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ghis.bsky.social
@ghis.bsky.social
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jessefuchs.bsky.social
been thinking for not-directly-related reasons about Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, specifically the chapter where kindergartners speedrun an animistic cult around the proto-chatbot doll, Furby
OPERATING PROCEDURES In the 198os, the computer toy Merlin made happy and sad noises depending on whether it was winning or losing the sound-and-light game it played with children. Children saw Merlin as "sort of alive" because of how well it played memory games, but they did not fully believe in Merlin's shows of emotion. When a Merlin broke down, children were sorry to lose a playmate. When a Furby doesn't work, however, children see a creature that might be in pain. Lily, ten, worries that her broken Furby is hurting. But she doesn't want to turn it off, because "that means you aren't taking care of it." She fears that if she shuts off a Furby in pain, she might make things worse. Two eight-year-olds fret about how much their Furbies sneeze. The first worries that his sneezing Furby is allergic to him. The other fears his Furby got its cold because "I didn't do a good enough job taking care of him." Several children become tense when Fur-bies make unfamiliar sounds that might be signals of distress. I observe children with their other toys: dolls, toy soldiers, action figures. If these toys make strange sounds, they are usually put aside; broken toys lead easily to boredom. But when a Furby is in trouble, children ask, "Is it tired?" "Is it sad?" "Have I hurt it?" "Is it sick?" "What shall I do?" Taking care of a robot is a high-stakes game. Things can-and do--go wrong. In one kindergarten, when a Furby breaks down, the children decide they want to heal it. Ten children volunteer, seeing themselves as doctors in an emergency room. They decide they'll begin by taking it apart. The proceedings begin in a state of relative calm. When talking about their sick Furby, the children insist that this breakdown does not mean the end: people get sick and get better. But as soon as scissors and pliers appear, they become anxious. At this point, Alicia screams, "The Furby is going to die!" Sven, to his classmates' horror, pinpoints the moment when Furbies die: it happens wh… dren make theories when they are confused or anxious. A good theory can reduce anxiety. But some children become more anxious as the operation continues. One suggests that if the Furby dies, it might haunt them. It is alive enough to turn into a ghost. Indeed, a group of children start to call the empty Furby skin "the ghost of Furby" and the Furby's naked body "the goblin." They are not happy that this operation might leave a Furby goblin and ghost at large. One girl comes up with the idea that the ghost of the Furby will be less fearful if distributed. She asks if it would be okay "if every child took home a piece of Furby skin." She is told this would be fine, but, unappeased, she asks the same question two more times. In the end, most children leave with a bit of Furby fur.® Some talk about burying it when they get home. They leave room for a private ritual to placate the goblin and say good-bye. Inside the classroom, most of the children feel they are doing the best they can with a sick pet. But from outside the classroom, the Furby surgery looks alarming. Children passing by call out, "You killed him." "How dare you kill Furby?" "You'll go to Furby jail" Denise, eight, watches some of the goings-on from the safety of the hall. She has a Furby at home and says that she does not like to talk about its problems as diseases because "Furbies are not animals" She uses the word "fake" to mean nonbiological and says, "Furbies are fake, and they don't get diseases." But later, she reconsiders her position when her own Furby's batteries run out and the robot, so chatty only moments before, becomes inert. Denise panics: "It's dead. It's dead right now... Its eyes are closed." She then declares her Furby "both fake and dead." Denise concludes that worn-out batteries and water can kill a Furby. It is a mechanism, but alive enough to die. Linda, six, is one of the children whose family has volunteered to keep a Furby for a two-week home study. She looked forward to speaking…
November 13, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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headfallsoff.com
one thing you really have to be careful of online is not letting your experiences with annoying people online drive your politics for real material issues. the internet is real but also your phone is a portal to a world that doesn’t fucking exist
August 22, 2025 at 5:42 PM
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stephanieburgis.bsky.social
I am so excited to share the UK cover of Enchanting the Fae Queen! It's coming from @panmacmillan.bsky.social in just over 6 months, on 29 January, 2026, and you can preorder it now: www.panmacmillan.com/authors/step...

I love this gorgeous cover art by @jesscruicky.bsky.social!

#romancelandia
The illustrated cover image of Enchanting the Fae Queen, by Stephanie Burgis, shows a green background with a frame of climbing roses and branches rising through a night sky full of stars. In the center of the image, just beneath the moon, stands a massive, ominous castle with a hedge maze before it. A blonde woman in a long gown scattters sparkles in her wake as she leads her tall. uniformed male companion through the moonlit hedge maze at a run, while giant butterflies flutter overhead. The tag line reads: “All’s fae in love and war” and a blurb from Sarah Beth Durst reads: “Full of charm, wit and magic.” Beneath the cover is the publication date 29.01.2026.
July 25, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by ghis.bsky.social
zenaldehyde.bsky.social
Out in the US now and UK from tomorrow! I'll pop order links below ⬇️ I loved writing this legal romcom about two very different people who find a friend (and love) where they least expect it, I hope it offers refuge/escape to anyone who needs it 💕
stephanieburgis.bsky.social Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · Jul 1
On terrible news days when the world is full of horror, I'm all the more grateful for the writers and stories who help us escape/recharge for a while.

Happy book birthday to @zenaldehyde.bsky.social's Behind Frenemy Lines! I'm SO looking forward to reading it: www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
Behind Frenemy Lines
Sparks fly when an ambitious rules-bound lawyer clashes…
www.goodreads.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:27 PM
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aliettedebodard.com
I would appear to have won the European Science Fiction Society Hall of Fame award for Best Author
I, hum, am going to need a minute and possibly a drastic reassessment of my self image

(Thx @effjayem.bsky.social for tagging me)
A picture of the author Aliette de Bodard alongside text that says "Hall of Fame, Best Author"
June 29, 2025 at 11:26 AM
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heartofthedeernicorn.com
There’s so many wonderful people for you to meet in Koriko ✨ #ttrpg #solorpg #cozygames #tarot
April 30, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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blerdyotome.bsky.social
Monster Prom 4: Monster Con is now available on Steam

Can you find love at the nerdiest convention ever? The latest installment in the Monster Prom Series, Monster Prom 4: Monster Con is now available on Steam! Monster Con goes back to the multiplayer dating sim formula: go through absurd and…
Monster Prom 4: Monster Con is now available on Steam
Can you find love at the nerdiest convention ever? The latest installment in the Monster Prom Series, Monster Prom 4: Monster Con is now available on Steam! Monster Con goes back to the multiplayer dating sim formula: go through absurd and funny situations as you find love among six sexy monsters! Who will you romance? The mimic who cosplays? The idol clown?
blerdyotome.com
April 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM
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emo-sludge.com
TBC because the OP is framing this like libgen is evil: META are the bad guys here. Libgen is one of the only tools archiving rapidly disappearing digital libraries of ebooks. Now more than ever with banned books on the rise, we need resources like libgen. Meta has no right to scrape that archive.
March 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
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cxorlando.bsky.social
okay so i posted this video at the start of december (sorry to link to tiktok but it's too long to post here) about the hottest trend in fantasy this year: LADY KNIGHTS

anyway i was right there are a fuck ton of lady knight books coming our way

www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8YyW5Rh/
2025 fantasy trend report! Titles Mentioned: 📚Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang 📚The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling 📚Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner 📚The Isle ...
TikTok video by christina | books & nerd life
www.tiktok.com
February 11, 2025 at 4:10 PM
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paulcornell.bsky.social
The great writer @aliettedebodard.com is going through an awful situation, so a bunch of us put together a funding link to help. (I’ve been asked not to add to what she’s said here.) Do give whatever you can, and please spread the word. www.gofundme.com/f/helping-al...
Donate to Helping Aliette, organized by Paul Cornell
Our friend Aliette de Bodard is going through some awful times right now, and we seek to provide her some… Paul Cornell needs your support for Helping Aliette
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2025 at 5:23 PM
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jumpovertheage.com
CITIZEN SLEEPER 2 is💫OUT NOW!💫

Get a ship, find a crew, and take on contracts while you navigate across the Starward Belt, in this Dice Driven RPG.

“The perfect sequel, offering complexity, consequence, and quiet optimism in a world of strife.” - PCGamesN

links below 👇
January 31, 2025 at 3:59 PM
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sarahmackattack.bsky.social
I probably don't even need to say this, BUT. Me not posting about every nightmarish thing is not because I am not internally (or externally!) screaming multiple times per day, i just figure you heard about it from 100 other people posting about each new nightmare. I assure you, my soul is cracking.
January 28, 2025 at 11:05 PM
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applecider.bsky.social
psychological dependence on things to get around a number of mental health or life issues, dependency on things like spending money, eating, gaming, to feel stimulated or avoid anxiety/bad feelings is so common and we don't talk about it a lot because addiction is so vilified but it's mundane
November 29, 2024 at 10:14 PM
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applecider.bsky.social
We've defined addiction so strictly to like, "alcohol/drugs" that most people don't catch that they have issues with compulsivity, understimulation, lack of satiation and other mental health issues that make the outcomes bad for almost anything
November 29, 2024 at 10:12 PM
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slurmslurper.bsky.social
Listen, if your take is “Joy is immoral when bad things are happening somewhere in the world,” then you’re not a serious person, your just a fucking puritan and a scold
May 7, 2024 at 12:14 AM
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stephanieburgis.bsky.social
Happy happy UK book birthday to @zenaldehyde.bsky.social's The Friend Zone Experiment!!!! www.panmacmillan.com/authors/zen-...
The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho
Find out more about The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho
www.panmacmillan.com
August 8, 2024 at 3:26 PM
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stephanieburgis.bsky.social
Only 11 more days until A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience is published! ❤️🦇❤️

Preorder here: books2read.com/UndeadInconvenience
The cover of A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience shows an ominously closed entrance-gate at the top of the cover and a bat with its wings outspread at the bottom, all framed by climbing roses. Above and beside it is this snippet from the story: “I am not suffering from dementia, Miss Dunhaven.” Red swept in a sudden, sheening wave across the vampire’s brown eyes, making Margaret suck in a breath, as he sliced out his words with a lethal edge. “You gravely misunderstand me if you think me de-fanged.” “And you mis-name me, my lord.” Her hand tightened around the handle of her teacup. “As I believe you are fully aware, my name is ‘Lady Riven’ now.” Lord Riven’s red-sheened eyes narrowed. She bared a ferocious smile in response. Beneath the snippet is this URL: books2read.com/UndeadInconvenience
July 25, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by ghis.bsky.social
aliettedebodard.com
Managed to update the front page with NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS, a whole 3 weeks before it's out lol

www.aliettedebodard.com
www.aliettedebodard.com/bibliography...

(preorder now!)
Navigational Entanglements - Aliette de Bodard
Four bickering juniors. An impossible mission to catch a deadly space creature. What they did not need was an extra murder… Award-winning author of The Red Scholar’s Wake Aliette de Bodard comes for y...
www.aliettedebodard.com
July 10, 2024 at 12:54 PM
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indigohan.bsky.social
#NowReading

20% into Wooing the Witch Queen by @stephanieburgis.bsky.social (bless the arc gods and Bramble Romance) and Saskia and Felix are now my babies. They’re adopted. Mine.
July 2, 2024 at 10:02 PM
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aliettedebodard.com
OMG
STARRED PW review for NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS
"simultaneously electric and heartwarming, full of breathless queer romance, shifting clan politics, and many cups of tea"

I MEAN
www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-250-32...
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
This magnificent space opera from Nebula Award winner de Bodard (A Fire Born of Exile) is simultaneously electric and heartwarmi...
www.publishersweekly.com
April 4, 2024 at 9:48 PM
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pecunium.bsky.social
Seems the Marquis' family had grabby hands during the Boxer Rebellion.
People in China took a close look at the Chinese antiques in the background and recognised them as being removed from China at the end of the Qing Dynasty
March 22, 2024 at 12:31 AM
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quinnae.com
The "Hey little man how's it going" meme, with the glasses-wearing person looking down going "Jesus fucking Christ," painted with a despairing smile.
March 11, 2024 at 10:13 PM
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marisakabas.bsky.social
i feel so sick. 1.4 million palestinian refugees were chased from their homes to rafah. now israel is bombing there, too.
Israel strikes Rafah refugee camp, 37 killed, local health officials say
Israeli strikes on Gaza's southern city of Rafah killed 37 people and wounded dozens, local health officials said on Monday, after U.S. President Joe Biden told Israel not to attack Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians.
www.reuters.com
February 12, 2024 at 2:47 AM