Now the robot overlords are expecting payment for their outpoop—as if! Sorry, AI, you’re barking up the wrong review site. @wirobooks.bsky.social

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

In an essay, our president, Jennifer Bort Yacovissi, shares how we recently received a pitch from an AI "writer," and why we'll NEVER replace our real-life contributors! www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/the... @jbywrites.bsky.social #ai #booksky #artificialintelligence

I hope you'll read my review and then @michaelblanding.bsky.social's banger of a book. "Blanding is — to quote The Big Guy Himself, as reported by Samuel (Old Testament) and Paul (New Testament) — 'a man after my own heart.'" Out today in @wirobooks.bsky.social.

Washington Independent Review of Books@wirobooks.bsky.social · last wk.

Behold: A craft-store chain shall lead them. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t... @publicaffairs1796.bsky.social @michaelblanding.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #thegospelaccordingtohobbylobby #hobbylobby #booksky #bookreview

Exercise your franchise—use it or lose it! Every election, every ballot, every contest, every question. (Pro tip: it helps to support the folks who protect and encourage voting, not the villains who try to suppress and subvert it.) @indivisible.org #NoKings #VoteEarly

Woo hoo! Our tickets to an ongoing democracy have arrived! These beauties are getting marked (every ballot, every contest) and hand-delivered to the nearest ballot drop box lickety split! If we bank our votes early, there’s less opportunity for shenanigans. @indivisible.org #NoKings

"Lawhon draws from both the Irish folklore that surrounds Grace and the archival documents, primarily from the English point of view, that expound upon the pirate queen’s long and notorious career." A gorgeous and captivating tale of 1500s Ireland from @ariel-lawhon.bsky.social.

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

A rollicking tale of the strongest of strong women. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t... @doubledaybooks.bsky.social @ariel-lawhon.bsky.social @jbywrites.bsky.social #thepiratequeen #histfic #booksky #bookreview

Let's get out there, folks, and show these people how it's done. Find an event near you or start one yourself. Saturday, October 17: No Kings--Vote Early. #NoKings

We at @wirobooks.bsky.social are thrilled right down to our socks that literary juggernaut Alice McDermott will be in conversation with beloved DC book critic @roncharles.bsky.social for the keynote at the 2027 @dcwriterscon.bsky.social! www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/the...

The 2027 Washington Writers Conference Presents Alice McDermott | Washington Independent Review of Books

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Hey, @timmiller.bsky.social, @jvl.bsky.social, and @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social, want to just point out that Apple maps still show Gulf of America. (I guess they haven't caught up with Lake America yet.)

The joy of getting to hang out with one of your favorite authors is just one of the many reasons to come to @librarycongress.bsky.social #NatBookFest. Thanks, Angie Kim! @penfaulkner.bsky.social @wirobooks.bsky.social

The line to get into @penfaulkner.bsky.social Angie Kim’s writing workshop, 40 minutes ahead of time, snakes around the ground floor. #natbookfest attendees making good choices! @librarycongress.bsky.social @wirobooks.bsky.social

Hanging out with 4000 of my closest book-loving friends to enjoy Kate McKinnon discussing—and acting out—her middle grade books. She thanked us all for skipping the President’s street race today to celebrate reading instead. @librarycongress.bsky.social @wirobooks.bsky.social

I’m in DC today at the @librarycongress.bsky.social #NationalBookFestival. People who say reading is dead need to come hang out here. We all know better. @wirobooks.bsky.social

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 · 2mo 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

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world 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 · 3mo 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 · 3mo 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

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world 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

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world 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 · 5mo 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 · 4mo 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 · 5mo 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 · 5mo 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 · 5mo 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