And don’t neglect to check out today’s @flaminghydra.com, in which @swordsjew.bsky.social mines his Arctic obsession for gold. Regarding the noble musk ox: “The longest winters cannot defeat them. They eat saxifrage. They walk through the blizzard unscathed.” flaminghydra.com/issue-654/
Cold comfort / Wave caught
Tal Lavin dreams of the frozen North, and Trevor Alixopulos goes for a swim
flaminghydra.com
Terrific Kirkus review of Hold Still that I should’ve posted last week: “the effort itself, and [Ehrenreich’s] refusal to seek pat, tidy resolutions, are what make the book poignant and satisfying… A meditative and wide-ranging response to loss.” www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
HOLD STILL | Kirkus Reviews
A writer channels his grief into brief riffs on death, family, and storytelling.
kirkusreviews.com
“Can a question be a story? Maybe that’s the wrong question to ask. Or the wrong way to ask it.”— @benehrenreich.bsky.social in @jewishcurrents.bsky.social Read excerpts from his forthcoming book HOLD STILL, to be pub'd by City Lights Oct 13! jewishcurrents.org/hold-still
Hold Still
"Can a question be a story? Maybe that’s the wrong question to ask. Or the wrong way to ask it."
jewishcurrents.org
"All of the pieces are reflections of a son with a hole in his heart trying to make sense of a world without his mother. A truly beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman."—Candace Smith, @ala-booklist.bsky.social on HOLD STILL by @benehrenreich.bsky.social forthcoming from City Lights, Oct 13
I'm proud to have an excerpt of Hold Still in @jewishcurrents.bsky.social Check it out: jewishcurrents.org/hold-still
Hold Still
"Can a question be a story? Maybe that’s the wrong question to ask. Or the wrong way to ask it."
jewishcurrents.org
A very nice surprise: terrific Publishers Weekly review of Hold Still www.publishersweekly.com/9780872869479
Hold Still by Ben Ehrenreich
Journalist Ehrenreich (Desert Notebooks) began writing the dreams, fables, and meditations in this deceptively simple collection...
publishersweekly.com
On the fundamental un-seriousness of the category of the “serious” in American political discourse.
On the fundamental un-seriousness of the category of the “serious” in American political discourse.
The fact that the U.S. has had to pause a war because it is Running Out of Bombs seems worth pausing on.
In case you were for some reason thinking about The Odyssey, I’m happy to announce that my long-out-of-print first novel, The Suitors—yes, those suitors—will soon be available as an ebook. Watch this space.
In case you were for some reason thinking about The Odyssey, I’m happy to announce that my long-out-of-print first novel, The Suitors—yes, those suitors—will soon be available as an ebook. Watch this space.
Glorious deep dive on belt stanchions here. (Subscribe to Flaming Hydra!)
Flaming Hydra@flaminghydra.com · 2mo agoTODAY: @jdconnor.bsky.social on the history, science, and technology of waiting in line. “Queuing theory is a real thing, with real math and real consequences for our lives. There are mathematical models for lines, and there are agent-based simulations.” flaminghydra.com/retractatus/
After a long break to finish two (!) books, I am very happy to be back in @flaminghydra.com flaminghydra.com/issue-598/?a...
Looming disaster / Humor in uniform
Ben Ehrenreich on a warm summer day, and Dave Karpf visits the Great American State Fair
flaminghydra.com
TODAY: @benehrenreich.bsky.social watches the seasons change. "Except for the growing number of us who have already been overtaken by catastrophe, we sit with ankles crossed in air-conditioned rooms, if we are lucky" flaminghydra.com/issue-598/#a...
Looming disaster / Humor in uniform
Ben Ehrenreich on a warm summer day, and Dave Karpf visits the Great American State Fair
flaminghydra.com
Thank you, @literaryhub.bsky.social for anticipating Hold Still! lithub.com/lit-hubs-mos...
Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026, Part Two
The year is half over, if you can believe it. Time marches ever forward, into the abyss. Books, though, can smooth the passage. If you choose wisely, that is. To that end, here are the novels, coll…
lithub.com
More than 20 years ago, when Donald Trump was just another grifting narcissistic rapist with gold-plated dreams, a Cambodian friend with whom I have since lost touch described the US to me as a giant, lumbering baby with one leg. And no eyes. Look at us now, old friend!
That Trump is still consistently able to manipulate Wall Street with demented spews of monstrous garbage does put the whole “wisdom of the market” thing into perspective.
I know it all can feel overwhelming at times but now that we have machines that can do our thinking for us I’m sure everything will work out fine.
I’m excited about this. Coming out with @citylightsbooks.bsky.social in October. Please pre-order, share, etc citylights.com/wp-content/u...
A lot of the same motherfuckers now mourning the international rules-based order etc etc are the very ones who helped murder it in Gaza.
Past administrations did, to be fair, lie to us about their war crimes far more respectfully, and that’s what made all the difference.
I know it has its enthusiasts but so far the most consequential impact of AI has been to allow certain humans to kill other humans with far greater speed and efficiency. Well done, nerds.
This is the death toll in Iran that some are calling "low." It's only been 3 days & over 700 ppl at least have been killed. Nearly 700 more deaths are being reviewed. That's 1400 deaths in 3 days. Israeli carnage in Palestine has fully shifted the Overton window for folks x.com/AdHaque110/s...
The stupidity, ignorance, arrogance, and fundamental unseriousness of American elites is never on such garish and carefree display as it is when they go to war.
Hard to imagine a better argument for developing a nuclear program.
Anyone who has been alive on this earth for more than 20 minutes has no excuse for not knowing that this is nothing but mass murder built on lies and is criminally arrogant, stupid, and cruel and will end badly for many, many thousands of people.
If Gaza didn’t convince you of the stinking moral rot at the core of virtually every elite institution in the West, Jeffrey Epstein was kind enough to confirm.
He’s going to start a war with Iran before the weekend is out.
Jake Tapper, long-suffering Philly sports fan@jaketapper.bsky.social · 8mo agoDOJ has since killed this link. This is what was there:
