This was a delightful conversation. E Train is so impressive.

I love this festival so much. Hooray for 2026!

Rec'ing great books to my 8th graders today, including new favorites I recently read: 🤖Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend @lancerubinparty.bsky.social 🪰The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold 📡Simon Sort Of Says @erinbowbooks.bsky.social 🐦Candace, The Universe, And Everything @rhymeswithcapri.bsky.social

I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.

I just read Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend by @lancerubinparty.bsky.social because you know I have to read anything with robots and AIs in it. A kid uses an experimental app to generate an AI friend which goes badly wrong. It's unfortunately very timely! #kid #middlegrade

If you live in Oakland PLEASE consider writing in via this extremely easy form to our city officials to urge them to REJECT a contract w FLOCK surveillance cameras, which shares data directly with ICE and DHS. Keep our neighbors safe. FLOCK OUT OF OAKLAND actionnetwork.org/letters/no-f...

Great fun celebrating the release of "Treasure of Ocean Parkway" with @sarvenaztash.bsky.social and @lancerubinparty.bsky.social tonight! Lived hearing them talk about the writing process, and can't wait to dive into the book!

If you and your children are not ready for a particular book, that is okay. It is not okay to limit the access to books, stories, and experiences for other families. Every book is not for everyone, but every book is for someone. bookriot.com/the-day-the-books-disappeared-school-visit-cancelation/

Tear gassing random residential streets is just absolutely psychotic behavior.

I will say TPM is a media outlet 90% funded by its readers/membership and explicitly dedicated to exposing authoritarianism. Support your local TPM!

To become dependent on ChapGPT is to evacuate yourself from your own life. YIKES, no thanks. I’m gonna be alive inside every damn thing I do, even and especially the ish I don’t wanna do.

Loved doing this interview with librarian Mary Lanni! We talked about Zed and creativity and recording the audiobook and how overwhelming it is for adults to navigate the internet right now, let alone kids.

Please share the news about these students working to get transparency on why books were removed from a statewide reading bowl (including a book ON book banning!!) bookriot.com/helen-ruffin... And then sign their petition here: www.change.org/p/ensure-tra...

Trash.

This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical

I loved Zed Moonstein Makes A Friend by Lance Rubin. Such a great, funny book about friendship, social media, AI, and the looming corporate takeover invading every part of our lives.

It's time for my roundup of things I loved in September! Featuring books by @lancerubinparty.bsky.social and @neddalewersbooks.bsky.social—and a call for cozy fall/Halloween recs: kathrynholmes.substack.com/p/the-roundu...

Candidate scorecards are a fantastic way to help protect the right to read in your town. If you're into research & can make simple graphics, maybe that's how you can contribute. Here is a thread of cards for the upcoming Bucks Country, PA schoolboard...

“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” -Declaration of Independence

Do one thing today to help. One thing tomorrow. One thing the day after. Taking a swing at every bad thing happening is just going to burn you out. Remember, if everyone does their one thing the world changes

idk, i've managed to not use chatgpt or whatever a single time and still am somehow getting things done and doing well at my job bc i use things like: having conversations with other people! reading! my own brain to think of things!

These people are going to kill kids, and they held a press conference to announce it. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

This should be the lead story in all major national news outlets. Public health people prefer to stay out of the limelight unless there is no other choice. I can’t overstate how bad things have to be for 9 former CDC directors to band together and pen an op-ed in the NYT warning the entire country.

Maybe it’s bc everything is else is so terrible but just watching strangers come together to celebrate the city they love organized by a potential leader who just wants to celebrate that love and help the people who live there I am 😭😭😭😭😭

You have to fight this. You MUST fight this. This is the first fight in 8 months that you, as a person without a law degree, can personally win against the Trump Administration. We still need a bit more critical mass from Democrats. Keep calling. Demand (1) statements and (2) investigative hearings

Just call Congress. I am asking you to do that for the women in your life, if not for public health. You don't even need to find a script or write down what you're going to say before you call. Hell, you don't even need to shave your nasty little beard before you take a video and post it on Bluesky.

Worth reading CDC's Pledge to the American People from 2024. It is, put simply, the antithesis of RFK Jr.'s actions in office to date. www.cdc.gov/about/pledge...

Greg read a draft of this book when I was very stuck and was incredibly helpful in pushing me forward, with many smart notes. I am grateful. Also, I love his cool sneakers.

I have a book out in two weeks. So....one repost of this and I'll drop one fact/spoiler/detail about the book. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social www.walker.co.uk/978152951581...

remember folks, we cant have gun restrictions because if we do the federal government will occupy our streets, imprison people without due process, ship dissidents to foreign gulags and things of that nature

Abolish ICE. Abolish "A.i." No arms for genocide. Protect trans kids. Shut down the concentration camps. Abolish tariffs. Fire RFK, Jr. Boycott Avelo & Tesla. Delete Twitter. No crypto. Care over punishment. Vote Mamdani. Primary every do-nothing D. Protect vaccines and SSRIs. No fascism. #NoKings

I was lucky enough to give notes on early drafts of Zed Moonstein Makes A Friend, and there is not a writer more funny than Lance Rubin. Such a great book.

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY! ZED MOONSTEIN MAKES A FRIEND is a captivating coming-of-age #mglit masterpiece by NYT Bestselling Author @lancerubinparty.bsky.social. I highly recommend ZED MOONSTEIN MAKES A FRIEND. A 10/10 MUST-READ! @harpercollins.bsky.social youtu.be/LUU1eLyq1ec?si…

If you think that @rweingarten.bsky.social & the @aft.org should NOT be partnering with murderous companies like OpenAI, please call the AFT, ask for the president's office, and tell them to STOP PUSHING "A.I." INTO SCHOOLS. (Pls be nice to the person answering the phone.) 202-879-4400

Hey! Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend is out today. It’s a funny, scary MG book about a lonely 6th grader who makes an AI best friend, with…decidedly mixed results. It’ll kickstart vital discussions w/ kids about the role of AI and tech in our lives. Buy now! www.harpercollins.com/products/zed...

stop using chatgpt (etc), stop using it, there is no reason to use it

It really does feel like a lot of formerly reasonable people have been infected by some sort of terrifying brain parasite when it comes to unthinking and total acceptance of using AI tools

Teaching our kids to bypass the most nourishing, challenging, resilience-building part of the creative process is not going to work out well for any of us.

3 weeks till ZED comes out! And I’m honored and delighted it’s been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Parents, order ZED for your 8-12 year olds who want a funny, scary, thought-provoking read! Or order it for yourself! It’s fun for all ages!

This.

Twitter is a safety hazard. Delete it if you can. I bet you can! Also, abolish "A.i." as much as you can from every aspect of your life and community/

Josh Johnson is a treasure.

In case any of my fellow creatives also needed this reminder:

We saw a similar frustration at Florida’s PTA Conference - especially when a Hillsborough State Rep tried to explain why she voted for HB 1539 & supported the SBOE overreach with the local School Board (where she previously served). Parents recognize these efforts forfeit their rights to the state.

firing call responders IN THE MIDDLE OF A DISASTER RESPONSE is a special kind of sociopathy

A local video store owner informed me that kids in their 20s are buying up all his VHS horror movies because they think it's "scarier due to the graininess of the video" and that was the most heart-warming thing I've heard in a long time.