New leaving the house routine is keys, wallet, phone, whistle...

At a time when I am very actively seeking joy and laughter...Beware of Chicken by Causalfarmer is really hitting the right spot. So fun and silly!

I am working my way slowly through the anthology We Will Rise Again and it's got a lot of lovely gems. But the story by @annaleen.bsky.social made me go HELL YEAH! Which I badly needed. So thank you.

So our library board of trustees just voted on their new strategic plan. They ignored community input, library staff input, and paid makers-of-plans and decided they couldn't include the controversial word "equitable". I hate this timeline.

Wheeee! I just finished reading @ryherman.bsky.social's new book This Princess Kills Monsters and what a treat it was! So many familiar fairy tales stitched together into a delightful new whole. I was grinning with joy each time a new bit of fairy tale was unveiled!

I've been in need of wholesome (?) entertainment of late, so I'm rewatching Taskmaster NZ. And now I want to make ginger crunch, so thanks for that, Mr. Wells.

I am reading All of Us Murderers by @kjcharleswriter.com and what a delight it is being! It is so VERY gothic! And I am glad I don't have anything scheduled this evening.

Only one of so, so many events that happened today.

Just finished Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird by @henrylienauthor.bsky.social. What a nice little introduction to some Eastern storytelling traditions! I will definitely be looking at East and Southeast Asian works in translation with a different eye.

I recently finished the new(ish) translation of the first volume of Legends of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong. It's like reading a Golden Harvest movie. Great fun. But really, you need to read all four volumes in one go, I think.

The winner of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award this year was Kris Neville. I just finished reading his first novel The Unearth People and...will not be seeking out more. It did not age well. But what a bizarre ending the book had. I don't think it works that way.

In books I really enjoyed, I am filing Of Monsters and Mainframes by @barbaratruelove.bsky.social. What a great combo of fairly hard sf and classic monster movies. It's not a flavor I thought I was looking for, but fun one it turned out to be!

So I finished The Man in the Dark by John Ferguson. It was published in 1928, so definitely golden age. But I'd have to say not so golden really. Couldn't decide if it wanted to be a thriller or a mystery and didn't really do either well. Entertaining enough, but not worth any effort to find.

Okay, so I've read Hugo nominated the novels, novellas, and novelettes. So just the short stories now. Those series are just too intimidating!

I haven't been posting because...you know, the everything-ness of it all. But dammit, I'm going to keep talking about the books I like! So I just finished all of @nghivo.bsky.social's Singing Hills novellas and they are just such delightful little snacks of stories!

They are now estimating 2.3 million across the country. Keep it going folks. #handsoff #50501protests

I am so angry that "my" representative is on this list. @gluesenkampperez.house.gov You are not representing the people in your district, you are setting yourself up to change parties so you can keep your seat.

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

Among the states are South Carolina (yes, a reversal of their current school book ban legislation!), Rhode Island, Arkansas, Tennessee, and many more. If you have been calling when you're opposing a bill, here's an opportunity to call in support.

Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.

I've been rereading and old (first published in 1933) favorite of mine and...it's not hitting the way it did twenty years ago (surprise!). The writing is still bright and witty, but the alcohol overuse and denigration of women...maybe not for me any more.

I recently read Exhalation by Ted Chiang. I wasn't sure how I felt about it when I finished. Some of the stories I quite liked, others not so much. But darned if my brain isn't still chewing on one of those stories... I guess he really IS good!

Anti-book ban bills have been prefiled for 2025 legislative sessions in New Mexico, Arkansas, Michigan, and Missouri. Learn what they say & what you can do to advocate for their passage --> bookriot.com/anti-book-ba...

I've been reading @annaleen.bsky.social Stories Are Weapons and now my head hurts (but in a good way). Well worth a read if you're also in a place of advanced whatthefuckery about...all the things.

Eek! I just got my membership for Worldcon in 2025. Looking forward to a few fun days in Seattle next year! @seattleworldcon.bsky.social

So yesterday was pie day, and this is the pie I chose to bake! Yay for apples!

I am halfway through Saint Death's Daughter by @csecooney.bsky.social. I don't have to do anything today, right? I can just keep reading? Thank you!

Random thought about a book. I recently re-read "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and my goodness but Hastings needs a swift kick in the pants. I can only think Poirot tolerates him as an ego boost for himself.

So I finished "Strange Beasts" by @susanjmorris.bsky.social yesterday. Dracula meets Sherlock Holmes meets women being competent together. I was glad to have it in physical form rather than electronic or I'd have stayed up waaaay too late finishing it!