books

<p>This week&#x27;s <a href="/tags/newbooks/" rel="tag">#NewBooks</a> at the library:<br>- I expanded my collection of <a href="/tags/tolkien/" rel="tag">#Tolkien</a> books with The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien&#x27;s Creation from W.W. Norton<br>- I used my employer&#x27;s Christmas voucher to buy a copy of Simon Parkin&#x27;s The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City under Siege from Sceptre (look out for a review in due course).<br>- I also found a second-hand copy of What Is Regeneration? from the University of Chicago Press. </p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/scicomm/" rel="tag">#Scicomm</a> <a href="/tags/tolkien/" rel="tag">#Tolkien</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#Literature</a> <a href="/tags/developmentalbiology/" rel="tag">#DevelopmentalBiology</a> <a href="/tags/seedbank/" rel="tag">#SeedBank</a> <a href="/tags/botany/" rel="tag">#Botany</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span></p>

<p>Just in case, like me, you&#x27;re in need of something wholesome to start a new week: Betty&#x27;s Reading Room by the dock in Tingwall, Orkney.</p><p>Apparently set up by a couple in memory of their late friend Betty Prictor - a place for folk to hang out while waiting for the Rousay ferry and really just the loveliest memorial I can imagine.</p><p><a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/travel/" rel="tag">#travel</a></p>

<p>&quot;Then she opens the book like she’s raising the lid of a treasure chest. Each illuminated psalm is vibrant as a sunrise. She pictures the monk who copied the verse and decorated the margins, but instead of ink, she imagines him dipping his quill in the colors of bluebirds and holly berries and bright spring moss.&quot; ~~ from &#x27;Canticle&#x27; by Janet Rich Edwards</p><p><a href="/tags/bookquote/" rel="tag">#BookQuote</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span></p>

<p>On the Calculation of Volume, III. By Solvege Balle (trans by S Smith and J Russell) </p><p>part 3 of 7 - spoilers if you haven’t read prior ones!</p><p>You are still trapped repeating the same day in November, now for three plus years, and you can’t bear to interact with your unaware loved ones and friends; when suddenly you meet another entrapped person, you are joyful, but then it gets complicated.</p><p>4 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈 </p><p><a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> <a href="/tags/time/" rel="tag">#time</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/scifi/" rel="tag">#scifi</a></p>

<p>English mathematician Henry Briggs died <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1630.</p><p>He is notable for changing the original logarithms invented by John Napier into common (base 10) logarithms, which are sometimes known as Briggsian logarithms in his honour. The specific algorithm for long division in modern use was introduced by Briggs c. 1600 AD. Historically&#x27;, the &quot;common logarithm&quot; was known by its Latin name logarithmus decimalis or logarithmus decadis.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Briggs_(mathematician)" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Briggs_(mathematician)"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Br</span><span class="invisible">iggs_(mathematician)</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/mathematics/" rel="tag">#mathematics</a></p>

<p>“Multitudes” is a <a href="/tags/haiku/" rel="tag">#haiku</a> from Library on Fire, my 3rd volume of <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> available at <a href="https://www.nihtgengapress.com/product/library-on-fire" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.nihtgengapress.com/product/library-on-fire"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.nihtgengapress.com/product</span><span class="invisible">/library-on-fire</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/indie/" rel="tag">#indie</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a></p>

<p>Book Review: Lessons in Magic and Disaster<br>A Russian nested doll of stories, characters and relationships, and yes, magic<br>My review of <span class="h-card"><a href="https://wandering.shop/@charliejane" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>charliejane</span></a></span> &#x27;s book at the NOAF blog:</p><p><a href="http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/book-review-lessons-in-magic-and.html" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/book-review-lessons-in-magic-and.html"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.nerds-feather.com/2026/02/</span><span class="invisible">book-review-lessons-in-magic-and.html</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#sff</a> <a href="/tags/queer/" rel="tag">#queer</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtq/" rel="tag">#lgbtq</a> <a href="/tags/review/" rel="tag">#review</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a> @bookstodon</p>

<p>Reading Never Whistle At Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. I really have loved this book, I have a little over 100 pages left. The stories are amazing. </p><p>However, I do suggest not reading before going to sleep at night. I woke up this morning saying &quot;what the motherfucking hell&quot; after the dreams I had. </p><p>@bookstodon<br><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a></p>

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne

<p>Breakfast time: I am reading the book &quot;The Last Goddess&quot; by Kateřina Tučková.<br>(Translated from Czech by Andrew Oakland)<br>And it touches me because the book begins with themes that have also influenced my life - women, health care and intelligence service. I won&#x27;t say any more so as not to spoil anything ;) </p><p><a href="/tags/thelastgoddess/" rel="tag">#TheLastGoddess</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/iamreading/" rel="tag">#IAmReading</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#Reading</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#Literature</a> </p><p>@lesekreis<br>@boeken<br>@bookstodon</p>

<p>57th: The Hanging Garden Ian Rankin’s outstanding 9th book in John Rebus series where grapples with the hit and run on his grown daughter, a cold case linked to a possible Nazi war criminal, and gang violence breaking out on Edinburgh’s streets. <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/crimefiction/" rel="tag">#crimefiction</a> <a href="/tags/scotland/" rel="tag">#Scotland</a></p>

<p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://wandering.shop/@neve" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>neve</span></a></span> thank you for hosting <a href="/tags/writephant/" rel="tag">#writephant</a> today 🙏 </p><p><a href="/tags/selfpromo/" rel="tag">#SelfPromo</a> </p><p>My latest release is Little Wolf and the Witch, a Viking-inspired fake-married to the barbarian, only one bed, monster hunt m/m fantasy romance.</p><p>Blurb:</p><p>After being exiled in his youth, Feilan has earned a comfortable, complacent life in the Siftar trading post. He has very little to worry about…</p><p>…aside from a would-be emperor with covetous eyes on Siftar’s trade network, the Vaer raiders who insist on camping nearby every summer, the warrior who got him exiled all those years ago – and the jolterhead who thinks it’s perfectly reasonable to walk the new child-queen of Seven Hills into the raiders’ camp to beg for help.</p><p>Renart is young Queen Adeline’s uncle, and he’s trying to save her from a dangerous regency. They desperately need champions for a monster hunt, and Renart is not exactly grateful to Feilan for diverting them for their own safety.</p><p>He’s very grateful to Feilan for falling for the trick he tries next…</p><p>Available widely, and on Kobo Plus and Everand, as well as Hoopla or by request through your library, and in print. Buy direct or find universal links here:</p><p><a href="https://wendypalmer.au/books/#vaer" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>wendypalmer.au/books/#vaer</a></p><p>And read some writerly choices about the language here:<br><a href="https://wendypalmer.au/2025/05/04/author-notes-little-wolf-and-the-witch/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="wendypalmer.au/2025/05/04/author-notes-little-wolf-and-the-witch/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">wendypalmer.au/2025/05/04/auth</span><span class="invisible">or-notes-little-wolf-and-the-witch/</span></a></p><p>@bookstodon <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> @lgbtqbookstodon <a href="/tags/gayromance/" rel="tag">#GayRomance</a></p>

<p>CHEKHOV’S PANDEMIC?</p><p>BY EMMA ADLER</p><p><a href="https://www.publicbooks.org/chekhovs-pandemic/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.publicbooks.org/chekhovs-pandemic/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.publicbooks.org/chekhovs-p</span><span class="invisible">andemic/</span></a></p><p>Schekhov at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/708" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/708"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/708</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

<p>Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World should be read in tandem to understand today’s troubled times</p><p>Is there any past work of fiction that can help us make sense of today’s troubling trends? </p><p>By Laura Hood</p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/nineteen-eighty-four-and-brave-new-world-should-be-read-in-tandem-to-understand-todays-troubled-times-253872" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="theconversation.com/nineteen-eighty-four-and-brave-new-world-should-be-read-in-tandem-to-understand-todays-troubled-times-253872"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theconversation.com/nineteen-e</span><span class="invisible">ighty-four-and-brave-new-world-should-be-read-in-tandem-to-understand-todays-troubled-times-253872</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

<p>finished reading <a href="https://eggplant.place/search?r=1&amp;q=https://reviewdb.app/book/2pC5GVbwxIekluxnnd9PVg" rel="nofollow">Every Secret Thing</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 <br>by Marie Munkara.</p><p>Mission mob vs bush mob in the Top End. Crude &amp; cutting humour, with occasional glimpses of the raw, traumatic truth of dispossession &amp; cultural genocide.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/indigenousliterature/" rel="tag">#IndigenousLiterature</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://wyrms.de/user/wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>wildwoila@wyrms.de</span></a></span><br></p>

The Phoenix Program : America&#x27;s Use of Terror in Vietnam - Anna’s Archive

<p>Today at the NOAF blog, <br>@princejvstin.com<br> reviews BIRTH OF A DYNASTY: A Novel by Chinaza Bado </p><p><a href="http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/05/book-review-birth-of-dynasty-novel-by.html" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.nerds-feather.com/2025/05/book-review-birth-of-dynasty-novel-by.html"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.nerds-feather.com/2025/05/</span><span class="invisible">book-review-birth-of-dynasty-novel-by.html</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a></p>

<p>Emma Newman is angry. Justifiably so. </p><p>“I’m just a girl, standing in front of the British government, asking why they want to give away all my work as part of the UK&#x27;s 126 billion pound creative arts industry, to serve another industry being run by greedy tech bros, just so they can destroy everything else just that little bit faster.”</p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/writing/" rel="tag">#Writing</a> <a href="/tags/ai/" rel="tag">#AI</a> <a href="https://enewman.co.uk/rage-rage-against-the-dying-of-the-mic/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="enewman.co.uk/rage-rage-against-the-dying-of-the-mic/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">enewman.co.uk/rage-rage-agains</span><span class="invisible">t-the-dying-of-the-mic/</span></a></p>

<p>“In 2019, I went on a tour of Chernobyl. The Ukrainian guide who explained what led to the nuclear accident said something that stuck in my mind. “Americans grow up with the idea that questions lead to answers,” he said. “But Soviet citizens grew up with the idea that questions lead to trouble.”</p><p>Excerpt From<br>Nexus<br>Yuval Noah Harari</p><p><a href="/tags/nexus/" rel="tag">#nexus</a> <a href="/tags/yuvalnoaharari/" rel="tag">#yuvalnoaharari</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a></p>

<p>‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden</p><p>The trees encountered on a country stroll<br>Reveal a lot about a country’s soul.<br>– from Bucolics (1952-53) by W H Auden</p><p><a href="https://aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no</span><span class="invisible">-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

<p>Global Tourism Was Built on Headless Blemmyes</p><p>The Book of Marvels is the kind of show that’s hard to avoid at archival art institutions, wherein problematic historical content, aesthetic appeal, and fantasy all intersect.</p><p>By Natalie Haddad</p><p><a href="https://hyperallergic.com/1012368/global-tourism-was-built-on-headless-blemmyes/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Remembering%20Koyo%20Kouoh&amp;utm_campaign=D051325" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="hyperallergic.com/1012368/global-tourism-was-built-on-headless-blemmyes/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Remembering%20Koyo%20Kouoh&amp;utm_campaign=D051325"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hyperallergic.com/1012368/glob</span><span class="invisible">al-tourism-was-built-on-headless-blemmyes/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Remembering%20Koyo%20Kouoh&amp;utm_campaign=D051325</span></a></p><p>The Travels of Marco Polo at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/10636" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/10636</a><br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/12410" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/12410</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/medieval_art/" rel="tag">#medieval_art</a></p>

<p>Electric Fish and the First Battery</p><p>Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, the earliest electric battery, in part because of his investigations into the torpedo, an electric ray fish.</p><p>By: Danny Robb </p><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/electric-fish-and-the-first-battery/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=mcae&amp;utm_campaign=jstordaily-05282025" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="daily.jstor.org/electric-fish-and-the-first-battery/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=mcae&amp;utm_campaign=jstordaily-05282025"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">daily.jstor.org/electric-fish-</span><span class="invisible">and-the-first-battery/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=mcae&amp;utm_campaign=jstordaily-05282025</span></a></p><p>Alessandro Volta at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=alessandro+volta" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=alessandro+volta"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=alessandro+volta</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>