Rufus Hickok
@rufus-hickok.bsky.social
Occasional writer for Mashable, Bust, Ordinary Times, and others; author of "The Paris Bureau" 2020 DIO Press Inc, pathological reader, returned expat from Canada, New Yorker at the moment.
"You know, they say that Mamdani is a 'socialist,' but he's what people are calling a democratic socialist. Isn't that something? While me, I'm more about America, and putting our nation first. You could say I'm more like a national socialist really."
November 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
"You know, they say that Mamdani is a 'socialist,' but he's what people are calling a democratic socialist. Isn't that something? While me, I'm more about America, and putting our nation first. You could say I'm more like a national socialist really."
Book #117 for 2025: I read this one today- about a man who arrives in a hospital with no memory and a wild story- and it was a real mind-bender. I see why people like her.
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Book #117 for 2025: I read this one today- about a man who arrives in a hospital with no memory and a wild story- and it was a real mind-bender. I see why people like her.
It's been driving me nuts, every time I see a picture of Larry Ellison, trying to figure out just who he reminds me of. Now, hear me out...
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
It's been driving me nuts, every time I see a picture of Larry Ellison, trying to figure out just who he reminds me of. Now, hear me out...
On a more positive note, today we sold this artwork by the legendary graffiti artist Daze, to a young person leaving for London later this week, at a good price and can pay the artist well. Daze was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s favorite artist of that time and still underappreciated imo.
November 18, 2025 at 4:19 AM
On a more positive note, today we sold this artwork by the legendary graffiti artist Daze, to a young person leaving for London later this week, at a good price and can pay the artist well. Daze was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s favorite artist of that time and still underappreciated imo.
You hate all the bad writing you’re encountering?
Sorry, I can’t sympathize.
Sorry, I can’t sympathize.
November 17, 2025 at 10:39 PM
You hate all the bad writing you’re encountering?
Sorry, I can’t sympathize.
Sorry, I can’t sympathize.
Rest in Power, Sweet Princess. 😢
November 13, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Rest in Power, Sweet Princess. 😢
Book #114: I read it after high school and again with a reading group. It's as funny, ornate, bewildering, and stereoscopic as I remembered, with vivid prose that makes mine feel like it's wearing lead shoes. Makes me want to be a writer again.
November 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Book #114: I read it after high school and again with a reading group. It's as funny, ornate, bewildering, and stereoscopic as I remembered, with vivid prose that makes mine feel like it's wearing lead shoes. Makes me want to be a writer again.
Every day is Halloween around here.
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Every day is Halloween around here.
Book #113 for 2025: It's as good as you've heard. A deeply moving companion piece to Huck Finn and a thrilling adventure story to boot.
November 10, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Book #113 for 2025: It's as good as you've heard. A deeply moving companion piece to Huck Finn and a thrilling adventure story to boot.
We sell coffee in our bookstore, which focuses on NYC art, culture, and literature. So this is something I’ve been working on for a while:
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
We sell coffee in our bookstore, which focuses on NYC art, culture, and literature. So this is something I’ve been working on for a while:
Book #111: Jim Harrison's novel about a father choosing how and where he wants to die as Lou Gherig's Disease takes him. Something deeply human on each page.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Book #111: Jim Harrison's novel about a father choosing how and where he wants to die as Lou Gherig's Disease takes him. Something deeply human on each page.
I guess they've given up on actually winning.
November 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I guess they've given up on actually winning.
Book #109 for 2025: I finally read this *very* worn copy of Pynchon’s epic about rockets, war, erections, paranoia, music, engineers, death, and dope. Probably the Ulysses of the post-war era and just as funny.
November 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Book #109 for 2025: I finally read this *very* worn copy of Pynchon’s epic about rockets, war, erections, paranoia, music, engineers, death, and dope. Probably the Ulysses of the post-war era and just as funny.
A haiku from Artless singer and punk provocateur Mykel Board. He has a book of haiku out now. Last night, we had a lovely group haiku reading in the bookstore.
October 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
A haiku from Artless singer and punk provocateur Mykel Board. He has a book of haiku out now. Last night, we had a lovely group haiku reading in the bookstore.
We got a nice donation of music books. This is only part of it.
October 27, 2025 at 11:21 PM
We got a nice donation of music books. This is only part of it.
Book #108 for 2025: Novalis’s unfinished novel/poem/fable about the blue flower, the development of a poet, Neoplatonism, mysticism, and other themes characteristic of Romanticism. And some alchemy imagery no doubt.
October 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Book #108 for 2025: Novalis’s unfinished novel/poem/fable about the blue flower, the development of a poet, Neoplatonism, mysticism, and other themes characteristic of Romanticism. And some alchemy imagery no doubt.
I’m helping put together a group haiku reading at the bookstore and drew this today. As per usual, I hated this drawing until five minutes ago.
October 21, 2025 at 3:50 AM
I’m helping put together a group haiku reading at the bookstore and drew this today. As per usual, I hated this drawing until five minutes ago.
I wore this shirt today not realizing it was Divine's birthday. I love when that happens.
October 19, 2025 at 10:19 PM
I wore this shirt today not realizing it was Divine's birthday. I love when that happens.
We are sufficiently crowd-shy to skip 7th Ave, but we made it to Union Square with my very serious sign and joined the protest there. (@alexwinter.com)
October 18, 2025 at 7:17 PM
We are sufficiently crowd-shy to skip 7th Ave, but we made it to Union Square with my very serious sign and joined the protest there. (@alexwinter.com)
Okay, now, we start negotiating about a reward.
October 12, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Okay, now, we start negotiating about a reward.
Book #105: wow, this was rough. A detached and unemotional psychological portrait of sexual abuse that was considered unpublishable when the author was alive. Brilliant, but I might not read it again.
October 11, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Book #105: wow, this was rough. A detached and unemotional psychological portrait of sexual abuse that was considered unpublishable when the author was alive. Brilliant, but I might not read it again.
Book #104 for 2025: Surprised to have enjoyed this one tremendously. It's my 5th Pynchon, but I was a little put off him in the past by the "postmodern" label, which I've found elsewhere to be a euphemism for unreadable. Much funnier than I expected and strikingly relevant.
October 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Book #104 for 2025: Surprised to have enjoyed this one tremendously. It's my 5th Pynchon, but I was a little put off him in the past by the "postmodern" label, which I've found elsewhere to be a euphemism for unreadable. Much funnier than I expected and strikingly relevant.
Book 103 for 2025: a short collection of Baldwin essays. I love his novels and the essays are another sort of wonder. Catching up on those.
October 7, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Book 103 for 2025: a short collection of Baldwin essays. I love his novels and the essays are another sort of wonder. Catching up on those.
Book 102 for 2025: about heteronormativity and childbearing. I liked the genre-mixing. To be honest, I liked Bluets a lot more because it had much less academic name-dropping.
October 7, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Book 102 for 2025: about heteronormativity and childbearing. I liked the genre-mixing. To be honest, I liked Bluets a lot more because it had much less academic name-dropping.