iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 15h

#OnThisDay in 1713, Denis Diderot was born. Read Philipp Blom on the importance of the French thinker's philosophical writings and how they offer a pertinent alternative to the Enlightenment cult of reason spearheaded by Rousseau and Voltaire: publicdomainreview.org/essay/a... #OTD

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Thomas Noriega @nhomastoriega.bsky.social · 9h

Does anyone need a handheld Epictetus? In 1760, Francis Douglas made sure the good people of Aberdeen could assuage their worried with a pocket-sized dose of stoic philosophy. Now with Latin translation! (National Library of Scotland, Hall.199.k.23)

A small brown book is suspended in a person's hand over a gray cushion with a white string weight upon it

The same book is open, revealing a title page in Greek and Latin

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Stands with Canada Tom Allman 🏴🇨🇦 @yoohootom.bsky.social · 12h

It seems that 13 years ago I finished @bluejo.eurosky.social 's "Among Others". It's still one of my favorites and long overdue for a re-read. 📚📚📚

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 19h

Owl of the Day: Tawny Owl 📷 Ivan Sjögren

Owl perched in tree hollow, description from ebird: ‘A medium-sized owl with deep black eyes, strictly nocturnal and infrequently seen. Gray to brown overall with a big rounded head. Found at a broad range of elevations from sea level to high mountains, in woodland, forest, parkland, rocky areas, and sometimes towns and villages. Tends to roost well hidden in foliage during the day, when may be detected by tracking down the excited sound of small birds mobbing the owl. Comes out at night to hunt in clearings and more open areas. Most often detected by its quavering hoots and "kee-wik!" shrieks, given at night. Includes Maghreb Owl, formerly considered a separate species.’

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HiddenScifi.com @hiddenscifi.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Jo Walton and Ada Palmer's Trace Elements (March 16, 2027) examines an unspoken pact in science fiction: readers track strange details, trusting the author to make them add up. us.macmillan.com/books/978125032308… #SciFi #SFFBooks

us.macmillan.com

Trace Elements

From two of the most acclaimed writers in the field today, a groundbreaking look at how science fiction and fantasy writing—and reading!—work.Jo Walton a...

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Patrick DeWind @dewind.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Book #22 - Inventing the Renaissance by @adapalmer.bsky.social. Dr Palmer gives us not only a history of the Renaissance, but a history of the history of the Renaissance. Not being much of a historian myself, I found this boom amazing for filling in many of the gaps in my understanding.

Cover art for Inventing the Renaissance featuring the statue of Perseus holding Medusa's head by Benvenuto Cellini on an orange background.

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🌈miski🌦️ @miski.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

my unironic life advice for everyone is to go to an art museum once in a while because i think being in an environment that encourages you to really *see* something is good for you

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Patrick DeWind @dewind.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Few things delight me more than knowing that Ada Palmer and Jo Walton are besties. It gives me hope for the whole Universe.

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Patrick DeWind @dewind.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Book #25 - The Just City by @bluejo.eurosky.social Having studied philosophy and classics in school (I even have a degree in one of them) I was a bit scared of reading something that delved deeply into both, but I was delighted by how good the story was.

Cover art of The Just City by Jo Walton featuring a detail from The School of Athens by Raphael.

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Goodnight. May we sail the river of night gently until we reach the safe harbour of morning. 🖼️ Mandy Tsung

Boat punted on dark river of autumn leaves between trees, illustration.

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Dustin A. Chacón @lingdustin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:

Screenshot of a Tweet from Pope Leo XIV. It reads:

"In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgen to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity."

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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 02/10/2026

Possibly the silliest bonus episode we've ever done, in which we mine the highlights from several years of keeping an inbox folder titled "Worst Pitches" ...and challenge ourselves to still find a linguistics tie-in! (actual product names redacted to keep it in the spirit of fun)

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Jo Walton @bluejo.eurosky.social · 02/10/2026

This sounds fabulous, exactly my cup of tea.

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

THE POISON PALACE: unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate & mythic...from the Indian subcontinent & stretching all the way to ancient Babylon--it resounds in time, & sings to the present with a singular voice.

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Jo Walton @bluejo.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026

This is the inverted cover of Everybody's Perfect, as seen by me in Dark Reader (this is a screenshot) and weirdly it's still a great cover!

Cover of Everybody's Perfect, with a masked figure holding other masks, in inverted colours.

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Scene representing #October, from the 15th-century Très Riches Heures — taking place at what would now be the centre of Paris (a block or two south of l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts). More here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/l…

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Andrew Plotkin @eblong.com · 01/10/2026

It has been a few years since I remembered to start reading _A Night in the Lonesome October_ on October 1st, so I have just read chapter 1 of _A Night in the Lonesome October_. Out loud. Obviously.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Happy October butterflies! Here's #SomethingBeautiful - this morning's moon looking pale and interesting, a true Pre-Raphaelite beauty drowning in blue sky as still and clear as a gazing pool.

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Alice Cann @alicecann.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

4. Not with a bang, by Temi Oh 5. Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz (audiobook) 6. Everybody’s Perfect, by Jo Walton #2026reads #AugustReads I wrote a blog post inspired by reading Not with a bang, and buying Everybody’s Perfect.

researcherlibrarian.wordpress.com

Into (and out of) Edinburgh theatre narratives

Reflection on theatre seen at the Edinburgh Festival 2026, the links with other fiction, including books, and the effective of experiencing narratives for a second time. By an academic librarian on…

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Luke Ontario @coolhand.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I have no idea if this is true but the collage kills me

A black lemur in a leafy tree with its mouth open as if singing, beside an inset photo of Pavarotti striking a similar pose. Text reads: “New research shows lemurs use operatic techniques when they sing, to reach high notes.” Classic FM.

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Jon Evans @rezendi.com · 01/10/2026

It really is odd and fascinating what persists. It seems plausible that come 2048 more people will know of and talk about Dodie Smith and her relatively obscure novel I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, published 100 years earlier, than once-superfamous-A-lister Johnny Carson. Cult art really lasts.

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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026

oh now this is an EVENT

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beforecast.bsky.social @beforecast.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Beforecast Episode 4 with @adapalmer.bsky.social is now live on Youtube, and everywhere you get podcasts! In this episode, we discuss why Machiavelli truly loved Florence, and refused to go anywhere else. Youtube: youtu.be/ehJRm-OzbHo RSS feed for the show: feeds.libsyn.com/622815/rss

youtu.be

Why did Machiavelli love this city so much? | Beforecast Episode 4 with Ada Palmer

YouTube video by Beforecast

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Garrett Wollman @gwollman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Since I finally shelved some books, an updated bookcase shot. Among the new titles shelved properly for the first time in non-fiction Lu–Z are @adapalmer.bsky.social's INVENTING THE RENAISSANCE and @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social's LIMITARIANISM. Oh and Palmer and @bluejo.eurosky.social's TRACE ELEMENTS.

A photo of a six-shelf bookcase stuffed full of books

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Kari Maaren @angrykem.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestOfTheMonth. I love #CedarWaxwings, and I find the awkward teenage ones especially charming. This one sat in this spot and stuffed its face with every available berry. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #wildlife #WildlifePhotography #nature #NaturePhotography

A young Cedar Waxwing, a brown bird with a streaky breast, a yellow tail tip, and a white eye mask, perches on a branch and tosses a bright red berry down its own throat.

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Patrick Johanneson 🚀👻 🇨🇦 @patrickjohanneson.com · 30/09/2026

There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them. —Jo Walton @bluejo.eurosky.social

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Elsa Sjunneson, Order of the Bat @snarkbat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A week from today DEAR BLIND LADY will be out! This is your last week to preorder and get a shiny pin from Sasquatch press! Just send your receipt to Bailey at bluestarpress dot com. Also if you’re in Seattle you can join me next Tuesday night for a launch party with ASL interpretation & bingo!

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Jon Evans @rezendi.com · 29/09/2026

for those interested, looks like my super weird and worryingly relevant AI novel EXADELIC is currently available for only $2.99 on your Kindle www.amazon.com/Exadelic-Jon...

amazon.com

Exadelic

Exadelic - Kindle edition by Evans, Jon. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Exadelic.

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hello Tuesday. Ormesby Psalter, England, c.1310

Owl perched on back of a hare, marginalia.

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Cameron Reed (she|they) @lateonsetgirl.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Kindle edition of The Fortunate Fall is on sale now for $2.99. The deal is Amazon-only and seems to be US and Canada-only. It ends at midnight Pacific so don't dither! www.amazon.com/Fortunate-Fa...

amazon.com

The Fortunate Fall

The Fortunate Fall - Kindle edition by Reed, Cameron, Walton, Jo. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Fortunate Fall.

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cmrn knzlmn @ckunzelman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you are a graduate student in the humanities (construed as broadly as possible), what is the MOST EXCITING book published in the last five years to you? Please repost if you’re not a graduate student!

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Johnnie Jae @johnniejae.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Yesterday was a big day for Indigenous literature as Kinsale Drake, Darcie Little Badger, and Stacie Shannon Denetsosie received the 2026 American Book Award for Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms. redpopnews.com/beyond-the-g...

redpopnews.com

Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms Receives 2026 American Book Award

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Walt Spookman @waltshitman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I absolutely loved Everybody’s Perfect by @bluejo.eurosky.social. A gentle, inventive, and protean fantasy told relay-race style across a fantastical, otherworldly Venice-like city. Full of perfectly formed characters and some miraculous world(s)building.

The cover of Everybody’s Perfect by Jo Walton. A cloaked and masked figure is surrounded by several Venetian carnivale masks. In the background, dark mists swirl across a bridge arching over a canal.

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Hello Saturday. 🐇 A little marginalia. #InternationalRabbitDay

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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Yet, despite all of the [waveth handes 360 degrees], still so much beautye yn the worlde. So much art made by so manye, as strategyes for survival, consolacioun, courage, joy. And you, out ther, makinge somethinge beautiful. You are the best.

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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank" poets.org/poem/having-...

poets.org

Having a Coke with You

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne

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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"May memory restore again and again The smallest color of the smallest day: Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn." www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42633/...

poetryfoundation.org

Calmly We Walk through This April’s Day

(... that time is the fire in which we burn.) (This is the school in which we learn ...) What is the self amid this blaze? What am I now that I was then…

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Murphy's Lawyer @menageri.org.uk · 25/09/2026

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.” - Jo Walton

Sunset over Leeds, Yorkshire. 25 September 2026.

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ribbonknight @ribbonknight.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Listen to this podcast immediately, all three episodes that are out so far. Ada Palmer with Adam Davidson, dude who started the original planet money. IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD.

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Jo Walton @bluejo.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026

Letter to Mike Ford: Still. It's the twenty year anniversary of the death of John M. Ford. New poem on my Patreon www.patreon.com/bluejo/posts...

patreon.com

Letter to Mike Ford: Still | Jo Walton

I think of you at every station. I still talk to you in my head. I have to talk about you in past tense. I still choke on "was". In Minneapo

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