Jessica Strider
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jstrider66.bsky.social
Jessica Strider
@jstrider66.bsky.social
800 followers 240 following 150 posts
Medievalist, science fiction & fantasy book reviewer, crafter, traveller, and cat lover.

I post book reviews & other things at scififanletter.blogspot.com
Photos are mine unless otherwise indicated.
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jstrider66.bsky.social
Here's my review of the Murderbot Diaries book 3 by Martha Wells. It's such a great SF series with a wonderfully dry sense of humour. scififanletter.blogspot.com/2025/11/book...
Book Review: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
A science fiction and fantasy blog featuring book reviews, author interviews, new author spotlights, themed reading lists and more.
scififanletter.blogspot.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:57 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
My review of the 2nd Murderbot Diaries novella, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, is up on my blog. scififanletter.blogspot.com/2025/11/book...
Book Review: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
A science fiction and fantasy blog featuring book reviews, author interviews, new author spotlights, themed reading lists and more.
scififanletter.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Had the chance to visit Salisbury Cathedral recently. It's absolutely stunning. The view in the font is especially wonderful.
The west front of Salisbury cathedral has arched windows and lots of sculptures in niches. Salisbury cathedral's nave is long and narrow, with pillars holding up arches on both sides leading to a vaulted ceiling that stretches into the distance. Looking up at the vaults above the crossing shows piers with lovely arches on the sides. The vaults contain painted circles with Christian imagery inside. The nave with the baptismal font that is reflecting the columns and arches in the water, making the building look even taller.
November 23, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
venetiajane.bsky.social
Ivy keeps its green while the garden sleeps, and old lore says it is one of the plants that shelters fairies during winter. If you bring a sprig indoors during the festive season, handle it gently… you may be carrying a tiny guest tucked away amongst its leaves. #FolkloreSunday
A collage of three images: on the left, close-up ivy leaves coated in white frost; top right, a cluster of frosted ivy with ruffled, icy edges; bottom right, an illustration of a small fairy curled up asleep among green ivy leaves with a soft, snowy effect. Photographs and illustration by Venetia Jane.
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 AM
jstrider66.bsky.social
I've re-posted my review of All Systems Red, book 1 in @marthawells.com's Murderbot Diaries. The series is excellent, about a half human/half robot security construct who is awkward around its human clients while they do a planetary survey.
scififanletter.blogspot.com/2025/11/revi...
Revisited review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
A science fiction and fantasy blog featuring book reviews, author interviews, new author spotlights, themed reading lists and more.
scififanletter.blogspot.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
I stopped blogging in April so I could focus on medieval research for an upcoming trip. I miss reviewing SF&F fiction books, so I'm starting to blog again. scififanletter.blogspot.com/2025/11/retu...
Return to blogging
A science fiction and fantasy blog featuring book reviews, author interviews, new author spotlights, themed reading lists and more.
scififanletter.blogspot.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:06 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Been reading the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It's a fast paced, often sarcastic sci-fi series that really goes into the aftermath of trauma.
November 20, 2025 at 8:32 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
I didn’t know there were dance of death verses set to music. Incredible.
drkarrschmidt.bsky.social Suzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 27d
Happy Halloween!

We recorded the ACTUAL Dance of Death (via music from a #NewberryLibrary book c. 1650) for your listening pleasure! Read all about it while you listen to the recording in my latest blog post!

www.newberry.org/blog/spooky-...
Screenshot of the Spooky Singing Skeletons blogpost, including the 1493 imago mortis from the Nuremberg Chronicle with several dancing and music playing skeletons.
October 31, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
drewjakeprof.bsky.social
it's here! it's here! @vox-magica.bsky.social's amazing new Element in Religion in Late Antiquity is live and ⚡free⚡ to download for the next two weeks! get it!

www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Magic and Heresy in Ancient Christian Literature
Cambridge Core - Religion: General Interest - Magic and Heresy in Ancient Christian Literature
www.cambridge.org
July 16, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
elisewang.bsky.social
Medieval story time (that is actually about Alligator Alcatraz merch):

Let’s talk about Godwin Sturt and how he merchandized the death of his 12-year-old nephew in 1144.
July 4, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
enniusredloeb.bsky.social
John the Evangelist receiving inspiration at the beginning of his Gospel

BL Harley 2799; 'The Arnstein Bible', Job to Revelation; c.1172 CE; Germany, W.; f.185v
July 2, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
jtpmedieval.bsky.social
Free to download for the next two weeks: Rick Sowerby's excellent new book Natural and Supernatural in Early #Medieval England!

#medievalsky
Natural and Supernatural in Early Medieval England
Cambridge Core - European Studies - Natural and Supernatural in Early Medieval England
www.cambridge.org
May 30, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
enniusredloeb.bsky.social
The hand of God with the four symbols of the evangelists

Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 348; Biblia Latina (Vulgata): Evangelia; c. 820 CE; Fleury; f.8v
(www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)
May 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
uoftcms.bsky.social
Saturday, June 7 - York Corpus Christi Plays 2025!
50 short medieval plays, performed outdoors on replica wagon stages, across three performance stations!

www.yorkplays.ca
detail of a page of medieval music and text
May 15, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
enniusredloeb.bsky.social
May is the time to go hunting.
#MedievalCalendar
BnF MS 1186; Psalter of St Louis & Blanche de Castille; 13th century; f.4r @gallicabnf.bsky.social
April 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
enniusredloeb.bsky.social
A typologically rich crucifixion, with the Sun and Moon; Mary and John; Eve and Adam emerging from the grave; and the serpent wrapped around the base of the cross beneath a chalice.

BL Egerton 608; Four Gospels; 11th century; Echternach; f.88r
April 15, 2025 at 8:27 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Sounds like this will be an interesting discussion.
cndhistassoc.bsky.social Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada @cndhistassoc.bsky.social · Apr 10
The Journal of the Canadian Historical Association invites you to a roundtable discussion of Rowan Dorin’s Ferguson-Prize-winning book, “No Return: Jews, Christian Usurers and the Spread of Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe”. #cdnhist #medieval #roundtable #skystorians @medievalatx.bsky.social
Roundtable Discussion: "No Return: Jews, Christian Usurers and the Spread of Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe" by Rowan Dorin | Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada
The Journal of the Canadian Historical Association invites you to a roundtable discussion of Rowan Dorin's Ferguson-Prize-winning book, No Return: Jews, Christian Usurers and the Spread of Mass Expuls...
cha-shc.ca
April 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
jstrider66.bsky.social
I used to wonder why rhetoric was such an important pillar of the medieval education. Then I saw a lecture on Cicero's use of rhetoric and realized this needs to be more broadly taught so people can better protect themselves against propaganda.
1) Repetition → people start to believe what they hear a lot 2) Vivid language → imagining things helps them stay in your mind and remember them 3) Guilt by association → talk about their immoral friends and associates, implies your opponent has all their vices (hard to refute as the claim didn’t state that YOU did something, only that your friends did) 4) Exaggeration → if you accuse someone of dozens of crimes, your audience may not believe ALL of them, but will believe SOME of them (where there’s smoke, there’s fire) even if you don’t offer any evidence of any crime 5) Labelling → associate positive adjectives with yourself/your side and negative ones with the opposition 6) Fear mongering → paint a picture of apocalypse that will come about if opponent wins 7) Us vs Them mentality → idea can’t be neutral or see good on both sides, must go to extremes 8) Mud slinging → focus on their personal defects rather than any policy issue; avoids focus on policy and legitimate debate 9) Rhyme → people remember rhymes/slogans/catch phrases better than prose 10) Simplification → reduce complex issues into simple debates, so can’t see any positives in their position (appeals to emotions) 11) Claim religious right → God is on my side, so not on their side 12) Transferral → if you are accused of wrong doing, accuse your opponent of the same, it muddies the field and people are more likely to ignore both accusations as a result 13) Testimony → cite witnesses to back up your point WITHOUT CITING ANYONE, “everyone knows this” 14) Divert and Distract → If an opponent has a good point, distract with a sensational statement so people aren’t paying attention to the real issue anymore 15) Paralipsis → the speaker claims will not bring up slanderous charge while doing so 16) Humour → mock adversaries’ physical appearance, entertain the audience 17) Props and Visual aids → good for eliciting strong emotions 18) Delivery → can save a bad speech or kill a good one
April 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Azwa Maryam monastery on Lake Tana, Ethiopia, was founded in the mid 1310s. It still uses a thatched roof, while many similar monasteries now have metal roofs. (Photos from 2019). The walls and doors are covered in gorgeous paintings of Christ, Mary, Saints, and more.
The monastery is a round building with a thatched roof. One inner wall as seen through a doorway. The wall is covered in brightly coloured paintings. Several paintings including a large one in the bottom right corner of a saint on horseback spearing a serpent who might be St George (the Ethiopian church has several equestrian saints). A painting of the Ethiopian saint Gabra Menfes Kiddus riding lightning (where lightning is depicted as a giant orangy-red rooster).
March 16, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
theradr.bsky.social
Please take a couple of minutes to read this piece.

It's important.

"We have ignored the perspectives, stories & voices of disabled people for so long that their actual needs, feelings and experiences are hardly acknowledged."
I've Been Paralyzed Since I Was 3. Here's Why Kindness Toward Disabled People Is More Complicated Than You Think
Editors Note: This is a boldly honest look at how people with paralysis have to deal with "overly kind" (well-meaning) offers of help. It's a uniquely
facingdisability.com
March 13, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
archumanities.bsky.social
{New Open Access} Negotiating Childlessness in the Middle Ages: Stories of Desired, Refused, and Regretted Parenthood by Regina Toepfer www.arc-humanities.org/978180270244...
March 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
medievalmarginalia.com
Demon Swine.
February 25, 2025 at 10:20 AM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Very interesting post on women who worked at the papal palace in Avignon. #medievalsky
February 25, 2025 at 11:35 PM
jstrider66.bsky.social
Tried acrylic pouring for the first time. My first 2 attempts didn't produce any of the silicone oil cells, as I was doing it wrong, but I got a ton on my 3rd try.
An acrylic pour painting with swirls of black, purple and white. An acrylic paint pour with streaks of white, black, blue and a hint of purple. An acrylic pour painting ind red, white, and black that has so many cells everywhere melding the colours in interesting ways.
February 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Jessica Strider
adapalmer.bsky.social
Yes, it was so fun to collaborate on these diagrams! At first glance they may *look* like fairly ordinary "most history books have things like this" diagrams, but a lot of thoughtful & even subversive & progressive choices can go into such diagrams. The politics of diagramming, a thread: 1/?
greenleejw.bsky.social Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · Feb 11
I just got my copy of @adapalmer.bsky.social’s new book, INVENTING THE RENAISSANCE, which I’m really looking forward to reading.

But my first stop in the book is right at the front, to see the family crests and diagrams I drew for the book. And they look great. I’m tickled.
A family tree of the Medici family of Florence, taking up 2 pages of a book. There is a Medici crest on the left side. Picture of a book open so you can see both pages. On the left side is a swirl of Italian family crests, drawn in greyscale, showing the various connections and marriages between them. The whole of it is shaped roughly like a shield. The right side has all of the family crests at a larger size, so you can know what you’re looking at. It also has a list of Borgia marriages. The title of the diagram is: Ties between major Italian families as the Borgias enter politics.
February 11, 2025 at 9:12 PM