Masthash

#bookstodon

J.D. Everhard, Author🛡️
1 minute ago
Free on Amazon, my anthology Stand with Ukraine: Debunking the Propaganda Hard-hitting Perspectives from the Resistance Book One of the Series: United Resistance Support Archives https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Ukraine-Propaganda-Hard-hitting-Perspectives-ebook/dp/B0CB3TS3Y8 Get it now! (You don't need to have Kindle Unlimited, price to own is zero!) "Mad love for what seemingly cannot be and in so doing makes it possible." Alexander Reid Ross, Portland State University Author of "Against the Fascist Creep" #author #authors #bookstodon #WritersOfMastodon #writing #WritingCommunity #ukraine #StandWithUkraine #propaganda @bookstodon@a.gup.pe @poetry@a.gup.pe @authorindiespeak@a.gup.pe @writingcommunity@a.gup.pe
book cover
Garth Coghlan
1 hour ago

"Cloud Cuckoo Land" Anthony Doerr. 3.5 stars. Three time periods are braided together by an ancient Greek tale: 15th century Constantinople, the modern day, and a space-faring future. Elaborate but tenuous. On their own each story has potential, but together they don't quite make a whole. Like Cloud Atlas but less enthralling.

Reading time 7 days, 89 pages/day

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #HistoricalFiction #SciFi

https://wyrms.de/user/wildwoila/review/52748/s/elaborate-but-tenuous#anchor-52748

Book cover showing a blue book with a white cloud on the cover, in front of a yellow city with many spires.
David Zaslavsky
4 hours ago

Very excited to have paper copies of my new favorite books, the Dragon Blood series! It's been a while since I bought any physical books but these were worth it. Even though I already had all the ebooks 😁

https://app.thestorygraph.com/series/126035

@bookstodon

#books #bookstodon #fiction #fantasy #SteampunkBooks #RomanceBooks #DragonBlood

The ten books of the Dragon Blood series by Lindsay Buroker, laid out overlapping with part of each front cover revealed
KristenHG
4 hours ago

I have two final projects for my master's in English due the week before Christmas, and I am so very much looking forward to reading a book of my own choosing. Like, not even skimming the text. Just reading like a normal person.

#AmReading #bookstodon

Lyndall Ley
5 hours ago

#reading The book of lost things by John Connolly #bookstodon #books #UrbanFantasy

ZenobiaVayne
5 hours ago

Look. All I want is to read eruditely written high fantasy romance in the vein of early Jacqueline Carey but that stick the landing better than something like Deborah Harkness’s All Souls novels. And maybe make it sapphic or at least lgbt coded. Is that too much to ask? Am I the problem here? Because I have been wildly disappointed by the last few smutty books I’ve read and I need a highbrow but hot palate cleanser and PLEASE could I get some boosts to get some recs #books #romance #bookstodon

Anirvan Chatterjee
5 hours ago

Seeing book recommendations!

I *love* the writing of Ellen Ullman, the literary tech essayist and novelist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Ullman

This includes her essays ("Close to the Machine," "Life in Code") as well as the lovely novel "The Bug."

What are some other similar books I should check out?

As a programmer, queer women, and San Franciscan, she's writes incisively about the culture and inner lives of techies, rather than only on the business/politics of tech. Where can I get more?

#Bookstodon

petes_bread_eqn_xls
6 hours ago

When reading a novel, you like to listen to specific songs to enhance the experience.

#bookstodon #poll #music

Sean Bala
6 hours ago

@dohappybelove I've really been enjoying bookmaking as a hobby. Here is a previous post form some I made in Spring 2023. Thanks for looking and I look forward to sharing more!

https://mas.to/@seanbala/110381697218259864

4/4

#books #bookstodon #art #crafts #handmade #creativity #chicago #creative #bookbinding #crafting #bookmaking #bookbinding #mastoart

Sean Bala
6 hours ago

@dohappybelove Both of these were Coptic stich books with some flaws on the cover. For both, I found some cool things to put on the cover. The larger has an image is from a map for the Art Institute in Chicago (Alma Thomas' "Starry Night and the Astronauts) and the other is a postcard from the Portland Saturday Market!

3/4

#books #bookstodon #art #crafts #handmade #creativity #travel #creative #bookbinding #crafting #bookmaking #bookbinding #mastoart #chicago #portland #pdx #modernart

Sean Bala
6 hours ago

I made this book a while ago. This sticker is from one of our favorite #coffee shops in #Delhi. We go every time we visit #India. When I looked at a bag of coffee, I did not realize that there was a sticker from the shop there. It seemed like it was made for the cover. For more about the place, see this post I made with @dohappybelove

https://mastodon.social/@bunvoyage17/111016906625223305

2/4

#books #bookstodon #art #crafts #handmade #creativity #travel #creative #bookbinding #crafting #bookmaking #bookbinding #mastoart

Sean Bala
6 hours ago

Finally got around to some more bookmaking projects! This was my first attempt at doing cloth covers, and I tried making an accordion book with thicker paper and a Coptic stich sketchbook. I'm really proud of them and feel like each time they become a bit easier.

A few fun stories about some of them below.

#books #bookstodon #art #crafts #handmade #creativity #chicago #creative #bookbinding #crafting #bookmaking #bookbinding #mastoart

1/4

Five handmade books on a bamboo table. On the top are two Coptic stitch books. One has a cloth cover in black with Jaipuri print. The other has a blue cover with a photo print of a prominent modern art piece. The last one on the top row is a small pamphlet stich book with a sticker from India Coffee House. On the second row is a cloth bound accordion book with a cloth cover with red flowers. The other is a Coptic stich sketchbook with a plaid cloth cover and a postcard from the Portland Saturday market.
MH Thaung
7 hours ago

My review of Persephone in Bloom: An Olympus Inc. Romance by Kate Healey

https://www.librarything.com/work/30316190/reviews/253957497 #BookReview #Bookstodon

For once, a romance I enjoyed! 😮

tony
7 hours ago

on page 284 of Every Man for Himself and God Against All by Werner Herzog 📚

"But this inability to keep up doesn’t make me breathless; I acquiesce to it."

Werner Herzog; on accepting that he will never be able to complete all the projects he wants to complete

#BookMastodon #bookstodon

https://micro.blog/books/9780593490297

Sophie
7 hours ago

Kann mir jemand gute Bücher empfehlen rund um das Thema "Frauen in STEM"?

- aktuell und/oder historisch
-Deutsch oder englisch sprachig
-Pluspunkte wenn auch POC usw genannt werden

#bookstodon #STEM #WomenInScience

Mitzi Szereto
7 hours ago

The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Famous & Infamous Criminals with contributor Joe Turner now on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M4KUl2L5PQ

#books #bookstodon #truecrime #thebestnewtruecrimestories #authors #writers #authorinterview #authorsofmastodon

Claymore
8 hours ago

@bookstodon Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is probably my favorite book this year. It didn’t always make sense, but it also didn’t have to.

This book has some of the best setups and payoffs I have read in a very long time! Something innocuous mentioned in the first half can have a massive result in the second. 

Above all, it made me feel so cozy.

#books #bookstodon

But even though my comprehension was minimal, I found that the act of reading was in itself valuable. It sounds obvious to say, but it was like exercising a muscle, where even if you struggle in the exercise you’ll still find that you feel the benefits later on.

https://bit.ly/46POCw3

#reading #bookstodon

Ryan Adams
8 hours ago

68. Roots and Branches: Your Starter Guide to Becoming a Family History Detective by John Elcik. I have a passing interest in genealogy, so reading this for an early review was interesting... however, I expected more to it than just the collection of tips in here. It certainly does take you through from the beginning through various spots in an organized fashion, but I wish it was more in-depth on any given subject. https://www.librarything.com/work/31162101/
#bookstodon #reviewcopy

Sten
9 hours ago

#AdventOfBooks Day 9: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I read this last year, and it's one of the funniest books I've read. It was written in the 1930s but it holds up incredibly well

A modern woman moves temporarily in with distant relations on their farm, and shenanigans ensue. The Starkadders are hidebound and old-fashioned, and generally incredibly weird. Flora sets about improving and reorganising their way of life, and the clash of cultures is both riveting and hilarious.

#Bookstodon

Ryan Adams
9 hours ago

67. Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers. Another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery which was interesting. I enjoyed it in general, but parts of it were definitely of its time (when dealing with some racist languages and treatments). I listened to it as an audiobook, and it was superb in treatment,.. recommended in that form at least. https://www.librarything.com/work/16482

#bookstodon

Ryan Adams
9 hours ago

66. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. Another short and sweet Monk & Robot story where they discuss how to find contentment in what their life purpose is... a quick and honestly uplifting read. Recommended! https://www.librarything.com/work/24794656/book/253880033

#bookstodon

Thiago Carvalho
11 hours ago

From Benjamín Labatut's "The Maniac".

#book #Books #bookshelf #bookstodon

Ianhopkinson
11 hours ago

@davbatz I've just read Kathleen Broome Williams biography of Hopper -its very good, my review here https://ianhopkinson.org.uk/2023/12/book-review-grace-hopper-admiral-of-the-cyber-sea-by-kathleen-broome-williams/ #bookstodon

Elegant Silver Butterfly 🦋☔
11 hours ago

Fetching the metadata for all my books downloaded via Google Takeout is nice! Calibre is such a great program that I like to support often.

As they are the key to releasing books from their walled gardens. I will probably use a mix of Apple, Kindle, and directly supporting authors via purchases from their sites going forward. It will fragment my reading experience a bit...It wouldn't be too terrible of an experience for me though.

#calibre7 #bookstodon

J.
11 hours ago

I'm sometimes really surprised about how off the synopsis for a book can be. There are times where I come across something in a synopsis that moves me to read the book, only then to find that this thing is present in such small measure that having it a paragraph-sized summary of the whole book makes no sense.
Worse than that is when I’ll go back and read the synopsis of a book I've already read and really liked, but I'll feel that if I had read that synopsis first I probably would have never chosen to read the book at all.
I think that has the potential to be quite unfortunate.

#books #bookstodon

I promise I'll have something more substantial to say in my upcoming review, but for now:

Wow

Stay tuned... https://inquisitivebiologist.com #Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #RoadEcology #Ecology #Scicomm

A photo of Ben Goldfarb's new book "Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet". The book is heavily annotated with yellow post-it notes and is standing on a black shelf in front of a row of books on environmental issues.
Farah
12 hours ago

I wanted to like this book so bad #Bookstodon

christmas cowboy 😷✊🏻
13 hours ago

Hey, #Bookstodon, so far “A Literary Christmas” is a marvelous collection of stories. Raymond Carver, Thomas Wolff, Frank O’Connor, Paul Auster, Patricia Highsmith, Ntozaka Shange…

Yes, “Literary” translates into “melancholy.” So not cozy cheery holiday fare. So far right up there with the “Penguin Book of Christmas Stories” (with which it shares a few stories).

#DecRecs

Red book cover with woodcut illustration of a deer head reading a book
Ionica Smeets
13 hours ago

This was a lovely book where writers discuss books they love and admire.

The only downside is that this book made me buy five other books, but I decided to see that as an upside.

#bookstodon

The cover of 'What writers read, 35 writers on their favorite book' - edited by Pandora Sykes - featuring a book with flowers coming out of it
Michael Shotter
14 hours ago

ICYMI: Here are just some of the books that Ronald McGillvray & I talked about on "The Post Mortem Report" this year. Makes you wonder what else you might have missed, doesn't it? 🙂

YouTube: http://youtube.com/@ThePostMortemReport

Official Site: http://postmortemreport.com

#books #reading #read #reads #readers #readingcommunity #podcast #authorcast #booktube #authortube #ICYMI #FYI #booksofmastodon #readersofmastodon #bookstodon #booktodon @bookstodon

Camilo
14 hours ago

“If ever you get to be my age,” said the old woman, “you will know all there is to know about regrets, and you will know that one more, here or there, will make no difference in the long run.”

From Stardust

Oof why @neilhimself why 🫣
#books #bookstodon

Ken Lussey
20 hours ago

When the hunter becomes the prey. ‘The High Road’ is a fast-paced contemporary thriller set mainly in central Scotland and the far north-west.

At the beginning of the story the central character is staying at Houstoun House Hotel in West Lothian. At the heart of the hotel is this magnificent tower house dating back to 1598.

Find out more on my website:
http://www.kenlussey.com/thr/index.html

#Books #Bookstodon

The image shows a view over a diagonally mown lawn and past a large bush to the white painted four-storey tower house of Houstoun House Hotel in West Lothian. The building faces slightly to the right and is three windows wide with a grey slate roof. More modern parts of the hotel can be glimpsed to the left and right, beyond hedges. The front cover of ‘The High Road’ is shown in the top left corner.

recommend me a book! i like fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, queer fiction. i need 12 recommendations from other people for a 2024 reading challenge :blobcatblep:

#reading #books #bookstodon @bookstodon

bookwolf
21 hours ago

Ran out of listening time for spotify audio books, so starting one on Audible called Pucking Wrong Number. Getting into audio books lately, which is surprising. Normally I read only kindle books. @bookstodon @readinglightsout @romancelandia #bookstodon #amreading

Victoria Audley
22 hours ago

It's my birthday! All my e-books are pay-what-you-want starting at FREE today in my Ko-fi shop:

https://ko-fi.com/vcaudley/shop

#bookstodon

three book covers for gleam, crown of ivy, and the hunt and the haunting, all by victoria audley. the gleam cover has a black background and a single white candle burning in a black candleholder. the crown of ivy cover has a burgundy background and three interlocking gold crowns arranged diagonally from top left to bottom right; the top crown is encircled with daisies, the middle with ivy, and the bottom one has seven diamond points and a sparkle effect overlaying it. the hunt and the haunting cover depicts a dark, shadowy forest, with blurry foliage in the foreground.
Zivan Krisher
23 hours ago

Audible recommended Kitty Cat Kill Sat to me. I was pretty sure it was a blatant attempt to get cat lovers to part with their credits and will be a sycophantic attempt at fan service. But, it was on sale and I decided to give it a go.

I was very pleasantly surprised. The cat antics are mostly kept at a low volume and Argus employs a novel approach to the problems faced by a cat "manning" a space station built for humans, approaching it as an accessibility issue.

Lily is a lonely immortal uplifted cat. As she tackles an unending series of technical issues with her space station, while trying to fight off an endless series of attacks by old tech junk left in orbit and around the solar system, as well as emergent events spewing monsters that threaten what little is left of Earth's population. It's a post apocalyptic tale of constant jerry rigging of old tech in an attempt to survive.

However it is more than that, it is a first person account of Lily's journey to deal with her loneliness and pain, to find companions that will help her get out of the rut of constant trouble shooting and find out the secrets lying at the heart of the disaster that befell the solar system.

It is not a perfect book, there is some repetition and perhaps it could have been shorter. But it was very enjoyable and the long setup pays off very nicely. It is much more than just: Cat in Space.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c6abcaac-72b7-4b77-ab82-61b8876a516b

@bookstodon #bookstodon #ScienceFiction #dystopia #cats #caturday

@runoutgroover I've yet to read a #book by Claire North and her alter egos (Kate Griffin and Catherine Webb) that wasn't well written! Some themes appeal more than others, for example I liked her urban fantasy #books more than her magic realism ones but all worth a go!. #bookstodon
https://www.clairenorth.com/landing-page/kate-griffin/kate-griffin-books/

David Fi&er
1 day ago

Talia Hibbert. 2023. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute.

The latest of Hibbert's intersectional romantic comedies. This time a YA novel featuring frenemies competing for a fancy scholarship.

#books #romance #bookstodon

Book cover
Tinker ☀️
1 day ago

A new solarpunk murder mystery just dropped!

"Murder in the Tool Library" by A. E. Marling

Summary:

"We survive capitalism. Evolving into a library economy, we flourish in a garden city powered by the sun. People no longer need to kill themselves working or each other, with all of our needs met. And yet, malice lives on in paradise.

When a painter is murdered in a library of things, citizen detectives use crowdsolving to catch the criminal. A Native-American crime-scene investigator pools his expertise with a full-time dad, an ex-cop bloodhound handler, and a femme fatale."

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-the-tool-library-a-e-marling/1144354144

#solarpunk #bookstodon

i read the confidence of wildflowers last night and the last 100 pages BROKE me :blobcatcry:

#reading #bookstodon

When the theme of your book is a current headline…

#TheAlgorithmWillSeeYouNow #ai #AIHealthcare #aiethics #machinelearning #MedMastodon #books #bookstodon #fiction…or is it?

A screenshot of an article from nature | 30 November 2023 Generative Al could revolutionize health care - but not if control is ceded to big tech 

Next to that photo of the book by JL LYCETTE 
THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW
Ariel Waldman
1 day ago

Good news: My book totally sold out from a warehouse! 🙌

Bad news: That temporarily shut down getting signed/personalized copies as a gift for the holidays 😧

Good news: We got more copies and you can now buy a signed book in time for Xmas if you order by Dec. 14th! 🎄

https://www.foliosf.com/arielwaldman

#bookstodon #science #scifi

Ariel holding up her book OUT THERE: THE SCIENCE BEHIND SCI-FI FILM AND TV

Book lists: should we still trust their recommendations?

Explore the trustworthiness of book lists and discover how to pick the palatable from the unpleasant as 2023 comes to a close.

#books #bookstodon

https://howtobe247.com/book-lists-should-we-still-trust-their-recommendations/

S. Kaeth
1 day ago

Hey you!
Yeah, you. Do you like reading books?
Do you like reading indie books?
Do you have time to read 5 books in 6 months in the first half of next year?

We're looking for more reader judges for the #IndieInkAwards so if you want to read #IndieBooks and score using our internal scoring system and rate them based on tropes and inclusivity, apply now! No blog required!

More information: https://indieinkawards.com/be-a-judge/

#ReadingCommunity #ReadersOfMastodon #BookToot #Bookstodon #BoostingIsSharing

Astronaut with visor down looking at the camera with stars in the background. Text says #IndieInkAwards
The Indie Ink Awards
In Collaboration with Inked In Gray and Indie Story Geek
Writing the Future We Need
Christina Dongowski
1 day ago

I've started E. M. Anderson's The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher , and I already love Edna so much, I sneaked at the end, if she will be still around. The older I get, the less I like getting my heroes killed.
#Fantasy #femaleprotagonist #dragons #oldwoman #cozyfantasy #bookstodon #womenwriters @bookstodon

Cover von The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, von E. M. Anderson . Auf einem roten Hintergrund ist die dunkle Silhouette eines Wappenschilds mit gekreuztem Schwert und Zauberstab. Im Schuld sieht man eine Stadt mit vielen Hochhaustürmen im Sonnenuntergang, davor die Silhouette einer alten Dame mit Stock und einem Schwert in der Hand, über ihr fliegt ein Drache.
Nathan Lowell
1 day ago

tfw you get to the end of book 1 only to find that it's a standalone.

#bookstodon

Steven D. Brewer 🏳️‍⚧️
2 days ago

Just one week until the Better Angels arrive at The Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy for their Tour de Force! https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/ #books #bookstodon

Sadrarin :gladys03:
2 days ago

¿Alguna sugerencia para una adolescente de 13 años que ha leído más que algún adulto en toda su vida? Nuestra hija nos ha salido rara y solo quiere libros para Navidad y Reyes 🤣. Nos ha pedido la trilogía de Caraval, pero queremos regalarle algo más.
Es fan de las trilogías y las sagas, su género favorito es fantasía/acción, y si puede haber dragones, elfos y magia mejor que mejor.
Os dejo parte de la lista de lectura consumida, para que os hagais una idea:

- Harry Potter
- Las crónicas subterráneas (de Suzanne Collins)
- Los juegos del hambre
- Memorias de Idhun y casi todos los de Laura Gallego
- El ciclo de la Luna Roja
- Todos los libros de Rick Riordan
- Seraphina
- Embrujo de espinas
- Encantanmiento de cuervos
- La leyenda del hechicero
- Septimus
- El Señor de los Anillos no cuenta, lo intentó con 10 años y no pudo, pero lo tiene en pendientes 😅

Se aceptan sugerencias, muchas gracias.

----------------------
EDITO
----------------------

En cuatro horas nos habeis recomendado lectura para varias vidas 😅. Muchas gracias, no esperaba esta respuesta. Da gusto estar en esta red social. Un saludo.

#bookstodon #booktodon #ayuda #libros

Tyrone Slothrop
2 days ago

@fringemagnet If you read Hungarian or German, you might appreciate this work - it´s a single sentence, running over hundreds of pages:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56337680-herscht-07769

(English translation upcoming, apparently)

#bookstodon

Miloš Jovanović
2 days ago

Kristen Patterson writes beautifully about Emily Wilson’s new translation of the Iliad and the controversies surrounding it. She contends with the continuing appeal of Ancient Greece as an artifact of “past glory”, arriving (via LeGuin!!!) to the lasting meaning we find in these stories. Meaning which Wilson’s more accessible translation brings out.

Recommended morning read.

https://www.tor.com/2023/12/04/wilsons-iliad-and-le-guins-battle-between-good-and-evil-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-sword/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_term=tordotcom-tordotcomnewsletter&utm_content=na-readblog-blogpost&utm_campaign=tordotcom&e=a310fd4608eaf25b9573f8340d35f053d09a8a79e48b6c18e9948f649fcfc834

#classics #histodons #UrsulaLeGuin #Fantasy #Homer #Fiction #bookstodon #Greece

Hari
3 days ago

Hey mastodon, would you like to see this promo I made for my new book while I was extremely tired?

-
It’s a small publisher so it feels like a lot of promotion is up to me, and I’m sure this is what they imagined and wanted.

anyway this is (somehow) my job and I'm genuinely very proud of the book, so boosts always appreciated

More info at https://www.hari-illustration.com/into-the-tower
#ChooseYourOwnAdventure #ttrpg #soloRPG #gamebook #FantasyBooks #Bookstodon #QueerBooks

a very goofy graphic with a sort of 00s wordart energy with pictures of Hari's art.
Text, most of it in silly colours and bad fonts, reads: "From the creator of GAY WEBCOMICS" over some pictures of Hari's gay webcomics,
"whom you may remember from classic internet hits such as (in huge letters) DRAWINGS... D&D comics with my name cropped off..."
Beside an image of a book called 'into the dungeon' with a classic fantasy vibe cross-section of a dungeon on it: "This other, smaller choose-your-own style book which makes sense if you think about it" followed by a crappy screenshot of it having a 4.5 star rating and another screenshot of the word 'good' from a review.

"COMES ANOTHER THING: INTO THE TOWER"
The cover of the book "into the tower, a choose your own path book by Hari Conner". From a high angle, a very wizardly-looking tower towers over a medeival-looking stone city in the mountains. A big jagged crack full an amalgam of colourful, magical-looking weird stuff splits the tower like lightning.
There are some more photos of the book itself and a wee crop of some of the options ('try to run past the creature - turn to page 75.') Over the top, more vaguely ugly text reads:
Queer
Large
book shape
like a tabletop game but you don't need experience or friends
- art (this drawing by @toadlett but there are tons of artists and they are so good)
- masquerade ball fantasy heist
- meet Creatures
-betray everyone
-topple government
-die horribly but not always (wow just like dnd)
(in huge letters) Into the Tower
out next week. but it where you get books. thank you
Jaelyn 🏳️‍🌈
3 days ago

Babel (R.F. Kuang) – In an alternate Oxford where the British Empire is founded upon silver, enchanted by the act of translation; two words in different languages on each side sharing the same root but with slightly differing meanings. These silver bars make ships faster, factories more efficient and bridges more stable. Those put out of work are just collateral malcontents.

But to power its silver industrial revolution, Britain not only needs to plunder the world’s silver but also its languages for new translations and translators who are fluent enough to dream in multiple languages.

Enter the students of Babel, Oxford’s translation institute. Robin is taken from his home in Canton, his family dead from Choelra which could have been cured by the enchanted silver England hoards, by an Englishman who trains him up to serve at Babel. To put his language and culture at the service of the Empire.

I’m late to the party on this one and wanted to ensure I’d read this before the end of the year. It’s a beautiful exploration of culture, language and translation; but also a hard-hitting account of colonialism, imperialism, racism and capitalism at its very worst. It strikes a hopeful yet bitter note of revolution and revolt against the seemingly overwhelming and immovable force that is the empire and how it radicalises people against it.

There were so many moments in this book exploring these themes which I adored. Especially around the beauty of language and its relation to our cultural thought and perspectives. But perhaps the hardest being around the dehumanisation of those in the global south and the need for the whites to centre themselves in every debate while participating in or overlooking the racism right in front of them.

But what surprised me the most was that a book of this weight and length never felt slow to me. It was so engaging in what it was saying that I would happily sit through years of lectures at Babel. Maybe not taking the tests though…

#Bookstodon #Books #Fantasy

Cover of Babel
Stan Carey
3 days ago

This family epic contrives a couple of turns that didn't work for me, but it's a great read, tense and rewarding and with characters you quickly come to care about.

Often when a novel alternates POVs, you resent some for interrupting your favourites, but here you're eager to catch up with everyone.

#books #IrishFiction #IrishLiterature #TheBeeSting #PaulMurray #bookstodon #reading #fiction

'The Bee Sting' by Paul Murray. Cover is yellow with a thick, mazy black line winding among the lettering, tracing the path of a bee which is illustrated in the top right. The book title is in red, the 'i' of 'Sting' sharp-ended to resemble a sting. There's a small blurb from the Observer: 'A thing of beauty, a novel that will fill your heart'.
LordWoolamaloo
3 days ago

Shocked to learn we just lost Benjamin Zephaniah. A unique voice, taken far, far too damned early https://x.com/BZephaniah/status/1732721476942311784?s=20

#books #livres #writers #bookstodon #poetry #poet #BenjaminZephaniah

Katja
3 days ago

Why yes, I *will* completely avoid the present this evening by tucking into my nearly 70-year-old edition of 7 Types of Ambiguity. Appropriate that it arrived today when, to rephrase #Shakespeare, I've been feeling quite out of joint in time.

#books @bookstodon #reading #bookstodon #literature #criticism

Paperback (1955) edition of William Empson's 7 Types of Ambiguity: bright green cover with title in italicized serif font (black, white, and brown-red)—and indication at the bottom that the copy cost $1.25, and was published by Meridian Books/The Noonday Press. Just slightly bigger than my smallish hand!

Useless observations: I had already noticed that all my top books of the year have either a yellow, red, or blue cover, but I just realized that both the books I hated this year have their titles written vertically on the cover. :ablobglarezoom:

#bookstodon

christine
3 days ago

Oof trying to get that year end reading in to try and hit by goal (going for 110 books this year) annnd I might need to call that I am not going to finish all the books I am currently reading. To be fair, I definitely started all of these buuuut haven't continued them 😬 #bookstodon #ReadingNow

Christine's The StoryGraph view of the currently reading section with 10 books in progress, including the house with good bones, Witch King, Mind Hacking Happiness and the Best Australian Science Writing 2022
Steven D. Brewer 🏳️‍⚧️
4 days ago

The Better Angels return to the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy for their "Tour de Force" on December 15! https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/ #books #bookstodon

Thomas Rigby
4 days ago

I recently finished Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (review on my #blog) and I've started A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick. It's hard going tbh. Is there anything more cringe than how people in the 70s thought people in the future would speak? 😅 50's and 60's retro-futurism I can totally get behind but I'm struggling with the 70's 😂

#wwwwednesday #bookstodon

Well, darn! I missed my Fediversary. For some reason, I thought it was in December, but I joined this lovely place on November 23rd, 2022. So it's been a year, and I am very happy to be here! I enjoy the #writing prompts, #bookstodon, all the interesting conversations, and always #HashtagGames. Thank you all for making this place special!

Mx Kestrel ᓚᘏᗢ
4 days ago

Seriously, I need help. Help me #Bookstodon! I want queer and probably nonfiction (though not turning my nose up at fiction necessarily, just I'm much pickier there) and in audiobook form! Most of what I've been wanting to read recently has been graphic novels, and unfortunately those do not translate to audiobook like at all.

Wendy Palmer
4 days ago

Yesterday’s present-buying visit to my “local” (over an hour’s drive, as my little town doesn’t have one) bookstore was quite a sad experience.

They only had one of the books I wanted in stock, phenomenally did not stock the newest Murderbot, and I heard at least four people coming up to the counter to ask for titles, only to be told they would have to order it in, eta two weeks.

Not a single one of those people placed the order — why would they, when they can place the order themselves online and get it directly delivered in two weeks.

I know the turnover for titles is short, and shelf space is tight, but seeing this truly dismayed me. I already had to order some books online because they were old enough (you know, published earlier this year) that I couldn’t guarantee they’d be in stock (they weren’t) but I went in with a new release Christmas list and couldn’t get most of it. It’s the only dedicated bookstore in this town — technically a city, based on population — and I’m not sure how much longer it can survive if that was indicative of its Christmas season.

#bookstodon #bookstore

Cynthia Williams, experienced #editor, has posted to the blog Outside the Book about an issue that needs attention: "what it’s like for people of different linguistic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds to work together, to work in publishing. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/further-outside-book-cynthia-williams-rfa1c/ #Bookstodon

This guy's good!
Here's a holiday gift for the librarian in your life ;->

#Cartoonist #poster
#librarydon #bookstodon https://lepoulsdumonde.com/@bot_wg/111528485587689147

Cartoon, reminscent of Gary Larsen.

Caption: attempting to capture a wild librarian using a trap baited with a badly-organised bookshelf.

It's a box trap, propped up with a stick, big enough to trap the human walking toward it. A cowboy hides behind a bush, holding the rope that trips the trap.
Annie the Book
5 days ago

A house that walks on chicken legs! A monster that creates murderous hatred wherever he goes! Puppets! Find out more about the absolutely fantastic novel Thistlefoot, by GennaRose Nethercott, in my review at https://abookishtype.wordpress.com/2023/12/04/thistlefoot-by-gennarose-nethercott/

#BookReview #bookstodon @bookstodon

Cover art for Thistlefoot, by GennaRose Nethercott. Five stars.
Douglas Graves 🌳
5 days ago

Updated #CurrentlyReading #Fiction: Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon #Nonfiction: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald & #Poetry: Make me Rain by Nikki Giovanni #Books #Bookstodon #Read #Reading

Cover of The Yiddish Policemen's
Union: turquoise frame with a black center with the authors name in white and the title red with a city skyline in red across the bottom. An illustration of a gun is in the bottom left and a square smiling face in the bottom right.
Cover of H is for Hawk: Illustrated hawk perched on a thin branch, one claw up, poised.
Cover of Make me Rain: a side profile of Nikki Giovanni from the chest up, looking ahead and smiling.
Yule Infused Sentient Nog
5 days ago

@poloniousmonk @Dianora @punishmenthurts @actuallyautistic @autisticadvocacy @autistic.me Yeah it's very possible. One of my favourite authors.

#AltTxt4Me (sorry low spoons) #Bookstodon

This book is my fiftieth-birthday present to myself. I feel as though I am crossing the spine of a roof-having ascended one slope.

I am programmed at fifty to perform childishly-to in- sult "The Star-Spangled Banner," to scrawl pictures of a Nazi flag and an asshole and a lot of other things with a felt-tipped pen. To give an idea of the maturity of my illustrations for this book, here is my picture of an asshole:

... (The drawing is a crude criss crossing of four lines which perfectly illustrates an asshole)

I think I am trying to clear my head of all the junk in there the assholes, the flags, the underpants. Yes-there is a picture in this book of underpants. I'm throwing out charac- ters from my other books, too. I'm not going to put on any more puppet shows.

I think I am trying to make my head as empty as it was when I was born onto this damaged planet fifty years ago.
Noelle :verified:
5 days ago

I recently added two featured hashtags to my Mastodon profile: blog and books, for obvious reasons :blobcathappy: :blobcatbook:

I like how you can click on the hashtag and it shows all of the posts using that tag on your profile, pretty cool feature.

#books #blog #blogging #reader #bookstodon #mastodon

Julé Cunningham
5 days ago

A book I very much enjoyed reading this year was Patrick Bringley's 'All the Beauty in the World' about his time as a guard at the Met Museum after the death of his brother. Bringley needed time to heal and get away from the constant grind of getting ahead and thought the most beautiful place he could spend it in was the Met.

#art #MetMuseum #reading #bookstodon #podcast

https://www.artcuriouspodcast.com/artcuriouspodcast/bringley