I have my oracle cards from the fabulous #RookAndRose book series (review at https://coffeenow.moomop.uk/post/2025/01/book-reviews-2024/#rook-and-rose-trilogy-by-m-a-carrick) by the writing duo M. A. Carrick (one half of whom is @swan_tower ) and found a vintage box to stash them in while on holiday.
So far used them to decide on whether to eat a plain chocolate bar or a Tunnock teacake (one-card draw of ‘The Face of Balance’ meant Tunnock to me).
Glad to buy these to support the authors and the commissioned artists.
#OracleCards #Tarot #Bookstodon

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A pack of printed oracle/tarot cards with three spread out on top of a wooden box with marquetry, in turn on top of a carpet. Three of the cards have titles that can be read as Jump at the Sun, Wings in Silk, and Hare and Hound. It can be seen the artwork on the cards is complex and detailed, showing a high level of skill has been used to create them.

Travelling companions on the train to dad today: Philip Fracassi's quite excellent The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, and some Dave Brubeck on the headphones.

There was a brownie too, but it has been munched already.

#books #livres #AmReading #horror #horreur #PhilipFracassi #HorrorNovel #RomanHorreur #TheAutumnSpringsRetirementHomeMassacre #bookstodon

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Paperback copy of The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre

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View down the railway carriage from between the seats in front of me

It's Friday and you need something new to read this weekend! Here is a list of books about time travel that appeal to a wide audience, not just science fiction fans:

#FridayBookRecs #bookstodon

For #ThrowbackThursday, here's an old photo I recently came across. It's from my childhood hardcopy of Charlotte's Web, which I still own.

And yes, my name was once Jeri Good, a very long time ago.

#books #bookstodon

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The inner pages of my copy of Charlotte's Web, which shows a large white spider's web on a turquoise background. In the lower right there's a nameplate with an image of a girl curled up in a big armchair, reading a book; the drawing uses white lines on a brown background. Under the image is my name, Jeri Good.

Some beautiful book arts of Moby Dick at the Peabody Essex Museum

#Books #Bookstodon #Salem #Massachusetts #Museums #Whales #Marine

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A photo of a version of Moby dick that has a prosthetic whale eye

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A photo of a version of Moby dick that has a popup whale in a popup book

With everything going on in the world it’s nice to escape into a (vaguely) possible future where the universe might be a more positive and accepting place.

I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but for me it’s comforting exactly like a perfect cup of tea…

#bookstodon

Amer Hiehel, Ruth Negga and Benedict Cumberbatch on stage at Wembley, performing the work of Palestinian poets.

#FreePalestine #Poetry #Bookstodon

Fediverse! I’m trying to pull together a small library for my high school students. My hope is to find adult / young adult books they might enjoy and read for fun. What I need are book donations (if you want to pass along novels you love) and recommendations. I don’t need monetary support at this time. If you HAVE books to spare, message me and I’ll give the school address. Feel free to boost. #teaching #bookstodon

Going to try and blog more regularly.

Either way, here's my review of the book I finished most recently - Boudicca's Daughter by Elodie Harper.

#Bookstodon @bookstodon

https://conversationsaboutbooks5.wordpress.com/2025/09/14/boudiccas-daughter-by-elodie-harper/

Finished “In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife” by Sebastian Junger.

In 2020, the author nearly died from an aneurysm in his abdomen. While in the OR, as medical staff rushed to save his life, he had an extraordinary experience. The doctors and nurses all to his right, an empty void to his left, and his dead father telling him it’s OK.

Part autobiography, part scientific inquiry, all goodness.

4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199798896

#bookstodon

yoooooooo there's gonna be a virtual book tour thingy for that book about the fediverse that i was in!!! and it's free to register!!!!! :3

https://fediforum.org/news/2025-09-04-robert-gehl-move-slowly-and-build-bridges-special-event/

#MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #FediPact #bookstodon #FediForum

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FediForum special event: Robert W. Gehl introduces his new Fediverse book: “Move Slowly and Build Bridges” A FediForum virtual book tour event on Thursday, September 11. Robert W. Gehl, award-winning author, professor and researcher of contemporary communications technologies, has been following and researching the Fediverse for many years. He has now published his insights in his new book: Move Slowly and Build Bridges. Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the struggle for democratic social media. Oxford University Press, August 2025. Move Slowly and Build Bridges tells the story of activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse – a large, noncentralized, alternative social media system. In contrast to big tech corporations like Meta, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use a powerful internet protocol to communicate with one another. These small communities can govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale – in stark contrast to the global and advertiser-friendly interests of Meta or X. The Mastodon network is perhaps the most notable and successful platform in the fediverse. Founded in 2016, Mastodon has positioned itself as an alternative to Twitter – one that can be completely under the control of its members, from it to its daily operations to it underlying software. Making a noncentralized, ethically-run social media system is no easy task

Finished "Automatic Noodle" by Annalee Newitz, a novella comfortably ensconced in the "cozy sci-fi" category. Becky Chambers fan? This one is probably a pretty safe bet!

A group of food service robots facing an uncertain future in the aftermath of a war decides to give it a go in their own restaurant. Only they aren't technically able to own one and they face some adversity that requires them to pull together.

3.5/5 stars, rounded up ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217388015-automatic-noodle

#bookstodon

Nice little afterthought at the end of the new Benjamin Meyers: "it is a testament to your commitment & intelligence that you have read this down to the small print. Give yourself a pat on the back. Fight fascism. Don't let the bastards grind you down"

Interesting & unusual book. Not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. Publishing October from Bloomsbury.

#books #livres #AmReading #BenjaminMeyers #JesusChristKinski #bookstodon

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Final page of notes in Jesus Christ Kinski, by Benjamin Meyers

Nearing the end of The Company of the Wolf by @itsdavewragg
All kicking off now - great fun!

#bookstodon

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Book cover for Company of the Wolf by David Wragg

Out with dad, who's feeling better (but sensibly not overdoing it).

Visited charming new, wee Indie #bookshop in #Bearsden , Bookmonger , which is also does cheese, charcuterie & wine! Treated myself to The Novel box: 3 cheeses, oatcakes, fruits, nuts & dressing.

#books #livres #cheese #fromage #bookshop #librairies #Glasgow #bookstodon #Bookmonger #cheese #fromage

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Grey painted wooden exterior of Bookmonger bookshop in Bearsden, set in an old stone building

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Oblong, white box with The Bookmonger logo on top & "The Novel" on front

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Looking inside the box from the previous pic, showing cheeses, fruits, oatcakes and more, with "literally delicious" printed on the front of the box

I'm having a virtual book event with the @fediforum folks next week!

https://fediforum.org/news/2025-09-04-robert-gehl-move-slowly-and-build-gridges-special-event/

I will talk about my new book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media.

Here's a link for more information about the book: https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com

#bookstodon

Just finished DRYSTONE, by @kristiedegaris. A remarkable memoir.

The author, who stepped out of the proverbial fire, could have been resigned to live as a ghost of herself, but instead, she worked to reclaim her life. By repairing the integrity of crumbling drystone walls, she found the strength that comes through achieving balance, the kind that shores up the foundation of the self. By learning to be intentional, she found harmony with the people in her life.

Those who have been broken have a talent for shoring up whatever has fallen apart, because instinctively, they can pinpoint weaknesses. The author shows us that rather than sublimating our emotions and experiences, we can acknowledge their existence, and strengthen everything around them until all pressures are balanced, and they ultimately become what holds us together.

@bookstodon #books #bookstodon #BooksWorthReading

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Drystone: A Life Rebuilt, by Kristie De Garis. Image of several stones in different colors, all in different shapes that will not fit together without serious work and shoring them up with other materials. The image metaphorically suggests what we are handed in life, and what it will take for us to build something with it. The sharp and irregular edges imply that this will be no easy or painless task.

I liked this, quite a lot 💖📖 ...

#Books #Bookstodon

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A painting, maybe Victorian era, of a woman in bed reading a book It is titled - "Have you ever realized how surreal reading a book actually is? You stare at marked slices of tree for hours hallucinating vividly"

Some photos I took way back (well, in 2022) at the library in Gloucester Cathedral…
#libraries #bookstodon

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Spines of very old books

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Windows separated by a bookshelf of very old books

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More spines of very old books. Bottom half of one shelf, upper half of another

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History of Great Britain volumes. Very old. Probably out of date.

Now reading: The Brilliant Abyss (by Helen Scales)

https://helenscales.com/portfolio/the-sea-beneath-us/

#Books #Bookstodon #Science #Marine

@MLE_online I’m easy in some ways. I head straight for sci-fi and tend to read everything an author writes if I find someone I like. Humor and history and alt-history are good too. I pick up good bets from friends and #bookstodon too. In fact most authors I’ve been reading in the last 2 years have been from tips on Mastodon. My last 3 great ones are Becky Chambers, Iain Banks, and Jasper Fforde.

Putting out a call for vegan writers via someone at my local writing group who is now editor of the vegan society. Any talented writers of the vegan persuasion interested, contact editor@vegansociety.com

#writing #bookstodon #vegan

#bookstodon #reading

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Storygraph August 2025 wrap-up page. Books: 16; pages: 5,756; av. rating 3.34. Highest rated reads: Of Monsters and Mainframes (4 stars), Lessons in Magic and Disaster (4 stars), Teo's Durumi (4 stars). Average book length: 352 pages; average time to finish: 4 days. 100% fiction. 56% digital, 44% audio.

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August 2025 reads: Dark Angel, John Sandford (2 stars) Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells (3 stars) Righteous Prey, John Sandford (3.5 stars) System Collapse, Martha Wells (3 stars) Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz (3 stars) Judgment Prey, John Sandford (3.5 stars) How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu (DNF) The Bullet That Missed, Richard Osman (3.5 stars) Ocean's Godori, Elaine U. Cho (4 stars) Teo's Durumi, Elaine U. Cho (4 stars) Toxic Prey, John Sandford (3 stars) Lethal Prey, John Sandford (4 stars) Lessons in Magic and Disaster, Charlie Jane Anders (4 stars) Of Monsters and Mainframes, Barbara Truelove (4 stars) The Black Echo, Michael Connelly (3 stars) Space Team, Barry J. Hutchinson (3 stars) The Black Ice, Michael Connelly (3.5 stars)

This month's fiction: very gay, very outer space.

Highlights included Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove, The Alliance series by Elaine U. Cho, and Charlie Jane Anders' Lessons in Magic and Disaster.

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@molly0xfff/video/7545179002202361101

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN3y3rkUggM

#bookstodon #reading

The bookshop I volunteer at is after more volunteers.

If you like hanging out with books, chatting to people about books, and generally just pottering about with books, get involved!

#Edinburgh #bookshops #bookstodon

https://edinburghcommunitybookshop.org/volunteer

So, if I'm reading this correctly, if I suggest library cats for all libraries I will inevitably become king of the world... 😜😁

@libraries @librarians @bookbubble @bookstodon @humour

#Library #LibraryMemes #Memes #Libraries #Librarians #Humor #Humour
#Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #BookLove #BoostingIsSharing

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There pictures of a grey cat in a library captioned: 1: Beloved Cat Fired from His Job at a Local Public Library 2: Beloved Cat Will Keep His Job at the Local Library After International Backlash 3: Library Cat Outlasts Councilman That Wanted Him Gone

Acquired a book yesterday that might interest you two @TheBreadmonkey @TwoClownsEating

Tagline: "Meet girls. Take drugs. Listen to music"

#Bookstodon

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Cover of Rave by Rainald Goetz

"From 2003 to 2023, the share of Americans who read for pleasure fell 40 percent, a sharp decline that is part of a continuing downward trend."

Here, in my view, is one clear contributor of our becoming an increasingly less empathetic, less intellectual, less capable of critical thought populace.

READ! READ TO YOUR CHILDREN! USE THE WONDERFUL RESOURCES AT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY!

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/well/reading-pleasure-decline-study.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f08.cUTF.Td32Tr7cPhNW 🎁

#bookstodon #us #Reading #library

PSA: The excellent #murderbot series by Martha Wells is available as a Humble Bundle right now, all 7 books in the series + 7 short stories and other novels. DRM-free epub files. Highly recommended.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books

"Despite being a powerful and lethal security unit, Murderbot is an extreme introvert. Its primary goal is to be left alone so it can spend its time watching hours of its favorite soap operas and other media. It's highly cynical, sarcastic, and finds human interaction to be awkward and tedious. However, it also finds itself unexpectedly forming bonds with the humans it's supposed to protect, which leads to a lot of internal conflict and reluctant heroism."

#SciFi #bookstodon #books

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Book cover for "The Murderbot Diaries," showing an astronaut (actually a SecUnit, a human-like cyborg) with a in a spacesuit floating in front of a spaceship in deep space.

I've read many of these. But several I haven't. It feels like a badge of honour to complete the list - I've been slacking!

"Banned! The 20 books they didn’t want you to read."

#books #bookstodon
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/23/banned-the-20-books-they-didnt-want-you-to-read?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other