@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social Patti Smith just said your name on Substack (when mentioning Twenty Days of Turin). Maybe you already know this. Maybe you’re pals. But I think if Patti Smith says a person’s name, a person should know!

A puzzle works wonders for your racing mind

Once more with feeling…

Good morning

Half Moon Bay is showing off tonight. Northern California is my favorite place to be in December.

god bless rob reiner for spinal tap

I’ll never forget his warmth and unpretentiousness. Rob Reiner was the proverbial mensch. May he and his wife rest in peace. His memory will always be a blessing to me from that one small interaction we had. I’m sure he touched people’s lives like this everywhere he went. We’ll miss him.

Happening now! Zoom link at end of thread

Traffic jam, Half Moon Bay, mustard & oxalis flower super bloom edition (aka Why I love December in the Bay Area)

What a treat to see my old friends Kevin Smokler & Susie Hara at Babylon Salon reading series in San Francisco. Their new books are BREAK THE FRAME and EARTHQUAKE SHACK. @weegee.bsky.social @babylonsalon.bsky.social

I just got to escape reality for a while with Wendy Tokunaga’s forthcoming novel, Brenda Barker’s Next Chapter. A terrific novel about a widowed writer pursuing her dreams after middle age. Follow @wendytokunaga.bsky.social for updates. #booksky

Quebec City today

@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social your books in a row at a beautiful little bookshop in Mont Royal neighborhood in Montreal

Montreal is beautiful in the snow. ❄️ #montreal #quebec. I ❤️ Canada.

In NJ, "Ms. Sherrill won a whopping 18% of Mr. Trump’s Hispanic support..." Democrats didn't just energize Democrat voters on Nov 4th--they flipped Trump voters. Maybe cruelty, chaos, mass layoffs, inflation, & starvation aren't the flex the GOP thinks they are? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...

Yes. On. 50. #California #Nov4

Later this month I’ll be taking a train to Montreal, so naturally I’m reading a novel about a writer on a train to Montreal!

WCK has been partnering with RASA since we first served families together during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chef Corps member Rahul immediately answered the call to cook with us again to support federal employees and their families that are impacted by the U.S. government shutdown. #ChefsForFeds

"The librarian is a seeker and keeper of truth, and that makes her a dangerous figure in the eyes of those who fear the fullest, most comprehensive, and most uncomfortable truths emerging."

Walmart, McDonalds and Amazon are the largest employers of people who require SNAP assistance. The CEOs earned between 18-40 million last year, 1000x their median employee income. They took billions in profits, while their workers relied on SNAP to survive. Wanna fix fraud and abuse? Fix that.

your moment of calm, during rain

My favorite tree in Paris, 5 years ago today. We lived by Parc Monceau & I walked there almost every day except when it was closed for lockdown. This tree had many moods, but was its best in fall.

He's giving Lupin. I think we have our thief. Is This Dapper Man Going to Crack the Louvre Heist Case? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/s...

i think you need a baby sea otter swimming with mom right about now...

Sunday is always a good day for Simone de Beauvoir.

All of the love, none of the kings. No kings, San Francisco style

we all need this right now

Sunday reading… Sunday is always a good day for a short book. ANIMAL STORIES by Kate Zambreno

In good news, should you be needing good news today: bookstores remain a community anchor in cities across America.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee condemned Venezuela’s descent into authoritarianism, awarding the prize to Maria Corina Machado-who opposed Maduro’s anti-democratic power grab. Worth noting: Maduro denied election results, refused to transfer power, & arrests & prosecutes dissidents. Sound familiar?

I introduce to you…the hottest guy in America today, Brigadier General Alan R. Gronewold

Pritzker: "It's unconscionable. This has never happened before. They're calling out troops onto the streets of a state that doesn't want them and they're not even telling us where they're gonna go, what they're gonna do. This hasn't happened I don't think since the Civil War."

Join Joyce Carol Oates, Sadie Stein, and Rachel Syme at the 92Y as they celebrate Daphne du Maurier and AFTER MIDNIGHT https://bit.ly/428xRNf

THE STOLEN CROWN by Tracy Borman is "an enthralling and detailed window into royal family drama" according to this great review on @publisherswkly.bsky.social! www.publishersweekly.com/9780802165909

The settlement has entered preliminary approval. Congrats to the plaintiffs Andrea Bartz, Kirk Johnson, and Charles Graeber! Wondering what's next? We're here to help you navigate the process. authorsguild.org/news/authors...

800 detainees are missing after being held in Alligator Alcatraz in July, showing no record of their location in ICE’s database. Other detainees have been mistakenly deported or sent to detention centers thousands of miles away. The cruelty is the point.

We are so excited to announce the #BannedBooksWeek honorary chair for 2025: legendary actor/author/activist GEORGE TAKEI! "Please stand with me in opposing censorship, so that we all can find ourselves — and each other — in books.” bannedbooksweek.org/legendary-ac... @georgetakei.bsky.social

Okay so I grew up evangelical, liberated myself, moved to that beautiful den of iniquity called California—but I still remember my scripture when it comes to the Rapture: “They know not the day nor the hour.” The Bible calls those who predict the date false prophets. So don’t sell your RV just yet

Money talks. Disney had to listen. But the damage to Disney’s reputation for collaborating with authoritarianism & capitulating to the attack on free speech will not be easily repaired. I can’t wait to see what Jimmy says on his first day back. This is a moment for writers to stand up & be counted.

Hey Bay Area, here’s your chance to do a little middle-of-the-night public science homework!

Hey Bay Area, did you feel that? This one was a rattle, not a jerk or a roll. In 20+ years here, I think this is the first time i’ve experienced an earthquake like that.

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

President Johnson, in a November 9, 1968 letter to the Smothers Brothers: “It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists . . . May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.”

Turned in a book to my agent today. Now I get to tackle a tiny portion of my TBR and RA (read again) pile. Yay!

Pete Buttigieg WARNS America: “They didn't stop at the law firms. They didn't stop at the Universities. They didn't even stop at the comedians. They are NOT going to stop until they have TOTAL POWER!."

STEWART: “Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether— we’re the banana peel in the coal mine… authoritarians are the threat to comedy, music, art, thought… progress.” Nailed it.

Just so I'm clear: TV host says we should kill every homeless person? No big deal TV host says the right must "go to war" with the left? Pfft. TV host says the government is cracking down on critics? Well, the government cracks down on him for the criticism. Free speech, everyone.

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.

It's about fear and intimidation.