“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

There's a fabulous middle grades book about Colvin.

"There are moments in history when moderation stops being a stabilizing force and starts becoming an accomplice. We are living in one of those moments now." February 2, 2026: Last Day to Register to Vote February 17, 2026: First Day to Early Vote March 3, 2026: Primary Election

There is great wisdom in Frog and Toad.

Essential reading. Then check out @uabookbans.bsky.social for action steps to keep diverse stories in the world. Libraries and schools—institutional level purchasing—need to be ordering diverse stories for publishers to keep printing them.

It would appear I am now a columnist at Inside Higher Ed. My first piece focuses on McCarthyism, censorship, and our current moment in higher education. This is an essay I started nearly 6 months ago so I'm glad to finally share it with y'all. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

hi, political philosopher here! this is not funny, central banks only do this when they're in extreme distress

Want to contribute to the work right now and you’re in MA, NH, or PA? Call your state reps and senators about these bills!

Maple syrup. I buy a gallon from the Amish every summer and mete it out over the year. It’s always quite dark, often crystallizes, and even the real stuff from the store doesn’t compare.

Prepping for class. Found this year old interview with the always real and brilliant Jason Reynolds about his book 24 Seconds from Now. Romance novels Pornography Young people's realities Literature Life and reading How language changes you Windows and mirrors Gender Gun violence We'll be ok.

You combat hopelessness by doing something. In an era of unrepentant book bans and library attacks, you show up. You learn. You show up again. Activism and advocacy are a practice. Here are over 60 tasks for helping preserve the right to read, wherever you are. bookriot.com/how-to-defen...

The Sunday morning content we all need.

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY?!?! Can’t wait to learn from @ejmknox.bsky.social, especially as I’m organizing in my own community to push back on cancelling an author’s visit. Bonus: my dog will love that I won’t move from the couch much tomorrow.

Favorite wolf bird ever.

A bit of bookshelf chaos to serve as a moment of pause. Or to send you into an anxiety spiral because of the utter disregard for order.

I teach college and have teens. You’ve just got to learn to roll with it. It being the rage.

The Texas Education Agency released its required book list. The 20th Century called…

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine: "...less research was funded in areas such as aging, diabetes, strokes, cancer and mental health."

I HAVE QUESTIONS www.texastribune.org/2026/01/09/t...

Language, he writes, "was the most important vehicle through which that power fascinated and held the soul prisoner. The bullet was the means of the physical subjugation. Language was the means of the spiritual subjugation." As a scholar of language and literacy, I think about this unceasingly.

every republican president destroys the economy

What does this even mean? Like, the state has no capacity to run an election. The state doesn’t run any elections! They don’t even own the machines!

Reading Erasing History, by Jason Stanley, to prep for teaching future teachers. “A fascist form of life… requires an education system that can validate the dominant group's elevated status as a justified consequence of history rather than the fabricated result of intentional choices.”

This is the kind of malicious compliance I can get behind. And we all need to plan for.

Bumping this #literacies job post back into the feeds. No word on timeline. And I'm still able to talk to folks.

The Heritage Foundation is out today with a report on “saving America by saving the family.” Lots to parse in this terrifying document but flagging how it highlights higher ed “reform” as a way to address its concerns about “fertility.”

A reminder for the start of the spring semester.

Here is the excellent reply by the A&M professor to the censoring of his course on Plato. Note that he emphasizes that the course does not advocate a race or gender ideology—which is the text of the law in question. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

The Texas Republicans who tried to break democracy, and are still in power.

Minnesota Public Radio: www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0... The Minnesota Star Tribune: www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

However bad you think it is in academia, it’s worse.

A bit of reading for book club that is apropos for the moment. “As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil...” Things They Carried is a book I read with HS jr’s for 3 years and almost all of them read it.

Our first TV ad just hit the airwaves! Together, we’re going to win this race and fight for working people in the U.S. Senate. Let’s get to work.

This graphic will show up in my class this semester.

If you find any gen A.I. images in academic journals that are not in my collection yet, you can report them at this form: bit.ly/JournalSlop

The year is 2003. I’m 17 years old. I’m watching Democrats fail to appropriately oppose an illegal war for oil. The year is 2026. I’m 40 years old. I’m watching Democrats fail to appropriately oppose an illegal war for oil.

There are many things I can’t control. Including the time of greens season when production exceeds the capacity to consume. #gardening #garden #wintergarden

Call your reps + please read the thread. Do it now, please. Script.

Today's pigeon is handsome clever and rich, from a photo by @drannd.bsky.social's son.

"theory of mind"? no. you're just trying to get people to use your crappy chatbots.

People will read old newspaper clippings

Texas worked hard to take the lead in book bans in 2025. I'm grateful @frankstrong.bsky.social and @txfreedomread.bsky.social work so hard to make these quiet bans public. And, even with all their work, this reckoning is a vast under-count. Primaries are in March. Are you registered to vote?

The Dogs of 2025 youtu.be/K_1tNbud-8g?...

Finally starting @adibkhorram.bsky.social’s upcoming One Word, Six Letters!! Available March 2026. “You’re too big to play with LEGO sets anymore, but you miss them anyway.”

The most important post on Bluesky today

A must read.

The government wants to tell half of this country's states what it is they can read and what it is they can think. They *want* public institutions of democracy and civic engagement to be mouthpieces of government beliefs. That's all. Please, for the love of god, GIVE A SHIT.

Officials in Tennessee aren't just banning books, they're now demanding information on who checked out contested (largely LGBTQ+) books, including names, addresses, and "household composition." A librarian who was given the directive has come forward asking for whistleblower protections.

There is something Orwellian in using the word "sunset" as a verb to describe cutting academic programs. Sunsets are beautiful, and one knows the sun will rise again. This is...not that. dailytarheel.com/article/univ...