Hi. Librarian here. Let me settle this once and for all: audiobooks are reading. Graphic novels are reading. It's all fucking reading. Stop gatekeeping and stfu. Thank you an have a good night.

As misleading headlines go, that has to be up there with some of the worst! As is the claim that "Immigration is fuelling mass unemployment among under-25s." The "shocking new study" does NOT show that at all 🙄 🧵 1/21

To be fair it's also quite a walk from Watford Junction and much less nice (no park). Watford High Street is probably the one.

We’ve made amazing progress with racism when a brown person can be a leading figure in doing racism:

Out of office auto photo

Why on earth would you get the Met line to Watford, you ignoramus? It’s a 20 minute walk to the town centre. Next time get the Overground to Watford Junction.

New convention added: Eastercon 2027 @eastercon2027.org March 26-29, 2027 A science fiction convention with fantasy programming in Glasgow, UK

Yes let’s change racist, ableist, sexist and classist language in books (don’t @ me unless you’ve experienced reading an old book as a child and realised that the “common children” the author is describing is you- or worse) but children can understand typewriters, wirelesses and television sets.

[CHORTLE] 😄

Fantasy Book Swap is taking a short break. Coming up: ghosts and time travel. youtu.be/HxTMYYPglHo?... Do yourself a favour and enjoy Alison Uttley’s utter distain for Enid Blyton www.theguardian.com/books/2009/j...

Yeah, there are various trans fans out there with nothing but good things to say about Sir Pterry, like signing books to their new nane before they properly came out

I'm not the Comedy SFF Reading Police, but transphobes apparently liking Discworld is like Musk apparently liking H2G2, like buddy are you sure? You read it? You absorbed it? You didn't just look at the picture on the front & zone out a bit? OK hun if you say so

I don’t understand how anyone who apparently reads and loves STP’s books can get them so wrong. Trans folk have always been involved in British fandom. STP would have met them. How dare Helen Lewis contradict Rhianna Pratchett?

A song about growing up I heard on a 1990s Radio 4 comedy series,* has the line "And you go to B&Q, you go to B&Q, God almighty... you go to B&Q..." And I remember it every time I go to B&Q. (*And Now In Colour, including Tim Firth and Michael Marshall Smith, now both successful writers.)

I have hit “excited to learn that a refurbished Argos has opened next to Dunhelm” years old. Young Me would despair.

You've all switched off your alarms, right?

Redwall's sweet cider, finest in Mossflower. Try it with some almond bread an' yellow cheese studded with roasted hazelnuts.

Telling my friends about the Rector of Stiffkey, the Church of England priest who got fired, exhibited himself in a barrel on Blackpool seafront in order to raise funds for his legal fight to get his job back. Never did raise enough money, and was then eaten by a lion in Skegness in 1937.

Tsk. Is Fantasy Book Swap shortlisted? No it is not. The @britfantasysoc.bsky.social has much better taste.

This. Also: if you’re cis? Prefer not to say.

Stephen King: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, I call this the tale of Elon Musk [rising from bushes] eyyyy stephano king Musk: itsa me, elon musk! Musk: ima just here to say dat ima NOT mad abouta da boys series finale Musk: donta put it inna da newspaper that ima mad!

OH MY GOODNESS THANKS!!!!

@mrjamesob.bsky.social is very well read. I wonder has he seen this new title?

This is tough news. Long time subscriber, it’s always been one of my favorite showcases for speculative fiction. I hope they find a way to restructure and come back. In my experience good people doing good work.

@johncoxon.bsky.social Sad News.

There is a young woman on my train playing shit music on her phone without headphones. I asked her if she could use them because I can hear her music even though I’m listening to a podcast on my ear buds. Shit music girl: No I don’t have any. Me: Well could you at least turn it down because…

I am desperately sorry for the young woman sexually assaulted during TV dating reality shows. Safeguarding should have been in place to prevent this from happening, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks there’s something immoral about provoking contestants into getting drunk >>

What, and I cannot say this strongly enough, the fuck?

Had a brilliant time with Ali chatting anthropomorphic animals, first queer book experiences, and fantasy food. Never been so hungry by the end of an interview... 💙📚🧙‍♂️📚🌈

Wise words. bsky.app/profile/unam...

It's an English summer now, so cool, so grey. Yet I think of my revenge and hurricanes.

I'm sorry, what? In writing my first monograph, I spent six weeks trying to track down a citation in TWO languages I didn't know. And good thing too, because the citation was wrong. That's scholarship. That's research. You know, the thing we're trained to do?!?

for anyone wondering how dire the current glut of AI-enabled, author-targeted scam emails is, this is what the spam folder for my professional email address looks like:

This will be the last podcast for a bit while I finish up the academic marking and go on holiday!

New episode of Fantasy Book Swap with @chrismccartney.bsky.social! Chris's choice: Mossflower by Brian Jacques. My choice: The Spick and the Span by @pilvanmartin.bsky.social. alibaker68.podbean.com/e/ep-53-lord... Do yourself a favour and follow @redwallfeasts.bsky.social

Just please make me a thingy that will help me find my Kindle which is always, inevitably under some pillow somewhere

Good morning BlueSky. I have 8 working days to mark 40 3000 word assignments, 20 live presentations and 9 7000 word dissertations. Wish me luck.

Surely they've suffered enough?

'A Defining Moment in the History of Women’s Cricket in the West Indies' Today marks the 50th anniversary of West Indies women's first international match. www.windiescricket.com/news/a-defin...

So, remember when norovirus and Legionnaires was rife on cruises? Totally gonna wear a mask on my flight to Greece later this month

I have lost my “Hated by Julie Bindel” pin. Ugh. She (and her fellow now-TERFs) hated bi women in the 80s and 90s. She has repeatedly said that she is a “political lesbian” and chose to be a lesbian. I await the Lesbian Purge of WLW who enjoy it too much.

We are dismayed by news regarding UG History, and other subjects, at Hertfordshire. This follows recent job losses at Essex and elsewhere, and makes clear the crisis in UK HE. The Society is in touch and working with historians at UoH. As ever, we invite contact from others affected #Skystorians

Petition for a Guys and Dolls remake with Tom Holland as Nathan Detroit and Zendaya as Miss Adelaide.

Carrot and celery flan, with shrimp, leek, mushroom, and spring onion stew, berries preserved in honey, and elderberry tart. All was washed down with a variety of drinks. Dandelion ale, hot pennycloud an' violet tea, mint an' rose cordial or rosehip'n'elderflower water.

Attention all men. More of this, please.

The day has finally arrived. You can now *officially* watch puffins live from the Farne Islands, 24 hours a day: bit.ly/4tRz72T Please enjoy these puffins kissing in celebration of this momentous event.

I am shocked at you Ali, as an "educator". It is spelt..... B....R.....I....B.....E Tsk tsk tsk.

In case you haven't seen this share.google/YiHfTN8Dz9lZ...

Hello anxiety my old friend Sitting in my stomach again

Shocking lack of spelling checks at the BBC. It’s spelt GRIFT.