For those who need it, I've updated my #Uplift feed:

bsky.app/profile/debb...

Hand-curated by yours truly, criteria unapologetically subjective.

I... oh my god.
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...

Waking up and preparing for a day at towerporchfest.org. At noon I'll be watching No Shop Talk at the duck stage, a block south of the Tower theater!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng was deep and strange and intimate. It’s mostly about two families that tangle into each other – Mia and Pearl rent a house from the Richardsons – Trip, Lexie, Moody, Izzy, William and Elena. #booksky

Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang was bold. Her main character, Sciona, is very focused. She falls into the realm of extraordinary competence and skill- appropriate for a glass-ceiling breaker- and the narrative doesn’t flinch from giving her some common flaws associated with driven people.

Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki is a relatively straightforward book about cynicism, optimism, and skepticism. It’s also a touching tribute a fellow researcher and friend (Emile) told in anecdotes throughout the book. #booksky

The Siege of Tilpur (by Brian McClellan) was an interesting universe (with Powder Mages in a colonial setting); with a strong main character well positioned to demonstrate lots of angles to the setting.
Jury Duty by Jim Bucher was a fun Dresden interlude; it's easy to slip back into that world.

The Hall of the Diamond Queen (by Anthony Ryan) was effective - I kept thinking about the Voice and implied history well after finishing.
The Ethical Heresy (by Sam Sykes) leaned hard on the costs of compliance with injustice, with a fascinating (and relatable) viewpoint character.

Uncharming (by Deliah Dawson) was a very creepy look at a weird underworld,
Mark Lawrence's A Good Name was an interesting take on a culture of honor, and went in an interesting direction to capture good lessons about maturity.

I particularly liked Madwalls (by Rachel Caine) for the engaging lead character and parental relationship.
Dichotomy of Paradigms (by Mary Robinette) was almost campy in a good way - when you're contracted to make a pirate look good, art goes interesting places.

The short story was from The Great Way series - a sad tale about a doomed subject kingdom on the eve of its freedom.
There were lots of other interesting stories; many clearly set in new to me worlds, and would probably appreciate more with context. Like The Way Into Oblivion for others.

I recently read Unbound, collected short stories by Shawn Speakman. It was mixed - with fascinating to me introductions to new authors, and some new short stories from old favorites. I was looking forward to Harry Connolly's story, had no idea what it'd be, but I like the worlds that he writes.

I wrote this for myself and posted it to my blog as a form of accountability to remind myself to avoid the outrage/despair cycle.

In honor of FDR’s CCC, I’m calling my rubric the 5Cs:

Cope/curate
Care
Connect
Construct
Challenge

imakeupworlds.com/index.php/20...

It'll be a while before my friends reach critical mass here, but with Facebook imitating X-was-twitter in pushing people out, maybe we'll coalesce.

It was well written and moving; a lot of hard choices. The many minor frictions - even with people and agencies ostensibly helping - was rough. We're often told to give money to food banks - they can leverage it much better than we can -- but the same applies to individuals.

I just finished rereading @byharryconnolly.bsky.social's The Great Way trilogy. It's excellent and avoids a lot of unconscious tropes, and includes a period of dynamic growth after a terrible disruption to the status quo. Way into Chaos starts-- and doesn't end as a first book is expected to.

I'm a big fan of Becky Chamber's books. I've loved them all, but the Monk and Robot books have been so charmingly and sparsely written that I finished, waited a few minutes, and began reading them again. (A Prayer for the Crown Shy follows A Psalm for the Wild Built.)