iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Yes, searching for new reader reviews is a toxic habit that I should quit...BUT sometimes a stranger uncannily names what was one of your secret goals while writing the book and it's the best thing ever. 🧪

Five-star review from Goodreads, dated September 28, 2026: "This book made me laugh out loud in every chapter, and cry in one or two. It is one of the rare nonfiction books that I could read before bed without falling asleep, because it's a page-turner! As a parent and science educator, I am perhaps the perfect audience for this book, but I think it has broad appeal. Highly recommend!" The first sentence is underlined.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

NYC friends! Who will I see tomorrow at my book event with Perrin Ireland? She's talking about animal sex, I'm talking about a common consequence of animal sex, and we'll all have a good time: www.nypl.org/events/progr... 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The only thing reassuring me these days is how deeply the Meta apps are convinced that I own a horse and/or donkey.

Instagram advertisement for a product called ColiCare, showing a woman and a horse

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Oh yes NOW I think this is real, good job

Scam email with the subject line "Re: A spot for The Creatures' Guide to Caring on a Goodreads Listopia list?" The original email is obvious slop containing a lot of verbose flattery about the book. A few AI tells ("honestly" and "not just a...") are circled in red. The sender has followed up two days later with an email reading "Hello???"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

This truck is ready to join the moms group text.

On the highway, the back of a truck has a sign reading "VENTING IS NORMAL"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Greetings from this year's NY State Fair, where the dominant aesthetic is slop. Tag yourself! Are you: - FUN MT THE FAIR - AE EVERYTHING! BASKETS S6.00 [monsters] - Guinea pig bride I'm GET'EM HOT! GET 'EM YOURS!

A large sign advertising "Sour cream & chives tots" and "Mac & cheese your way!" featuring obvious AI imagery

Close-up from a sign with obvious AI imagery showing a mysterious bucket of food, vaguely sinister slogans, and discs that I guess are supposed to be pickles

Behind some animal cages, a poster board reading "GUINEA PIGS" and decorated with printouts of AI guinea pig illustrations (plus what might be a few actual photos of guinea pigs)

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Headline says "at least 1 in 4" but the finding was NINETY-ONE PERCENT of NFL players' brains donated from 2016–2021 had CTE. Presumably people were more likely to donate if they had known dementia, so the real number is hard to extrapolate. But, horrifying. 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/u...

NYT headline: "Study's Alarming Finding: At Least 1 in 4 N.F.L. Players Gets Brain Disease"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

My favorite pun I saw in Amsterdam was at a high-end supplements store:

A refrigerator full of jars and bottles, with a sign at the top reading "THE BROTHEL.nl of Amsterdam." A sign lower down reads "FOR A GREAT GUT FEELING."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Please enjoy this video, recorded in Wellfleet, MA, of a fiddler crab defending his hole against another fiddler crab who wants to be in that hole (and seems to forget, for most of the dispute, that he has a beefy arm): 🧪🦀

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Urgent beach question: is this a shrimp? It’s jumpy! 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I heard Bluesky likes crabs so here's a bucketful of fiddlers that my kids collected on the Cape yesterday. (The crabs were set free before any violence ensued. And then they all ran off in a sideways parade like 🦀 🦀 🦀 🦀 🦀 while the kids shrieked)

Video of a pink bucket with water and many fiddler crabs inside, climbing on top of each other.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Bug people: This construction vehicle in my neighborhood was reminding me of something, and I thought it was some insect's proboscis, but maybe it was dragonflies mating? Please weigh in. 🧪

A construction vehicle is on one side of a large pit, with a very long segmented tube contraption stretching to the other side and poking into the ground.

Blue-tailed damselflies mating, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue-tailed_damselflies_(Ischnura_elegans)_mating,_female_typica_2.jpg

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Camberville!! I’m so excited to be at @portersqbooks.bsky.social tomorrow night, teaming up with my pal Perrin Ireland to talk about animal families and the hanky-panky that makes them. See you there? 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Sal has been hanging out with a new partner, who I suggested calling Faux Pal. And...they have a kid! Sal has brought Sal Jr. to visit my sister on her walks. Here are the three crows (you can see Sal's hop): (4/n) 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Fun (?) fact, echidnas don't have nipples, so babies just lick up milk as it leaks out of their mom. 🧪 (photo via @sandiegozoo.bsky.social)

A baby echidna in a person's hand. The caretaker is squirting drops of formula from a syringe onto their palm for the puggle to lap up.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Look, whatever's going on with you right now, I really think it would help to take a moment and consider this perfect echidna puggle. 🧪 (photo via @sandiegozoo.bsky.social)

A baby echidna resting on a folded towel on top of a scaled that reads 700.0 g. The echidna is black and potato-shaped, with a brown beak.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Finally saw a cardinal with only his head feathers molted, and I definitely would've thought he was diseased if not for @rosemarymosco.com's Bloödcheëp: 🧪

Grainy photo of a red bird with a bald black head perched in a garden.

Even grainier photo of a red bird with a bald black head perched in a garden.

Comic titled "Know Your Northern Cardinals" by Rosemary Mosco. Three drawings of normal-looking cardinals are labeled "Juvenile," "Adult Male" and "Adult female." A fourth drawing shows a cardinal with a bald black head above a red body, and is labeled "Bloödcheëp, Frightful Molt-Demon of the Cursed Abyss." Credit is birdandmoon.com

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Dear researchers: I love when you do this. 🧪

Screenshot from an email: "I hope you've been well. Five years ago, you wrote a wonderful New York Times article about our [scribbled out text]. At the end of your email, you said you looked forward to hearing what I would be working on in the future. I suddenly remembered that message, so I thought I'd send you a quick update."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Drove to the bookstore to sign a single copy for a customer who'd requested it, and I was rewarded with this heart-boosting note:

An order form for The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care. Circled text reads "Inscription: Whatever the author would like to write for me. :) I loved reading this book so much! Thank you Elizabeth for writing it. It is one of my favorite books I have EVER read!"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Also available in the UK and Australia from Scribe, with this adorable manatee cover: scribepublications.co.uk/books/the-cr...

A blue-green book cover with a swimming manatee adult and very chubby manatee baby. White text reads "The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care." The author is Elizabeth Preston (me!)

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Mary Roach called it "hilarious," Booklist called it "captivating," and Audubon magazine says it's "A delightful read that will make you think and feel." Order THE CREATURES' GUIDE TO CARING wherever you like to buy books: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329... 🧪

Book with a yellow cover featuring a photo of a male Northern flicker feeding his chick. Blue and red lettering reads "The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care." The author is Elizabeth Preston (me!)

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

It’s almost Father’s Day and I have a great gift idea for you! Order here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329...

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

My 6-year-old and 9-year-old made motivational posters that became increasingly deranged:

Child's drawing of a sunset. Text reads "When life gets you down, be a sunrise"

Child's drawing of a sky. Text reads "When life gets you blue look at the clouds"

Child's drawing of scissors, a stapler, and a severed finger dripping blood. Text reads "When you cut off your finger stapel your finger"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Who do I know in Williamstown? Come join me and my former professor Jim Shepard TOMORROW to chat about my new book (and find out whether he feels betrayed that I quit writing fiction the moment I graduated)! events.williams.edu/event/an-eve... 🧪 #ephs

Purple flyer reading "Upcoming event at the Williams Bookstore. Elizabeth Preston and Jim Shepard. The Creatures' Guide to Caring. May 14, 4:15-5:30 PM. 81 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA, 413-458-8071."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I'm not PROMISING you'll love my book but... www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329... 🧪

Screenshot from Goodreads for the title "The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care" by Elizabeth Preston. Average is 4.90 stars (10 ratings, 8 reviews)

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Book launch event is tomorrow!! See you there, Boston-area folks? I brought my Party-Planning Mom energy (baked cookies that match the cover) www.harvard.com/event/elizab... @harvardbookstore.bsky.social 🧪

Flyer reading: "Harvard Book Store presents a discussion featuring Elizabeth Preston. THE CREATURES' GUIDE TO CARING: HOW ANIMAL PARENTS TEACH UST THAT HUMANS WERE BORN TO CARE. Friday, May 8, 7pm at Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA. More info: Harvard.com" with a photo of me plus my cute yellow book cover

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

A truly aspirational sentence (writing-wise, not in the sense of wanting to become a cultural foie gras) in @joshgondelman.bsky.social's latest newsletter:

"Recently, though, I've been thinking that I owe an apology to the concept of the snob. I've felt a little destabilized lately over how much mediocre garbage is funneled down our throats, as if we were all destined to become a rich foie gras made of Mr. Beast's viral stunts and dating shows where the eighteen hottest people in a small American city rub against each other until two of them are famous enough to do sponsored Instagram posts for FDA-ignored skincare products. It's overwhelming and dispiriting."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

My book is out in less than a week!! I tried to make a video about why you should buy it for Mother's Day, but now I'm not so sure. 🧪 Ordering options here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329...

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Have your ordered your copy of THE CREATURES' GUIDE TO CARING yet? We promise we'll brush the dirt off! 🧪 signed copies from @portersqbooks.bsky.social here: portersquarebooks.com/book/9780593... other ordering options here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329...

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Check out the adorable bird's nest fungi I found popping up next to my fiddleheads: 🧪

Close-up image of dirt and wood chips. In the background, fiddlehead ferns are emerging. In the foreground are several tiny brown fungi shaped like cups, with clusters of tinier white discs inside them.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Congratulations to the authors of a 2008 paper on skin-feeding by caecilians for the most disturbing clause you'll see today: 🧪

Screenshot reading: "involved the simultaneous activity of all members of a clutch. Feeding behaviour is quite frenetic with the young frequently tearing pieces of skin by spinning along their long axes and sometimes struggling over the same piece of skin. The mother remains calm during this activity. When the mother has been peeled, the young continue to search for and eat fragments of skin on the substrate. Feeding bouts are short: just seven minutes for the only" (The phrase "When the mother has been peeled" is highlighted.)

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

My third-grader brought home her Freaky Frog report, and I have to say, she nailed the lede.

Part of a typed paragraph with the first sentence underlined: "The Water-Holding frog holds as much awesomeness as it holds water! The Water-Holding frog lives in the dry deserts of Australia, and gets so big when it holds water. It even absorbs 50% of its own body weight just in water! It eats small frogs, tadpoles and insects. Some of its predators include birds, larger frogs and"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Sale alert!! Barnes & Noble members can get 25% off my book if you order today or tomorrow: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-creatu...

Yellow book cover reading "The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care." The author is Elizabeth Preston.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Exciting news: You can get a signed copy of my book if you preorder through my beloved @portersqbooks.bsky.social! portersquarebooks.com/book/9780593... 🧪

Book cover reading "The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care." The author is Elizabeth Preston (me!). The cover is bright yellow with a photo of a male northern flicker feeding a chick.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Parents: Have you ever seen a more cursed object?

A Covid/Flu combined rapid test showing positive results for both flu B and Covid, because apparently I have angered the universe

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Preorder now to get this ray of sunshine on your doorstep in May! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-creatu...

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

My husband has been reading my book, and just reached the chapter about African wild dogs—but until I remembered that, I was pretty alarmed by this text he sent me from the train 🧪

Text message labeled "Today 8:19 AM" reading "Collective disemboweling" with a green nausea emoji

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

My daughter checked out Harriet the Spy from the library at my suggestion, but now I'm worried she's going to learn too much

Picture of a page from Harriet the Spy, with the line "Writers don't care what they eat. They just care what you think of them" highlighted

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

"I couldn't think of anything for E." -my 9-year-old, after making this acrostic Valentine's card for her grandparents (she's not a perfectionist and I honestly love that for her)

Handwritten card that says "Happy Valentine's Day! G+G" with an acrostic poem below:
"Variation of cards
Appetite of chocolate
Love
Excellent people
Nice gifts
Treasures
Irresistable kindness
No one being notty
Egg salad"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

But I'll put on my pedant pants and point out that monogamy is all over the place in nature. There are heaps of animals—birds, mammals, creepy crawlies—in long-term committed partnerships. (Not always vanilla, though, like the cockroach lovers who chew each other's wings off.) 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Recording an audiobook is great if you've ever read Fox in Socks to a child and wished you could recreate that experience for a week straight while two people listen to your digestive noises.

A spread from Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks: "Luke Luck likes lakes. Luke's duck likes lakes. Luke Luck licks lakes. Luke's duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes. Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Ha, this Kennedy Center Honors singer is my high school classmate who also sang at RFK Jr. campaign events:

"There is a certain irony in a cover of 'It Only Takes a Moment' that takes what feels like 18 years because it has been slowed to an unearthly crawl by a Mamma Mia cast member. ('Isn't that something,' Kelsey Grammer says afterward. 'My goodness.')"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Kids, freelance science journalism is never going to pay well, but if you work hard, one day you may coin a goofy neologism that will show up in people's push notifications 🧪

A push notification on a phone screen reading "Apple News Spotlight: Trump officials' plan to dismantle a major weather institution, a looming reptile sexpocalypse — and more of the week's top climate stories."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Guys...no. There are no plants down there. (Here's my story about the camouflaged deep-sea squid: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/s...) 🧪

Headline from Vice reading "Incredible Footage Shows a Squid Pretending to Be Deep-Sea Plant Life"

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Here's a longer video. This is around sunset and they're streaming in from all over the city to a pre-roosting staging ground. About 15 minutes after sunset they'll move into tree branches all along the river.

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Last night I got to visit the massive winter crow roost in Lawrence, MA, where (for unknown reasons) up to 15,000 American crows and fish crows come together each night to sleep. Sound on!! Unless you have a Hitchcock-related phobia. 🧪

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Lord, grant me the confidence of Instagram's AI bot that summarizes videos for Google search. Why 5 life lessons? What are they?? To be clear, this is a video of my book galleys hatching out of a bag like it's an egg.

Google search result linking to the Instagram account by.elizabeth.preston: "5 Life Lessons on Caring from the Animal Kingdom. Get ready to learn from the best - animal parents! In 'The Creatures' Guide to Caring', author Elizabeth Preston takes us on a journey..."

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Was this a good use of an hour yesterday? I think yes. Preorder here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741329...

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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Why do I feel like this sign is targeted at one guy

A red sign at a farm that reads: "Pigs bite. We must all value our fingers. Please keep hands out of fence."

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