Why do my children decide they need to absolutely chug water at the very moment we turn off the lights at bedtime

Continuing the conversation about book reviews today, jump in the thread if you missed it & want to chat. Yes, the thing C.H. points out is super important-- reviews can stand in for convos, like seeing a movie and then standing around talking with your friends about it!

C.H. Romatowski@romatowski.bsky.social · yesterday

I often read reviews after the fact too—I think for me it sort of substitutes for getting to have a conversation about the book. But yes, many fewer such interlocutors available! :(

How it feels to read something seems important. Well well well, it appears existing in a human body is still advantageous for now

Joel Pinckney@jpinckney.bsky.social · yesterday

I'm much more likely to pick up a book after reading the review if the reviewer can give me a real sense of how it feels to read the book, rather than an accumulation of plot summary, critical insight, contextualizing among other works, etc

Adrienne says a lot of good stuff in this thread but I really like the idea of the critic as the draw, the personality, the Style, and I think another sad detriment to the lack of valuing criticism $ wise is that we lose the chance to develop more of these voices

Adrienne Celt@celtadri.bsky.social · yesterday

Alternatively, I'll read any review by Tricia Lockwood or Andrea Long Chu, because I'm genuinely interested in their points of view (Tricia is rarely reviewing a new book and ALC is, admittedly, aligned to my interest in messy discourse, because she doesn't suffer fools). 3/5

This shouldn't seem like too much to ask and yet in the world of low-paid/unpaid criticism it feels that way!

Make Common@makecommon.bsky.social · yesterday

Really want reviewers to admit their biases but also have a take on the work & that they own that take in a way that's not cruel or so positive it's empty but which is honest, nuanced & evidenced AND I want them to be able to situate the work in the field/history. I know this is asking a lot!

I've been asking over at Substack, but want to throw the question out here too: what makes a "good" book review in this day and age? When do you read book reviews (before or after reading the book)? Do you discover books through reviews?

Shoutout to the musician at the scenic local barbecue place, just absolutely crushing it playing john prine's most depressing songs

My pleasure to help edit this -- poets and language nerds go check this interview out asap

Tom Snarsky@tomsnarsky.bsky.social · last wk.

it was an honor to talk with the poet @hannahvanbins.bsky.social for Zona Motel — I’ve been reading Hannah’s poems with great interest for over a decade, so it was a special joy to get to write about her work & have this conversation! Part 1 is available below, Part 2’s coming 8/12 :)

I purchased last minute tickets to one of the NYC Tori Amos shows this past weekend. I'm talking two hours before the show. Someone on r/toriamos sold a very nice seat to me for $50 and sent me the ticket before I even cash apped him. Reddit is the best place on the internet

I enjoy editing for zona motel because our contributors don't just love books, they truly love reading 😊😎

I've been posting here less but I also kind of like it still. The sensation of screaming into a nice indifferent tunnel is what poetry is made of. All I LOVE YOU WALLS

Someone could easily poison me by offering me a baked potato

This is a classic thing a ghost would say FYI

All that time I spend doomscrolling looking for one good piece of news and now it is here.

I love the phrase "writers and poets" because it suggests poets aren't writing but instead doing something far more sinister

I reviewed Learning by Courtney Bush, a book that shows you that maybe children are relatable and wise and adults are the silly geese. (Not the psyop) open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...

Going to exclusively refer to m*ga as "fandom of the flop era" from now on

For the early nothing weekend set. I didn't set out to review this book originally, but found that it elicited such a strong emotional reaction in me that I wanted to write about it to investigate that. This review is the result.

niina pollari@niina.bsky.social · last mo.

I reviewed Conor Hultman's DOE, which uses text from a database of cases with unidentified victims. This book, in all its imposing 600+ pages, shines a light on the continuity and pervasiveness of violence in America. Thx @fencebooks.bsky.social for the venue. fencedigital.com/2026/06/24/c...

"[This] book is like a harrowing road trip, a long-haul truck route..." @niina.bsky.social reviews Conor Hultman’s huge, sad, conceptual poetry book, DOE (@cloak.bsky.social, 2026), for The Constant Critic! Read full review on Fence Digital: fencedigital.com/2026/06/24/c.... 🍃

Also guess what, I'm recording an audiobook this weekend

I reviewed Conor Hultman's DOE, which uses text from a database of cases with unidentified victims. This book, in all its imposing 600+ pages, shines a light on the continuity and pervasiveness of violence in America. Thx @fencebooks.bsky.social for the venue. fencedigital.com/2026/06/24/c...

Forty two years and my life is still trying to get up that great big hill of hope SIRI SEND TWEET

Greetings, I will attend AWP 2027 so if you need a deeply charismatic and approachable yet undeniably brilliant participant for your offsite..... let me know now because I have to start rehearsing asap

Sometimes I feel like my children are the world's pickiest eaters, and then other times I'm like, wow, they really crushed that bowl of tofu with nutritional yeast

For the London contingent -- this Zona Motel reading in a couple weeks should be by all measures excellent. Featuring Iphgenia Baal, Lucy K Shaw, Paul Johnathan, @poppycockburn.bsky.social, and me

Wow all star cast out here today

Evidently there is a mushroom called the jack-o-lantern mushroom and it is bioluminescent due an enzyme called Luciferase. Nature has got to be kidding

Sandstorm

The Independent@the-independent.com · 3mo ago

Paul McCartney says one song has the power to unite Democrats and Republicans in Trump’s America

My friend who used to say the final stage of corporate greed was demanding to be loved is never, ever proved wrong.

Quinn Slobodian@quinnslobodian.com · 3mo ago

3 actual quotes from this piece: “Can I afford the tax? Yes. Is it going to deter me? No. But I think it’s shameful. I provide a lot of money to people who are blue-collar workers who work for me, servers in restaurants." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Phone changed "cynical" to "Santa Claus" when I was doing speech to text. Magic is real