"[Y]ou’ll swallow your death,” warns the father in Herta Müller’s novel The Land of Green Plums (trans. Michael Hofmann). A former SS officer in communist Romania, he “keeps the graveyards deep in his throat […]" lareviewofbooks.org/article/dark... An old essay feeling relevant somehow...

The country is basically three scams in a trenchcoat at this point.

"Deleted" by Katie Veltum, a licensed massage therapist in private practice in upstate New York, more micromemoirs at fiveminutelit.com

Knitting an Autumn Tales shawl. I dyed the yarn with black walnuts and it’s perfect for fall! #knitsky #showusyourknits #shawlknitting 🧶

Bought my copy a while ago. Buy yours today! 👻 #booksky #writersky #horrorsky

I was lucky to have three pieces come out in last issue. @cherrytreelit.bsky.social publishes some great pieces. Submit soon! ♥️

This is so messed up.

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say. This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand. All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

If we flew the American flag at half-mast for every murder of an American who deserved better, who deserved to be heard and respected and live in peace, we’d never raise the flag to its full height again.

Best pie. Coconut custard Best ice cream: Butter pecan Best donut: cinnamon sugar Best bar: Hello, Dolly! Bars Best cake: Italian cream cake Best cookie: lavender shortbread Best other: dark chocolate truffles

Well, I’ve read enough revolting quotes and seen enough hot takes in the news to last me a lifetime. I’m so sick of this country. Taking refuge in quilting tonight. Making something beautiful feels confrontational in the best way, given how bleak things feel. #quiltsky #sewing #sewsky

Ready for our close-up. Coming next month; pre-order at Bookshop & save a few bucks: bookshop.org/p/books/guar...

Got notice that the last academic book review I wrote before quitting crossed 2,000 downloads. Seemed as good as time as any to celebrate with zinnias from my garden. 🪴 #writersky #bookreview

⏰ISSUE 21.3 IS LIVE⏰ feat. Jason Allen, David Borofka, Gary Duehr, Edidiong Uzoma Essien, @hggilham.bsky.social, Aliza Haskal, Joi Haskins, @taralabovich.bsky.social, Patrick Meeds, John A. Nieves, Joey Wańczyk, & @severinwiggenhorn.bsky.social. Behold & be held: www.pacificareview.com

Thank you for reposting my review, @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social! Helen of Nowhere is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. ♥️

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Thanks for publishing my review, @necessaryfiction.com ! I loved this book! #bookreview #booksky #writersky

Finally feel like sewing again. This is the Nicks Tunic by #closetcore. I used a cotton I’d been saving from Merchant and Mills. All the tariffs/sanctions are making it more expensive to buy fabric these days, so I’m more careful about what I make! #garmentsewing #sewing #sew

Two children were killed and seventeen people were injured in a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. A Cracker Barrel logo change received far more scrutiny and attention than any fight against the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Our priorities remain idiotic.

Today’s the day! FEAST OF THE PALE LEVIATHAN, my first novel, is officially out! Pre-orders are signed and getting shipped, you can request this at your local shop or library, you can get it off @bookshop.org, you can buy copies at Evening House (sites down atm for maintenance, but soon!)

Crushingly beautiful ♥️

What a shame. I grew up in a town that, by the time I left, had no bookstores. My extended family didn’t read, proudly. My parents read a little. Reviews were the only way I found out about new books, and I almost always tracked them down. It’s why I write them today. #writingsky #bookreview #books

A hummingbird hawk-moth in my butterfly bush. I saw several different variations, but this clear-winged one posed for the best photo 😂Do you have these insects where you live?

A combination of growing up in the military and having a best friend whose husband was stationed in Central Europe (I was broke and they paid for me to visit). N: Dublin, Ireland S: Miami, FL E: Papa, Hungary W: Honolulu, HI

Made the Nicks Blouse by #cottagecore. Easily my favorite shirt I’ve sewn. I used a cotton blend from Merchant and Mills. #cottagecorenicks #garmentsewing #sewing

Shameful but not surprising. The last year I worked in academia, I was an adjunct. I cut my hand open badly and had no insurance. I sincerely considered just trying to fix it at home because the stitches were $600 and I was being paid $3500 per class. In 2022.

Many thanks to The Plentitudes for publishing my first flash fiction story, “A Wide, Canvas Tent.” This story is for anyone with estranged siblings ♥️ #writersky #writing #fiction www.theplentitudes.com/piece/a-wide...

Sewed up the Chanterelle shorts. I really recommend the pattern. These came together in about a day and the directions were great. I used linen for a structured feel. Sewists, what have you been making lately? #garmentsewing #sewsky

Grew these zinnias from seed (and also there’s one random flower from a bouquet my husband gave me 10 days ago—it’s lived for so long, haha). Having our own yard means having space to grow our own cut flowers. 💐 #gardensky #zinnias

I was having an angsty walk through my neighborhood last week and got to see a little Stormtrooper. Instantly better.

Reposting and adding my own. I don’t scare easily, but The Thing never fails to creep me out!! (Those effects!! 🤩). 🎥 #movies #filmsky #horror

A moment of Zen for your feed. My poodle, Calliope, when she was about 4 months old and spying on our neighbors. She was nosy then, and she’s nosy now. 😂 #poodles #dogs

Finished my Tidings Shawl (details for yarn and weight in the caption). I loved every stitch of this, and the colors work together so well. I’ll truly treasure this one. 😊 🧶 #shawlknitting #knitsky #knit

Naturally dyed the cotton on the left, using cochineal. I love natural dyeing but it’s time consuming so I don’t do it as often anymore. The outer shell is canvas, and my dyed cotton will be the lining. Any other natural dyers out there?! #sewsky #quiitsky #naturaldyers

me: I can’t wait to read this book! *book arrives* wow apparently just having it physically close to me and fully within my ownership has fulfilled what I sought in ordering it

Rolling Stone may publish an article about a group of posers who think they’re an anti-woke literary movement but they’ll never write a profile of a tiny press run by an English teacher. All we have is word of mouth. If you like our books please tell your friends.

Made a L’oeuf bag by Sew Liberated. Great directions, but there are so many layers involved that I needed to wait until I had a better machine to sew it. This would have destroyed my old machine! 😂 🐯 #sewsky #quiltsky #sew

World feels so bleak. Zinnias to cheer us all up. 😐

Just goes to show if you lie to people for decades and stack the courts with partisan psychopaths and have access to gobs and gobs of money you can achieve anything.

Had my first flash fiction story, “A Wide, Canvas Tent,” accepted by a creative writing journal! I usually publish creative nonfiction, book reviews, and academic essays, so this was an exciting side quest. 😊 #writersky #flashfiction

Go read my book review of The Glass Garden, published by @lfpbooks.bsky.social. As a former academic, this book spoke to me, and as a horror fan, it delighted me.

I live in NC. Tillis wouldn’t come to town halls. He sang the praises of Trump. And then Trump turned against him and he quit. Really hoping we can send a democrat in his place…

Made this Reversible Riley Tote by Ritual Quilting Company a few years ago. It’s on constant display in my office and it’s filled with my circular knitting needles. Used patterns that exactly fit my personality so it fits my personality exactly! #quiltsky #sewsky #knitsky

It’s every parent’s nightmare, isn’t it? you check your child’s bulletproof backpack and find a picture book about gay penguins

Erased Goodreads months ago and loved the feeling of not assigning a numerical score to a book as soon as I finished it. (Also loved not having Amazon have my personal data…).

Our editors share some suggestions for summer reading necessaryfiction.com/reviews/summ...