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Brian Thill

@brianthill.bsky.social

Author, WASTE (Bloomsbury) | PhD from UCI | fiction @ Fallow Journal; non-fiction @ Guardian, The Atlantic, Salon, 3AMMagazine &c. | writing a Great Novel™ or two

421 Posts2423 Follower991 Folgt
Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 23h ago

This post puts me in mind of something. I've ditched books (and sometimes entire publishers) because of my annoyance with relatively "minor" details such as this (the paper was too glossy; the binding glue a certain publisher uses smells really weird; the spines behave oddly; etc.) What are yours?

Jacob Siefring@jsief.bsky.social · 23h ago

the UK publisher and other stories puts out some great work in elegant editions. but! i’m surely not the only reader to find their use of a typeface which employs a tiny slanting mark in lieu of a round dot on lowercase i’s odd & distracting? like a minuscule acute accent

Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · last mo.

Book rec #77: WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, by Shirley Jackson. A brilliantly structured horror story masquerading as Gothic comedy; the darkness beneath village life and social resentments, all seen through the distorted lens of childlike fantasy that only a repressed trauma could generate

Front cover of Shirley Jackson, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE. Black and white drawing of timid elder sister Constance hiding behind her sister Merricat, both surrounded by leering and disgusted villagers.
Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Keeping this one separate from the Shakespeare mega-thread now that it's underway, but embarking on it has made me especially curious: What's your favorite Shakespeare play, and why?

Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Last year, I crafted one mega-thread about reading every play by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. This year, starting at this very spot, I'll mark my reading or rereading of every Shakespeare play. Here I shall fetter strong madness in a silken thread. Follow me, sweet creatures of bombast! 1/

Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I went to college *many* years ago, and I can state unequivocally that Dr Toombs was the single most important educational influence I ever had. He lit the spark that transformed me from a bookish hayseed to an adult with an actual political consciousness, simply by speaking the truth, then as now.

AAUP@aaup.org · 2mo ago

Dr. Charles Toombs, immediate past-President of the California Faculty Association, remarking at the AAUP Higher Ed Summit on how easily the commitments made in 2020 to racial justice & equity have been so easily tossed aside for political expediency. @cfaunited.bsky.social #AAUP2026

John Carl Baker@johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Yes - and as a writer or researcher there are few tasks more annoying than correcting a bunch of errors that you wouldn’t have made in the first place.

Faine Greenwood@faineg.bsky.social · 8mo ago

suspect a big reason why many academics and others who work in areas where getting facts RIGHT is key are disinterested in using LLMs for research: they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.

Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 3mo ago

One year ago, I embarked on an epic reading journey: every ancient Greek tragedy. This summer, I’ll travel one of two paths: either every play by Shakespeare (39?), or Balzac’s entire “Human Comedy” (91?), having read only 23 so far. Voter, which shall it be? “Like” for the Bard, repost for Balzac.

Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · last yr.

Get ready, everyone: because of reasons, I’m starting a thread here where I will be providing periodic updates of my definitive rankings of (eventually) every Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, with occasional commentary. Pin it now and improve your accursed life! 1/