Gift article by @petridishes.bsky.social

Reminder that @joshgondelman.bsky.social is a national treasure:

I have been told that certain celebrity girlboss influencers have issued a social media fatwa on this column. Therefore, I’m sharing it again because I’m just that kind of contrary.

I knew I'd be glad I renewed my passport at the end of the Biden administration. I just didn't know that this would be one of the many reasons why.

Will you sign our open letter in support? ✊

Finally, some good news: workers at Hachette are unionizing, and you can sign an open letter of support. This is the way! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Elon simply CHOSE to consign a million Africans to death for really no reason but the pleasure of it and it’s barely in the public consciousness

“All folders are up to date” “Oh well see I’m happily married”

It won’t solve the problem, but ensuring that book editors have ample time to thoroughly edit every single book on their lists would help. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/b...

“This random dude says he can fix you,” the man said. “Why do you trust him? Intuition. There’s something about him. I’ve never seen a doctor be that confident.” 😳 www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

1/ NYT out with a huge piece on the decision to go to war. It's much as we thought: Bibi sold Trump a rosy scenario that he heard over the mild to moderate warnings that it was BS but the details are so...appalling/demoralizing. Vance clearly a source: GIFT LINK 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/u...

So pro-life means jailing women who miscarry but shrugging when the deranged president says “a whole civilization will die tonight.” Do I have that right?

US-Israeli strikes destroy synagogue in Tehran, prompting outrage amid reports of 15 killed across Iran overnight.

“The last night I was a pediatric resident, a child came in with Hib and promptly died by the next day. I didn’t work for 50 years to have everything destroyed by one man.” -Dr. Kathryn Edwards, Vanderbilt University This is what RFK Jr. and the anti-vaxxers have wrought.

My character keeps getting herself into pickles that she doesn't know how to get out of. And neither do I! Curious to see how it all shakes out in the end, lol

"By making bookworms paranoid about whether a poem or a passage they love was written by a person or by an algorithm, it may also warp the act of reading itself. None of this bodes well for the future of publishing — an industry in decline." 🔥 🔥🔥 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/o...

This is a fantastic article about the long and uneven road that lifelong writers often travel. These paragraphs in particular resonated with me. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/s...

One thing that AI evangelists seem to assume, particularly legal AI evangelists assume, is that the thinking and analysis is quick, and the writing is just tedious busywork that slows us down. But the writing IS the thinking and analysis. You work out the thinking and analysis by writing it down.

"Donald Trump does not think strategically. Nor does he think historically, geographically, or even rationally. He does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Am I crying: a) because I don't have enough time to write b) because when I try to make time to write, I miss the baby c) because I'm sleep deprived d) 🤷‍♀️ e) all of the above

“Over the years, as I became Israeli, my parents maintained a proud Iranian identity. From our emigration until his death, there was not a single day when my father’s soul did not long for his Tehran.” www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...

Terry Tempest Williams feels like a perfect fit for you!

we are losing so much talent, progress, and hope for no good reason www.vox.com/future-perfe...

This is a good & infuriating piece about a putrid phenomenon — one intensified by all the punditry of the last decade that rolled its eyes at feminist analysis. There’s ALWAYS been a living available to women who vibed as “not like other girls,” in every decade, especially in the media

My pediatrician husband and his peds friends talk about this often. It's true: medicine in this country has historically been paternalistic. If physicians learn to reach parents where they're at, that's a good thing. But in the meantime, so many children and families will suffer needlessly.

saying, I want to read the book before I see the show/movie, and subsequently dying under an avalanche of books, never watching anything new ever again

This profile is a ride!! Thought-provoking observations on everything from the process of crafting a novel to the criminal justice system to our culture's obsession with true crime. Congrats to @samanthapaigerosen.bsky.social on this must-read.

Congrats to Lauren D. Woods: Her debut collection has been named a finalist for the 2025 Foreword INDIES Finalist for Short Stories! Read all about it: www.forewordreviews.com/awards/books... @ladiwoods.bsky.social #indie #finalist #bookprize #shortstories

Funny story: I also forgot that we're actually *losing* an hour, not gaining one. Baby will be fine; I, however, woke up at 4:15 old time, banking on extra sleep. Guess which one of us is gonna need a nap? 😶

Oh noooo I forgot about daylight savings this evening and Baby had a long nap and went to bed early send helpppppp

"...it is important to realize that the 1979 Iranian revolution was no revolution at all. It was a cunning bait-and-switch." If you don't know your Iranian history, feels like a good moment to learn. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

"...it is important to realize that the 1979 Iranian revolution was no revolution at all. It was a cunning bait-and-switch." If you don't know your Iranian history, feels like a good moment to learn. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

We are living through a period where we have mass government layoffs literally causing countless deaths while at the same time DHS has so much money that Noem will have a different luxury jet for every day of the week

Being a parent is just saying “I really need to take a shower at some point” until you die

Hey DMV! On Sat., Feb. 21, 5 p.m., there will be a tribute to Book World at @politicsprose.bsky.social. Several former editors and contributors will be sharing memories in honor of the late lamented BW. See link below for the lineup. #BookSky 📚 politics-prose.com/tribute-book...

"...They are desperate for advice on how to stay in science when there are no grants available... If you delay and terminate training grants, it’s like a snowball effect. Eventually you start wiping out our next generation of scientists." - Anonymous NIH Program Official

Iranian authorities have without prior warning transferred Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to a prison in the north of the country as concern grows over her health. Keep talking about Iran. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Trying to decide if my friend has enough $$ to be considered eccentric, or if she's simply a weirdo. Love her either way!

"A consumer is a person whose preëxisting tastes you strive to satisfy over and over; a reader is someone you hope to change, convince, and surprise." Must-read explanation by Becca Rothfeld of what we are losing with Book World's shuttering: www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

I had to unsubscribe from my hometown paper when Bezos started censoring the Opinion section to kowtow to fascists. Still, I'm always rooting for this once-great institution to succeed, and for the hardworking staff who aren't responsible for these choices. Absolutely infuriating.

I’m disgusted, furious — as a frequent contributor to the books section, a friend to beloved people on staff, and as a hometown reader. It’s hard to summon a response beyond “how dare they,” because truly, how dare they smash an entity that performs such crucial, illuminating work.

Stop scrolling for a minute. Read this micro by @djpoissant.bsky.social. Feel your own heart expand as the story does.

Yesterday, Minneapolis gave us hope. That’s what they’re trying to kill: the will of a people who are willing to fight them.

I finally, finally have a few hours to myself to write, my only chance all weekend, and all I can do is fret about the state of the fucking world, and now I am crying because I am both sad and frustrated with myself

I wish my local newspaper hadn't succumbed to fascism, I really want a weather update

Important news for us writers from across the NYC subway tracks:

Delighted to be featured in @thetransmitter.bsky.social's Liftoff series: bit.ly/3ZkMQl8 Learn more about our lab's work at the intersection of social interaction, neural computation, & mental health. Reach out if you are interested in collaborating or becoming involved! sinclaboratory.com

New indie titles to get you through the winter

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I don’t often manage to get away to write—but when I do, I make it COUNT, bitches