iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Your Local Epidemiologist @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

1/ Last weekend, I received an email from someone whose friend was being treated for cancer. The doctor advised her friend to get the flu shot, but said to skip the Covid vaccine. So the friend asked me if risks from the Covid vaccine are still a concern.

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Shala Howell @shalahowell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Literally used a library for that last one yesterday. I had anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to wait for my uncle to be discharged from the hospital after finishing errands so I sat in a public library about 10 mins away from the hospital and caught up on some things.

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Erika Long @erikaslong.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

WHY ARE ALL THE BLACK LIBRARIANS GATHERING IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY? is out today. 🎉 Release day looks nothing like I thought it would. And the days leading up to it didn’t feel like I thought they would. It’s a bittersweet day. But I’m honest enough to acknowledge that two things can be true. 🥹

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KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 01/10/2026

There is a Goodreads giveaway for The League of Lost Souls! Get an early copy of my occult fantasy here. (This is US only, I'm afraid, there will be international ones running later.)

goodreads.com

Book giveaway for The League of Lost Souls by K.J. Charles Oct 01-Oct 31, 2026

75 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Oct 01-Oct 31, 2026. Enter for a chance to win an ARC! 75 winners will be selected.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"Vote for James Talarico. He has *one* house."

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Jenn (She/Her) 📚🐉🏳️‍🌈 @jennreads303.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sometimes, when I get down to say…4 or 5 books by @tkingfisher.com that I haven’t read, I get scared that a time will come when I don’t have an unread T Kingfisher to enjoy. Should I slow down…pace myself? Silly, naive me. She is keeping us FED. Can’t wait for this one!! 💙📚@torbooks.bsky.social

Book cover for A Devil of a Crime by T Kingfisher. There is a silhouette of a church’s and gravestones, blood, and a real background. There appears to be an angel and devil hiding among the tombstones.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.

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🖖🏳️‍⚧️ T'Lynn 🦇 David 🦇 Cooper 🏳️‍⚧️🖖 @awholedamntown.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Well, this movie was so good that it short-circuited my usual "Shitty Esoteric Reviews" nonsense. #Filmsky #Letterboxd

FLOW (2024): 5 star review
"I genuinely... I genuinely don't know what to say. This is beautiful."

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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It's Saturday, which is as good a day as any to remind you that my #LoTR subway map makes a great gift for yourself and/or others. It looks great on my wall, so I assume it'll look great on your wall too! This map, and other such things) are available here: www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...

Subway style map to go with The Lord of the Rings, showing the different pathways of various parties throughout the book. The title reads: "Lord of the Rings Transit Map: One Does Not Simply Walk Ino Mordor When One Can Ride." The map takes up the middle part of the page, and there are two keys. The one on the left is titles "Standard Service Lines, and has color keys matched to the subway lines on the map. Lines are named:
"Shire-Bree Commuter Line
Old Forrest Crescent
Wildland Scenic Line
Fellowship Line
Gollum / Sméagol Line
Uruk Hai Express
Three Hunters Line
Fangorn Slow Service
Rohan to Gondor Business Line
Black Ships Ferry Service
Oliphant Direct Line
Army of the West Line
Gandalf Express

A smaller key on the right side of the map is labeled: "Limited Service Lines" and has color keys matched to the following names lines:
"Eagle Express
Paths of the Dead Line
Nazgûl Search & Resuce
Valinor Ltd."

A note at the bottom reads:
"* Mount Doom station only accepts Rings of Power in payment. Plan accordingly."

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Kevin Reuning @reuning.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Anyone here have advice on finding rehab facilities? My mom needs more help from her surgery than we realized and we are trying to figure out the best place. This would be for live-in facilities

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Felicia Davin @feliciadavin.com · 24/09/2026

this newsletter is a great way to find new queer indie-published books!

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The Peculiarity Shop @peculiarityshop.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

(New inventory is coming. Sooo. Entire store, 25% off. 200+ items, handmade and sourced sterling. Have at it, lovies.) www.peculiarityshop.com

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Jeremiah McCall (he/him) @gamingthepast.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Okay then the other two things I'd like to point out are the books. The first, now in Second Edition is Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History (also very useful for uni level history). www.amazon.com/Gaming-Past-... 5/

amazon.com

Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History

Buy Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History: Read Books Reviews - Amazon.com

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Jeremiah McCall (he/him) @gamingthepast.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Let's start with gamngthepast.net, my 16-year old site that is resource & repository of 20+ years of work on historical games in an out of history education, from critiques of them, how to purposefully play with them, and how to design them. gamingthepast.net 2/

gamingthepast.net

Gaming the Past

historical games in the classroom and beyond

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Alyssa S. @drsepinwall.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

🧵 from @gamingthepast.bsky.social about his work on designing games for the history classroom! 🗃️

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Jeremiah McCall (he/him) @gamingthepast.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

OMG you want me to talk about me and my teaching passions!?!?! Twist my arm. So tl;dr (there could be a lot to read -- shameless self promotion gamingthepast.net) Playing historical games (games abt historical topics) is an amazing way to get students thinking abt agency & systems in past. 1/

gamingthepast.net

Gaming the Past

historical games in the classroom and beyond

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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

We say some version of this just about every year but one of the absolute best ways to support your local indie bookstore is to do your holiday shopping in OCTOBER. (More context in Hannah's thread. Hi, Hannah!) #BookSky

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Shala Howell @shalahowell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

History teachers are outstanding. I had no idea historical games were a thing that was happening in classrooms. Makes me want to go back to school.

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The Medieval Academy of America @medievalacademy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Jobs For Medievalists Stetson University seeks an Assistant Professor of Medieval History. www.themedievalacademyblog.org/jobs…

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Krista D Ball is Canada's Spooky Potato @kristadb1.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I've backed two of the Word Dungeon kickstarters now, and he's just developed a free little daily word puzzle website. It's really neat! (I continue to need a dictionary to play this because my brain forgets it knows English as soon as I try to find a six letter word ending in M) word-dungeon.com

word-dungeon.com

Word Dungeon — A Hand-Drawn Word Puzzle Dungeon Adventure

Hand-drawn word puzzle dungeons. Spell your way from entrance to exit, looting treasure and claiming gems.

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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I don't know about y'all, but as a kid I absolutely loved all-ages compendiums of weird extinct animals. So this year, I wrote one. And then @stievenvdp.bsky.social illustrated it, and the results will knock your socks off. HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY. Out April 27, 2027. You can preorder it now!

bookshop.org

How to Survive Prehistory: A Guide to the Wildest Beasts of Ancient Earth

From Smithsonian and Scientific American writer Asher Elbein comes the ultimate illustrated guide to prehistory's most dangerous real-life monsters, perfect for lovers of survival guides and dinosaur ...

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Christopher Moore @theauthorguy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Authors! Regarding the Anthropic Settlement. This just in from the Authors Guild. My old agent was trying to take 25% of everything, to which they have no right. You may need to update your claim allocation.

Text from Authors Guild saying that Agents have no rights to the Anthropic Claim

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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I'm genuinely so excited that I can finally start sharing HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY with you -- starting with the cover, which features a very obscure dinosaur you probably haven't heard of bookshop.org/p/books/how-...

The cover of HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY fetaures a stylized image of a Tyrannosaurus walking along the rocky banks of a stream, roaring. Two very adorable chicks are by its feet.

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Rachel F @bibli0rach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

My library is hiring a Collection Development #Librarian. This is a full time, in person, benefitted position in metro Denver. Please apply or share with your network! 📚 #libraryjobs www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...

linkedin.com

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Chris Zable Editor (she/her) @amphipodgirl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The Jane Austen-inspired RPG, Good Society, is running a kickstarter for the new second edition. I love this game and recommend it to fans of Jane Austen or of Regency romance more generally. To give you an idea of how much existing players love the game, it funded fully in under 20 minutes.

kickstarter.com

Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG – 2nd Edition

Navigate the pitfalls of romance, reputation, manners, and marriage in the sumptuous new edition of this award-winning regency rpg.

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Martha Hickson @sassylibrarian.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Relaxing on the deck this gorgeous Labor Day with the Fall 2026 copy of American Libraries magazine (as one does after spending 3 days surrounded by librarians), and struck by this series of quotes on the last page.

"The library was the center of my world when I was growing up, a priceless public resource, and we need to ensure that it's there to inspire new generations of readers."
JONATHAN FRANZEN, National Book Award-winning author, in "Jonathan Franzen Endorses Webster Groves (Mo.) Library Tax," St. Louis, July 16.

"Libraries are a place of self-selection and volunteer reading. If you don't like a book, you don't have to read it, and I think we've lost sight of that." STEPHANA FERRELL, cofounder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, in "What Comes after Book Bans? One School District Questions Traditional Libraries," WUSF-FM (Tampa, Fla.), July 16.

"I WANT MY KID TO READ.
WANT TO KNOW WHY? BOOKS START CONVERSATIONS. KNOW WHAT WE'RE NOT HAVING ENOUGH OF IN THIS COUNTRY?
CONVERSATIONS."
Author and journalist JENNA BUSH HAGER, Las Culturistas, May 20

Page 32, Fall 2026, americanlibraries.org

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Freedom to Read Project @freedomreadproject.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Too often, protecting young people is used as a reason to limit what they can read. But books give teens a safe place to encounter difficult realities, explore unfamiliar experiences, and better understand the world around them. Young people don't need to be shielded from every complicated story.

“Too many adults wish to ‘protect’ teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.” -Margaret A Edwards

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/books/pictur...

Title: Methods for Encouraging a Reluctant Young Reader

Panel 1
Caption: Read Together
Image: A small child sits on a sofa, face buried in a book, between two adults doing the same.

Panel 2
Caption: Bribery
Image: The small child sits on a treasure chest wearing a crown, face buried in a book, in a room full of coins, jewels and precious items.

Panel 3
Caption: Element of danger
Image: The small child sits, face buried in a book, precariously balanced on a thin branch in a tall tree.

Panel 4
Caption: Reverse Psychology
Image: The small child sits, face buried in a book, beside a huge bookshelf and a sign that reads “Adults Only”

Panel 5
Caption: Pulleys and Pistons
Image: The small child sits, face buried in a book, amidst a complicated mechanism that provides endless new books.

Panel 6
Caption: Rituals and Incantations
Image: The small child sits, face buried in a book, in a circle of candles amidst clouds of smoke and mysterious phrases.

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purr.in.ink @purrinink.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

If you enjoy my work and would like to support it and have more purrs in your life, please join my Purrtreon: www.patreon.com/purrinink 🤍🐾

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Annest Gwilym @annestgwilym.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

To win a free copy of my new book Contemplation of Roses (see below) RT this post and I will select someone at random in a week's time. Good luck!

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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

For those of you who loved their Fall of Rome candle 🕯️, might I interest you in some Sea Peoples? jdandkateindustries.com/products/lba

jdandkateindustries.com

Late Bronze Age Collapse-Scented Candle

Finally, someone (us) has made a candle commemorating everyone’s favorite late 13th century widespread societal collapse.

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Matt is Just Trying His Best @thegrampus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Whoever decided to promote Coyote vs Acme by letting Wile E do an AMA using only signs deserves all the praise.

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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Welcome new followers! (I just got 100 more!) I'm a historian of medicine, w/ a focus on the premodern world (before 1500). I mostly work on Europe, but I also pursue questions w/ global implications--like the book I'm doing on the Black Death. Big on pedagogy & I welcome questions!

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

So many of the supposed divides in the Democratic caucus simply boil down to "this one will fight for all of us, this one will not" and for the past two years Team Fight is sweeping the board.

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Debbie Crochets @debbiecrochets.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I have a favor to ask. I've had low views to my shop since i haven't been promoting much. A lot going on w/hubby in the hospital etc. Could you pay a visit /heart some things in my shop as it helps with the algorithm Thanks so much debbiecrochets.etsy.com

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Skyla Dawn Cameron @skyladawn.ca · 26/08/2026

This sale is on for a few more days! This has also been my worst month for third-party sales in a decade, like not cracking triple digits, which affects October's bills. While I know my reach is tapped out here, I'm going to thread a few things as a reminder I have many books at many retailers. 🧵

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Shecky @shecky.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Evening folks: These two cats still need someone wonderful to give them a home. If it's not you, it might be someone you know, so *please* spread the word.

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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I want to say to anybody who is worried about their appearance: Honey, you look great. Nobody’s judging you, and if they are, they’re no good for you. You’re glorious! Your eyes sparkle when you smile. lastwordonnothing.com/2026/05/15/w...

lastwordonnothing.com

What's Truly Beautiful - The Last Word On Nothing

We can resist Mar-a-Lago face, looksmaxxing, and other hyper-gendered depictions of beauty. Courage is beautiful; you are beautiful.

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Shala Howell @shalahowell.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

My friend has a blog about being the designated in-home caretaker for a narcissistic parent. It's full of empathy, honesty, & some surprisingly useful tips for surviving the inevitable anxiety & routine emotional abuse. Highly recommend: buymeacoffee.com/lizperrine/survival-techniques

buymeacoffee.com

Survival Techniques, Part 5A — Liz Perrine

Post by Liz Perrine

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

Title: On holiday with the compulsive browsers

Panel 1: Browsing in the airport bookstore despite already having bags filled with books

Panel 2: Browsing in a charming local bookshop despite not speaking a word of the language

Panel 3: Browsing in the Airbnb despite there being only four novels, the oven manual and a pizza menu

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Movies Silently @moviessilently.bsky.social · 16/09/2024

Bringing my FREE STUFF thread over. Lots of archives, national film institutes, nonprofits and others have made collections of silent films available for free, no signup needed. I have the links

media.tenor.com

an animated image with the words did you say free stuff

ALT: an animated image with the words did you say free stuff

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Morning. 🖼️ C F Tunnicliffe

Wren in woodland setting, perched on bark with fern, illustration.

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