iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Forgot to tell yinz I read a couple things in September. Exit Party and Apocalypse are strong recommends.

@mstephm's September 2026 Reads
Virtual Light, William Gibson
Exit Party, Emily St. John Mandel
Apocalypse, Lizzie Wade

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Read some books, remembered how goddamned great @greatdismal.bsky.social's Sprawl books are, just on a sentence level. Mona might be my favorite character in all of literature.

@mstephm's August 2026 Reads
Neuromancer, William Gibson
Count Zero, William Gibson
Shark Heart: A Love Story, Emily Habeck
When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill
Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I'm re-reading Gibson's early novels, and I think the cyberpunk of it all often obscures the absolutely fantastic writing. This is from Mona Lisa Overdrive and it's just such a perfect expression of disassociation.

She wasn't thinking; her hands seemed to know what to do, friendly animals that wouldn't hurt her.

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I fell off on reading this month because I wasn’t traveling, but I was Le Guinfluenced to start her Hainish books. Didn’t love this one, but excited to get to the others.

@mstephm’s July 2026 Reads
Spook Country, William Gibson
A Half-Built Garden, Ruthanna Emrys
The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I read some books! The Imperial Radch re-read was great and I Have Thoughts (tk). Then I needed some mystery/crime/horror and then Unravelling was big and strange and thoughtful and lovely.

@mstephm's June 2026 reads cover collage from Storygraph

Provenance, Ann Leckie
Translation State, Ann Leckie
Radiant Star, Ann Leckie
The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
On the Calculation of Volume, Vol. 2, Solvej Balle, trans. Barbara J. Haveland
The Need, Helen Phillips
The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell
Unravelling, Karen Lord

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

I have been spending time with Clive, my favorite saguaro, this week and I’m delighted to announce he has a new arm started

Photo of a southern Arizona desert ridge with a tall saguaro, a bushy mesquite, and a bunch of scrub. A palm peeks into the foreground and the sky is scraped with thin scruffy clouds.

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I read things! I'm doing an Imperial Raadch re-read before I head into Radiant Star.

Screenshot of @mstephm's May 2026 Reads
Weather, Jenny Offill
Slow Gods, Claire North
Wilder Girls, Rory Power
Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie
Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I read some books! I enjoyed all of these, but The Employees and What We Are Seeking are the two I'm recommending to everyone I see.

@mstephm's
April 2026 Reads
Cover collage of:
Evil Genius, Claire Oshetsky
The Employees, Olga Ravn
An Everlasting Feast, Tamar Adler
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
What We Are Seeking, Cameron Reed
Full Speed to a Crash Landing, Beth Revis
Poor Deer, Claire Oshetsky
The Membranes, Chi Ta-Wei

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

I am disgruntled on a number of fronts but I've decided EVERYTHING I WANT IS GONNA HAPPEN and my lilac bush is delivering

Close up of lilac buds and a couple tiny, tiny flowers that smell amazing

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I read some more books! The Fortunate Fall is a gorgeous and heartbreaking postcard from the future you could almost see from 1997. City in Glass is a lovely little jewel that shares a mood with West Passage.

@mstephm’s March 2026 Reads
Cover images of:
Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina, Zoraida Cordova
The Fortunate Fall, Cameron Reed
The Hounding, Kenobe Purvis
Catherine House, Elisabeth Thomas
The City in Glass, Nghi Vo

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Short reading list for a short, square month. I'm deep in the Locked Tombs and will be remaining there for a while.

@mstephms's
February 2026 Reads
Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
When the English Fall, David Williams
When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labatut
Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

I read some stuff in January! The West Passage is such a little jewel box of fairy tale and horror and weirdness and now I'm drawing monstrous Ladies.

@mstephm's January 2026 reads from Storygraph

Strange New World, Vivian Shaw
The West Passage, Jared Pecacek
Agency, William Gibson
Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz
Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

It's right there in the name: DISPELS EVIL

Ebay listing for "Horse Whistle Solid Brass Dispells Evil Warning Gold Pendant Jewelry" for $20.00 with Free Delivery

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

the Fridge Cigarette: muddled luxardo cherries, vodka, lime, Diet Coke

Photo of a Collins glass filled with ice and cola and a pink straw. Lego flowers are in the background

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Ok, here’s the full list for the year. I’d recommend nearly all of them, but You Dreamed of Empires and Orbital were at the top

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

There’s an outside chance I could finish one more tonight, but I was aiming for a nice, symmetrical collage

mstephm’s December 2025 reads cover collage

Universality by Natasha Brown
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
A New New Me by Helen Oyeyemi
On the Calculation of Volume Pt 1 by Solvei Breen
Tilt by Emma Pattee
The Compound by Aisling Rawls
Queen of Swords by Jazmine Barrera

000

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Only four books last month, and that includes two novellas and a story collection. I had to take a break after starting Your Name Here because my brain was not working on its level, but reading Wool as a warm-up worked nicely. Also, I'm gonna re-read some Temeraire soon

Storygraph Month Summary
@mstephm's November 2025 Reads
Bitter Waters by Vivian Shaw
Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
Your Name Here by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik

100

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

lookit that cute voting sticker. That's a heck of a voting sticker

Circle sticker with the Pittsburgh skyline that reads "I VOTED N'AT!"

030

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

I read some more stuff. Remember You Will Die is a novel in obituaries, which was a neat conceit. Enjoyed them all, would recommend to varying degrees.

Storygraph cover collage for @mstephm's October 2025 Reads
The Writing Retreat, Julia Bartz
Will There Ever Be Another You, Patricia Lockwood
Grave Importance, Vivian Shaw
Death of the Author, Nnedi Okarafor
Certain Dark Things, Silvia Moreno Garcia
How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu
Remember You Will Die, Eden Robins
Graveyard Shift, M.L. Rio
The Sapling Cage, Margaret Killjoy

130

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Did someone say chic purse chainsaws?

Illustration of a dark-haired woman with a That Girl flip, wearing a red textured dress, pink gloves, and orange heels. She holds an orange chainsaw in both hands like a handbag.

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Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Is this you? Because this is me, and this exhortation is for us. See you on Saturday!

I live in Portland, Oregon, where protesting is a municipal pastime. Still, some people are more likely to protest than others. We expect to see the young and nonconformist at a protest; we expect to see the friend who never shuts up about politics in his Facebook posts. It’s great that they’re there, but it’s not surprising. You showing up to a protest might be. Are you not particularly vocal about politics? Do you have a comfortable job or home life that’s not directly threatened by Trump in any obvious way? Do you have lots of other things you could be doing instead? Great! That makes you the perfect kind of person to send a message by joining a protest.

171

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Now that I'm reading again, I get to do cool monthly wrap-ups that are definitely very cool and what the cool kids do. I enjoyed all of them and only started nitpicking a couple because I should have read them faster to avoid my inner editor.

A collage of book covers:
Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw
The Last by Hannah Jameson
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Sky Is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith
Endling by Maria Reva
Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson
Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

140

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

The mall is filled with wonders for those with eyes to see

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Buddy, if the poets could do that, we wouldn't be in this position to begin with.

-Ability to critically analyze and articulate what distinguishes high-quality poetry

130

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

It finally happened! They're looking for a poet for a JOB!

LinkedIn job posting for Mercor for "Poet United States" and says the pay scale is $100/hr-$150/hr.

100

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

This is fucking terrifying and also the exact opposite of my political beliefs.

131

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

If it's the beginning of the school year, it's time for stupid hair tricks again! I call this The Soft Serve.

Photo of a pale woman with a swoopy thing happening in the front of her mostly brown hair.

170

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

I love this guy caught in the middle of his dance

Close-up of a manuscript illustration of a monk(?) holding a speech banner(??) wrapped behind his back. It looks like he's lunging, but his head is turned back and up, making him look very dynamic.

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

*The author is not confused, and most of the article is explaining where these particular trends came from, as well as noting historical trends and what caused them. *All of the backstories are accounted for.

"Takeaways by Bloomberg AI
The author is confused by current trends, such as Labubu and Dubai chocolate, and notes that kids and adults alike are baffled by many of these trends.
The backstory of many current trends, including why they exist and how they became popular, is not material to their popularity, and some seem to have no backstory at all.
The author suggests that the current trend environment is driven by the logic of the social internet, where stimulation is the primary attribute required for a trend to spread, and that this has led to a culture of instant gratification and impulsivity.

140

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Thanks to @erinbiba.bsky.social's prompting, my feed today is all truly excellent cats (and some AI presidents nonsense, which is also funny). Can we make every day Cat Day? Here is a cat, in support of my request.

0175

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

When you're the last cookie but you're also just a lil guy

Photo of a chocolate chip cookie in a plastic clamshell that once held he and his brethren. It looks like the cookie has a Winnie the Pooh face.

010

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Pals, I have antlers now and I might be unstoppable

The top half of a person’s head with tiny black antlers

050

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Good morning to Clive, my favorite saguaro

A photo of a saguaro on a ridge, against an achingly blue sky.

020

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

I went to Delilah’s last night without my phone so I drew all the photos I would have taken.

010

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

I think it's squirrel teeth, but there was no accompanying body

A somewhat faded photo of a piece of a jaw and some teeth.

150

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

r/menopause continues to be one of the best places on the internet

Reddit headline: "Hormones left. Sanity followed. Now I'm just vibes and violence."

040

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

I love the NYMag commenters so much. Such a rich text.

100

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

When there is nothing left to burn, you must make yourself a puppet

041

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

I hope the designer of this lil guy on my pizza box lives a long and lovely life. Look at this meatball.

Illustration from a pizza box of a round lil red guy with skinny arms and legs and big eyes. I'm a meatball reads the text arched above their head.

17512

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I'm embracing my cringe and making one-page zines with safety tips for international students. lmk if you'd like to use my template.

A one-page zine titled INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BELONG HERE and including information on securing electronic devices, carrying copies of immigration documents, and sharing your information with trusted contacts.

132

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Drew some weird lil guys over paint blobs. What are you making?

A sketchbook page with bluish m, pinkish, yellowish, and purplish circles and rectangles with ink drawings of distorted faces over them.
Be

030

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Reposting for daytime Pittsburghers. This is at City Winery and I can't decide if I want to buy a ticket and probably get kicked out (but with a book!) or make some good signs for outside.

Ad asking us to "Join Senator Dave McCormick & Dina Powell McCormick
Senator John Fetterman & Gisele Barreto Fetterman
Saturday March 29 Pittsburgh PA"
Circular photos of both couples, cover of a book titled Who Believed in You?

121

Sterf, perhaps @msteph.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Just feeling a little knifey today.

Drawing of a woman in a 1960s style formal dress, with a pink bodice, purple waist bow, and aqua skirt. She has a dark beehive hairdo and is holding a highball glass with brown liquid in one hand and a knife in the other.

040