Somehow things that would have been a background gag in a Verhoeven movie are now just real
Civilian Reader
@civilianreader.com
Reader of books (biblio-Sisyphus), listener of music, watcher of movies, drinker of coffee & wine. (Same handle on Insta.) I also like basketball. Basically just ricocheting my way through life. http://civilianreader.com
Spotted The Hand in Spider-Man: A Brand-New Day? 👀 That design comes straight from the legendary Frank Miller. The same brilliant mind behind Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, 300, Sin City, AND his brand new book, Push the Wall!
Ah, LinkedIn, continuing the trend of being useless. 1. Nothing on my profile states I am bilingual. I have never claimed to speak Chinese. (It was my worst grade at college.) 2. Every job suggestion I get now is AI-related. Every. Single. One.
Exploring topics from black holes to the Big Bang, to the search for habitable planets, this reading list illuminates humanity’s exploration of space—from the scientific to the philosophical. Enjoy 30% off with code PUP30. press.princeton.edu/ideas/space-...
Space travel for armchair astronauts
Humanity has long contemplated the mysteries of the night sky. From ancient stargazers to modern astrophysicists, our journey to understand the cosmos has been one of awe, curiosity, and discovery. Ex...
press.princeton.edu
Not sure if everyone appreciates the difference. Rooftop solar hardwires into your main panel via a dedicated breaker, so it requires a permit, an installer, an electrician, and a utility agreement. Balcony solar just plugs into a wall outlet, sharing an existing circuit with no permits or rewiring.
A new deal on balcony solar just dropped in the US
Plug-in panels can lower your bills. To boost the American market for the tech, nonprofit Bright Saver is selling kits with no markup, starting at around…
canarymedia.com
Reading AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH by Neil Postman — very good. Still so very relevant. Published by Penguin.
Also Cornyn (perhaps): “I have no idea what my job is, despite being in it for 24 years.”
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d agoCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
I don't think people are ready for this kind of joke yet.
Huge uptick in web visitors from China and Hong Kong (which WP separates). Interesting. More than UK and Canada.
I read an early copy of this and it is absolute dynamite, beautiful and ingenious.
Big Green Books@biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 3d agoSIGNED BOOK NEWS! "As We Fall Through Time" by Claire North. A new epic tale of time travel, betrayal and a love that echoes through the centuries. It's published in October. Pre-order a SIGNED copy HERE! biggreenbookshop.com/signed-copie...
Keep seeing comments like this on my and a work Instagram account. If you want to feature it on your account… write the post yourself? It’s how we’ve done it as bloggers for decades. Lazy buggers.
![Screengrab of an Instagram post: “This looks like a book my followers might enjoy. You can send the post to [redacted] if you’d like it featured.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:g465ikplsnahapqqoyru6swp/bafkreicscwyr42zr2vebtzebkokny5g7mlpxh22vnoou47lqrdnu3q364m)
About 1/4 into DIVINE MIGHT by Natalie Haynes… www.harpercollins.com/products/div... Very much enjoying it. Recommended if you’re looking for more #mythology books to read.
Divine Might
New York Times bestselling author Natalie Haynes returns to the world of ancient Greek myth in this scintillating follow-up to Pandora’s Jar. Few writers to...
harpercollins.com
That’s a premise I’ve not seen before… www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
Help! I Can’t Stop Shitting Snakes
NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley comm...
netgalley.com
No professional accomplishment has ever made me happier than this. theonion.com/translator-o...
Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation
PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” ...
theonion.com
Guys - there's no excuse for an error like this in a wide-release movie trailer...
‘I did not use AI except for when I used AI.’
madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · last wk.shot, chaser
Very good interview/episode. Recommended. (Regardless of your thoughts on the movie, different translations, and/or Wilson’s LRB review, etc.)
Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley@nprfreshair.bsky.social · last wk."We need to have a protagonist with detailed, believable motivation," Wilson tells Fresh Air. "[But] these desires seem stripped from [Nolan's] Odysseus. He doesn't seem to want food. He doesn't seem to want sex. What does he want?" www.npr.org/2026/07/29/n...
Last but not least, my sword-and-sorcery novelette THE SMOKE OF GOLD IS GLORY is now available at Amazon as well as at my own store: Grab it at Amazon: www.amazon.com/Smoke-Gold-G... Grab it at my place: www.scottlynchstore.com/product-page...
First poster for ‘THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR’. Directed by & starring Michael B. Jordan.
More highly-unusual website traffic, today. No reason for the popular posts to receive so much attention today, of all days. This is very frustrating. Seems to have started this year, every couple of months.
At this miserable time in this shambles of a country, Lynch's simple line bears repeating.
You know, you can be an expert in something and still enjoy media about it that is inaccurate, not-wholly faithful to the source material or subject, and/or iffy in general. That is allowed. Apparently a lot of people on here don't know this.
Upcoming: THE OPERATOR by Mike Lawson... civilianreader.com/2026/07/28/u... The 20th #JoeDeMarco thriller! Due to be published by @atlanticcrime.bsky.social in February 2027.
Upcoming: THE OPERATOR by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Crime)
Congressional fixer Joe DeMarco’s misadventures in and around Washington and America’s politics continue! Now, though, he’s pitted against a merciless, far better-resourced opposi…
civilianreader.com