanna Reeves: A Novel "A secret library built by her wealthy father filled with signed 1st edition books from all over the world" Sale: $4.99 to $2.49 by Christine Nolfi Rating: 4.2/5 (5077 Reviews) #Historical #Fiction #Mystery #Books #Libraries #Maine #Friendship #BookSky
I'm new to this space and looking for #authors and #narrators to connect with. If that's you, please follow or wave or introduce yourself.
Boost for reach!
#books #bookstodon #audiobooks
My library’s new Libby acquisitions came through for me in a BIG way this morning, just in time for my beachside family holiday
#books #reading #HolidayReading #library
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Screen grab of Libby borrows page, showing four newly borrowed titles.
If interested, the titles are: Wolf Worm by T Kingfisher, After Hours at Dooryard Books, Enough About angels (Nobel prize speech), The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by CM Waggoner
"Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. The profit motive is often in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable; so did the divine right of kings."
I'm convinced she would have despised the stochastic parrots. How much we miss her. How much we need her.
Parents, do you know what your kids are reading?
#books #parenting #humour #cartoons #AynRand #adolescence #literature
This month we have ARCs of two books on
@librarything.com (for Canadian residents only). The second is Marigold Grey. "In the early 1950s, young Heather and her mixed race family leave their beloved India for Canada - and Heather learns a devastating truth." https://www.librarything.com/ner/detail/56578/Marigold-Grey #books #bookstodon
This month we have ARCs of two books on @librarything.com (available to Canadian residents only). First, Thumbin' the Rock, "the story of a fourteen-day trip taken by two very unlikely trailblazers, my sister Dolly (age 72) and myself (age 60)." https://www.librarything.com/ner/detail/56577/Thumbin-The-Rock-A-Newfoundland-Hitchhiking-Odyssey #books #bookstodon
#OverUnder 059 with @rysiek.
Today, he shares his thoughts on #GDPR, #VPN, #Telegram, #AgeVerification, and #Apple.
He also replied to @brennan's question.
He suggested two books that I'll try to get.
#bloggers #bookstodon #books #blog #fediverse #opensource #infosec #bloggers #mastodon #chatcontrol #desserts #apples #RGPD #privacy
After less than a month on Threads, I finally got banned.
Permanently, with no right to appeal.
I genuinely don’t understand what for - just occasional posts about books and writers, same as here and across nine other social networks.
Their AI could not even explain the exact reason, only vague generic wording… so I can only assume my IQ was slightly above what the platform is built to tolerate.
#threads #books #reading #bookstodon #booksky #socialmedia
@bookstodon
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Stupid Ban on Threads
" #Tennessee #library director ousted after refusing to remove #LGBTQ #books"
There are 2 types of people
1. People who get sad at this story, do nothing, and then speak about how worse is sure to happen while offering no resistance
2. People who get mad at this story, show up, agitate, make their voices heard. And punish those responsible with a #vote. And demand their new reps put in safeguards
Be the second kind of person
#Cynicism is acceptance of #fascism
https://wpln.org/post/tennessee-library-director-ousted-after-refusing-to-remove-lgbtq-books/
🧠🇸🇪 Swedish #education officials are scaling back digital device usage in schools after reports indicated a decline in basic #literacy skills.
The new strategy prioritizes printed #books and handwriting to support cognitive focus and deep #reading. #Research suggests that physical materials enhance memory retention and reading comprehension compared to digital screens.
#sweden #neuroscience #technology #tech #learning #teaching #psychology
2/
• The Efficiency Revolution: How "doing more with less" is becoming the primary driver of modern economic growth.
• The "Tide in the Affairs of Men": Why we are on a "full sea" right now and must take the current of innovation or risk losing our venture entirely.
#books
#podcasts
#ClimateAction
#sustainability
#development
#growth
Meet the Combustible Cartoon Character Who Wants to Make Kids Feel Sorry for Fossil Fuels https://www.desmog.com/2026/04/01/meet-the-combustible-cartoon-character-who-wants-to-make-kids-feel-sorry-for-fossil-fuels/ #Books #ClimateChange
Last year I read a book about improving your writing. I learnt about making writing concise, accessible and pithy.
It's made me realise... Some books I struggle with- not because they're too complicated, but because theyre kinda verbose. Or written in a needlessly complicated fashion.
The concepts are easy enough to understand, but their presentation? Not so much. It's made me appreciate writers that convey the simplest and most complex ideas accessibly. #reading #books
Inside The Contested Origins Of The ‘Jack And Jill’ Nursery Rhyme
By Kaleena Fraga
From the executions of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to a satirization of King Charles I's liquor tax, there are countless theories about the true meaning of "Jack and Jill."
https://allthatsinteresting.com/jack-and-jill-nursery-rhyme
Jack and Jill from the book "Denslow's Mother Goose" at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18546
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Jack and Jill falling down the hill. Jack has the pail flying in the air above him.
When Satirical Magazines Confront Real Crises
In Chile and Argentina, satirical publications used humor to expose political crises overlooked by the mainstream press.
By: Livia Gershon
Silence: a brief literary history
by Kate McLoughlin
Without silences, we wouldn’t have the exquisite hush of medieval lullabies, the suspenseful secrets of the realist novel, or jagged modernist poetry.
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When Children Are Asleep by Thomas Faed (1885).
A young mother or nursemaid sits by a fireside absorbed in reading a book. She wears a white cap, yellow neckerchief, grey bodice and green skirt. Through the half-open door behind her, a child lies sleeping in a box bed, cheek resting on folded hands.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Faed_(1825-1900)_-_When_Children_Are_Asleep_-_WAG_2816_-_Walker_Art_Gallery.jpg
Taiwan Travelogue, a novel by Taiwanese writer Yang Shuang-zi and translated by Lin King, has been shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize
The book has already won the US National Book Award for Translated Literature
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/04/02/2003854894
By April 1776, the American invasion of Canada was foundering, in part because the invaders were mistreating ordinary French Canadians.
“The peasantry in general have been ill-used,” rebel officer Moses Hazen admitted to a superior officer #OTD April 1, 1776. “They have in some instances been dragooned at the point of a bayonet to supply wood for the garrison at a lower rate than the current price.”
The invaders were also paying Canadians for things like carriages with certificates that were not honoured by the army quarter master because the signature was illegible or missing. The French Canadians were starting to think the Continental Congress was bankrupt, Hazen wrote.
As for the elite, which included the clergy and seigneurs, he thought seven-eighths supported the British and “would wish to see our throats cut and perhaps would readily assist in doing it.”
#hedidnotconquer #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress
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This is an 1852 painting of French Canadian habitants. It shows a family — father, mother, and three children — inside, sitting in front of an iron stove. The mother appears to be knitting. The children are playing on a rug. Everyone appears to be happy.
Is there anything better than a glass of wine, a book, and a toasty little cat on your lap? I think not.
Drinking: Susana Balbo Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
A very nice, velvety wine with lots of fresh black cherry and blackberry on the nose. Full-ish body, medium+ alcohol, and a fresh herbal lift. Still young and fresh, but tannins aren't overwhelming thanks to a lovely bit of French Oak, I assume.
Reading: Play Thing by Bea Setton
Fairly lurid prose and an interesting protagonist, I've found this one an enjoyable read so far. At around 40% in, there's still a lingering unease though at times the foreshadowing can be a bit on-the-nose.
I'd recommend Alexander Stubb's book THE TRIANGLE OF POWER (Alexander Stubb is the President of Finland) if you want to try to understand how we reached the current point in world history.
It's well written, well researched, insightful and prescient.
https://www.booksns.com/200212/ Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book #books Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book by Raj_Valiant3011
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Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book
The KUOW Book Club is continuing our series of live author talks in partnership with the Seattle Public Library with writer and educator Molly Olguín.
https://www.kuow.org/stories/kuow-book-club-seattle-public-library-live-series-molly-olguin-the-sea-gives-up-the-dead
#KUOW #News #Arts #Books #Books #Literature #ArtsAndLife
"Ideas have to cause problems before they cause solutions."
-The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
#Reading #Bookstodon #Books #Fiction
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Cover of the novel The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
"MIR.EXE" is available now! Check out what people are saying about it!
Amazon: https://a.co/d/03MXc3hd
Signed Copies: https://www.storiesbydk.com
#scifi #sciencefiction #cyberpunk #books #bookish #indieauthor #indiescifi #syfy
This month the Distributed Proofreaders (DP) blog is a book about the US pre-Civil War abolitionist, "The Life of John Brown."
https://blog.pgdp.net/2026/04/01/life-of-john-brown/
#dp #dpblog #books #literature
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John Brown in 1859. He is turned to the side with his face turned towards the camera. He has his right hand in his pocket.
Did Geoffrey Chaucer invent April Fool’s Day?
Today, and every year on April the first, we curse Geoffrey Chaucer. Why? Because he is (supposedly) personally responsible for the two worst holidays (“holidays”) known to humankind/the internet. These, of course, are Valentine’s Day and today, April Fools’ Day.
Chaucer at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/144
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Portrait of Chaucer by William Blake.
Manchester City Gallery - Tempera on canvas c. 1800.
The bust-length portrait of Chaucer emerges from a wreath of laurel rendered in soft blue-greens against a pale aqueous background. The face is gentle and bearded, wearing a hood, and has a mild, benign expression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer#/media/File:William_Blake_-_Geoffrey_Chaucer_-_Manchester_City_Gallery_-_Tempera_on_canvas_c_1800.jpg
Charles Dickens Searched the Streets of London and Found Inspiration for His Evocative Fiction
A three-part BBC series will examine how real events shaped the 19th-century British author’s writing. The show is part of the National Year of Reading in the U.K.
by Ryley Graham
Dickens at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37
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Charles Dickens.
A pen-and-ink engraved portrait of Dickens in three-quarter profile, facing left. He has abundant, curly hair swept back from a broad forehead, heavy brows, and a full beard and moustache that frames a strong face.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/824/824-h/824-h.htm
Just read: Ursula K. Le Guin's short story "The Day Before the Revolution," a bittersweet POV of an elder revolutionary on the eve of success.
I think it's great leftist lit for anarchists & commies alike. And it takes less than an hour to read.
https://storyoftheweek.loa.org/2017/08/the-day-before-revolution.html
“#Indigenous stories hold analogies of the natural unspoken laws of Mother Earth. But the truth is that stories expose powerful messages and there are forces in this world that do not want us to have that power.”
Like art? Like literature? Live in Maine? Feel like exploring the liminal?
April 15th in Northeast Harbor 12 Willows Press and the Northeast Harbor Library are hosting a reading of the "Echoes in the Fog" anthology.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/av4ElRv-byo
#books #writers #maine
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Flyer for a public reading of the "Echoes in the Fog" anthology on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 5:30 to 6:30pm @ Northeast Harbor Library 1 Joy Road, Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Readings by Ron Beard, William Henry Forester, Annaliese Jakimides, Shir Kehila, Hans Krichels, Valerie Lawson, Catherine J.S. Lee, Cynthia Reeves, Marianne Stratton and Douglas Wright.
The Symptomatic Surreal: Leonora Carrington exhibition explores her complex relationship with death
by Ailsa Peate
The Freud Museum is a perfect fit for the story of Carrington’s confinement and the creativity which ensued.
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Leonora Carrington by Lee Miller.
Leonora sits against a rough, bare wall, knees drawn up, wearing a white lace blouse and dark skirt. Her dark hair falls loosely around a striking face, gazing slightly away from the camera.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonora_Carrington#/media/File:Leonora_Carrington.jpg
Reformation of science
Protestantism didn’t hold back science – it revolutionised its methods, its theoretical content and its social significance
by Peter Harrison
Protestantism at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/4381
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The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (c1615) by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens. Early supporters of the Royal Society, founded in 1660, commonly spoke in theological terms about the new science recapturing a lost, pre-Fall human dominion over nature.
At centre-left, Eve reaches up to take the forbidden fruit from the coiled serpent in the Tree of Knowledge while Adam receives it from her hand.
Identifiable creatures include macaws and a blue-and-gold macaw in the branches, peacock, ostrich, turkey, heron, ducks, swans, rabbit, white lapdog, deer, lion, tiger, leopard, horse, elephant glimpsed in the distance, monkey, and many more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Eden_with_the_Fall_of_Man#/media/File:Jan_Brueghel_de_Oude_en_Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Het_aards_paradijs_met_de_zondeval_van_Adam_en_Eva.jpg
My mom, who lives in a trans-hostile state, told me she wants to read more books about trans people's experiences so that she'll be better equipped to respond when she encounters people with bigoted opinions. Go Mom.
What books/authors have particularly resonated with you, that you would recommend? 🏳️⚧️
Why Is the Aeneid Important? Key Lessons and Impact of the Ancient Epic
"Virgil’s Aeneid is one of the most famous and influential pieces of literature from the Roman world. What was its purpose, and what are the key lessons it conveys?"
https://www.thecollector.com/aeneid-importance-founding-rome/
The Aeneid at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Aeneid
Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia
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Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia. Oil painting by Angelica Kauffman. "It depicts a legend in Macrobius that Octavia the Younger fainted whilst Virgil was reading to her and Augustus a passage about her son Marcellus in the Book VI of his Aeneid." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Reading_the_Aeneid_to_Augustus_and_Octavia#:~:text=Virgil%20Reading%20the%20Aeneid%20to%20Augustus%20and%20Octavia%20is%20an,is%20in%20the%20Royal%20Collection.
The 3 female vampires in 'Dracula' may have been inspired by the 3 witches in Macbeth. This dark play was often staged at the Lyceum Theatre, which Bram Stoker managed. His boss, actor Henry Irving, was a model for the Count. This photo is from a trailer for the 1931 film 'Dracula'. #FolkloreSunday #Folklore #gothic #ShakespeareSunday #books #literature #vampire #vampires #mythology #Shakespeare #weird #theatre #horror
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Three women clad in long white dresses in a gothic, cobwebby crypt.
Cambridge offers botany course that inspired Darwin after rare archive uncovered
University’s botanic garden will use study materials created by John Stevens Henslow, the naturalist’s mentor, 200 years ago
Botany at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/115
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Description and physiological botany
by Henslow, J. S. (John Stevens), 1796-1861. n 81072491
Two figures are shown:
Figure (a) — right: a whole bulb shown in external view, with overlapping fleshy scales clearly delineated, a short stem neck at the top, and a dense mass of fibrous roots trailing below.
Figure (b) — left: the same bulb type shown in vertical cross-section, revealing the concentric internal layers wrapped around the central embryonic shoot, with roots visible beneath. This cutaway view illustrates the bulb's structure as a form of modified underground stem — a storage organ — with each layer representing a fleshy leaf base.
https://archive.org/details/b22029254/page/57/mode/1up
George Eliot is best known for Middlemarch, but she also wrote an early work of science fiction
We don’t tend to associate her with science fiction. But in 1859, as she was embarking on her career as a novelist, Eliot published a short science-fiction novel titled The Lifted Veil.
by Jessica Murray
George Eliot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/90
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GEORGE ELIOT'S LIFE
VOL. III.—SUNSET
The image depicts an English country house — ivy-clad stone walls, mullioned windows, steeply pitched roof with chimneys — set in well-kept grounds with large mature trees framing the view. A gardener with a lawn roller works on the left, and a small child plays on the grass in the foreground with what appears to be a toy perambulator.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43045/43045-h/43045-h.htm
My book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' will be out in the US and Canada now. That's very exciting, but the downside is that the energy it takes to promote a book overseas is sadly not available to me right now, maybe ever.
So, if you've been waiting to buy it, you can. If you've been waiting to order it into your library, you can. If you've been waiting to tell your friends who are reviewers at the NYT, you can ;)
#Books #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading #ReadingCommunity #USA #Canada
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Book cover for Drystone: A Life Rebuilt by Kristie De Garis. Cream background with five large abstract stone shapes arranged in a loose circular pattern. The stones are coloured deep green, mustard yellow, navy blue, black, and dark blue, with soft pink shadows beneath some of them. The words 'A', 'Life', and 'Rebuilt' are printed in small white text across three of the stones. 'Drystone' is in large bold black text at the top and 'Kristie De Garis' in large bold black text at the bottom
My profile tells me it's just over a year since I joined Mastodon, so a bit late for an #introduction but I hear it is a good way to get started on here.
As per my bio, I'm an #ecosocialist from #scotland . I'm principally on here because I write #blogs where I #review things I read, watch or play.
Other than that, my key interests are #culture, #politics, #cats, #taichi, #SF, #books, #systems, #cybernetics, #taoism, #environment and #degrowth.
Recommendations for follows are appreciated.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Becky Chambers) – Becky Chambers makes me cry again, this time in a hope punk novella about existence and purpose. Long ago, humanity's Factory Age ended when robots suddenly gained consciousness and decided to leave. Humanity respected their agency and choice, allowing them to leave into the wilderness and legend while restructuring human civilization into a sustainable, solarpunk society.
Sibling Dex is a tea monk, going from town to town offering people their ear, their counsel and the perfect cup of tea to soothe their worries. But Dex themself feels an emptiness and pain; they feel guilty for not being happy in a life which - on the face of it - gives them everything it should. This inner conflict they keep from those they help really resonated with me from the very start.
Hoping to find an answer in anything but their routine, Dex goes off track into the wilderness. There, they bump into the first robot to meet a human in centuries, Mosscap. Through its wide-eyed excitement at learning about humanity again, seeks an answer to a query the robots have about humans: what do people need? In such a short space, Chambers beautifully cuts through to our inner conflict and need for purpose and how to simply find joy in simply existing.
The only question I have now is: why didn't the bookshop have the 2nd of the duology in stock today? It's a crime, I say!
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ
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Cover the book showing flowers between branching paths, or perhaps also tree branches, covering the page. A robot stands on one in the top left with butterflies around its hand. In the bottom right, a person sits at the front of a small wagon cradling a cup of tea.
Otherworldly (F.T. Lukens) – A small region is stuck in a perpetual winter. Offerings from locals to the goddess to bring spring have gone unanswered. Ellery, no longer believing in the gods, leaves his family’s frozen farm to work in a city diner to help support his family trying to scrape by with greenhouses to grow crops.
When Ellery meets Knox, a runaway familiar from the Other World, his understanding of the world and the perpetual winter is thrown upside down. Ellery helps protects Knox from the shades who seek to drag him back in exchange for finding out the truth about the winter. But as Ellery helps Knox experience more of human life, they both begin to feel more than they bargained for.
This is a very cute YA romance with an enby protagonist, an adorably OTT sapphic couple and contemporary magic with goddesses and underworlds to boot. The characters are lovely even if Ellery has that teenage insufferability sometimes (just stop antagonising demigods for once, please).
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Fantasy #TransBooks #Trans
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Cover of Otherworldly showing two figures embracing amongst snow covered trees, one of them has glowing eyes
Cover Reveal! Here is our next book, which opens for pre-orders soon, and it is a reprint of what some scholars say is a landmark publication, the first single-author collection of speculative stories from an African author (based on the continent and in contemporary times, we believe). First published in 2014, it went out of print when the original publisher folded. We are proud to bring it back to life!
https://www.ododopress.com/blog/cover-reveal-a-killing-in-the-sun/
#books #bookstodon #sff #sciFi #writing #writingcommunity #blog
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The cover of a collection of short stories. It's blue, with the main image being a creature that looks like an octopus with a human face, and two of its tentacles are human hands. It is coming out of what looks like the circular hatch of a spherical vehicle. The title, at the top of the page, is A Killing In the Sun, above that is a blurb. "Well worth reading" Strange Horizons. Below the image is another blurb "So loving these sci-fi short stories... each one is memorable" Zukiswa Wanner. At the bottom of the image is the name of the author, Dilman Dila.
Monday's book recommendation is from LM Jones, a detective series, 1st in the Sarah Allerton series. I normally like cosy crime novels and this one is a bit earthier but I enjoyed it nevertheless. There are three books featuring Sarah Allerton, and I am about to start on number two, a mark that I enjoyed the first.
#Reading #AmReading #CrimeNoves #Books #Novesls
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Book cover of North Run by LM Jones
The Verge » 🤖 🌐
@theverge@c.im
There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series https://thever.ge/yvco #Entertainment #Streaming #Analysis #TVShows #Report #Books #HBO
Only 2 days left for this #SPFBO bundle! Get 25 books from 25 authors participating in this year's SPFBO for only $25!!
Includes #FantasyBooks from sub-genres like: #LowFantasy #HighFantasy #UrbanFantasy #EpicFantasy #DarkFantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romantasy & #Horror
My book is in here: https://skaeth.itch.io/beneath-the-gods-tree
https://itch.io/b/3592/spfbo-2026
Only available until the end of the month!
@bookstodon @fantasy
#IndieBooks #IndieAuthors #Bookstodon #SelfPromo #BookSale #SFFBookClub #SFFBooks #books
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A collection of 25 fantasy book covers beneath the SPFBO XI logo. Text reads: 25 books for $25! March 14-31, only on itch.io
My search has, thus far, been fruitless so I am asking here as a last ditch attempt …
I am looking for a self-hostable web based application to be an inventory of the (real, rather than e-) #books in the house. It should be able to accept a list of #ISBNs as input for importing items and look them up (with covers) to ingest their metadata.
It doesn't need #library style circulation (I don't want to run a library so don't want #Koha or equivalent)
I've been using #HomeBox which is ok but only understands "things" rather than "books" (I've written a isbn2homebox script to make that easier). I'd like something purpose designed for books though.
Does anyone use anything like this? There are plenty of free or subscription things available online, but I want to run this myself.
Thanks ☺️
These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart (Izzy Wasserstein) – This is a cyberpunk noir novella about a trans woman who returns to her anarchist commune in the decaying remnants of Kansas City. Dora is as unwelcome as her parting shots were when she stormed out years ago, but now she's the only one who can solve the murder of her ex. Caught between two warring pharmaceutical companies, Dora faces shadows of her past.
I thought this was a lot of fun and really had a good noir vibe to Dora's perspective. Given it's quite short, I think there was an opportunity to add a little more to make her a little more well-rounded, flesh out the supporting characters a bit and add more dynamics to the commune (as much as I feel this with every novella, I'm starting to like the simplicity that comes with brevity). I did nevertheless enjoy it and it was paced well for its length. Avoiding spoilers here, but I also liked the trans take on a particular old sci-fi trope and how it played into a good discussion about the nature of identity.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #SciFi #TransBooks #Trans
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Cover showing a blurred, shadowed face in a digitally distorted cyberpunk style.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Andrew Joseph White) – In an alternate 1883, The Veil between the living and the dead thinned and purple-eyed mediums speak with the dead under the auspices of the Royal Speaker Society. That is, male purple-eyed mediums; women born with those spiritual eyes are barred from spirit work and are treated as nothing more than breeding stock for the Speakers regardless of their age.
Enter 16yo Silas, to be married off by the end of the year. Despite having those valuable purple eyes, Silas isn't a perfect daughter, or even a daughter. A lifetime of being bullied into masking his autism, his transness and his proficiency in surgery has left him desperate to escape. But when his attempt to flee is uncovered, he is thrown into a brutal asylum for women suffering from a vague "Veil sickness". There, the spirits of women murdered within its walls beg for help, and for Silas to run before it is too late.
Despite the fantastical elements, all of this tracks very closely to the brutal Victorian practices on surgery and mental health. Despite a lot of horror around beatings and vivisection, I felt most chilled by the constant thread of helplessness. The helplessness that comes from never being believed simply for who you are, of having everyone you could turn to being complicit in your horror, and being constantly weighed down by a lifetime of abuse for who you are.
I felt deeply for Silas and the women imprisoned there and the book expertly conveys Silas' internal doubts and fears. I felt trapped alongside him which perhaps also shows how deeply personal some of these themes can be.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Horror #Fantasy #TransBooks #Trans
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A figure in a purple corset dress and blond hair, looking to the side distressed, clutching a broken shard of glass in their hand. Around the edges, drawings of purple eyes.
What explains the timeless appeal of Sherlock Holmes?
What's behind the timeless appeal of the quintessential fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, who's been around for 140 years? Host Adrian Ma speaks with expert Sherlockian, Otto Penzler.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/28/nx-s1-5752248/what-explains-the-timeless-appeal-of-sherlock-holmes
Sherlock Holmes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/76
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Cover page of The Strand Magazine, Vol. 27, January 1904, No. 157 by Various
The illustration shows three figures in a domestic interior — a standing man gesturing as if in explanation, a seated woman in a dark dress, and a partially visible third figure.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44113
Langston Hughes: Novelist, Poet, Activist and... Translator
Ricardo Wilson II on the Writer’s Experience in Mexico and His Struggle to Bring Mexican and Cuban Writers to American Audiences
Langston Hughes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/8670
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Langston Hughes, 1943. Photo by Gordon Parks.
Hughes leans casually against a small pedestal, his arm resting around a squat stone sculpture. He wears a plaid flannel shirt and looks slightly off-camera with a broad and an easy smile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes#/media/File:Langston_Hughes.jpg
🤔 The most effective "escape" from the world's problems?
It's not alcohol🍸 , drugs💊 , gambling🎲 , or a shopping spree🛍️ ,
it's reading a book.📗
Opening the front cover of a book 📖 is like walking through a doorway to another world.
📚
#Bookstodon you are my only hope.
What is the best fantasy novel that you have read in 2025?
The book doesn't have to come from 2025, just one that you read last year.
Tell me a little about the book and why you liked it.
I am finishing up one of the books I am reading and am looking at the next to add to my rotation.
Thank you.
Boosts welcomed.
Enjoying Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World, wondering if Murakami writes any books that don't contain parallel worlds.
Happy #caturday! Readers who love feel-good romance and small-town settings with heart will love these cozy cat romance novels!
Readers say: “I absolutely love this heartfelt series.”
“Sweet romance with the kind of people you wished you knew.”
“Small town romance with cats ... what more could you want?”
“Anyone who likes a sweet story about relatable, cat-loving characters will enjoy Coffee and Crushes.”
https://storyoriginapp.com/collections/6eb320a9-c5ab-45f9-ba44-46a902be614e
#Romance #books #catsofMastodon
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A book cover titled Coffee and Crushes at the Cat Café has a man and a woman looking at each other with flirty expressions. She has coffee and a plate of cookies. A Siamese cat sits in front of him. The author is Kris Bock. Text says: Start the series for 99c, free in KU! Kari doesn’t have time for love when she’s opening her new cat café. But when a sexy master baker walks in, how can she resist?
Variations (Juliet Jacques) – This is a short story collection of the events and real lives of trans people through history. While described as fictionalised, pretty much everything seems to be lifted directly from memoirs, diaries, academic journals and other direct records of trans people living in Britain over the past 100+ years. By taking their personal accounts, it’s a very intimate look at trans experiences and feelings. Therefore this is a refreshing contrast to the usual academic analysis of official records made by cis people which queer history can often fall into, namely based on police records which was my main critique of Queer City. This is an extremely valuable account of our personal history and lives which I’m very glad to have read.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #History #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Cover of Variations
The Wicked Bargain (Gabe Cole Novoa) – Mar is a #transmasc latinx #pirate whose life was saved at their birth when their father made a deal with El Diablo. On the sixteenth birthday, El Diablo calls in the deal and the souls of their father and his whole crew are taken. Mar themself is saved by their magic, power over ice and fire, but they must keep it hidden from others for fear of being attacked as a devil themself. Rescued by another crew and visited by a #genderfluid demon, Mar sets out to save his father’s soul.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Fantasy #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Cover of The Wicked Bargain
Cuckoo (Gretchen Felker-Martin) – this is a heavy horror focused around a group of queer teens in the 1990s sent by their parents (kidnapped) to a conversion camp in the desert. The religious zealots (and also creepy literal monsters) torture the kids through hard labour and abuse but they soon come to realise that they are being replaced; they are never intended to leave the camp alive.
It’s intense and a difficult read for the topics it covers. That’s intended of course given how horrific conversion camps are to us; the trauma is visceral, as is the gore and sex. It’s a combination of real child abuse and queerphobia with concepts from The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers; then it draws a line between them.
But I also found it a challenge as the way it jumps around, coupled with psychedelic moments and a lot of different characters to follow means it demands a fair bit more focus than I had on hand on this occasion. It got a little easier towards the end (as the cast is *ehem* whittled down slightly) and a time jump to their future selves trying to save the next generation from going through the same shit.
#Bookstodon #Books #Horror #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans
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Cover of Cuckoo showing a nest of smashed blue eggs, bar a single large intact one
The Jagged, Monstrous Function That Broke Calculus
In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics.
by Solomon Adams
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-jagged-monstrous-function-that-broke-calculus-20250123/
Theorie der Abel'schen Functionen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29780
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Plot of Weierstrass function over the interval [−2, 2]. Like some other fractals, the function exhibits self-similarity: every zoom (red circle) is similar to the global plot.
The blue curve jagged and irregular at every scale, oscillating between roughly −2 and 2, with no smooth stretches anywhere. A red circle magnifies a small section of the curve, revealing that the zoomed portion looks statistically identical to the whole — jagged, spiky, self-similar — the hallmark of a fractal. A red dot marks a local minimum near x = 0.5, f(x) ≈ −2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weierstrass_function#/media/File:WeierstrassFunction.svg
“There’s no conflict in Death Comes for the Archbishop, except for the grinding of tectonic plates, the breaking of treaties, the murder of nations.”
by Patricia Lockwood
Death Comes for the Archbishop at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69730
#books #literature #literarycriticism
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1st edition cover of Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.
The central illustration shows a black silhouette of a robed rider on a rearing horse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Comes_for_the_Archbishop#/media/File:DeathComes_ForTheArchbishop.jpg
Folkestone at 2pm today - bring a book to swap - I’ve got a few in my bag - let’s get a proper library open again
https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/folkestone-is-a-library-world-record-book-swap-attempt/ #library #books #beach #sea
📚 #Books and #Reading accounts to follow:
BOOK NEWS & WRITING ABOUT BOOKS
@BookRiot - Book news site based in Canada
@kerry_ferrand - In-depth book review videos
@faereviews - Romantic fantasy book videos
@lunastation - Magazine of speculative fiction by female writers
@bookgaga - Bibliophile on books, literary news, poetry etc
@philosophiclee - Essays on philosophy & literature etc
@craicer - Newsletter for indie authors
@horrordna - Horror site covering books, films, comics etc
🧵 1/10
A Natural History of Transition (Callum Angus) – Short stories about different kinds of trans transformation: “characters who grow as tall as buildings, turn into mountains, unravel hometown mysteries and give birth to cocoons”
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans
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Cover of A Natural History of Transition
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender (Kit Heyam) – This is an interesting new trans history which treads carefully but boldly into the topic of how we even begin to talk about what trans history is without erasing the unique experiences of intersex people and non-western cultures such as Two Spirit and Hijra peoples by conflating them with our own dominant narrative. They look at how so much of trans history we do see is forced into the traditional binary and Eurocentric notions of gender which acts to erase the unique and detailed stories in our ancient and recent pasts across many cultures. It tells as much about the concept of how we identify our history as it does about corners of our history we easily forget or dismiss. In that, this feels an extremely valuable text that I do wish was about twice the length for the extra detail that could have been gone into!
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans #QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory
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Cover of Before We Were Trans
A Short History of Trans Misogyny (Jules Gill-Peterson) – Between the Hijras under the British Raj, the genocide of two-spirit people by the US, and the persecution of transvesti in Latin America, this book demonstrates that the persecution of groups often now identified as trans massively predates the modern concept of trans women. This book outlines how deeply ingrained trans misogyny is in our society and its connections with aspects of class and race.
It's a vital and challenging read in outlining the inherent violence of trans misogyny, how broadly it impacts peoples swept up under medicalised labels, and how the broader gay rights movement abandoned those who started it.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans
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The book's cover, featuring the face of a Black drag queen who appears in the experimental documentary film Tongues Untied
You Weren’t Meant to Be Human (Andrew Joseph White) — I was excited to read Andrew's first foray from YA into adult horror. It seemed like a natural jump as his tone had always erred more mature. It certainty doesn't disappoint with some heavy body horror around self mutilation and pregnancy. I've always found horror based around dysphoria - in this case trans masc pregnancy, to be so personal it is hits in such a violent way compared to other topics.
Crane works in a gas station, one of many fronts for a hive of worms and flies of unclear origin. Crane and the others working for the hive are all picked up, "saved", in moments of desperation and hopelessness. But in exchange the Hive demands loyalty, no matter the cost.
Certainly an thread of radicalisation and abuse combining with Crane's craving for abuse and abdication of control. That cult aspect is something that feels familiar from his other books, though each with its own distinct tone.
I'll admit it seems this kind of horror is an odd pick for me to read while at Camp Trans this year, being quite depressive for the occasion, and is largely due to it coming out so close to the event. But while the horror is very personal, it didn't make me feel depressed, but rather a greater degree of solidarity for Crane's story.
And while I'm on #CampTrans, a shout out to the Book28.org Library from The Outside Project who have provided a queer library here (which is good as I only had space for one book!)
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Trans #TransBooks #Horror
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Inside cover page with the title and author name (per post) ane Daphne Press below. In background is seen a camp fire circle.
The Tortured Genius of ETA Hoffmann Who Turned Personal Failure Into Literary Masterpieces
A key figure in Romanticism, ETA Hoffmann is best remembered for his uncanny stories—but he was also a major player in music history.
by Dr. Victoria C. Roskams
https://www.thecollector.com/eta-hoffmann-biography/
E.T.A. Hoffmann at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2008
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Self-portrait
E. T. A. Hoffmann - Alte Nationalgalerie
Painting shows Hoffmann with dark, curly hair and alert, slightly asymmetrical features gazes directly outward with a faintly wry, knowing expression. He wears a dark double-breasted coat with a fur or velvet collar, beneath which a frilled white cravat rises high around his neck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffmann#/media/File:E._T._A._Hoffmann,_autorretrato.jpg
Someone at Bluesky reminded me that we do have the book in our catalogue:
How should I read the #Dune series?
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HOW SHOULD I READ THE DUNE SERIES?
Greetings, friend. Looks like you're wondering how exactly you should tackle one of the most revered sci-fi series of all time. This guide should clear things up.
OPTION 1: The Sampler
You keep hearing about how great this ‘Dune’ thing is, you're vaguely aware David Lynch made a movie out of it. You've heard the Litany Against Fear. You're probably turned off by sci-fi, but you'll give this one a chance.
OPTION 2: Muad’Dib’s Story
So you've just finished Dune and you enjoyed it. Or you at least like Paul as a character and you wanna see how that plays out. Luckily Messiah exists, and it's damn short. You can consider it a ‘Book 4’, an epilogue to the events of Dune.
OPTION 3: The Golden Path
There is no reason to actually read Children of Dune unless you're gearing up for The Big One: God Emperor. Widely considered almost as good as Dune (and many would say even better, making it the true masterpiece of the series), anyone with a high tolerance for weird shit should go this route.
OPTION 4: I Love Frank Herbert
It's clear you're really into Dune at this point. You know the quality drops off fairly significantly after God Emperor, right? I mean, it's still written by Frank, so it’s not too bad. Above-average. They aren’t going to make you question the entire series’ quality retroactively, or anything.
OPTION 5: I Love Dune, But Clearly Don’t Respect Frank
Please, for the love of the God Emperor, don’t do this. These are utter trash.
Project Hail Mary
Nachdem ich erst das Buch gelesen und dann den Film gesehen habe, kann ich euch raten: Lest das Buch. Das ist lustiger und unterhält deutlich länger als dieser (gelungene) Film.
Andy Weir ist ein Science Geek und geht derart tief in die Materie, dass die ganzen Details überhaupt nicht bis in den Film kommen. Allein schon der ganze Anfang, wo der Protagonist wach wird, und nicht weiß, wo er ist, ist so unglau
What I really don't like is that it often feels that way even when it's not 😂
@galacticwriters @writers @books @fantasy @bookstodon @joinin
@writingbooks @keepwriting
#WritingMemes #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #IndieBooks #AmWriting #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon #Bookstodon #Books
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Two panel meme of an old man infront of a laptop looking slightly worried.
Caption:
Writercore
15:00 Chapter one...
15:01 Ok, two words are enough for today!
14 Black Women-Authored #Books to Add to Your Women’s History Month Reading List https://www.bet.com/article/14rew0/14-black-women-authored-books-to-add-to-your-womens-history-month-reading-list
Nectar & Succulent (Tab Kimpton et al) – I've been meaning to grab some of these for a while and finally grabbed two of them at a queer book fair. They're anthologies of short trans and trans-inclusive erotic comics. This host of explicit encounters is packed with a lot of fantasy but also some contemporary stories too which are really cute. All are full of queer joy and body positivity which can really make them as heart warming as they are hot. For these and a bunch more anthologies, check out the store on discordcomics.com to find them.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans #Fantasy #Erotic #Comics
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Two book covers. Art on Succulent showing a woman pinned to the ground by another woman with pink hair. The second, Necatr, shows two women, one pouring nectar on her chest while a second licks it and reaches for a bowl of peaches.
Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas) – A YA novel set around Yadriel, a transmasc teen in a traditional latinx family who guards spirits. As his family doesn’t accept him as a boy, and by extension a burjo capable of summoning and freeing spirits, he seeks to undertake the ceremony with Lady Death alone. He ends up summoning a spirit he didn’t accept, the recently murdered Julian Diaz, who is one of several missing kids and he wants answers to his murder and the safety of his friends before he’ll agree to pass. But what neither of them don’t count on is falling for each other in the meantime.
Well, this was very sweet, both in their relationship and Yadriel’s fight for acceptance and love. The difficulty of letting someone pass, and what we leave behind, comes from several angles as we see Julian’s friends and family, and Yadriel’s knowledge he has to eventually let Julian go.
I do feel like more could have been explored in it, though it is just one YA novel so it might have overloaded it to go more. But it is something that might benefit from sequels to really get the most out of the ideas set up.
I am however sensing a pattern in trans fantasy that some form of divine intervention/approval (and being twice as good as anyone else/saving the world) is needed before the world will accept you as trans which is not something I’m looking forward to becoming a trope. Can I have a book about a trans person becoming accepted by those around them by being average and the saving the world bit being incidental to that element?
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Fantasy #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Cover of Cemetery Boys
Gender Queer: A Memoir (Maia Kobabe) – Maia’s autobiographical #graphicnovel is a beautiful rendition of eir experience #gender growing up and coming out (and thus is the target of frequent book bans). I sent this book to my family before coming out as #trans in the hope that seeing a perfectly encapsulated tale of the inner turmoil and challenges would help them understand my own life.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBT #TransBooks #Trans #NonBinary
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Cover of Gender Queer
Today In Labor History March 26, 1918: American anarchist Philip Grosser wrote about being tortured in the prison on Alcatraz Island, while serving time there for refusing to serve in World War I. By 1920, he was the only draft resistor still serving time at Alcatraz. Alexander Berkman referred to him as "one of [my] finest comrades."
#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #philipgrosser #alexanderberkman #alcatraz #prison #torture #WarResistance #wwi #antiwar #writer #author #books #biography @bookstadon
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Cover of Grosser's pamphlet, "Alactraz, Uncle Sam's Devil's Island," with blue cover and sketch of the prison building on Alcatraz island. The pamphlet is laying over a page in Grosser's biography, with a sketch of Grosser, looking straight ahead, clean shaven, in a suit and tie.
If you can’t afford any of my e-books, or audiobooks, just contact me and tell me what format and the book you want. I will give it to u. That’s all I ask. This way, you don’t have to deal with Torrance and the like. The only downside I guess is I’ll probably ask you to subscribe to my RSS feed or newsletter, but I think that’s a small price to pay. https://sightlessscribbles.com/contact/ #Free #Books #Book #Bookstodon @bookstodon
Auf meinem Bookwyrm-Account passiert mehr Austausch mit anderen Lesern als es in all den Jahren auf Goodrerads je gab.
The Elusive Poet of Desire
Why biographers can’t pin Cavafy down
by Langdon Hammer
https://yalereview.org/article/langdon-hammer-the-elusive-poet-of-desire
Cavafy at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/51261
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Constantine Cavafy in 1929
Unknown photographer (signed: Pacino) - C.P. Cavafy Archives - Onassis Foundation
A formal black and white studio portrait photograph, signed "Pacino" in the lower left corner. Cavafy looks directly at the camera with a calm, slightly guarded expression. He wears large, round wire-rimmed spectacles, a dark pinstripe suit, a striped tie, and a white pocket square. His dark hair is swept back from a broad forehead. The background appears to be a decorative tapestry or painted backdrop with floral or figural motifs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_P._Cavafy#/media/File:Konstantinos_Kavafis.jpg
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven & The Shadow Cabinet (Juno Dawson) – HMRC, a secret government coven of witches established by Elizabeth I, is an ageing bureaucracy healing scars after a civil war and the breakaway of a coven, Diaspora, tired of their less-than-intersectional attitude to witchcraft & sisterhood (derisively called by HMRC’s leadership as the “woke coven”. As a prophecy comes of The Sullied Child awakening Leviathan, the real threats come from corruption within.
Most of the characters are based at Hebden Bridge (Yorkshire’s Brighton or Portland?) mixing their life with mundanes (non-magic folk and a word I love now to apply to non-Queers – because they are very mundane) with their commitment to the sisterhood and Gaia. HMRC is in Manchester, Diaspora in London and the second book travels more globally to places real and mythical but still has a strong root in Hebden Bridge.
It gives voice to different waves of feminism as they grapple with intersectionality, race and transphobia. The first book having a strong thread of transphobes and feminism and the second focusing on the all-pervasiveness of misogyny throughout human history, as well as a slice of cults of hatred. It also makes a few good jabs at the Tories’ current chaos which I a nice treat after the implicit jabs at JKR in the first book.
They have strong Queer, Trans and BIPOC representation, some lovely moral grey areas. Third book is next year I think? I did feel like the characters and writing did take a step up with book two, not that the first book wasn’t thoroughly entertaining but it felt stronger as a whole, even if it had a vein of chaos at some points in keeping the pacing up.
Spoiler notes on both books behind CW in reply to follow.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Fantasy #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Covers of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven & The Shadow Cabinet
Bad Habit (Alana S. Portero) – We follow a familiar voice of a trans woman growing up in a working class estate in 1980s/90s Madrid. Her story is set against the heroine and AIDS epidemics, fascist and patriarchal violence, and class struggles; but through the vivid and intimate details, she paints a picture of hope, love, sisterhood and solidarity.
One incredibly strong element for me is how clearly non-linear the character's journey is; as for many of us our early forays are met with violence of one kind of another that set us back into hiding. We lean back into the social codes and camouflage of our culture to survive - a survival all the more painful when we've had a taste of living and are punished for it.
As a result, I found Alana's insight lent itself to a story particularly heartbreaking in his hopefulness; a tragedy born of the joys we get to so briefly taste. But a reoccurring element for me was how precious our solidarity and community is.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans
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Book cover is read with a woman's face in yellow tones, open lips and a blonde fringe, striking a killer pose. Beyond title and author, text includes reviews reading "striking and lyrical" - Observer, "I urge you to read Bad Habit" - Pedro Almodovar, and "had me hooked form the first page" - Dua Lipa.
What fits nicely in my hand and gives me hours of pleasure? A tiny ereader!
New blogpost:
"Initial thoughts on the tiny XTEINK X4 ereader"
https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/initial-thoughts-on-the-tiny-xteink-x4-ereader/
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland (1915)
A female uptopia....
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/herland/
"Herland" at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32
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Photograph of Charlote Perkins Gilman. She is in profile.
Habermas and climate action
Jürgen Habermas offers a framework for action on climate change – justice and deliberation are as important as the science
by Emilie Pratticois
Climate changes at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=climate+changes
#books #literature #environment
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Fig. 1. Climatic changes and mountain building.
(After Schuchert, in The Evolution of the Earth and Its Inhabitants, edited by R. S. Lull.)
Diagram showing the times and probable extent of the more or less marked climate changes in the geologic history of North America, and of its elevation into chains of mountains.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37855/37855-h/37855-h.htm
The heroines of Santa Barbara
How an organised body of women changed the female role in war
by Helena Nogué
Spain history at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=history+spain
#books #literature #womenhistoryMonth
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PALMA VECCHIO, Santa Barbara (detail) S. M. Formosa, Venice.
The figure is rendered with serene, idealized beauty. She gazes slightly to one side with a calm, composed expression. Her long hair flows loosely, and she wears a crown of spikes. A ribbon or cloth is wound through her hair on the right side.
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/72598/pg72598-images.html
Just got done reading "Catriona" by Robert Louis Stevenson. I remember loving "Kidnapped " when I was younger, then struggling to make sense of the sequel. Today, fortunately, I can pull up a Scottish dictionary that makes the story a lot more sensible, and it impressed me that most of the time I understood just fine from context. I liked it quite a lot, and I'm glad I gave it another try.
(I also remember reading it, back when, with a dictionary by my side, and my mom being really quite concerned that I was trying such a heavy read. I was maybe 10? 12? I read way above my age level, but even so, this was a hard one back then. )
I really need to just designate an hour every day where I sit down my force myself to turn off the TV and get off my computer and read a book either physically or through my ereader. I listen to audiobooks a good amount, but I'm just terrible at making myself actually read anymore.
Just One of the Guys?: Transgender Men and the Persistence of Gender Inequality (Kristen Schilt, 2010) – This is some fascinating research on the experiences of trans men (stealth and open) in the workplace, covering aspects of discrimination, transphobia and masculine societal norms. While a lot of it is well known to anyone experiencing it, the broad academic work here is very useful and can certainly open your eyes to things that you may take for granted or haven't had firsthand.
Much of the work is broadly intersectional, taking into account the varying experiences, such as the impact on race on workforce dynamics. It also contrasted some very different experiences of trans women and how those can reflect on societal attitudes around gender.
I was noting a lot of sections of this book, but I do have to just include below a few of my favourite lines concerning the leveraging of masculinity and homophobia against other men in order to deflect potential transphobia;
> Robert has grown comfortable using a urinary device at urinals in public restrooms: "Men are not going to look down at my crotch because this society is homophobic." [...] Homophobia is a powerful social control mechanism, particularly in intimate, all-male spaces such as the bathroom or locker room.
> Johnny goes further, saying he would call someone "gay" if they questioned him or looked at him too long in the bathroom. "It would shut him up pretty quickly because no guy wants to be questioned about their sexuality, especially in the males' restroom."
> When men asked Peter about his chest scars, he said they were intentional scarification—a subcultural form of body marking. He notes, "They thought it was cool and hard-core." These responses fit with idealized masculinity: stoically dismissing pain.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans #TransMasc #TransMan
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Book cover showing a vintage styled drawing of a guy in an office suit and tie with a mug of coffee
Brainwyrms (Alison Rumfitt) – After Frankie survives a TERF terrorist attack on the GIC she works in, her life starts to deteriorate. Frequenting the kink scene a lot, she is desperate to fulfil an impregnation fetish which drives away her partner at the time. She eventually meets Vanya, an enby who is obsessed with hosting parasites and who is beholden to a rich dom landlord. As their relationship gets rough, Frankie slowly uncovers a conspiracy of brain-controlling worms including prominent TERFs (such as an unsubtle stand-in for JKR - not that unsubtle is bad). A lot of the plot shadows the mainstreaming of TERF ideology in the UK and its impact on queer people.
Between the constant body horror, transphobia, switching between third, second and first person and the non-linear storytelling it isn’t a particularly easy read and there are more content warnings needed here than I can remotely remember. I could certainly connect with Frankie’s spiralling helplessness and depression in the face of overwhelming problems. If you’re up for things you would gleefully call disgusting then this will likely tick a lot of boxes for you.
#Bookstodon #Books #Horror #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Trans
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Cover of Brainwyrms showing a shocked woman in black and white with bright green worms crawling out of her her mouth
Is #ThePhantomTollbooth good? I've never read it. At least I don't think I have. Is it a fun read? #books #KidsLit #SciFi?
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The Phantom Tollbooth
A man with white hair stands nose to nose with a HUGE brown dog. The do looks annoyed. A watch is on the dog. I can't tell if it is a part of the dog, sewn onto the dog, or just resting beside him. I suspect it's part of his body.
Norton Juster
Grey Dawn (Nyri A. Bakkalian) – Chloë Parker Stanton leaves her love, Leigh Andrea Hunter, behind to fight in the US Civil War by posing as a man in the Union Army. At the Battle of Gettysburg, she is lost.
Appearing in 2020, Chloë finds herself at the Joint Temporal Integrity Commission which helps reintegrate temporally displaced people into 21st-century society. The person assigned to her is a former sergeant and trans woman by the name of Leigh Andrea Hunter.
Leigh’s life in the past echoes to her future self without her fully understanding what is happening, while Chloë grows closer to what feels like the reincarnation of her lover who promised she’d wait for her. But casting a shadow over it is the secret behind Temporal Integrity Commission’s work.
It’s a fairly short and light romance focusing on the time-displaced bond of the lovers rather than anything focused on the sci-fi element itself, which I appreciate. It carries a lot of commentary on the horrors of history and present, notably those related to government fuckups, through their shared bond of PTSD and sense of justice.
It’s an enjoyable, casual read though not something that really hides any twists or turns. It is forward about everything and largely focuses on the emotional journey. While I am tempted to say there could have been more explored it actually feels quite nice as an easy romantic tale across time.
Also, never thought I'd read so much dirty talk using army puns.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #SciFi #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Cover of Grey Dawn, two civil war rifles cross over with roses.
Stealing Thunder & Gifting Fire (Alina Boyden) – Razia was raised to be a crown prince of a powerful kingdom but fled so she could be free to live her life as a woman. In hiding, she works as a courtesan while moonlighting as a thief to steal from the wealthy men she entertains. But one night she falls for a prince and gets drawn into political intrigue and war which calls upon her more deadly skills.
The world is a fantasy based on the hijras of the Mughal Empire, but with added dragons. Well, zahhaks which are a little different and breathe either fire, acid, lightning etc. depending on their breed.
It’s wonderful to have a book that centres on hijras and to see these trans women struggle and succeed against a world that would see them as disposable toys. Razia is a brilliant strategist and warrior who also knows how to manipulate and play defenceless to bide time when the odds are so thoroughly against her as the world (or more exactly, powerful men) constantly conspired to demean and control her.
Some parts can move a little slow and in the first book you really wish she could keep her lies straight for 5 minutes, but on the whole, it’s exciting and very emotional at times. I’m not quite invested in the romance side this time (I think she could do better), I largely just want to see this gal kick ass.
Small aside: a lot of the strategy here, especially in the second book, includes so much counting of zahhaks that I want a children’s math book from this; “You have 4 thunder zahhak, then you steal 2 acid zahhak but use 1 to get your sister to safety, and your lover gives you 3 fire zahhak but they’re 2 hours away. If your opponent has 5 acid zahhak and the element of surprise, how likely is it that your father will have you murdered for who you are before the end of the day?”
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #Fantasy #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans
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Covers of Stealing Thunder and Gifting fire held by a rather sexy looking hand. You know you want it.
4 Forgotten Female Authors Who Inspired Jane Austen
Books at PG by:
Frances Burney
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2010
Maria Edgeworth
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/630
Charlotte Smith
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/41281
Elizabeth Inchbald
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1305
Maria Edgeworth
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Drawing of Maria Edgeworth. She is shown sitting in a chair next to a table. There is a stack of books on the table, and she resting her left elbow on them. That hand is touching her face.
If you are looking for your next #book, maybe you may want to check this list recommended by many #bloggers
Morgan le Fay was King Arthur’s sister – but also a healer, mathematician and murderer
by Nicole Kimball
Morgan le Fay at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31900
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A painting of Morgan le Fay by Frederick Sandys, 1863-1864 depicts her enchanting a cloak.
A young woman with wild copper-red hair kneels in intense concentration, eyes half-closed, lips parted in incantation, one hand extended over a small burning brazier while the other holds a golden object. She wears sumptuous layered robes — a deep green outer cloak, a yellow-gold embroidered gown decorated with fantastical creatures, and a great sweep of crimson-purple silk behind her. A leopard skin drapes across her lap.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_le_Fay#/media/File:Sandys,_Frederick_-_Morgan_le_Fay.JPG
Pepper Basham on How The Secret Garden Inspired Her Love for British Literature
"I can still find my way there through these pages. Some gardens, it turns out, are always in season."
https://lithub.com/pepper-basham-on-how-the-secret-garden-inspired-her-love-for-british-literature/
The secret garden at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17396
#books #literature #literarycriticism
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"IT SEEMED SCARCELY BEARABLE TO LEAVE SUCH DELIGHTFULNESS"
A girl in a grey-blue dress and hat, and a red-haired boy in a white shirt — sitting cross-legged on the grass beneath a spreading tree, facing each other with absorbed attention. Between them, a small fox lies curled on the ground, apparently tame or injured, the focus of their gentle care. A red squirrel perches on the boy's shoulder. High in the branches above, a magpie watches the scene.
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17396/pg17396-images.html#Page_231
This movie knows it is anachronistic and it revels in it. From the medieval crowds chanting Queen’s We Will Rock You to the Nike logo on armor. The movie is basically a sports story where the sport is jousting.
We even get to meet Chaucer who is one of the characters in the band of enigmatic characters that go on the journey with Heath Ledger’s William Thatcher.
For those curious, A Knight’s Tale is the first story in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.”
The soundtrack for this movie is filled with awesome classic rock.
“You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have absolutely... Been found wanting.”
https://tubitv.com/movies/552518/a-knight-s-tale
#movies #books #music
My ridiculous stack of books, wtf
Knausgaard
Lincoln's Peace
Burma Superstar (cookbook)
The Federalist Papers
The City & The City
The City We Became
Watership Down
“I definitely love writing about that idea of the mystery that can come from our dreams…As a young kid, I would love remembering my dreams when I woke up.”
Whooooooo! Way to win, HarperCollins Union! Highest starting pay in the biz! And other good things! (I did not realize this union has been around for 80 years.)
Manhunt (Gretchen Felker-Martin) – The #zombie apocalypse only affects anyone with high testosterone. As the male population turns into mindless grunts (insert predictable joke here), two #trans women & a lone badass trans man who was off T at the time of the apocalypse (for top surgery) have to survive not just zombies, but hunt them as a source of estrogen (the fact that testicles contain estrogen and how to stir fry them is not a lesson I wanted to learn).
But the zombies are not the scary villains of the piece. Rather, it is the rampaging neo-fascist TERF state that seeks to execute anyone who doesn’t pass a genital inspection. I mean, they name their ship the Galbraith and use XX as their symbol so... They blame men for the end of the world and are more than happy to include trans women in that bracket of death.
The thing is, testosterone is not the simple gender marker they believe it to be. Conditions causing a flare-up in testosterone, and hormonal changes during childbirth, lead to disastrous results requiring hunters such as the protagonists to bring back estrogen for the whole community; it’s not just trans women dependent on it but many cis women too. Not that it matters when it comes to firing squads.
Also, find out what happened to Rowling when the zombies struck.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #SciFi #TransBooks #Transgender
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Cover of Manhunt
Proud Pink Sky (Redfern Jon Barrett @Redfern ) – In an #AltHistory, the end of WWII sees the formation of Berlin as an independent #gay state with #polari as an official language. Now 24 million strong and a glittering futuristic metropolis, it is divided into an assortment of gay and lesbian districts (Twinkstadt, Diesel, Paw, Adonis…) including a hetero district for the immigrant straight labour and Q; which houses those who don’t fit into the strict categories of Gay and Lesbian. Those who as #bisexual, #trans+ and #polyamorous are seen as diluting the gay state and a fifth column for heterosexuals. Same-sex monogamous marriage is a requirement for full citizenship in Berlin.
The story follows the teen William who flees the homophobic persecution of Britain with his lover but struggles to find a place in the city’s rigid hierarchy. Meanwhile, Cissie and her family move to the city’s heterosexual district while her husband takes construction work. But while he falls into religious propaganda, Cissie explores life in the illegal trans district as tensions mount between the state and its undesirable residents.
I have to say, I’ve long been enamoured by the idea of a gay homeland to feel safe in, as flawed as the idea is (and have occasionally wanted to write a novel on this myself). To have this played out but the state centred on the community’s internal biphobia, transphobia etc. is very uncomfortable. The fact the city’s majority wants to be seen as normal and respectable enough to be accepted by the wider world (despite the distinction never mattering to bigots) sounded very familiar to groups like Mattachine, those who want to throw the radicals under the bus and conform to cishet values as much as possible. Put on a suit and tie, get married and be as non-threatening as possible rather than burn down the system that oppresses us. I never imagined a gay state being anything other than a revolutionary one and this is both innovative and depressing/sobering at the same time.
Then that the rest of the world never progressed on gay rights while everyone fled to Berlin is also a key part of why the gay nation idea has always been a risk - if you all leave, how will things improve for the kids born after you? We’re not free unless every queer child is born into that freedom.
Yet at the same time, the arguments for the safety found inside the nation used by various characters are particularly poignant in today’s climate, even if those most in need of it are those who are discriminated against in Barrett’s Berlin. All this really serves to underline the importance of unity within the community as the one thing that has got us through our darkest eras.
All in all, it is a fascinating and engaging book (especially for me as someone who has long been intrigued by the idea and is a nerd for #queer history, Berlin, and Polari). My only note is that there was only a partial resolution and I feel there is far more potential to the world created that is touched upon by this book. Like seeing a town through a train window as you whizz by. I’d love to read more exploring other aspects and dynamics within the city, and different eras of its history.
Barrett is on Masto (tagged at the top) and has a trailer for the book in their feed.
Fun factoid, there have been minor attempts to create a gay nation, such as the attempted takeover of Alpine County, California. None have really got very far at all though. But our migration to our communities has been common enough throughout our history so I wouldn’t say it is implausible that it could still happen.
And as always, support your local queer bookshop. They’re our little Berlins (without the dystopic element); Gays the Word and Common Press in London.
#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #LGBTQ+ #TransBooks #Transgender #SciFi
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Cover of Proud Pink Sky
She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan) – If Mulan was the first Emperor of China and had a wife. Because ancient China needs more gender-bending queerness!
#QueerLiterature #QueerBooks #Booktoot #Bookstodon #Books #HistoricalFiction #TransBooks #Trans #Queer
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Cover of She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
I know some people say they don't read speculative fiction because it's "not realistic" well guess what 😜😂
@bookstodon @books
@worldbuilding @humor@fedigroups.social @humor@lemmy.world @aiop
#Dune
#SpeculativeFiction #FantasyBooks
#FantasyMemes #SciFiMemes #Fantasy #SciFi #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour #Funny
#Low #High #Epic #Science #Opera #Hard #CottageCore #SolarPunk #Comedic #Whatever #GiveMeAllYouveGot
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #BookLove
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Photo of Baron Harkonnen from the 1984 Dune film.
Caption:
I quite like the 1984 film version of Dune, but the characters are a bit far fetched. An obese, orange, diseased peadophile starting a war for his own selfish needs.
Come on.