Civilian Reader
@civilianreader.com
Reader of books (biblio-Sisyphus), listener of music, watcher of movies, drinker of coffee & wine. (Same handle on Insta.) I also like basketball. Basically just ricocheting my way through life.
http://civilianreader.com
http://civilianreader.com
Hachette UK’s websites are really user-unfriendly. Search function is useless — search by author and/or title can be a total crapshoot. Long-time problem, too. Very annoying.
January 28, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Hachette UK’s websites are really user-unfriendly. Search function is useless — search by author and/or title can be a total crapshoot. Long-time problem, too. Very annoying.
Current fiction read is Sydney Rende’s I COULD BE FAMOUS, which I’m very much enjoying (about 1/2 way in):
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/i-could-b...
Published in North America by @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social, in the UK by Fleet.
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/i-could-b...
Published in North America by @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social, in the UK by Fleet.
I Could Be Famous
"A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising." --George Saunders, Booker-Prize winning author of Lincoln in the BardoFrom a magnetic new voice i…
www.bloomsbury.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Current fiction read is Sydney Rende’s I COULD BE FAMOUS, which I’m very much enjoying (about 1/2 way in):
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/i-could-b...
Published in North America by @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social, in the UK by Fleet.
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/i-could-b...
Published in North America by @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social, in the UK by Fleet.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
It is vitally important that Democrats (and the media) frame this properly. If the government gets shutdown it is because the GOP insists on DHS, ICE and CBP continuing to occupy American cities and trample the rights of US citizens.
EISEN: Don't you think Democrats are tapping into something in the mood of the country when it comes to the funding of ICE?
BESSENT: President Trump has brought down the temperature on the situation. He is urging them not to shut down the government.
BESSENT: President Trump has brought down the temperature on the situation. He is urging them not to shut down the government.
January 28, 2026 at 3:29 PM
It is vitally important that Democrats (and the media) frame this properly. If the government gets shutdown it is because the GOP insists on DHS, ICE and CBP continuing to occupy American cities and trample the rights of US citizens.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
We used to be a great country.
We used to make things.
We used to make things.
Jurassic Park Spitters (1992-1994): A line of tropical fruit-flavored jawbreakers released to promote "Jurassic Park". They were sold with plastic dispensers shaped like dinosaur heads, that would "spit" out the candy.
January 28, 2026 at 2:37 PM
We used to be a great country.
We used to make things.
We used to make things.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
8/The real Thucydides Trap is not about relative power (Athens/Sparta) but the hubris of ones own power. Athens had built a cooperative system that made it the center of an empire. When it chose to squeeze that system, it broke from the center.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Twilight of America’s Financial Empire
Like ancient Athens, the United States risks using its financial power to alienate allies and precipitate its own downfall in the process.
www.foreignaffairs.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:49 PM
8/The real Thucydides Trap is not about relative power (Athens/Sparta) but the hubris of ones own power. Athens had built a cooperative system that made it the center of an empire. When it chose to squeeze that system, it broke from the center.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
I wonder if anyone’s done Hot Ones and Day Drinking with Seth Meyers in the same week…?
January 28, 2026 at 2:57 AM
I wonder if anyone’s done Hot Ones and Day Drinking with Seth Meyers in the same week…?
Reposted by Civilian Reader
I don’t think we should make concessions to the Masked Murderers Guild of America. I don’t think we should compromise so the Masked Murderers Guild of America stops using kidnapped kids from schools as bait. I thought this was already illegal. The Masked Murderers Guild of America should not exist.
January 27, 2026 at 3:06 PM
I don’t think we should make concessions to the Masked Murderers Guild of America. I don’t think we should compromise so the Masked Murderers Guild of America stops using kidnapped kids from schools as bait. I thought this was already illegal. The Masked Murderers Guild of America should not exist.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Here’s the first part of this week’s four-part Better Offline series on why the AI bubble is worse than the dot com bubble - and how people are too flippant about the carnage caused by the 2000s telecommunications bubble bursting.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
AI Is Worse Than The Dot Com Bubble: Part One
Podcast Episode · Better Offline · 01/27/2026 · 13m
podcasts.apple.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:29 AM
Here’s the first part of this week’s four-part Better Offline series on why the AI bubble is worse than the dot com bubble - and how people are too flippant about the carnage caused by the 2000s telecommunications bubble bursting.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
Reposted by Civilian Reader
When the numbers turn on him, he calls reality a crime.
January 27, 2026 at 5:36 PM
When the numbers turn on him, he calls reality a crime.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
"Every day, I wake up and see the news and I'm horrified. I think it is crazy that some people make it sound like it's acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable." - Victor Wembanyama says about the killings in Minnesota
Via DonHarris4/X
Via DonHarris4/X
January 27, 2026 at 7:59 PM
"Every day, I wake up and see the news and I'm horrified. I think it is crazy that some people make it sound like it's acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable." - Victor Wembanyama says about the killings in Minnesota
Via DonHarris4/X
Via DonHarris4/X
Reposted by Civilian Reader
THE UNIVERSE BOX, the new collection from five-time Hugo Award winner @michaelswanwick.bsky.social pubs in 1 week!
2 #giveaways:
@thestorygraph.com buff.ly/yyF6ybM
#goodreads buff.ly/jpjmZLs
Read an #excerpt @civilianreader.com
buff.ly/G9OqWXt
#giveaway
2 #giveaways:
@thestorygraph.com buff.ly/yyF6ybM
#goodreads buff.ly/jpjmZLs
Read an #excerpt @civilianreader.com
buff.ly/G9OqWXt
#giveaway
January 27, 2026 at 6:11 PM
THE UNIVERSE BOX, the new collection from five-time Hugo Award winner @michaelswanwick.bsky.social pubs in 1 week!
2 #giveaways:
@thestorygraph.com buff.ly/yyF6ybM
#goodreads buff.ly/jpjmZLs
Read an #excerpt @civilianreader.com
buff.ly/G9OqWXt
#giveaway
2 #giveaways:
@thestorygraph.com buff.ly/yyF6ybM
#goodreads buff.ly/jpjmZLs
Read an #excerpt @civilianreader.com
buff.ly/G9OqWXt
#giveaway
Ah, Windows. Never gonna change.
That being said: the latest MacOS has been buggy AF, and in really weird ways.
That being said: the latest MacOS has been buggy AF, and in really weird ways.
Windows PCs ‘Suddenly’ Fail After Microsoft’s New Update
Windows PCs ‘Suddenly’ Fail After Microsoft’s New Update
Windows PCs may fail to start after update — Microsoft says this is the only workaround.
www.forbes.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Ah, Windows. Never gonna change.
That being said: the latest MacOS has been buggy AF, and in really weird ways.
That being said: the latest MacOS has been buggy AF, and in really weird ways.
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...
constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...
January 27, 2026 at 1:49 PM
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...
constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...
Reposted by Civilian Reader
He’s going to be dead soon, as the way of all flesh (check your Bible to see if this is woke, libtard propaganda)
“What profits an asshole if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
Jesus. They’re teaching their children to emulate this malignant clown
“What profits an asshole if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
Jesus. They’re teaching their children to emulate this malignant clown
January 26, 2026 at 11:53 PM
He’s going to be dead soon, as the way of all flesh (check your Bible to see if this is woke, libtard propaganda)
“What profits an asshole if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
Jesus. They’re teaching their children to emulate this malignant clown
“What profits an asshole if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
Jesus. They’re teaching their children to emulate this malignant clown
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Running list of athletes who have spoken out or taken action amid the Trump-Vance administration spending billions of US tax dollars on masked agents who have racially profiled, beaten, and kidnapped thousands of people — and murdered Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti:
January 27, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Running list of athletes who have spoken out or taken action amid the Trump-Vance administration spending billions of US tax dollars on masked agents who have racially profiled, beaten, and kidnapped thousands of people — and murdered Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti:
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Interview with me about Murderbot and the upcoming Platform Decay at www.space.com/entertainmen...
Martha Wells' next 'Murderbot Diaries' book is 'the family roadtrip from hell on Ringworld' (interview)
In an exclusive interview, bestselling author Martha Wells talks "Platform Decay," from its moral stakes to Murderbot's bitter humor.
www.space.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Interview with me about Murderbot and the upcoming Platform Decay at www.space.com/entertainmen...
Walking the streets in Toronto is a bit like navigating the trenches on Hoth…
January 26, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Walking the streets in Toronto is a bit like navigating the trenches on Hoth…
Interesting piece. Not sure if I agree, though.
Science Fiction is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi? by Matthew Claxton
www.typebarmagazine.com/science-fict...
www.typebarmagazine.com/science-fict...
Science Fiction is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?
The old mode of science fiction is disappearing. What's replacing it?
www.typebarmagazine.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Interesting piece. Not sure if I agree, though.
If this is true, they haven’t really acted as though it’s true.
Most of them seem to have been revving their engines for this since day one, desperate for any excuse to unleash
Most of them seem to have been revving their engines for this since day one, desperate for any excuse to unleash
Leavitt: "Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized by illegal alien criminals"
January 26, 2026 at 7:34 PM
If this is true, they haven’t really acted as though it’s true.
Most of them seem to have been revving their engines for this since day one, desperate for any excuse to unleash
Most of them seem to have been revving their engines for this since day one, desperate for any excuse to unleash
Reposted by Civilian Reader
I will be honest this is not how I thought the Perry-Trudeau Accord was going to play out
Katy Perry urges her followers to call on their senators to block ICE from receiving an extra $10 BILLION in funding.
January 26, 2026 at 7:31 PM
I will be honest this is not how I thought the Perry-Trudeau Accord was going to play out
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Trump backing down to public pressure is a good thing. But let's be clear. Noem, Miller, Bovino, etc. all followed his lead. He called protesters terrorists. He dehumanized Somali immigrants. He lied about Good and Pretti. He owns all of it.
He'll also probably change his mind tomorrow.
He'll also probably change his mind tomorrow.
ABC: Noem said Pretti committed an act of domestic terrorism. Stephen Miller labeled him a domestic terrorist. Does the president agree?
LEAVITT: I have not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way
LEAVITT: I have not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way
January 26, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Trump backing down to public pressure is a good thing. But let's be clear. Noem, Miller, Bovino, etc. all followed his lead. He called protesters terrorists. He dehumanized Somali immigrants. He lied about Good and Pretti. He owns all of it.
He'll also probably change his mind tomorrow.
He'll also probably change his mind tomorrow.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Apologies for the reshares of this which are probably going to become obnoxious soon, but I'm particularly proud of this piece and hope you'll give it a read!
I profiled Tom Hiddleston in his return to #TheNightManager after 10 years, why he wanted to push both himself and Jonathan Pine to the edge in Season 2, the "gift" of playing through Episode 5's most gripping two-hander (spoilers within), chasing story over genre in his career, and more:
Tom Hiddleston Isn’t Playing It Safe Anymore — and ‘The Night Manager’s Return Proves It
After Loki and a decade of life, Tom Hiddleston explains why The Night Manager Season 2 had to go deeper for the Prime Video series.
collider.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Apologies for the reshares of this which are probably going to become obnoxious soon, but I'm particularly proud of this piece and hope you'll give it a read!
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Devil Inside - a contemporary British fantasy of magic, spies and a young woman just trying to escape her past.
Out now: www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-Inside...
Out now: www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-Inside...
October 24, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Devil Inside - a contemporary British fantasy of magic, spies and a young woman just trying to escape her past.
Out now: www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-Inside...
Out now: www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-Inside...
It’s very weird, seeing the *Republicans* jettison even their complete, fetishistic embrace of the 2nd Amendment.
Kash Patel: "You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple. You don't have a right to break the law." (Pretti was carrying a gun legally.)
January 25, 2026 at 10:20 PM
It’s very weird, seeing the *Republicans* jettison even their complete, fetishistic embrace of the 2nd Amendment.
Reposted by Civilian Reader
Canada Lives Because…
January 23, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Canada Lives Because…