Out today in @wirobooks.bsky.social, my review of THE PROBLEM OF GOD. "It’s entirely worth asking the question, 'What do I believe?' but it’s a fool’s errand to imagine that any of us gets definitive answers in this realm." And is an Infinite Being going to hold us to guessing the "right" answer?

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 10h ago

The real problem? Humankind. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t... @georgetownup.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #theproblemofgod #religion #booksky #faith

Seems like today's a good day to repost my @wirobooks.bsky.social review of Dr. Anthony Fauci's memoir, ON CALL. He steered us thru "AIDS, SARS, an influenza pandemic, anthrax, weaponized smallpox, Ebola, Zika, and, of course, covid-19." www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/o...

On Call | Washington Independent Review of Books

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First read the powerful review today in @wirobooks.bsky.social and then go get yourself a copy of Sarah Trembath's THIS PAST WAS WAITING FOR ME. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t...

This Past Was Waiting for Me: A Chronicle at Quarter Century | Washington Independent Review of Books

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Adding to my tottering TBR stack, given Bob Duffy's sterling review. Authors @scottwstern.bsky.social and @charlesomalley.bsky.social dive into Shakespeare's fascination with "ambitious, adulterous, aggressive" Margaret through 4 plays, giving her more lines than King Lear. @wirobooks.bsky.social

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3w ago

A virtuoso assessment of a singular monarch. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/s... @wwnorton.com @wwnortonlibrary.bsky.social @scottwstern.bsky.social @charlesomalley.bsky.social #booksky #shakespearesmargaret #shakespeare

Sure, Tom Hanks read the audio book of THE DUTCH HOUSE, and Meryl Streep did the same for TOM LAKE, but nothing compares to hearing the author herself read WHISTLER. Find reviews of all three Ann Patchett books at @wirobooks.bsky.social. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/w...

Children as commodities: Reading @alicestephens.bsky.social's latest review prompted me to re-watch the Frontline episode in which she is featured and which explores the travesties of intercountry adoption. As Alice notes, the Holt Agency is still operating. A link to the episode is in Alice's bio.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 4w ago

A brutal crime reveals the rot inside the Holt adoption agency. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/w... @alicestephens.bsky.social #booksky

In today's @wirobooks.bsky.social, "we’re thrown into the deep end, challenged to keep up with the matter-of-fact but digressive and often fantastical tale whose riddles are related by a self-admitted unreliable narrator. Just go with it." www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/c...

Centroeuropa | Washington Independent Review of Books

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Hey! @wirobooks.bsky.social is now paying contributors $100 per published piece! Celebrating 15 years, we're still here filling the big gaps in book coverage (looking at YOU, WaPo). Books, book reviews, & good writing all matter. No paywall! www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/our...

Our Reviewers Deserve a Raise | Washington Independent Review of Books

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Coming up with an appropriate gift for @wirobooks.bsky.social's 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, Richard Peabody @peabody.bsky.social, was extra-interesting this year--and completely in line with the recipient. Check it out! www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/the...

The Making of a Lifetime Achievement Award | Washington Independent Review of Books

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We here at @wirobooks.bsky.social feel this reality (“Literature is the least-supported artistic discipline in the U.S.”) every single day. But we’re still here 15 years on, & will continue to bring you the best in books 7 days a week—while trying not to be jealous of dance, which gets lots more $$

Literary Arts Fund@literaryartsfund.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Literature is the least-supported artistic discipline in the U.S., receiving only 1.9% of the $5 billion in arts grants from foundations. This underfunding, which is persistent, underscores the urgent need for increased support for the nonprofit literary arts field. #LiteraryArts

Exercise the franchise! Every race, every ballot, every election cycle—be an informed, engaged citizen, which is a crucial element of democracy. (I love living in a state that encourages *all* eligible people to vote and makes it easy and accessible.)

On today's @thebulwark.com with @timmiller.bsky.social, @warnock.senate.gov reminder to voters, "I walk among the giants of the civil rights movement. I'm gonna fight for you. But you don't get to outsource democracy. All of us have to fight." Amen! An engaged citizenry is how we keep our democracy.

Dennis Drabelle's lovely review is a reminder that it was Frederick Church who gave many Americans their first view into the heart of their own country, as well as a startling gaze into others.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The 19th-century master excelled at capturing nature on canvas. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/g... @scribnerbooks.bsky.social #booksky

Out today--the founding read you know you need! THE DEMOCRACY WE MUST KEEP, brought to you by everyone's favorite historian of the founders, David O. Stewart. Jon Meacham calls it "an important and timely read." Remind yourself why an engaged citizenry is the key to having and holding a democracy.

I'm never thrilled to pan a book--there's an author who put in years bringing this project into the world. But there are also readers who only have so many reading hours available to them. "It’s all undeniably interesting, but as a novel, it’s not very compelling." Check out today's full take.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This curiously inert story might’ve worked better as nonfiction. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/c... @melvillehouse.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

You BET I was excited to hang out with @ambersparks.bsky.social, as the photo attests. We know how to have a party over here at @wirobooks.bsky.social. You should check us out.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Many thanks to the wonderful @ambersparks.bsky.social (and her dad!) for coming to today's literary salon to discuss HAPPY PEOPLE DON'T LIVE HERE (@liveright.bsky.social)! She made us all happy people! @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

Book people! We see you and we’ve got you. Visit every day—NO paywall.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It's true! #gbf #booksky @jbywrites.bsky.social @cathyalter.bsky.social

I keep hearing about the "New South." Well, I sure hope whoever those folks are get together with their brethren to crush the New Jim Crow. And the rest of us need to raise a ruckus from wherever we are. Get involved. Don't let these racists drag us all backwards. blackpowerwarroom.com/dayofaction/

All Roads Lead to the South — National Day of Action for Voting Rights

The voting rights they marched for are being stripped away right now. We're going back. Are you coming?

blackpowerwarroom.com

Everyone who’s anyone will be there! Be an anyone and join us!

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We'll be at the Gaithersburg Book Festival at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg, MD, all day tomorrow. Come say hi, enter our free raffle, grab a bookmark, and chat with us about your latest favorite read! www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

My 1st parade of the election season in Anne Arundel County, MD. Marching with a whole bunch of Democratic candidates (like my good friend Joan Barone Cole, District 31 Delegate) & incumbents. Remember: state and local elections have a *huge* impact on your life. VOTE every ballot, every race.

Folks, this chat is next Wednesday at Sandy Spring Friends School--the latest from @mkn.bsky.social, THE WESTERNERS: MYTHMAKING AND BELONGING ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, and Mark F. Ehlers' NAPOLEON IN AMERICA: BONAPARTE AND THE RHETORIC OF US EMPIRE. Join us! www.givecampus.com/schools/Sand...

SSFS Author Talk

givecampus.com

In my review, there was no room to fit in commentary on the cover photo: "young Tom watching a NYE party at home (all captured on video), as Lou and his paramour, the mother of Tom’s best friend, locked in an intimate clinch, might as well have had sex there on the family room’s dance floor."

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Family. What can you do? www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/i... @doubledaybooks.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

Every year, we say, “Best conference ever!” because it’s true every year. But no time to rest on our laurels—we’ve got a daily publication to get out to you! (Many thanks to @aranshetterly.bsky.social, @margotleeshetterly.bsky.social, and Eric Dezenhall for a brilliant keynote discussion!)

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We're high on fumes (and exhausted) after another incredible Washington Writers Conference, but we'll still be talking books all week! www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/a-l... @dcwriterscon.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

I’m a bit behind on @newyorker.com, but finally read @ronanfarrow.bsky.social and Andrew Marantz’s recent article. Honestly, does Sam Altman remember a single conversation he’s ever had? Perhaps he is himself a stateless program, buffering no memory of any sentence he has uttered before.

These are the two boats I built with Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis, MD, a campus of Maine's Wooden Boat School. "Eat The Peach" is the sliding seat wherry and "Joy Finder" is the skiff, which now has a little Torqeedo electric motor. (I can't take credit for the gorgeous finish work, though.)

Jenny Yacovissi@jbywrites.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Why did it take me so long to notice that @hcrichardson.bsky.social is wearing a Wooden Boat hat? My powers of observation are obviously failing me. Excellent choice in fashion accessories, Heather!

Why did it take me so long to notice that @hcrichardson.bsky.social is wearing a Wooden Boat hat? My powers of observation are obviously failing me. Excellent choice in fashion accessories, Heather!

See, this is why you support @wirobooks.bsky.social--for content like Peggy Kurkowski's review of Harry Sidebottom's THOSE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE. Chunky, not hunky: "Despite flesh wounds, these big brawlers could continue the fight." www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t...

Those Who Are About to Die: A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator | Washington Independent Review of Books

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Folks - Last call to sign up for the best writing conference in the DMV! Pitch three agents your fiction manuscript or nonfiction proposal, learn from publishing pros, & chat up some of your favorite local authors. @dcwriterscon.bsky.social www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/page/the-202...

My review today: "Wherever [Rosner] mentions a federal program in the U.S. that had been successfully maintaining corridors or addressing climate change, readers can safely assume it no longer exists under the current administration. Elections have consequences that extend beyond the price of eggs."

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · 4mo ago

After reading this, you’ll never look at a fence the same way again. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/r... @patagonia.com @hillaryrosner.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #booksky

Hey, happy Easter to all who celebrate this most sacred day of the Christian calendar. Just a helpful reminder that 1) bombing civilian infrastructure is a war crime (especially important for US military to keep in mind), and 2) your president is insane and needs to be removed.

Andrea Junker@strandjunker.com · 4mo ago

I think it’s worth asking again — and seriously — what exactly do we have a 25th Amendment for if not for this?