iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Universal Heart of Teeth And Mysteries, discovered in the wall of an abandoned mine in Spain. Pity it isn’t fully in the sun or fully in focus, but that’s the way my photography cookies crumble.

A graffito on a cracked cement depicting a stylized human heart in shades of blue, pink, and yellow. A fissure in the middle shows into a space full of stars and a crescent moon.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

“Like many 20-somethings, my friends and I have mostly moved on from texts, preferring to send one another voice recordings instead.” Wait. What? Is this real? Like… voicemail messages?? Having to listen to voicemail is my Elder Millennial nightmare. Just send me a text!

100

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Gothic fiction in its moodiest, most emotional guise. We start with a gravestone unearthed in a basement, but we don’t follow that thread far. Instead, we creep along dozens of paths made eerie by near-familiarity. You will question all your home DIY projects. Finely crafted & unsettling. #booksky

Foreclosure Gothic, by Harris Lahti

The book cover depicts two black and white photographs, stacked vertically, as if taken from a home security camera attached to a home’s front door. You see the porch floor, a white rail, and two white columns holding up the white roof. Between the columns, stairs lead down and away into a yard where you can barely make out several large trees. Standing at the top of the stairs on the edge of the porch is a human figure. The two images are the same, except that in the top image, the figure seems to glow.

050

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I didn’t know needed a book about dark secrets from the world of dictionaries, but turns out I did. I found myself gushing about wordy marvels to friends over dinner: “Wanna know why J is a lexicographer's favorite letter??” I giggled and "ooh!"ed my way through every fascinating chapter. #booksky

Word by Word: the Secret Life of Dictionaries, by @korystamper.bsky.social

The cover art looks like a page torn from a dictionary with veeeery tiny turquoise print on a white background, organized in four columns. Tiny, hand-drawn illustrations including an eel and a couple of men sword fighting (with epees, I have to imagine??) accent several of the word entries. The book’s title and author are written in thick red pencil over blank sections of the page, and the subtitle, which appears as a dictionary heading to the right of the title, is underlined in red.

030

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

LOVED. Our author, Zelu, wants more than what her well-meaning but traditional Nigerian-American family has scripted for her. She builds new worlds for herself, both in her reality and in her fiction. Read it for tales within tales, multi-layered science fiction, and so many glorious meals. #booksky

35111

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Ahhh, this brilliant graphic short story smacked me right in the (good) feels.

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Some folks have gotten their PhDs analyzing this novel. So, my 2¢ in 210 characters: Beautiful. Harsh. Wise. I didn’t expect to love it, but here we are. Can’t remember the last novel I read with characters of this caliber. I didn’t like them all, but I cared about the fate of every single one. 📚💙

Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry, performed by Lee Horsley. “1986 Pulitzer Prize Winning epic Masterpiece of the American West.”

Book cover with the title in large western-style font at the top, and the author’s name and audio reader’s name at the bottom. Between is a painting of a western landscape with a man seated on a horse at center. To their right, a woman in a long skirt stands in front of a white tent. In the background, a herd of cattle seems to be moving toward the viewer.

120

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Hey #artsky! Can anyone identify the painter of this particular Virgin and (deeply unimpressed) Child painting from the Louvre? I failed to snap a pic of the interpretive card, and it turns out trying to reverse-image search this pair gives you only wrong answers. Thousands of them.

A painting depicting the Virgin Mary, seated, wearing blue and pink robes, holding a naked baby Jesus. Mary looks tired. Jesus is looking off toward the right side of the image, with the expression of a thousand-year-old man who has seen all this shot before and is NOT impressed.

120

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

I win the Santorini photography contest (in which I am the only but clearly victorious competitor).

Sunset in Santorini viewed from the Catholic Church in Fira. In the foreground, a white-painted cement wall on which a gray cat with a stripped tail is perched, looking over its shoulder toward something off screen. The ocean far below fills the center of the photo, with Skaros Rock visible in the distance to the right. The island of Thirasia is visible near the horizon, and just above it an almost-set sun blazes hot orange, fading to pink above.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

A soft, gentle story about a kind, gentle man whose generosity helps a community reconnect with itself. While listening to it, I found it soothing, but I never found myself enthusiastic to pick it back up. The ending caught me by surprise, somewhat redeeming the slow pace and oversweetness. 💙📚💙

Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi

The book cover has a cream background with a pencil drawing of a tattered feather in the center. The title is above and the author’s name below, both in a fairly small black font.

050

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

If there had been a cat dozing on top of this ancient Greek wall, this might have been the most perfect picture ever taken.

A small section of stacked-rock limestone wall from the Ancient Thera archaeological site in Santorini, Greece. In front of the wall, a riot of white/yellow, purple, and red flowers (garland daisy, Cretan mallow, and red poppy) grow. A corner of blue ocean and sky can be seen upper right, far in the distance.

093

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

What if tarot cards represented real, arcane forces that also have human avatars who are using poker as a means to do deadly battle to achieve ultimate power...? A literal Las Vegas fantasy that both compelled and frustrated me. Will leave you both scared of and desperate to have a cold beer. 💙📚💙

Last Call, by Tim Powers

(deep breath in preparation for describing this cover…)

The bottom half of the cover shows the faces of a fanned hand of cards, as if by holding the book you are holding a hand of poker. A jack of clubs and queen of hearts seem normal enough, but the other three visible cards are tarot cards. The one on the far right, most visible, shows an angry-looking sun with a human face glowering down at what might be a building. The card in the middle shows a proud-looking man holding a staff. The most obscure card, on the far left, might show a bearded man. The author’s name is across the bottom of the cards in blue font.

Above the cards, a wild desert landscape with snow-covered mountains in the background. A stone tower rears up at center, an eyeball carved into its front and crenelations across its rounded top. The sky behind it is the black of outer space. To the left, the planet Saturn hovers in the black. To the right, Jupiter.

Above the tower, filling the entire top of the cover, is the bottom of a looming moon, craters visible in its surface. A bolt of lightning appears to be shooting out of the moon and striking the top of the tower.

The title overlays part of the moon and all of the tower in large, irregularly sized red letters

Whew.

110

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

The crowds are gone. Feels like my first deep breath in two weeks.

A view across the ocean-filled Santorini caldera from the lip of a cliff that is covered with purple, yellow, and pink flowers. The sun reflects brightly off the water, the sky is blue, and the island of Thirasia appears as a thick, dark line at the horizon.

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

This book was a lot of fun. I found myself wanting to tell other people about it as I was reading, the premise was so quirky and original. Certain parts of it legitimately stressed me out, though, and the ending, while literarily satisfying, left me feeling terribly anxious. 💙📚💙

The Husbands, by Holly Gramszio

The book cover has a beige background. An illustrated ladder climbs from near the bottom up into a black rectangular hole. The letters of the title, in large block print with the letters alternating in red, teal, purple, and pink, appear to be falling down the ladder. The author’s name is above the attic hole in smaller, black print.

010

Reposted by Hummingbird, in the Nood.

Jane Espenson @janeespenson.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Now, whenever I see videos of animals doing cool things in the wild, I have to wonder if it's real or ai. Are those real wildebeests or is it all fake gnus?

2437158

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

I kept thinking I knew how the plot would go, and it kept not meeting my expectations, which I love. I also love reading about writers, and this novel tackles some of the dark sides of that profession. Twisty and (while those twists were not always surprises), at least once actually shocking. 💙📚💙

The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

The book cover shows a white-covered book against a blue background. The title, on the book-within-a-book, fills the cover in large font. Through the letters, as if through windows, you can see a rectangle of sky framed by dirt and grass, as if you are looking up from the bottom of a fresh-dug grave (a detail I *just* noticed when trying to write this description, and absolutely love). The author’s name appears below the book-within-a-book.

030

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

A week in, and my brain is making no concessions on the question of the time change. 😣

001

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I picked this up expecting a memoir about someone’s non-traditional religious history, but this book wasn't that at all. What it WAS was fun enough (an irreverent voyage through our narrator's fights with addiction, self-image, and tricky life choices) but I wasn't quite the right audience. 💙📚💙

Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere, by Maria Bamford

The book cover has a deep yellow background. A woman wearing an old-fashioned white dress stands center, staring at you with a slightly crazed expression. A small bunch of white flowers has been tucked into her long, blonde hair. The title is in black font across the woman’s torso. The author’s name is in white font above her head.

020

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

"Unhinged" per other reviewers, well written, fast-paced, great characters. I don’t love apples, but this would not have saved me in this book because I will always try the thing everyone else loves to find out what the big deal is. This was my first Wendig. I see why some people are so devoted. 💙📚💙

Black River Orchard, by @chuckwendig.bsky.social

The book cover shows a dark, smoky sky above a dark body of water. The title is in large white letters over the sky, the author’s name is in a slightly smaller red font over the water. Where the water and sky meet, a skeletal black tree sprouts from a barely visible bit of land, its leafless branches twining in between the letters of the title. A single bright-red apple hangs from one branch.

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Birthday Loot courtesy of the library book sale! I’ve already read most of these, but adding them to my collection makes me happy. The chest mimic was a gift from my crush. This is actually pretty solid representation of my reading interests. Recommendations based on this pile very welcome! 💙📚💙

A stack of books with a wooden chest sitting on top. The chest has green eyes and big teeth. The books include:
A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
Reincarnation Blues, by Michael Poore
Still Life, by Louise Penny
Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik
The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern
and somehow missing from the picture:
The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters

030

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

This is the kind of story I wish I had written. Dragons! Adventure! Romance! Forgiveness! A little more murdering than I'm comfortable with! Strong marks for lush scenery, deliciously awful curses, and character growth. Points lost for lack of moral qualms about killing baby dragons. 💙📚💙

Dragonfruit, by Makiia Lucier

The book cover shows a young woman looking over her shoulder at the viewer. She is wearing fantasy attire inspired by Polynesian tradition, including a headdress made of leaves and flowers and large shell earrings. Details of her green dress are lost behind her long, flowing black hair in which a couple small canoes and sailboats appear to be struggling against the waves. A line with a fishing hook at the end spirals through her hair and appears almost ready to spear the title, which is written in silver font at the bottom. She holds her hands in front of her, the scales of what might be a dragon egg barely visible between them. A tattoo of something serpentine and slightly spikey runs up her neck onto the side of her face, though it, too, is mostly obscured by her hair. A bat peers out around her shoulder, just over the title. The author’s name is in smaller print at the top. An inset quote reads, “Every wish demands a price…”

This is a lush, gorgeous cover. The artist is Tran Nguyen. @mynameistran.bsky.social

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

The premise of this book is ridiculous & addictive. Inside jokes for RPGers abound but I doubt non-gamers will feel left out. The duo of pantsless Carl & snarky Princess Donut The Show Cat is irresistible. Crass, fast-paced, laugh-out-loud funny. A nice palate-cleanser between more serious reads.💙📚💙

Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman

The book cover is illustrated in a style I like to call “serious cartoon” (think video games rather than Scooby Doo). A man wearing a leather jacket, boxers with red hearts, and nothing more runs toward the viewer, a Persian cat running along side. They are being chased by a tank with spiked wheels driven by a pointy-eared green goblin. The yellow-fonted title tilts backward as if scrolling up your screen.

250

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

A look into life on a South Dakota rez, so near me on the map but so far away in every other sense. Themes include poverty, drugs, and discrimination, but also the love, family, and hope that make every story human. I learned things about Lakota and reservation culture, history, and wild turnips.💙📚💙

020

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

First mushrooms I’ve seen in ages! Pretty turkey tails along Dead Man’s Creek. Happy #fungifriday!

A cluster of turkey tail mushrooms grow out of a rotting, gray log. The mushrooms look a lot like clam shells - flat and semi-circular with blue-gray stripes.

0182

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Come for the drag queens beating the everloving shit out of white supremacists. Stay for the rage-validating fantasy of neonazis, dirty politicians & evil millionaires behaving like idiotic buffoons, confirming your every suspicion about how evil, corrupt & incompetent the opposition is. 💙📚💙

Fever Beach, by Carl Hiaasen

The book cover is the color of a sunset, red fading to yellow, overlaid by large black font. A stylized pair of reflective sunglasses showing the sunset separates the author’s name from the title.

040

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

💙📚 I spent the first half of the book thinking “nuh-uh, this is SO ridiculous. A system to manage an immortal population could NEVER work like this!” But I kept reading & reading, wanting to see what would happen next in this implausible but captivating world. Stories about Death are totally my jam.

140

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

💙📚 Intriguing, sometimes a bit head-scratching, but fun. I'm embarrassed at how long it took me to connect all three storylines, even given that I am notoriously easy for authors to trick. Chewing on this genetic “what if?” was worth the read, even if its plausibility felt a bit wobbly at times.

Baby X, by Kira Peikoff
The cover is orange with a big blue X across it. The orange and X overlay a shadow-image of a fertilized human egg. The title and author’s name are large and centered, partially obscuring the image.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

💙📚 I prefer my romances gothic & twisty, and this one is the Grande Dame of them all. With an unnamed protagonist and an antagonist who’s been dead since before the story began, the stage is set for moody, surprising turns. Is it really a love story? (Of course it is. Every story is a love story.)

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

The classic paperback book cover depicts a background of loosely draped red silk. The title is in pale yellow with a large, highly stylized capital R. The author’s name is below in white. A caption reads, “An unsurpassed modern masterpiece of romantic suspense.”

060

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

💙📚 Why I keep reading @tkingfisher.com’s romances even though romance isn’t my jam: “Know your place. She is your wielder. [...] If she chose to wander about wearing nothing but strategically placed lizards, that would be her choice.” You think you know how a sentence will end, then BAM lizards.🦎

Swordheart, by T. Kingfisher

The book cover depicts a riotously colorful scene in an illustration style behind the white font of the title and author name. A pale blue sword with a red hilt bisects the image from top to bottom. Four round towers with pointy roofs frame the edges. A bird is perched on each side of the sword’s pommel. Greenery and flowers fill all the spaces between. Smaller text under the title says, “Love is a double edged sword.”

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

💙📚 Well that was a hell of a thing.😳 A fascinating if not completely enjoyable ride where the author asked, “this story from legend SHOULD be impossible, but what if it wasn’t?” The answer was harrowing and claustrophobic, but I read it compulsively and learned a whole lot of things about whales.

Whalefall, by Daniel Krauss
The cover of the book shows an enormous sperm whale swimming toward the surface of the ocean. Directly above the whale’s open, toothy mouth swims a very small scuba diver.

031

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

💙📚 Beautiful. Terrifying. Heartbreaking. Fascinating. Historical details from the mind of a master researcher, but related with a touch so gentle it sometimes stings. I have faced waves I thought mind end me and know that fear. Bacon brings the story alive.

The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by John U. Bacon

Book cover has a dark background with a gold-lettered title, and white-lettered subtitle and author name. A detail from the 1995 painting by David W Conklin titled “Every Man Knew (The Freighter Edmund Fitzgerald)” shows the end of a red and white shipping freighter fighting raging waves under a dark, threatening sky.

071

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

💙📚 Tied with Tress for my favorite of the four Kickstarter novels. Top stars, as always, for creating a world so different from anything I’ve seen before, but so immediately recognizable at the same time. Themes and tropes that speak to me. Just the right amount of romance. Made me crave noodles. 🍜

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, by Brandon Sanderson, illustrated by Aliya Chen.
The book cover is in shades of midnight blue, with pale yellow font. A young man and young woman reach toward each other from opposite corners, as if floating toward each other in the air.

020

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I would very much like to know more about AI toothpaste. (Also I think Nick’s comment is really compelling.)

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

💙📚 The Island of Doctor Moreau meets the Twilight Zone’s “The Lateness of the Hour.” A sweet story of a journey from innocence to empowerment. The romantic sub-plot took a turn I didn’t expect, which was my favorite bit. My first Moreno-Garcia read that wasn’t either 🔥 or DNF, but a very solid 3⭐️.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The cover shows the facade of a red-painted building covered with green vines. A doorway in the middle of the facade frames a woman in an old fashioned green dress.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I haven’t found a way to put myself out on the socials yet, but I find I’m enjoying having small conversations with strangers here. I’m going to try posting micro-book-reviews, as a challenge to see how well I can compress them, as a way to track my reads, and as an invitation to talk about a book.

100

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

A tech-world “bad guys stole a thing and good guy will do crafty and slightly dangerous things to get it back” romp with an unlikely 67-year-old forensic accountant as our protagonist. I liked that much of the conflict concerned Hench dealing with real-world consequences of action-movie decisions.

Cover photo of the novel Red Team Blues, by Cory Doctorow. It is royal blue with red and white font, showing the silhouette of a running man framed by a keyhole.

100

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Love is in the noods! … Noods are in the air? Hmmm… Working on a recipe for the chocolate noods that’s worth sharing.

A nest of milk and dark chocolate tagliatelle with a straight red strawberry nestled in the middle.

A kajillion pasta hearts in shades of white and pinks.

000

Reposted by Hummingbird, in the Nood.

Christine Hallquist @christinehallquist.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Let's amplify the paranormal erotic thriller novel Melania: Devourer of Men so it ranks higher than her movie. Go to Amazon and "Buy" the book on Kindle (it's free) Share this post and get other people to "buy". It is a great act of resistance.

79134

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Just got removed from a healthshare ministry’s mailing list by asking if they don’t see a contradiction between the parts of their Statement of Faith saying they have the right not to pay for morally objectionable services and the one saying they have a moral obligation to help “any person in need.”

130

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Happy solstice, friends. May your lengthening days be full of love and very soft cats/blankets.

A fluffy black cat lays on a soft, red blanket in front of a pillow that says “Meowy Christmas” in a festive font. The cat is giving you some solid side-eye.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Happy Black Cat Day from Her Majesty.

A long-haired black cat gives the camera some serious side-eye from her perch on the photographer’s lap. She is regal and unimpressed.

020

Reposted by Hummingbird, in the Nood.

Alyssa Harad @alyssaharad.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

My sustaining donor spiel: If you have a enough money to keep forgetting to unsubscribe to something, I highly recommend becoming a sustaining donor at the food bank (or other org) of your choice.

520880

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

We don’t get a lot of monarchs in western South Dakota. Every one I spot feels like a gift. (Also I always hope they’re not too lost.)

Side view of a monarch butterfly perched on a stalk of small purple flowers, backlit by the sun.

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I stuffed a batch of spaghetti full of jalapeños, habaneros, and ghost peppers in preparation for the Harvest Moon Festival in Custer this weekend. Do you enjoy a little suffering with your meal? Come see me!

Two nests of dried spaghetti with suspicious looking specks nestle together with a pair of scary-looking, long red peppers. Just putting this photo together left me with tingly fingers and the sniffles.

010

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Neighbors: please leave your house keys under your back doormats if you’re expecting to get raptured so I can come rescue your pets.

000

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

That feeling when the persistent and eternal thought of “time to get up and do something productive” can finally be answered with, “nah, not right now.”

A foot wearing a cat sock attached to a leg wearing noodle-themed pajamas hangs over the edge of a green hammock with views of potted flowers and an aspen tree in the background.

000

Reposted by Hummingbird, in the Nood.

america.is.not.free @antifapatriot.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

If you put googly eyes on the Pillars of Creation you get muppets 😄😄

12157592543

Hummingbird, in the Nood. @snukes.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

So busy making Rainbow Noods in June, I didn’t post any of them. I make rainbows all year round, but Fabulous Fettuccine is a #Pride month specialty. They’re SO pretty, the extra work feels worth it. Not “make them all year” worth it, but close! 😅 #pasta #noodles #noods #rainbows

Close-up of two sheets of pasta dough, the top sheet showing wide rainbow stripes, the bottom showing narrow rainbow stripes. The colors are bright but don’t look like crayon colors because they are all plant-based.

Long sheets of pasta dough lay in front of a large pasta-rolling machine. The sheets of dough are rainbow stripes.

Rainbow-striped fettuccine noodles hanging on a neon-green, 8-armed pasta rack.

Rainbow fettuccine in bunches, laid out on white plastic drying racks. Some of the noodles are solid colors, laid out together in groups or many colors, some of the noodles are striped rainbows so that each noodle is every color.

060