iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It wasn't planned but I read these three similar books in the last year (I just finished Loot). Three countries, three different thefts, three items no longer part of their country, and the fault really is from the British Empire. It's brutal. #booksky #readersky

Kohinoor by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

October highlights! Started in June. The storytelling of this series was absolutely beautiful. It was my first Silkpunk (steam punk in east Asia). It was a little more idealistic than I’m usually drawn to, but the strength of the narrative kept me reading. It was lovely. #booksky #readersky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Seriously. This is what the dude said through his lawyer. No biggie. Just trafficking

"I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use. I was not found responsible by Cornell for any of the accusations involving sexual activity and drug use for which others received serious consequences. I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I find it a little hard to keep an open mind when this is the official statement sent by a lawyer. This is the one who snap chatted. abcnews.com/US/district-...

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I need one next to my replica Egyptian foot cups

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Look at him, all innocent with short hair, but oh yes, he has a double coat that is continuously escaping his person.

A yellow tan dog with a brown nose, who is adorable but underneath his tawny coat resides a second more insidious coat that sheds all year round.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I mean this is a week in the fall, when most of his hair stays in!

A trash can with the top layer all dog hair.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I can't believe that I didn't read this book before. It's a prescient dystopia and not out of the realm of possibility. Atwood is a weird woman (complimentary) and she creates absolute horrors and also some touching moments. #booksky #readersky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I have loved and adored this series, so happy/sad it's done and I will definitely read it again. It's dark and whimsical and a great twist on dark academia. I adore anything of hard won found family and an underdog story. I would follow these characters to hell and back. #booksky #readersky

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo / Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This book is complicated, it tells of small conservative rural town in Nazi Germany. It's not that sympathetic but it tells of people who were not black or white. A lot of it were people who conformed or just went along to survive and that disturbing part will stick with me. #booksky #readersky

A Village in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

They at least covered it. I am shocked at that.

BDN post about the package guy with the headline:

Police expect to charge pro-Susan Collins canvasser for doorstep package theft

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A while back I read a fiction Cleopatra book that made me mad. It was a defanged Disney-fied romatasy of one of the boldest women in history. So I sought out books that were non Roman biographies of Cleopatra. It wasn't always pretty but it was strength. This fixed me. #booksky #readersky

The Cleopatras by Lloyd Llewellyn - Jones

When Women Ruled the World by Kara Cooney

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The i saw the follow up, it confirms the evil. I am no longer in doubt.

Aaron Rodericks posts: Are they threatening trans users directly?
No. Trans folks in the US have been targeted repeatedly. That's awful and you have my sympathy.
Within the context of a single post we wouldn't consider it a direct threat or targeting a protected category. le send trans folks to concentration camps.

So like an evil mother fucker

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It was interesting to read of white woman in the 60s who is dealing with mental illness. She's not all that great of a person, but you still kind of get it. It feels cold and unemotional, yet still extremely raw. It's an interesting time capsule with echos of today. #booksky #readersky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Rachel Gillig writes these atmospheric world that are weird and wonderful. This latest duology (complete!) is so much fun. I loved the haunting feeling of the first one and rollout of the second kept me on my toes. Just a fun read. #booksky

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

These two must be sad that nobody remembers them

Two probably cast members of the original Star Trek who are not part of the legacy.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I started reading this in March when I thought it was a trilogy. 2 trilogies and 3 standalones I am done. If you need a hero, these ain't your books. I said 'what a lying dick' is a lot. But it has a dark sharp wit and so beautiful in is complexity. I loved the crude messiness of everyone #booksky

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercombie

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The last book of August (also my first @marawilson.bsky.social narration) The tone of this book is witty and doesn't mince ideas. Madame is both kind and cruel but overall practical in a world that is unfair. She is extremely competent and pretty smart with real estate. She fascinates me #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

This book was intimidating. It's long and dense and I am not a Victorian Lit gal. However this is a friends favorite book so I gave it a try and I'm glad I did. Eliot weaves so much drama and critique. These characters are so well done. Some of the observations are totally relevant today. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Xenogenesis Trilogy. I was so uncomfortable, the aliens are manipulative and coercive. But it is also about what happens when the group needs to change, about gender and identity. Butler does not write to coddle anyone. These books are going to live in my head for a long while. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I have never read Roth's YA fic but I adore her adult stories. They're always different (very complimentary). This novella is a sci fi dystopian Antigone. It was gritty and wrenching and a perfect easy Friday afternoon read. I wish there was more of it. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

When I saw that this was dedicated to Brett Easton Ellis I knew it was going to be about horrible people. This is a modern classic tragedy. I am such a sucker for a (FICTIONAL) purposeful dumpster fire. This was a messy dark good time. There probably is something wrong with me. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I am really struck by how much disbelief there is, even by the people literally in the camp who see their fellows be marched off. This book is a story of such determination on one side and such callousness in the other. Also even after leaving the camp, the rot doesn't entirely go. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

A lot of what is said about abortion comes from white voices. This is how choice looks from a wider view. It's about abortion, but it is also about contraception, about choosing when to be a parent, about history, about making a safe decision. This was an invaluable book for everyone. #booksky.

Liberating Abortion by Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Woof. Manifesting Red God with a re-read. It hurts even more, knowing where they are all going. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I decided to try something completely different. My first Blake Crouch. Some one said this was the best one. I needed something without lore and world building. It's adrenaline fueled and very much cinematic, but still makes you think. This was great as something easy to escape into. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

In my Whole Foods this weekend. We don't have to live like this.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Another project finished on this day of reading. I started this series in June. I LOVED O'Keefe's Devoured Worlds and now her Protectorate Spaceships and family, bio and found. Twists and turns-one had my jaw on the floor! I stopped reading these at night because it was 'one more chapter' #booksky

Megan O'Keefe's Velocity Weapon (Protectorate #1)

Megan O'Keefe's Chaos Vector & Catalyst Gate (Protectorate 2&3)

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

My July Classic. Russian novels seem to be gritty versions of Regency novels where everyone could benefit from therapy and probably medication. They're just going to eachothers houses and so much drama, including romantic. There is also much philosophizing. Would recommend. #booksky

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

What I love about Southon's writing is she doesn't focus on wars but on people. It's not the pretend great man of history, but the system that made him, this he stepped on and used. When we talk about how great the Roman bureaucracy was we forget it was contingent on slaves, lots of them. #booksky

Emma Southon's Not Built In A Day. A very frank look at the prevalence of slavery everywhere in Rome.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I too wish women were as powerful as misogynist men feared

Emma Southon's Not Built in a Day: They remind their readers to keep women away from cucumber plants because they check their growth and indeed that "if she is also in the period of menstruation, she will kill the young produce merely by looking at it."

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

History is a circular thing, where humans never really get better.

Paragraph from Emma Southon's Not Built in a Day saying: By the reign of Nero (54-68 CE), half the land in the entire province of Africa was own by just six people.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I am going to be my own meteorologist with this complex piece of machinery.

A wall clock like device but instead of hours it has temperature. F and C.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

If you don't believe me here is a Pulitzer nominated journalist.

Reminder there is no evidence that any initial statements by ICE or DHS should be trusted — and reporters should state that in all coverage and stories.
Every ICE shooting we've seen the agency lie about the circumstances.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Lindsey Graham was a traitor to his friends and a warmonger. He would trade in any sense of ideals to massively suck up to Trump. Liz here tries to put lipstick on a pig with 'but he was funny!' She sounds just like Susan Collins.

Tweet from Susan Collins:

I am shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of my good friend and valued colleague Lindsey Graham. His legislative skills and ever-present wit will be sorely missed by those of us fortunate enough to have served with him.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I love this duology so much. It's absolute perfection. The narrative voice is cheeky and it doesn't take itself too seriously, but has a great emotional resonance. The world and the characters are so much fun and a little steamy. Such a fun and great story. #booksky

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightly

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knoghtly

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

JULY HIGHLIGHTS! 1st one was impactful. These women were absolutely fierce. They faced some of the same sexist hurdles western women did but also an aggressive child marriage expectation, a caste system and British racism. These stories are complex and have so much determination. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

One more. I was reminded about this one and had to reread. This one is such an achy tale of a goddess who is so flawed and never quite gets what she wants. It's such a beautiful melancholy. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Couldn't sleep, got out of bed at 5am and dog and did a beach walk.

A dog on the beach. A rising sun in the sky.

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

And finally at the end of June I read Lavinia. I really liked it. It was a woman who quietly did what she thought she was supposed to do among strong forces trying to pull her in another direction. It was winding and lovely. Much like my journey to read this book. #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Then I read the Aeneid. I am a little iffy on this. It was definitely propaganda and seemed like a retcon fanfic of the Iliad. But it was an interesting read of a devout man slowly choosing power over anything else and becoming corrupted. #booksky

The Aeneid by Virgil Translated by Robert Fagles

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

And if I read the Iliad I should read the Odyssey because the Aeneid was Virgil's Roman combo of the two. My distaste for Odysseus is because he is a man child who revels in being a scheming liar. How much of the tale he tells can we trust? Because of the scheming liar thing. 4/6 #booksky

The Odyssey by Homer Translated by Emily Wilson

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

On the side I had to (re)read these two amazing gems. Even if you do not want to read the Iliad, these are brilliant. Agamemnon is the absolute worst. His death is well deserved. Achilles and Patrocolous were stone cold soulmates. Only interpretation. 3/6 #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

First, I thought it would be good to reread the Iliad which I hadn't read since college. Emily Wilson's translation was a delight. It was a lot of bros being bros - fighting, being incredibly moody, and causing general mayhem. Dudes haven't changed much. 2/6 #booksky

Homer's Iliad translated by Emily Wilson

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

So last Nov picked up this because I wanted to read more LeGuin. It was billed as a minor character from The Aneiad that Aeneas meets after leaving the doomed city of Troy. This lead me on a six month reading journey. That was occasionally delightful and often made me roll my eyes. 1/6 #booksky

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Prices are still $.75-$1.00 from what they were, in a more conservative gas station in a small town in NH they remember how bad it got.

Gas pump with a sticker of Trump from when he looked at the eclipse saying 'I did that' with a sharpie handwritten note that said 'Iran your prices up'

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TruelyEsoteric @truelyesoteric.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

I've been reading this this month and Mr. Steinbeck, I did not recognize your game. It's a book where the traditionally 'good' characters are only good because they ignore reality. The characters are incredibly complex and my two fav characters at the end were surprising to me. #booksky

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