@puzzlescarves.bsky.social
Avid reader, software engineer, knitter, and early music enthusiast. Habitual lurker from Usenet to now.
Young Adult in my household has been singing "Binnorie" at least once a day for the last few months.

In other news, I recently threw @amalelmohtar.com 's The River Has Roots at them one afternoon. They were done by night. And (like me) loved it. us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
The River Has Roots
AN INDIE NEXT AND LIBRARYREADS PICK!The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author ...
us.macmillan.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Saw this and thought of @nicolaz.bsky.social since this is in the vicinity of her period of interest, and she's certainly given serious thought to the question of Black folks in now-England at that point. (Original question is ~resolved, but still.)
🤔I read the associated published research paper, and there's something that I don't understand.

The Roman army occupied England for a few hundred years. They were famous for having lots of African soldiers. Isn't it more likely that a Black Roman soldier settled, than Kent did trade with Africa?
Bodies buried in 7th-century England had west African ancestry
Analysis of DNA from graves in Kent and Dorset reveals the first genetic evidence of direct links between Britain and Africa in the early medieval period
www.thetimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:43 AM
This was a great book - lots of fun, well worth it. Especially on a deep sale.
August 4, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Reposted
A brief reminder that the UK ebook of THE FOLDED SKY is currently 99p!

Some links where you can buy it!

www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...

www.amazon.co.uk/Folded-Sky-E...
The Folded Sky ebook by Elizabeth Bear - Rakuten Kobo
Read "The Folded Sky" by Elizabeth Bear available from Rakuten Kobo. Dr. Sunyata Song must travel across the Milky Way to learn to communicate with the greatest discovery of her century: an...
www.kobo.com
August 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Fun author event today with @matociquala.bsky.social and @wiswell.bsky.social. My books even made it in from the car undrenched. I hope the authors also escaped their evenings safe from the brief-but-intense downpour.
July 21, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted
I see a lot of authors on here posting their book birthday announcements but what I don’t see are the genre reveal parties.
July 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
@victoriagoddard.bsky.social 's books have been some of my go-to rereads in the last several years. If for some reason you don't have them, this looks like a great bundle.
Anyone been thinking to themselves, *I'd like to try the Nine Worlds books but I don't know where to start*? Well, I've put together a Series Starter bundle! Contains three firsts-in-series and a bonus standalone about elves (and a discount!).

www.victoriagoddard.ca/products/0a-...
0A. Nine Worlds Starter Set (EBOOK BUNDLE)
Not sure where to start? Try this bundle of three series starters for the Nine Worlds
www.victoriagoddard.ca
April 28, 2025 at 11:51 PM
@maryrobinettekowal.com 's Martian Contingency was exactly what I needed last week. I kind of missed Elma, I think. us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
The Martian Contingency
Mary Robinette Kowal returns to Mars in this latest entry to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Lady Astronaut series.“Kowal masters both science and histor...
us.macmillan.com
April 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Sped through @amalelmohtar.com's The River Has Roots. What a delight! (And now I have various ballads stuck in my head.)

us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
The River Has Roots
AN INDIE NEXT AND LIBRARYREADS PICK!The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author ...
us.macmillan.com
March 27, 2025 at 10:45 PM
It's been a long time since I read Ammonite (not long after it first came out, I'm pretty sure). But I remember really enjoying it -- and of course I've enjoyed all of Nicola Griffith's *other* stuff. So of course I grabbed this.
AMMONITE's tagline is Change or Die—more apt today than when I wrote it. It was my first novel. It's #25 on Esquire's Best SF of All Time. Why? You can find out without risking much: it's currently on sale for $1.99, all North American digital platforms.
Change or Die—for just $1.99!
AMMONITE's tagline is Change or Die—more apt today than when I wrote it. It was my first novel.It's #25 on Esquire's Best SF of All Time. It's on sale for $1.99, all NA platforms.
nicolagriffith.com
March 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Year in review: good riddance to bad rubbish.

Side note: if a year treats you badly, burning the year in effigy (especially in company) can be great. Take a paper calendar of the year and feed it to the flames month by month.

Pretty sure 2025 has to be differently terrible.
December 31, 2024 at 10:08 PM
Reposted
This is adorable, and you should go read it!
Happy Solstice!

I'm sharing a new short story about TIME LOOPS (in a list format!) and being ace and it's free to read for everyone! 💜⏳It's lighthearted & goofy —I hope you enjoy. ^-^

"Field Notes From That Time I Accidentally Got Stuck In A Time Loop For A Week"

www.patreon.com/posts/field-...
December 22, 2024 at 1:16 PM
Just finished, and (as usual) entirely enjoyed @kjcharleswriter.com 's The Duke At Hazard (www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...).

Thanks for the fun read, @kjcharleswriter.com !
The Duke at Hazard (Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune, #2)
Don't miss the second thrilling Regency romance in the …
www.goodreads.com
December 2, 2024 at 1:23 AM
Just learned that @spalwick.bsky.social is around, which means it's a great time to agree with Jo Walton (@bluejo.bsky.social) that Shelter (www.goodreads.com/book/show/76...) is a wonderful book. (Though, I mean, it's Jo Walton, take her opinion over mine any day.)
Shelter
The three basic human needs are food, water…and shelter…
www.goodreads.com
November 25, 2024 at 12:05 AM
I dug it out in memory of my father, but I think James Thurber's The Wonderful O is worth a reread right about now. Published in 1957 (during McCarthyism), it's a fable about a temporary triumph of tyranny, and eventual successful resistance. Plus wordplay. www.thurberhouse.org/bookstore/th...
Thurber House — The Wonderful O (Paperback)
An allegorical tale with pirates, treasure, magic, and wonderful wordplay. Littlejack has a map that indicates the existence of a treasure on a far and lonely island, and Black has a ship to get ther...
www.thurberhouse.org
November 11, 2024 at 8:12 PM
Younger Child volunteers at public library +
City Hall across street from public library +
Ballot box outside city hall +
Anyone can sign up to vote by mail in my state
=
4 votes cast today from my household

We're not even a state where ballot boxes are likely to burn.
October 28, 2024 at 11:18 PM
Reposted
Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects

So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?

And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
October 21, 2024 at 5:56 AM
Salmon are actually *back* in the newly-undammed Klamath river! Dam removal project completed Oct. 2, salmon in newly available territory Oct 3, per researchers. That was fast.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

#ShareGoodNewsToo (hopefully it's ok if I also use this hashtag...)
Salmon swim freely in Klamath River for first time in more than 100 years
News comes after Iron Gate dam was removed to let river near California-Oregon border return to natural flow
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2024 at 11:44 PM
@levgrossman.bsky.social 's excellent and extremely fun The Bright Sword took me *right* back to Lit & Arts A( or C?)-something: "Chivalric Romances of the Middle Ages". That was a great read. Thanks!

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554241...
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman: 9780735224049 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Best Book of the Year (So Far) • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • The #1 New York Times bestselling author...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
August 23, 2024 at 11:39 PM
My main use of Bluesky so far is to express to authors how much I enjoyed their work, usually with links. Feels good when I post, and again when they react appreciatively. Which they usually do.
I try very hard to share things I love rather than things I hate, because I think social networks where things go viral because of outrage and anger bring out the worst in us
If I could make a plea for BlueSky, it’s this: Please make a point of sharing links to articles, essays and more that you LOVE, that you enjoyed, that expanded you in some way.

I’m always surprised by the dominance of hate-shares, complaint shares on here. And I think it has a riptide effect.
August 18, 2024 at 11:17 PM
Reposted
I try very hard to share things I love rather than things I hate, because I think social networks where things go viral because of outrage and anger bring out the worst in us
If I could make a plea for BlueSky, it’s this: Please make a point of sharing links to articles, essays and more that you LOVE, that you enjoyed, that expanded you in some way.

I’m always surprised by the dominance of hate-shares, complaint shares on here. And I think it has a riptide effect.
August 18, 2024 at 12:12 AM
Reposted
LSA supports transgender and non-binary teachers' use of chosen pronouns, bringing scientific evidence from linguistics to a Florida Appellate Court Case.
August 1, 2024 at 8:18 AM
Reposted
Wake up, babe. New White Space novel announcement and cover just dropped.

www.instagram.com/p/C-BAjNXPTv...
July 29, 2024 at 6:05 PM
Reposted
Remember, if you write about this or talk about it: the UK government (and multiple US states, and and and) are not banning the use of puberty blockers in children. They're banning the use of puberty blockers for *trans* children. It's perfectly acceptable to delay puberty in *cis* children.
July 29, 2024 at 2:03 PM
I knew I'd enjoy Death in the Spires from @kjcharleswriter.com (geni.us/233-ap-web-ch). It was great!

I *didn't* know that it was in a micro-genre with @victormanibo.com 's Escape Velocity (also much enjoyed, as previously noted). Nor that this was exactly a micro-genre I deeply need right now.
Death in the Spires: A completely gripping and addictive historical mystery
Buy it now
geni.us
July 8, 2024 at 11:51 PM