this 💯

I talk about a better world because I genuinely believe it's inevitable. A world without imperialism and war and climate change, without income and wealth inequality, without settler-colonialism and ethnonationalism, without racism and cisheteronormativity and ableism and hate, WILL COME.

In other news, March was a pretty spectacular reading month! #booksky #marchreads

The Girls Who Grew Big Leila Mottley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 One of my favorite reads so far this year! Told from the perspectives of three young mothers, this book illuminates the struggles of teenage motherhood focusing on resourcefulness & resilience w/o romanticizing. Full review: anon.to/isG1tT #booksky

Saoirse Charleen Hurtubise ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Won this book in a @thestorygraph.com giveaway & LOVED it! Literary but fast-paced, following Saoirse's trans-Atlantic struggle for freedom & the life she builds in the process — until her past catches up w/ her. Full review: anon.to/dqIFh0 #booksky

Arturo Arvizu (Messican Artist, born 1959) "Frida, Vincent & Salvador", 2021. Oil on Canvas, 100 × 80 cm. Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Rolf Jansson (Swedish/Norwegian, born 1946) "Stars and Windows", 2014. Acrylic & Spray Paint on Canvas, 31.5" × 39.4". Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Nicholas Hely Hutchinson (British, born 1955) "Morning After the Rain", 2021. Oil on Canvas, 101 × 127 cm. Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

The Gift Zoe Maeve ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 This graphic novel was a really quick read & both whimsical & haunting, if that is a thing. Powerful b&w artwork that tells the fictional story of Anastasia, the real-life youngest daughter of the last tsar of Russia. Full review: anon.to/aOmp6v #booksky #graphicnovel

Love this so much! #fucktransphobia

I don't know who needs to hear this, but one day, you will pull a loose book from a bookshelf and that hidden door will finally open for you.

Killing the Black Dog Less Murray ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 An eloquent exploration of the author's life w/ depression & its connections to his childhood, sexuality, & work as poet from a working-class background. Breathtakingly vulnerable. Full review: anon.to/EG2Dhi #booksky #memoir #mentalhealth

“not having any participation in governing” has always been the Soviet way

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible Rabih Alameddine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Slow initially, but then a whirlwind, carried by the witty midldle-aged gay protagonist & his no-nonsense mother w/ her connections to the generator mafia of Beirut. Full review: anon.to/TtzKVU #booksky #queerfiction #aspenwords

👀

Margaret Corcoran (Irish, born 1963) The Composition – A Portrait of Marian Keyes, 2023 Water-based oil on linen 198 × 139 cm National Gallery of Ireland #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

"I’m thinking of a labor movement, but one very different than the kind we’ve already seen. A labor movement that manages to finally ditch all traces of the ideology that says that work is a value in itself, but rather redefines labor as caring for other people." - David Graeber

Softness

I'm a firm believer that when two people who value the Oxford comma find one another, their relationship is destined to be fulfilling, beautiful, and everlasting.

The Spiral Key Kelsey Day ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 The suspense was incredible, and the gore present but only ever so slightly, which is my dream combination of horror novel elements. Also, LOVED having enby/queer protagonists! Full review: shorturl.at/jcTm9 #booksky #queerfiction #youngadultfiction

Today in: no surprises, ever. (Still worth reading b/c Asef Bayat's reply is on point.) "But your formulation of, and fixation on, German exceptionalism leaves practically no room for conversation about Israel’s policies and Palestinian rights."

Attensity! The Friends of Attention ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 A few interesting concepts, like the reframing of attention, but overall neither impactful nor innovative. More a theoretical treatise (w/ holes) than a manifesto in an area where so much has already been written. Full review: shorturl.at/aDG7N #booksky

Going at my own pace

John Lavery (1856-1941, Ireland) Maidenhead Regatta [1932] Oil on canvas board, 50.8 x 61 cm, private collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 A gut punch of a novel delivered in absolutely brilliant prose. I had incredibly high expectations when I started reading this book, and I was not disappointed. A modern classic for a reason. Full review: shorturl.at/PCoti #booksky

Better late than never? #februraryreads (Not including the book I finished on March 1. 😅) #booksky

The Gulf Adam de Souza ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 This book started out slow, but the second half really drew me in w/ its relatable mediations on life & its dilemmas. The artwork is absolutely stunning & matches the storyline throughout the book. Full review: shorturl.at/ECCew #booksky #graphicnovel #youngadult

#OtD 3 Mar 1921 the first issue of the Kronstadt Izvestia, bulletin of rebel sailors, soldiers and workers of Kronstadt who had risen up against the Bolshevik regime to defend the principles of the revolution, was published. Learn more here: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1021...

Raymond Bonilla (American, b.1983) "First Sign," 2019 Oil on panel 12 x 24 in #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Today in YAY for Queer Books: One of my fav bookish podcasts, @bookriotpod.bsky.social, including the forthcoming novel of the owner of one of my fav bookstores, @juliewbach.bsky.social, into their list of most anticipated queer books. I love it here. #booksky Podcast: shorturl.at/h3GOQ Book: 👇

The Academy Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Loved this, in part b/c the narration was excellent, in part b/c it was fast-paced & fun, in part b/c apparently boarding school stories are in my wheelhouse? Just less of the sexism next time, pls. Full review: shorturl.at/McjZh #booksky

At the moment, I'm regrettably not exploring a quaint bookstore on a cobblestone street in Vienna during a raging thunderstorm, so no, I'm afraid your email did not "find me well.”

Okay, this did make me cackle out loud.

This is a discussion I have on the regular in spaces. People hear "leaderless" and have all kinds of freak-outs though. The idea that they don't need to automatically follow someone else's instruction is beyond the pale for many.

Vida Gábor (Hungarian, 1937–1999) "The Apothecary", 1969. Oil on Panel, 50 × 40 cm. Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Eileen Ottessa Moshfegh ⭐️⭐️.5/5 I wish I had more positive things to say, but btwn the overall bleakness, the super slow storytelling, & the outlandish ending, this book just wasn't for me. (always weird to say abt a book so many critics _and_ readers loved) Full review: shorturl.at/z6QEh #booksky

Secondhand-Zeit / Secondhand Time Svetlana Alexiévich ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 As someone who’s a scholar of state socialism, was born into it, & raised by parents who spent most of their lives under it, this felt both affirming &eye-opening. Heavy but highly recommended! Full review: shorturl.at/cfGKX #booksky

MUTUAL AID REQUEST THREAD if you are seeking MA you are welcome to post here if you have the means to donate, please do, and even if you can’t help monetarily please boost! I’ll be pinning this for the foreseeable future, and will repost regularly hopefully this will help get eyes on more MA!

Without naming your job, tell us something you say over and over again at work. "Are you on any blood thinners?"

One of my most hated positions is "students on strike just want to get out of class". Because of course young people can't actually hold any unselfish beliefs, right?

January was a solid reading month. And I still can't believe how much of a fantasy reader I've become! #januaryreads #booksky

"These were not merely acts of charity. They were counter-institutions — infrastructure designed to keep people connected, informed, cared for, and protected in a system built to fragment and isolate them." truthout.org/articles/ant...

Saidou Dicko (Burkina Faso, born 1976) Le Jeune Penseur, 2022 Hand painted (ink) on photography 80 x 120 cm Private collection #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities. Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.

Guys! 😍

Richard Claremont (Australian, b.1965) "Kitchen Nocturne," 2025 Acrylic on linen board 30 x 30 cm #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

A Boy Named Rose Gaëlle Geniller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 #queerjoy is what helps me keep up the fight in the hell we call our present. And this book is full joy, friendship, love, & a young person unapologetically being himself. Beautifully drawn & written. Full review: shorturl.at/PXU9J #booksky #queerfiction

Someone just asked “Why waste time reading the book when you can simply watch the movie?” and long story short there comes a time when you must acknowledge that a friendship has run its course.