Read it, it is good book.

The ebook of THE WITCH ROADS is still on sale on all US and Canadian platforms. You can read it this month and roll over right into the second half of the duology, THE NAMELESS LAND, which releases November 4. No waiting! Plus you'll understand the title of book two once you read book one.

that’s a very good reason to do so but also if you need a second one Wells Fargo let someone wash a check of mine, cash it for all the money in my checking account (which they only could have known if they had an employee on the inside) and then refused to extend me credit and stalled on reversing

if I repost this I risk "what did you expect? [list of other bad shit Apple does that everybody knows about]" discover tab adventurers in the mentions but I must bear this burden happily because wtf

Oh, look, a cover! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ann-l...

Great news.

See this? This story is the sound of a bullet you didn’t even know was coming at you whistling past your right ear.

I decided to be a field archaeologist at 5 after visiting the Coppergate excavations. I started digging at 15 but by early 20s realised digging + a family wouldn’t work, so I segued into an academic role where I could at least still train. I’m still a digger. Is it okay that women had to leave?

At 7pm on 9th October, don't miss @aptshadow.bsky.social at Leeds Waterstones for a very special panel event on "Building Brilliant Worlds" alongside @rjbarker.bsky.social and @davewragg.com in association with @britfantasysoc.bsky.social! Tickets only £5! www.waterstones.com/events/panel...

Thatcherite shit but done in the full knowledge of climate catastrophe

Vibe governing.

(And because this seems to be getting a surprising number of eyes: saranadosfiction.com/2023/12/11/a... )

Ah, the thing of seeing folks post 'bring back serialised novels!' and thinking 'well, yes, me and a whole pile of other folk're already way ahead of you there, we just need more readers to realise we exist' XD

In a forest world of fungal magic & tree portals, disaster poet Tarem confronts the reality of working for the worldwide Empire. Her two partners have opposing views: one is afraid of upheaval, one critical of the Empire. Can her love bridge betrayal and changing allegiances? #F #A #LGBT #OWN #DVPit

We're throwing our hat in the ring to host Eurocon 2030 in the fantastical city of Copenhagen! Accessible transport, stunning sights, and a commitment to sustainability, Copenhagen promises an unforgettable experience for all attendees. Support our bid, and be part of an incredible adventure!

This Reuters headline. Oof. Fascism isn't 'coming.' It's HERE. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

(I want to be clear, that's not some sort of 'well they should just tough it out baking their own bread from raw grains' sort of thing. I'm not delivering some moral judgement on poor Americans, I'm just pointing out their consumption patterns are *very* different)

Food costs are just around 13% of the average American household's budget (rather than, you know, 33%), but even that is deceptive, because even minimum wage workers are often buying 'food as service' - fast food, restaurant food, pre-cooked frozen food, etc. - simply not widely available in 1843.

A good example of why direct inflation adjustment of this sort is more deceptive than clarifying when applied over very long stretches of time where consumption patterns are very different. Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.

Me, gearing up to once again be forced to defend a fucking centrist: Please do not let any of the Conservatives convince you that this is Carney's fault.

UAE has no democratically elected institutions, no free speech and an appalling human rights record. Its economy functions on completely different metrics to the ours & ranks well below us for GDP No serious person would ever think that we should emulate it. But here's Tice calling us decadent

kinda sweet that bookshop.org's anti-prime sale overlaps with banned books week, which means today you can get free shipping PLUS 20% off their banned books list! bookshop.org/info/banned-...

The one that always gets me is that the last American born into slavery died the year John Lennon released “Imagine.”

People keep saying “feudalism,” but it actually just company towns.

126. Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North by Leszek Gardeła Quantifying rarity is tricky when more than half your graves are sexed only through grave-goods... The vast majority of my writing here is free to read and will remain so, but if you enjoy these sorts of posts, your…

Painfully dull move, and additionally baffling considering just how well set processes meat companies are to capitalise on veggie alternatives. Like Keogh's black veggie pudding 🤤 and jeesus wept I couldn't believe what veggies accepted for sausages before Denny's and Clon stepped in with theirs.

In trying to clean up after the window guys I have cut our broadband line. This week is cursed. I should not be let do anything.

126. Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North by Leszek Gardeła Quantifying rarity is tricky when more than half your graves are sexed only through grave-goods... The vast majority of my writing here is free to read and will remain so, but if you enjoy these sorts of posts, your…

would you like to live multi-modally?

Just to be clear, an English degree - learning to critically assess texts - is actually one of the most dangerous for people such as Badenoch. An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.

What a good man 💚 I wake up in the morning looking for hope not hate & division. The @greenparty.org.uk is hope, equality & kindness. 😀 A story with a happy ending from @mothinali.bsky.social 🌞✊🏼#solidarity

331 in Spain during the same period. But reported hate crimes in the UK were 140,561 in the year ending March 2024. Compared to 2,150 over here (a difference of 138,411). The UK is a hostile place if you're a minority or marginalised person.

I don’t really know where to start with this, except to say that higher education should not be solely intended to produce better employees, but more competent thinkers and problem solvers.

“Far from comprehensive, the list does not include the thousands still buried under the rubble.” @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

REALLY appreciating Lucy Noakes's clear connecting of the dots between the announcement of maintenance grants for 'priority courses' and the Cold Spots mapping by the @britishacademy.bsky.social. You can't ensure access in a system that ties disciplinary coverage to competition.

In a woodcut released today the Guild of Thieves and Cutpurses declared that enforcement of regulations against Thieving and Pursecutting would ‘devastate a growth industry’ and damage the economy.

feels like yet again time to mention that the *videogames* industry (that's a creative industry, which people do creative degrees in) brings in more than twice the amount to the British economy as the fishing and steel industries *combined*

Two Irish novelists have now done more to break the blockade and end man-made famine in Gaza than the entire UK government. (Naoise Dolan on the flotilla and Sally Rooney with her words and deeds)

Not going to share 'grift' but Heather Humphreys has just said that I'm a man and the gender recognition act should be changed. Please do not vote for or give a preference for her. Having someone as president who thinks this way would be absolutely awful for minorities #SpeirGorm

Her: Say that again? Me: I'm supposed to be writing my book but I'm procrastinating? Her: WRITING a book? Me: oh! yes, I'm a novelist Her: 😲😲 that's what I'm trying to do! Me: Oh! Good luck with it! Her: Have you written many? Me: I'm working on my 60th. Her: ...well, that's humbling... Me:

sociology and anthropology are dangerous to them, because those fields help us understand the power dynamics, ethics, and human cost of what the industries they like better are doing. Performing arts is hugely important for the economy, but it doesn't benefit them directly.

To “add to the noise”, a designer creates new, welcoming flags. As the council considers whether to take down the tricolours proliferating across the city, Dan Eames is aiming to add to them.

Sharp decline in water quality in Tipperary caused by agriculture, a meeting of Clonmel Borough District has been told. Lawpro will be looking into what type of agriculture was responsible, and where the hotspots were. www.tipperarylive.ie/news/local-n...

So Trump is now going to try to rule like an early modern king - just avoid calling the estates general or parliament or the diet and so rule by fiat. Maybe someone in the GOP should turn the page in book and see what happened next...oh, oh dear...oh no...oh dear ohnonono....

I would absolutely read this book.

“As the first comprehensive international human rights instrument dedicated to the protection of persons with variations of sex characteristics, the Recommendation marks a historic and much-needed milestone.” This is a very encouraging move in Europe to better protect intersex people.

I would much rather meet a black bear, I think. The joke is that a black bear sees a hiker with a pack full of granola and trail mix and thinks “How do I get my food off that human?” and a cougar thinks “How do I get that pack off my food?” I’d submit that a hog thinks “Food! WITH TOPPINGS!”

What is best book to read when no brain?

The final 2025 @octocon.bsky.social committee meeting is done! We are mostly ready (especially our programme, have you seen it? prog.octocon.com) but there's always a few last things, and more volunteers would be great, particularly online. It's going to be a great little convention though.