Amber Sparks
@ambersparks.bsky.social
Your garbage mom; writer; she/her; I ♥️ unions; essayist on film, books, fairy tales, and horror; wrote AND I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU; HAPPY PEOPLE DON’T LIVE HERE in October; rep’d by Kent Wolf; I just want you to be happy, honey
linktr.ee/ambernoellesparks
linktr.ee/ambernoellesparks
Reposted by Amber Sparks
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 PM
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
Resolutions at 22: I will land a part in the touring company of a hit Broadway show and take a year off from school to tour but then go back to school to study criminal psychology; I also plan to read all of Nietzsche and Heidegger
Resolutions at 47: I’d like to lie here on the floor for a while
Resolutions at 47: I’d like to lie here on the floor for a while
January 2, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Resolutions at 22: I will land a part in the touring company of a hit Broadway show and take a year off from school to tour but then go back to school to study criminal psychology; I also plan to read all of Nietzsche and Heidegger
Resolutions at 47: I’d like to lie here on the floor for a while
Resolutions at 47: I’d like to lie here on the floor for a while
I have always found the “I don’t belong in this century” people very annoying but fuck, I don’t belong in this century
January 2, 2026 at 5:35 PM
I have always found the “I don’t belong in this century” people very annoying but fuck, I don’t belong in this century
That is one Price is Right-ass looking monument
January 1, 2026 at 3:49 AM
That is one Price is Right-ass looking monument
In 2026 we have a choice: we can choose to be surprised by art, to be humbled by how difficult and insane and divine to create something new; or we can choose what we already know, the dull comfort of algorithms and AI prompts and well-trod paths, living shadow lives, anesthetized souls in Hades
December 31, 2025 at 3:19 PM
In 2026 we have a choice: we can choose to be surprised by art, to be humbled by how difficult and insane and divine to create something new; or we can choose what we already know, the dull comfort of algorithms and AI prompts and well-trod paths, living shadow lives, anesthetized souls in Hades
I spent 2025 promoting my book so in 2026 I would like to never tell anyone anything about myself ever again, I would like to become so unknowable that I become only a rumor, a whisper, a story half-remembered and rarely recalled except on rainy, strange days
December 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I spent 2025 promoting my book so in 2026 I would like to never tell anyone anything about myself ever again, I would like to become so unknowable that I become only a rumor, a whisper, a story half-remembered and rarely recalled except on rainy, strange days
Reposted by Amber Sparks
Some weird reads in 2025 (my jam):
When We Were Real by @darylwriterguy.bsky.social
The Tatami Galaxy* by Tomihiko Morimi (trans. Emily Balistrieri
Luminous by Silvia Park
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung (trans. @antonhur.com)
Happy People Don’t Live Here by @ambersparks.bsky.social
*weirdest
When We Were Real by @darylwriterguy.bsky.social
The Tatami Galaxy* by Tomihiko Morimi (trans. Emily Balistrieri
Luminous by Silvia Park
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung (trans. @antonhur.com)
Happy People Don’t Live Here by @ambersparks.bsky.social
*weirdest
OK, #BookSky While we're all processing 2025 in our own special ways, I want to know one thing. What was the weirdest book you read this year?
December 30, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Some weird reads in 2025 (my jam):
When We Were Real by @darylwriterguy.bsky.social
The Tatami Galaxy* by Tomihiko Morimi (trans. Emily Balistrieri
Luminous by Silvia Park
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung (trans. @antonhur.com)
Happy People Don’t Live Here by @ambersparks.bsky.social
*weirdest
When We Were Real by @darylwriterguy.bsky.social
The Tatami Galaxy* by Tomihiko Morimi (trans. Emily Balistrieri
Luminous by Silvia Park
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung (trans. @antonhur.com)
Happy People Don’t Live Here by @ambersparks.bsky.social
*weirdest
Me every time an old French actor dies: i can’t remember if they were Islamophobic or homophobic or xenophobic or just a misogynist
Me, googling: oh, all of them, I see
Me, googling: oh, all of them, I see
December 29, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Me every time an old French actor dies: i can’t remember if they were Islamophobic or homophobic or xenophobic or just a misogynist
Me, googling: oh, all of them, I see
Me, googling: oh, all of them, I see
Reposted by Amber Sparks
He ys ridinge a horse
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
December 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
He ys ridinge a horse
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Greene Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun
I have long argued that this is the best and most faithful to Dickens’ of all the adaptations; I love this so much and could not agree more! The uncanniness of the Muppets transcends the archetypical nature of this story - and Gonzo as Dickens is the cherry on top
A Grand Yuletide Theory: The Muppet Christmas Carol is the Best Adaptation of A Christmas Carol
Only one movie has ever managed to recreate that uniquely Dickens magic, achieving it not so much through adaptation as through transmutation.
www.brightwalldarkroom.com
December 25, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I have long argued that this is the best and most faithful to Dickens’ of all the adaptations; I love this so much and could not agree more! The uncanniness of the Muppets transcends the archetypical nature of this story - and Gonzo as Dickens is the cherry on top
Update - she definitely figured it out, but she wasn’t upset at all, she just asked that we keep doing Santa because it’s so fun. Merry Christmas! ❤️
Shoutout to the truly spectacular timing of my kid who wrote out her letter to Santa, put out cookies and milk and celery for the reindeer, excitedly went to bed, and then asked me, as I was tucking her in, “You guys aren’t behind Santa, are you?”
December 25, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Update - she definitely figured it out, but she wasn’t upset at all, she just asked that we keep doing Santa because it’s so fun. Merry Christmas! ❤️
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Just sharing one of the most correct and true pieces I ever wrote www.barrelhousemag.com/online-lit/n...
No One Deserves Happiness in Christmas Town, by Amber Sparks — Barrelhouse
Christmas Town. What a dreadful, dismal, backwater dump Have you been? And what I mean is, have you been since you were small and rather naïve?
www.barrelhousemag.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Just sharing one of the most correct and true pieces I ever wrote www.barrelhousemag.com/online-lit/n...
Shoutout to the truly spectacular timing of my kid who wrote out her letter to Santa, put out cookies and milk and celery for the reindeer, excitedly went to bed, and then asked me, as I was tucking her in, “You guys aren’t behind Santa, are you?”
December 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Shoutout to the truly spectacular timing of my kid who wrote out her letter to Santa, put out cookies and milk and celery for the reindeer, excitedly went to bed, and then asked me, as I was tucking her in, “You guys aren’t behind Santa, are you?”
This so perfectly articulates the best thing about this movie: Mary. “It’s a Wonderful Life is, in part, the story of someone becoming, kicking and screaming, against all intentions and desires, a big man. Mary sees the big man in George from the first, because she is a big woman.”
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:53 AM
This so perfectly articulates the best thing about this movie: Mary. “It’s a Wonderful Life is, in part, the story of someone becoming, kicking and screaming, against all intentions and desires, a big man. Mary sees the big man in George from the first, because she is a big woman.”
I’m always so impressed with the people who know what they did and read and watched and listened to and thought all year and can sit down and write about it coherently; my list every year is just me, staring at a blank screen, bored but also crying a little
December 24, 2025 at 2:01 AM
I’m always so impressed with the people who know what they did and read and watched and listened to and thought all year and can sit down and write about it coherently; my list every year is just me, staring at a blank screen, bored but also crying a little
I cannot stress enough how embarrassing anyone is who thinks the Odyssey should be historically accurate
December 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I cannot stress enough how embarrassing anyone is who thinks the Odyssey should be historically accurate
Yesterday we took our daughter to see It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone at the AFI Silver Theater and I haven’t seen that many people at a theater in ages; people *want* to see movies in the theater
December 21, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Yesterday we took our daughter to see It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone at the AFI Silver Theater and I haven’t seen that many people at a theater in ages; people *want* to see movies in the theater
Reposted by Amber Sparks
I've had a great time selecting some pieces to mark the solstice and year's end at @necessaryfiction.com, and am grateful to the writers who shared their work. Here is the first gathering of lights, with three more to follow in the days ahead.
Points of light, day 1 – Necessary Fiction
necessaryfiction.com
December 21, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I've had a great time selecting some pieces to mark the solstice and year's end at @necessaryfiction.com, and am grateful to the writers who shared their work. Here is the first gathering of lights, with three more to follow in the days ahead.
DC residents have been refusing to call that airport anything but National for almost thirty years, we certainly can refuse to call that arts center anything but the Kennedy Center for three
December 20, 2025 at 11:17 PM
DC residents have been refusing to call that airport anything but National for almost thirty years, we certainly can refuse to call that arts center anything but the Kennedy Center for three
Reposted by Amber Sparks
My two year old asked if we could roast marshmallows so I built a fire in the fireplace, got out the marshmallows and showed her how to roast them on a stick. She refused to roast them or eat them. Later, when asked what her favorite part of the day was, she replied “roasting marshmallows.”
December 19, 2025 at 11:07 PM
My two year old asked if we could roast marshmallows so I built a fire in the fireplace, got out the marshmallows and showed her how to roast them on a stick. She refused to roast them or eat them. Later, when asked what her favorite part of the day was, she replied “roasting marshmallows.”
You know, I feel like the universe saw this post and went “haha your depression is bad today, let’s make this even worse”
I know it’s not even close to the most terrible thing right now, but the Kennedy Center’s AI-written emails are so depressing to me
December 18, 2025 at 7:15 PM
You know, I feel like the universe saw this post and went “haha your depression is bad today, let’s make this even worse”
I know it’s not even close to the most terrible thing right now, but the Kennedy Center’s AI-written emails are so depressing to me
December 18, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I know it’s not even close to the most terrible thing right now, but the Kennedy Center’s AI-written emails are so depressing to me
My daughter just told me the teachers and staff are sitting down with fifth grade students to talk about their demands after she and her friends ran a sustained public pressure campaign highlighting how many more parties the little kids get, the union activism is strong in this one
December 18, 2025 at 2:01 AM
My daughter just told me the teachers and staff are sitting down with fifth grade students to talk about their demands after she and her friends ran a sustained public pressure campaign highlighting how many more parties the little kids get, the union activism is strong in this one
Reposted by Amber Sparks
This is the shit you come across in an open world post-apocalyptic video game where you’re trying to piece together what went wrong
Per @garretthaake.bsky.social, the extremely tacky "presidential wall of fame" that lines the colonnade to the West Wing now has obviously-Trump-penned plaques insulting or praising the presidents.
December 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM
This is the shit you come across in an open world post-apocalyptic video game where you’re trying to piece together what went wrong
Reposted by Amber Sparks
i interviewed @ambersparks.bsky.social for ow but wow (my limited series on feelings) and loved her rec for Lorna Simpson. that sent me on a rabbit hole — which led me to her screenprint "Detroit (Ode to G.)"
December 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
i interviewed @ambersparks.bsky.social for ow but wow (my limited series on feelings) and loved her rec for Lorna Simpson. that sent me on a rabbit hole — which led me to her screenprint "Detroit (Ode to G.)"