books

1y

What’s the first book you remember loving?

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1y

Dear, readers, if you prefer books that ignore the conventions of their genre I’m your man. I never tread old ground just to appeal to the market. I only write stories that no one else can, especially not ChatGPT. Buy my books today for confirmation.

➡️ (https://books2read.com/ap/8ZqmDn/Ian-Gregoire)

#Author #Books #Bookstodon #BookToot #Bookworms #BuyMyBooks #Readers #Writer

Promo image of two novels, The Exercise Of Vital Powers and The Apprentice In The Master’s Shadow by Ian Gregoire.

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31d

To Begin the World Again

Thomas Paine, America’s Leveller

by Brooke Allen

https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-fading-promise-of-higher-education/articles/to-begin-the-world-again

Common Sense by Thomas Paine at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147

#books #literature

Title page of Common Sense.

It outlines the four subjects covered: the origin of government, monarchy and hereditary succession, the state of American affairs, and America's ability for independence — with a handwritten owner's name ("W. Hamilton") inscribed at the top.

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1y

The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar review – whimsical fantasy in a kingdom long, long ago

the-magician-of-tiger-castle-by-louis-sachar-review-whimsical-fantasy-in-a-kingdom-long-long-ago

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1y

How to Restore a Rembrandt

It takes more than good chemistry

By Sara Kiley Watson

https://nautil.us/how-to-restore-a-rembrandt-1230774/

Rembrandt at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7232

#books #art #painting #restoration

The Nightwatch, or Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (1642).

Thepaintimg depicts Captain Frans Banninck Cocq in black with a red sash, striding forward and gesturing with his left hand, while Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch in bright yellow and white walks beside him. They lead a lively company of Amsterdam civic guards, all armed and in motion.

Rembrandt breaks from the static formality of traditional militia portraits by showing the men mid-action: muskets being loaded and fired, flags waving, a drummer beating time, and a dog barking. The scene is dramatically lit with golden light piercing deep shadow, creating strong contrasts and directing the viewer’s attention to key figures.

In the midst of the bustle, a mysterious girl in a golden dress — symbolically linked to the company’s emblem — stands illuminated, carrying a chicken with claws visible at her belt.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Night_Watch_-_HD.jpg

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19d

"Much of the insensibility and hardness of the world is due to the lack of imagination which prevents a realization of the experiences of other people."

Democracy and Social Ethics, 1902.

~Jane Addams (6 September 1860 – 21 May 1935)

Books by Jane Addams at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/602

#books #literature

George de Forest Brush - Jane Addams, 1906 by George de Forest Brush.

Jane Addams wears a deep red velvet dress with lace collar, dark hair pinned back.

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1y

A thing I love about Austen's work is how immensely quotable it is. All you need to do is open up one of her books and you'll soon enough find a quote to your liking!

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #JaneAusten @romancelandia

Light green flowered background. There are two lines of medium green curlycues at the top and bottom of the image. The text reads, "And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody." "And yours, he replied, with a smile, "is wilfully to misunderstand them." Below the bottom two golden yellow lines, it says, "Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen"

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1y

Inventing the American Revolution: On Thomas Paine’s Guide to Fighting Dictatorship

“How are free people supposed to stay free? One short answer: don’t trust anyone over thirty.”

By Matthew Redmond

https://lithub.com/inventing-the-american-revolution-on-thomas-paines-guide-to-fighting-dictatorship/

Thomas Paine at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/91

#books #literature #history

Portrait of Thomas Paine by John Wesley Jarvis, c. 1806–1807.

Paine is shown bust-length, turned slightly to one side, his gaze meeting the viewer with a direct look. His face is lined with age — high forehead, prominent cheekbones, and deep-set eyes.

He wears a dark coat over a waistcoat, with a white cravat neatly tied at his throat. His hair, thinning and swept back, is rendered in soft, light strokes, possibly a powdered style or simply greying with age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine#/media/File:Thomas_Paine_A16220.jpg

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92d

The addition of Abigail as POV character means Peter Grant gets a well deserved break, and that this is definitely the best of the later books in the Rivers of London series. 4/5 stars.

I give the series overall so far 3,5 stars, but not being a big crime/detective reader I'm perhaps not the target audience. But if you're looking for a crime series filled with magic and other fantasy/scifi elements, and the occasional geeky refrence, this might be for you...

#Reading #Readers #ReadingCommunity #Novel #Books #Fiction #Recommendation #Bookrecommendation #Review #Bookreview #Bookwyrm #Bookstodon #FantasyBooks

(comment on Stone and Sky)

Ben Aaronovitch: Stone and Sky (2025, Orion Publishing Group, Limited)

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348d

How Easter Island’s giant statues “walked” to their final platforms

Workers with ropes could make the moai "walk" in zig-zag motion along roads tailor-made for the purpose.

by Jennifer Ouellette

https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/how-easter-islands-giant-statues-walked-to-their-final-platforms/

Easter Island at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=easter+islands

#books #archeology

STATUE IN QUARRY.

Ready to be launched; movement prevented by stone wedges. Base towards spectator.
[No. 57. Fig. 60.]

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/69807/pg69807-images.html#Page_124

This picture shows a large, unfinished stone statue lying horizontally in its original rock quarry. The statue appears to have been nearly detached from the surrounding bedrock, with its base facing the viewer. The massive figure, partially shaped and smoothed, is still held in place by stone wedges that prevent its movement.

A man standing beside the statue provides a sense of scale, emphasizing the monument’s impressive size and the precision of the ancient stonework. The surrounding rocky walls bear visible tool marks, suggesting the stages of carving and extraction.

This image documents an important archaeological moment, capturing the statue “ready to be launched”—a stage between creation and transport—illustrating the techniques and monumental ambition of its makers.

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1y

How a public library's summer game took over a Michigan city

by Neda Ulaby

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5477533/public-library-summer-game-ann-arbor-michigan

#libraries #books

Shelves of books in a library.

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1y

My thoughts on Blood Meridian (spoilers)

The beginning of this little think piece of mine will cover the ending of the book, as I believe the ending is the glue that binds the rest of the novel together. I’ll then add some general thoughts about plot, pacing, and prose.

The epilogue, consistent with the rest of the book, is metaphor in its most profound form. In my mind, the holes taken from the earth represent the progress of humanity. Humanity as a whole brings hell about the natural land it inhabits and destroys God’s creations indiscriminately, but an infinitesimal number of men lead the charge. Those who are not leaving have no choice but to comply. The holes have already been carved, and their contents incinerated; as followers, we have no choice but to watch our step, lest we twist an ankle.

As for the last chapter, I will not pore over the whole thing. Instead, I’ll say that it is clear the judge is supposed to represent God to some degree (literal or otherwise). At the very least, his character is used as an example of how power and knowledge harnessed by capable hands is able to commit atrocities on a biblical scale; and just as the christian god accrues followers, and just as the christian god’s philosophies oft end up causing more harm than good, so too does the judge accrue followers, and so too do his philosophies, grand and astute as they may be, result in harm. Perhaps the judge is an allegory for Manifest Destiny.

I do wonder what significance the imbecile holds. The judge requires a follower of some sort, and so bereft of that, he resorts to the imbecile, perhaps?

As for the rest of the book, I do have a few bones to pick.

I really am not one for this writing style. I see it as a hindrance. It’s bearable, but people liken the prose to Moby Dick (brazenly displayed on the front AND back cover of the book), and frankly, this is an insult to Melville. Yes, the imagery is vivid, the subtext is rich, and the book gets very philosophical at points. But in his prose, McCarthy only holds a candle to Melville when the judge is speaking.

The lack of quotation marks coupled with the run-on sentences were novel and helped set the mood initially, but the more I read, the more these aspects came off as pretentious, needless obstruction.

The book also gets into a rut towards the middle: vivid depictions of nature, a taste of philosophy, an atrocity, a town, an atrocity, rinse and repeat. The book’s complete lack of emotion is harrowing, but also tends to make things blend together, especially in the middle.

All in all, this book definitely has weight, and I have lots to think about.

I’m curious as to what messages you all got from the book as a whole. What meaning did you gleam from the tail end of the book? What do you think of the prose?

I can dive into thoughts on characters, specific events, etc. in the comments.

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122d

My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-my-favorite-books-by-my-favorite-authors/

#TopTenTuesday #Books #AmReading

Book cover for Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. Image on cover is a painting of several brown women standing around and staring at each other in a room. Some of them are only wearing their underwear.

Book cover for Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows the face of a young African woman who has a short Afro and is wearing hoop earrings superimposed on a drawing of a jungle that is so thickly packed with trees light can barely penetrate it. In this interpretation of the scene, the hoop earrings are now thick vines hanging from the trees!

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1y

The Three-Body Problem Trilogy by Cixin Liu

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139d

Great Job, Internet!: Complete your bookshelf with a copy of Infinite Jeffs

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1y

A Man Read 3,599 Books Over 60 Years, and Now His Family Has Shared the Entire List Online

https://www.openculture.com/2025/08/a-man-read-3599-books-over-60-years-and-now-his-family-has-shared-the-entire-list-online.html

One page of Dan's list of books

#books #literature

List of books from Dan's list

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1y

Fascinating trilogy of essays by Brooklyn Rail's #RossWolfe critiquing the late neo-Stalinist philosopher & historian #DomenicoLosurdo, w/ particularly focus on #Losurdo's attacks on #WesternMarxism in his eponymously titled book.

https://newintermag.com/against-losurdo/
https://newintermag.com/losurdos-lies/
https://newintermag.com/revisionism-revisited/

Also a great pod discussion of the series w/ Ross: https://www.patreon.com/posts/138384057

#Marxism #FrankfurtSchool #politicalTheory #historyOfMarxism #Stalinism #campism #philosophy #books @bookstodon

Edited 1y ago

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1y

What's new, you ask?

"The Nemesis Legacy" is coming in January!
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228875406-the-nemesis-legacy

To celebrate, a Kindle giveaway for "8" in the US:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/419607-8-tales-of-the-big-men-from-the-nod-wells-timelines

Ronald McGillvray & I have a plan...

So, yeah... a lot! 📚🤪👍
http://michaelshotter.com

@bookstodon @specfic @scifi @horrorbooks

#bookstodon #booktodon #booksofmastodon #readersofmastodon #book #books #read #reads #reading #readingcommunity #whattoread

Michael Shotter is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a lover of science, fiction, and fantasy, his works aim to push beyond the boundaries of traditional genre fiction into new and exciting realms born from literary craftsmanship.

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185d

Morgan le Fay was King Arthur’s sister – but also a healer, mathematician and murderer

by Nicole Kimball

https://theconversation.com/morgan-le-fay-was-king-arthurs-sister-but-also-a-healer-mathematician-and-murderer-275927

Morgan le Fay at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31900

#books #literature

A painting of Morgan le Fay by Frederick Sandys, 1863-1864 depicts her enchanting a cloak.

A young woman with wild copper-red hair kneels in intense concentration, eyes half-closed, lips parted in incantation, one hand extended over a small burning brazier while the other holds a golden object. She wears sumptuous layered robes — a deep green outer cloak, a yellow-gold embroidered gown decorated with fantastical creatures, and a great sweep of crimson-purple silk behind her. A leopard skin drapes across her lap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_le_Fay#/media/File:Sandys,_Frederick_-_Morgan_le_Fay.JPG

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2y

Aphra Behn, the First Englishwoman to Earn a Living With Her Writing, Is Finally Getting Her Due
A year-long event series aims to champion the pioneering 17th-century writer’s legacy

By Elizabeth Djinis via @SmithsonianMag

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/aphra-behn-the-first-englishwoman-to-earn-a-living-with-her-writing-is-finally-getting-her-due-180984662/

Aphra Behn's The Amorous Prince, or, The Curious Husband was staged this month for the first time in 350 years.

#books #literature #theatre

Aphra Behn's The Amorous Prince, or, The Curious Husband was staged this month for the first time in 350 years. Sepia Times / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A portrait of an elegant woman wearing a stunning gold dress.

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348d

This week's #NewBooks at the library: I bought a discounted copy of Thomas Piketty's brick Capital and Ideology (that's what reading about degrowth gets you into...), bought an original (not print-on-demand) copy of the Imbries' classical #ScienceHistory book on the discovery of the #IceAges, and bought a discounted copy of The #Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist's Journey to the Dawn of our Solar System on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.

#Economics #IceAges #Palaeoclimatology #HistoryOfScience #HistSci #Astronomy #Books #Scicomm #Bookstodon @bookstodon

A photo of three books on a small, brown, wooden table. The out-of-focus background shows black shelves full of books, part of the beech-coloured laminate floor, and a red curtain covering the door.

On the left, standing up, Capital and Ideology, showing the title and author name in golden lettering on a cream-white background.

In the middle, lying down but propped up slightly, Ice Ages: Solving the Mystery, showing an old photograph of a snow-covered mountaintop.

On the right, standing up, The Asteroid Hunter, showing a comet against a colourful blue and red nebula. The picture is divided into nine panels, with the horizontal bars giving the book's subtitle.

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1y

🇦🇺 📖 **Have Men Really Stopped Reading? We Take A Deeper Dive Into The Data**

"_It looks like reading statistics vary greatly depending on how the question is asked. Multiple surveys show that a significant proportion of males are still reading books, though they’re doing so less frequently than they used to. And it’s clear that if there is a crisis of declining reading rates, it is affecting men and women, boys and girls._"

🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/aug/17/men-books-reading-rates-data-statistics-women-children-australia.

#News #Data #DataViz #Statistics #Reading #Australia #Education #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon

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1y

Many public libraries — including the one in San Antonio — have stopped charging late fees, which is a good thing for one family. An individual based in Oregon posted "Your Child, His Family, and Friends" back to the library, 82 years after it was due, saying that they had found it in their father's possessions after his death, and that the book must have been borrowed by their grandmother. I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore," the writer said. The library said that had they still imposed fines, it would have been in the region of $900. The 1940s parenting book will now be donated for sale at a used book store. Here's more from @CBSNews.

https://flip.it/kTtZqc
#Books @bookstodon #History @histodons #SanAntonio #Texas

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1y

I suppose an introduction is in order. Better make one before I forget...

I'm Ferrus, your local queer goat! 🐐

I'm a #pansexual, #agender, and #aromantic of the #autistic #furry variety! My presentation is primarily feminine, though I incorporate some masculine or neutral pieces when the mood strikes me.

I was born and raised in #newzealand, though you wouldn't know that from my accent, a weird american-british-kiwi hybrid.

My Hobbies/Special Interests include but are not limited to: #linux, #anime, #vidogames, #tabletop, #books, #movies, #tv, #space, #fantasy, #sciencefiction, #oldtechnology, #lego, and #sustainablefashion

My favourite pieces of media are: #Warhammer40K, #TheExpanse, #StarTrek, #StarBlazers, #Tensura, #DungeonsAndDragons, #Pathfinder, #WorldofDarkness, #Stargate, and the #nasuverse

I may occasionally toot about these

Currently looking for education in some kind of Systems Administration Role, and run #NixOS on a daily basis. I also build my own machines.

My toots and boosts may occasionally be #NSFW. DNI with these unless you are of legal age.

Feel free to DM me, unless you're a #troll, #bigot, or anything else of the sort.

Offenders will find themselves fed to an Elder Wyrm (the mute/block button)

#introduction #welcome #newhere

Edited 1y ago

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1y

Want to see healthy polyamory in a queer-normative fantasy setting? Cover copy, the first 3 chapters, and up-to-date purchase links for my triad romance, The Harmony of Falling Snow, are here:

https://andorabrokaw.com/the-harmony-of-falling-snow/

#Books #Romantasy #PolyamorousBooks #QueerBooks #PolyamorousRomance

The cover of THe Harmony of Falling Snow by Andora Brokaw, featuring a dragon on a mountaintop looking up into a snowstorm, next to text reading "The Harmony of Falling Snow by Andora Brokaw, A sweet MMF polyamorous romance in a queer-normative fantasy world, now available from Hedgie Press"

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