iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 5h

From 9 years ago: "Writing a Trilogy: Lessons Learned" by @tomdoyle.bsky.social... civilianreader.com/2017/09/30/g... Author's novels published by @torbooks.bsky.social in North America

Cover for Tom Doyle's AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN - man holding machine gun; woman in front holding a pistol in each hand, held off to the sides; a religious figure faded in the background; plus author and title information

Cover for Tom Doyle's THE LEFT-HAND WAY - a gentleman in tactical gear, holding a rapier and a rifle; a woman in a trench coat in front, holding and aiming a pistol with both hands; some helicopters overlaid and behind; plus author and title information.

Cover for Tom Doyle's WAR AND CRAFT - a gentleman in tactical gear, a red beret, holding a rifle; a woman in a white dress (old fashioned, maybe?), holding a pistol in each hand - obscured by author's name; some airplanes behind; a religious figure faded in the background; a city's silhouette as well; plus author and title information.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 5h

TBT for CR20: An interview with Kristen Ciccarelli, from 2018... civilianreader.com/2018/09/30/i... Published in the UK by @gollancz.bsky.social, in North America by @harpercollins.bsky.social

UK cover for Kristen Ciccarelli's THE CAGED QUEEN -- a mouth with a feather in front, plus author and title information.

North American cover for Kristen Ciccarelli's THE CAGED QUEEN -- a female figure, facing left, holds a dagger behind her head. Plus author and title information.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 12/09/2026

Disappointing ork fans everywhere…

Screengrab from Spelling Bee. The word “dakka” is “not in word list

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 09/09/2026

I’d say, “Mistakes were made,” but a mistake is an action you intend not to repeat. We know that’s not the case when it comes to buying books.

Photo of two Penguin Classics: George Orwell’s NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR and Jack London’s THE IRON HEEL

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 28/08/2026

Next up is SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SCREAMING AND CRYING by Dan Franklin… www.hachette.co.uk/titles/dan-f... … which Constable Books kindle sent me for review.

Photo of Dan Franklin’s SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SCREAMING AND CRYING on a dark wooden table top. Hardcover book, title, author information, “Slipknot, Nu Metal, and 9/11”, and an image of Corey Taylor, in his dreadlocked mask, holding a microphone, mid-roar.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 05/08/2026

Ah, LinkedIn, continuing the trend of being useless. 1. Nothing on my profile states I am bilingual. I have never claimed to speak Chinese. (It was my worst grade at college.) 2. Every job suggestion I get now is AI-related. Every. Single. One.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 04/08/2026

Reading AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH by Neil Postman — very good. Still so very relevant. Published by Penguin.

Photo of a paperback copy of Neil Postman’s AMUSING OURSELVSS TO DEATH on a wooden table top.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 02/08/2026

Keep seeing comments like this on my and a work Instagram account. If you want to feature it on your account… write the post yourself? It’s how we’ve done it as bloggers for decades. Lazy buggers.

Screengrab of an Instagram post: “This looks like a book my followers might enjoy. You can send the post to [redacted] if you’d like it featured.”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 03/06/2026

Trying to find decent runners for our trip. Basically worn through my current pairs. So. Many. Options. (Too many?) These Nike Pegasus are only available in Women’s sizes. Sigh. Love the colour. (I basically only were black, blues, greys, and greens. But I like a dash of colour in my shoes…)

Picture of a pair of maroon Nike Pegasus running shoes. It’s such a nice colour. Soles are white-to-orange-to-pink. White swoosh on the side.

Picture of the top and side of the maroon, dark red Nike Pegasus shoes. White swoosh.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 20/05/2026

WordPress has added "Achievements"? A little weird. Not sure if this needed to gamified, too. Although, the name for "Publish[ing] a draft that's been collecting dust for over 1 year" is amusing: "necromancer"...

Screengrab from the WordPress Achievement notification, for the "World Domination" achievement: "Receive views from 150+ different countries. The United Nations has nothing on you. Unlocked on Civilian Reader."

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 22/04/2026

Currently reading Joseph Cox’s excellent DARK WIRE… www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/josep... Out now, pub’d by Public Affairs. Fascinating story.

Photo of a paperback copy of DARK WIRE by Joseph Cox, on a dark wood tabletop. The cover is mostly the title and author information (in red), plus the tagline, “The Incredible Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever”. Black background, and some sound-wave type detailing at top, bottom, and middle.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 22/03/2026

Waiting for PROJECT HAIL MARY to start! So excited.

Photo of the digital poster for PROJECT HAIL MARY. Ryan Gosling in a space suit, plus trippy space/celestial effects.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 15/03/2026

Halfway through MEDIUM RARE by A. Natasha Joukovsky… mhpbooks.com/books/medium... Enjoying it. Interesting premise, well-executed so far. Amusing, quite sharply observed. Out now, published by @melvillehouse.bsky.social.

Cover for A. Natasha Joukovksy’s MEDIUM RARE — a classical/biblical painting of a (rather melodramatic) nude gentleman falling towards a basketball hoop. Plus title and author information.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 03/03/2026

Not encouraging, when the Apple Store App and website only let you compare the 17e to iPhones 11, SE 2nd gen, 12, and SE 3rd gen.

Screen grab from Apple Store website, 17e “compare with” for 11, SE 2nd gen, 12, and SE 3rd gen.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 10/02/2026

Now the Kobo website doesn’t work on my iPhone, either. Very peculiar. Just suddenly stopped working.

Screenshot of Kobo’s website on iPhone Safari.

“Sorry, something went wrong
Cannot create url, missing value for host
Try Again”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 26/01/2026

This footnote was interesting. I worked at a lit agency in 2013, and I observed how much more attention fantasy got among the blogosphere (mostly dwindled, now), but was told that SF still sold much better.

Screenshot of a footnote: “For decades, science fiction was the dominant of the paired genres, and many of its fans looked down on fantasy; some fantasy fans are determined to get in their kicks now that the shoe is on the other foot. Some fans are actively rooting for the death of the science fiction genre.”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 26/01/2026

This point was interesting, too. This isn’t the fault of the SF genre, it’s the fault of a considerable number of tech bros with minimal reading comprehension (and probably sociopathic personalities).

Screenshot of text: “We pretend that science fiction is useful, that it serves as a warning system. But as Simon McNeil noted in his essay, “We got to one of the futures Science Fiction proposed, and it sucked.” Dire predictions of corporate hegemony and imminent authoritarian rule had precisely zero impact on the real world. Elon Musk named his rocket booster recovery barges after Banks’ benevolent anarcho-communist starships, showing all the self-awareness of a small damp rock.”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 02/01/2026

Most popular posts on CR at the moment...

Screen-grab from CR, showing the "top posts": Two Nick Kyme reviews, Promethean Sun and Vulkan Lives; interview with James Islington; review of David Baldacci's Nash Falls; guest post by Adrian Tchaikovsky about "Writing Guns of the Dawn"

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 01/01/2026

First novel of the year will be ASHES OF THE IMPERIUM by Chris Wraight… www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-he...

Cover for ASHES OF THE IMPERIUM by Chris Wraight — Dorn and Guillman growling at each other. Probably disagreeing about procedure, administration, etc. Fully armoured, which is probably not conducive to the work, if I’m honest.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 27/11/2025

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it before watching the recent Netflix adaptation — Death By Lightning — but it turned out that I just wanted to read it now, so that’s what I’m doing.

Graphic for Netflix’s DEATH BY LIGHTNING — a stylized mix of American flag, title and actor details, and some of the red bars from the flag morphing into lightning that strike Garfield (played by Michael Shannon).

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 20/11/2025

Oh, speaking of Automatic Noodle — our ramen box this evening:

Photo of the side of a ramen box, with a robot saying “I ❤️ ramen” and “J’adore le ramen”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 15/11/2025

President’s KING OF TERRORS EP is surprisingly good insomnia listening.

Cover for President’s KING OF TERROR EP — solid pink/skin colour field, with a white double-barred cross in the middle. No text.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 31/10/2025

Next audiobook is Cameron Crowe’s THE UNCOOL — been looking forward to this ever since it was announced. Huge fan of his work. Published in North America by @blackstonepub.bsky.social (audio) and @avidreaderpress.bsky.social (print, eBook); in the UK by Fourth Estate.

Audiobook cover for Cameron Crowe’s THE UNCOOL: A MEMOIR — red background, cover and author information, a single photo at the centre, of the author as a young man, sticking out his tongue.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 24/10/2025

Season 2 of #Starting5 available on @netflix.com now! Will be starting it later today. Follows Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, Tyrese Halliburton, Jaylen Brown, and James Harden over the course of the last #NBA season.

Graphic for Netflix’s second season of STARTING 5 — central image is a collage of the five players followed in the docuseries (counter clockwise, from top left): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Halliburton, and James Harden. Each wearing their team uniform on the court.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 19/10/2025

After this, there’s only one more that I want to re-read (for now): THE NIGHT CREW, about some night videographers in LA. (Made me think of the movie Nightcrawler, when I saw the latest cover and synopsis.)

North American cover for John Sandford’s THE NIGHT CREW — mostly black, with an out-of-focus view of downtown LA seen through a chain link fence. Author’s name and book title take up most of the top half of the cover.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 19/10/2025

Started re-reading John Sandford’s DEAD WATCH a few days ago. First read it when it was published in the UK (maybe a few months or so after US pub?). Not sure I was in the mood for a politics thriller, and it’s not his best, but finally started to get into it again.

North American paperback cover for John Sandford’s DEAD WATCH — a man silhouetted in front of a window overlooking the Washington Monument. Title and author name are large, taking up much of the top half.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 15/10/2025

Well, that’s one to bring up with the therapist…

Screen shot from an iPhone — text “Family is Full” prominent in the middle.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 06/10/2025

No more “beardos” in the U.S. military, now…

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 06/10/2025

I think this was my edition… 👇 (Turns out, the one in my mind before I started searching was actually the Martin the Warrior cover.) Loved this series. Well, looking at a list of the books, it seems I loved the first 6 books (of 22), but I don’t remember any of the others… Huh.

Very old cover of Martin Jacques Redwall — two stoats (weasels?) look out towards a walled town. They are holding weapons, and clearly plotting something terrible and up to no good.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 03/10/2025

Two recent EPs that I’ve been listening to — both excellent. Apparently minimalist cover design is a thing. Don’t hate it. • Wind Walkers, I DON’T BELONG HERE • President, KING OF TERRORS

Cover for President’s KING OF TERRORS EP — pink/skin-colour background with a simple, white cross glyph at the centre (two cross-bars).

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 03/10/2025

One of my most-anticipated music releases dropped today: Wind Walkers’ I DON’T BELONG HERE EP! Great band. Love their music.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 28/09/2025

Started ALIEN: EARTH. Three episodes in, and rather enjoying it.

Graphic for Alien: Earth — a facehugger latched onto the world. (Ew.)

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 21/09/2025

We’ve been watching season 3 of CSI and it’s weird how much it rains in Las Vegas this season… Also, a number of future Oscar winners just being bit-part characters. (Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, to name but two.)

Graphic for CSI Season 3 — the core gang are all here, in one of the labs: Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes, Jim Brass, Sarah Sidle, and Warrick Brown.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 20/09/2025

Replacement @otterbox.bsky.social just fell apart. Exact same issue as the case it replaced. Disappointing quality. Switching to a different brand, just need to figure out which is best.

Photo of an Otterbox iPhone case — the rubber edge has separated from the hard plastic backing.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 20/09/2025

Continuing our #JurassicPark watch, with JURASSIC PARK III. Not entirely sure if I’ve ever seen this one before…

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 13/09/2025

Three Hollywood memoirs I’m looking forward to reading: • Cameron Crowe’s THE UNCOOL (Oct.24, @avidreaderpress.bsky.social) • Michael J. Fox’s FUTURE BOY (Oct.14, @flatironbooks.bsky.social) • Charlie Sheen’s THE BOOK OF SHEEN (out now, Gallery)

Cover for Cameron Crowe’s THE UNCOOL — red background, title and author information, and what looks like a passport photo of (I assume) the author pulling a silly face.

Cover for Michael J. Fox’s FUTURE BOY — an image of the Delorean from Back to the Future breaking the time barrier. Flames trail behind its wheels. Badass.

Cover for Charlie Sheen’s THE BOOK OF SHEEN — a photo of the actor, sitting on a box (maybe), a leather jacket over his shoulder.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 13/09/2025

Also started THE HAVES AND HAVE-YACHTS last night. Enjoying it so far. Long time fan of @eosnos.bsky.social’s work, always recommend.

Cover for Evan Osnos’s THE HAVES AND HAVE-YACHTS — a superyacht stretched to run three times around the cover.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 13/09/2025

Listening to Stephen Fry’s MYTHOS — very much enjoying it.

North American cover for Stephen Fry’s MYTHOS — mostly turquoise, with some stylized mythological figures in the centre. Plus title and author details.

UK/Aus/NZ cover for Stephen Fry’s MYTHOS — light blue and yellow/gold patterning with Hermes’s winged sandals in the centre.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 11/09/2025

Started reading THE AGE OF CALAMITIES by Senaa Ahmad, last night. Only one story in, but very much enjoying it — quirky in the right way, very well-written, and engaging. Due out in January 2026, via @henryholtbooks.bsky.social: us.macmillan.com/books/978125... [DRC received via Edelweiss.]

Cover for Senaa Ahmad’s THE AGE OF CALAMITIES — turquoise background, title and author information. At the centre is an image of St. George slaying a dragon, but in a pink hue.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 11/09/2025

Shirley Jackson’s famous letter (below) really is perfect for the internet age. If they don’t like it… just don’t read/watch/pay attention to it. But so many people seem to not realize this is an option.

Photo of a letter from Shirley Jackson to Mrs. White: “If you don’t like my peaches, don’t shake my tree.”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 30/08/2025

Rewatching JURASSIC PARK (1993) for the first time in years. My partner’s never seen any of them, and she wanted to finally try them. I completely forgot Samuel L. Jackson was in this. Also, this may be the first peak Jeff Goldblum performance.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 21/08/2025

Currently reading THE SIEGE OF TSINGTAO by Jonathan Fenby — one of the excellent Penguin #ChinaSpecials.

Cover for Jonathan Fenby’s THE SIEGE OF TSINGTAO - “The only battle of the First World War to be fought in East Asia: how it came about and why its aftermath is still relevant today.”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 18/08/2025

And this (see image). They’re well-reported policies. With video of him explaining them, and press releases clearly stating what they are. It’s not being made up, but you don’t want to see it, so you’re pretending it’s untrue even though it’s not. He campaigned on it!

Screengrab from the Hollywood Reporter article. Highlighted text: “I don’t know what to believe [about his reported policies]. It’s not like I say to Bobby, ‘Let’s talk about this’ while we’re playing cards or having fun or having dinner. I’m not going to pick his brain to find out exactly which of those things are true. I just assume that none of them are?”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 16/08/2025

To movies* nobody would believe are by the same director… [* Ok, a music video isn’t a movie. But still. Interesting.]

Cover for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 15/08/2025

If you have the time, Rick Perlstein’s books are very good.

Cover for Rick Perlstein’s NIXONLAND — Richard Nixon stands in a crowd, throwing his arms up in victory signs.

Cover for Rick Perlstein’s THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE — Ronald Reagan performs for a crowd.

Cover for Rick Perlstein’s REAGANLAND — Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan sit in the back of a limo (probably on the way to the latter’s inauguration?)

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 15/08/2025

Next read is THE HUNGRY GODS by @aptshadow.bsky.social — his latest novella, published by @solarisbooks.bsky.social. Excellent author, hard to keep up with all of his new books. (Oh no! What a terrible problem!)

Cover for Adrian Tchaikovsky’s THE HUNGRY GODS — a couple figures in silhouette, one hulking and maybe armoured, the other huddled in near-foetal position. Some chaotic-looking architecture looms behind them.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 13/08/2025

Watched THE GORGE on Apple TV today — very good. Interesting premise, well executed by cast and crew.

Poster/graphic for THE GORGE — a dark, atmospheric scene, with a watchtower and a creepy monster-hand clawing its way out of the titular gorge.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 29/07/2025

Excellent book-mail from @europaeditions.bsky.social: VULTURE by Phoebe Greenwood! Really looking forward to reading this ASAP. Due out August 5th.

Photo of a hardcover edition of Phoebe Greenwood’s VULTURE — yellow background, a vulture wearing a “PRESS” bulletproof vest, red lettering for title and author’s name. The book sits in a brown, wooden table top.

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Civilian Reader @civilianreader.com · 28/07/2025

If you can’t spell “Joseph” or “monthly”, I am less likely to trust you are a business that should be renting anywhere for $65k per month…

A photo of a cottage catalogue, with “Little Lake Joseph” misspelled, and also “monthly” misspelled. WTF, people?

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