Jo Walton
@bluejo.eurosky.social
Writer of SF and fantasy. Superintelligent shade of the colour blue. "Even better than cold carrots." Vocateur reader. Philhellenist. Loves tea, trains, travel.
Book #22 - Inventing the Renaissance by @adapalmer.bsky.social. Dr Palmer gives us not only a history of the Renaissance, but a history of the history of the Renaissance. Not being much of a historian myself, I found this boom amazing for filling in many of the gaps in my understanding.
my unironic life advice for everyone is to go to an art museum once in a while because i think being in an environment that encourages you to really *see* something is good for you
You may or may not know but Ada has started a podcast series specifically about Niccolo and Florence: Beforecast. beforecast.fm
Beforecast — Now Live
Historian Ada Palmer on the real Machiavelli. Episode 3 is out now. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube and more.
beforecast.fm
Few things delight me more than knowing that Ada Palmer and Jo Walton are besties. It gives me hope for the whole Universe.
Patrick DeWind@dewind.bsky.social · 24h agoBook #25 - The Just City by @bluejo.eurosky.social Having studied philosophy and classics in school (I even have a degree in one of them) I was a bit scared of reading something that delved deeply into both, but I was delighted by how good the story was.
Book #25 - The Just City by @bluejo.eurosky.social Having studied philosophy and classics in school (I even have a degree in one of them) I was a bit scared of reading something that delved deeply into both, but I was delighted by how good the story was.
Goodnight. May we sail the river of night gently until we reach the safe harbour of morning. 🖼️ Mandy Tsung
I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:
My somewhat belated blog post about accessibility issues at the Los Angeles Worldcon is up: marikness.wordpress.com/2026/10/02/w...
Worldcon 2026: Yes. Again.
Worldcon San Antonio 2013: I am on the floor, on a panel about poetry and fiction, unable to join my fellow panelists up on stage, because I am using a wheelchair, and the stage does not have a ram…
marikness.wordpress.com
The Long History of AI: From Descartes, to Astro Boy & ChatGPT open.substack.com/pub/fixthene...
The Long History of AI: From Descartes, to Astro Boy & ChatGPT
Listen now | Historian Ada Palmer, on what four centuries of arguing over souls, slaves and robots can teach us about the AI debates we're having today.
open.substack.com
Possibly the silliest bonus episode we've ever done, in which we mine the highlights from several years of keeping an inbox folder titled "Worst Pitches" ...and challenge ourselves to still find a linguistics tie-in! (actual product names redacted to keep it in the spirit of fun)
Lingthusiasm@lingthusiasm.com · 3d agoWe know you're here for linguistics, but perhaps you'd also be interested in some tax advice? Or some bridal lingerie? Or some... lithium mining technology? In this bonus episode we get enthusiastic about the most deeply irrelevant pitch emails in our inbox - and make them about linguistics anyway!
This sounds fabulous, exactly my cup of tea.
Indrapramit Das@indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 3d agoTHE POISON PALACE: unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate & mythic...from the Indian subcontinent & stretching all the way to ancient Babylon--it resounds in time, & sings to the present with a singular voice.
THE POISON PALACE: unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate & mythic...from the Indian subcontinent & stretching all the way to ancient Babylon--it resounds in time, & sings to the present with a singular voice.
Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose.bsky.social · last mo.In the Secretum Secretorum, Alexander is said to have been targeted by vishkanyas, or mythical Indian poison maidens. THE POISON PALACE, my debut novel, takes that proposition seriously. To celebrate the arrival of both galleys, please give me a page number and I'll give you a quote.
Librarian Chloë recommends Everybody's Perfect by Jo Walton (@bluejo.eurosky.social)! multcolib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S1...
Everybody's Perfect — Multnomah County Library
Everybody's Perfect — Walton, Jo, — "The Serenissima is built from mist and belief, a mythical shadow sister to Venice and crossroads of the nine worlds. When a laborer called Tiry has a dream that Se...
multcolib.bibliocommons.com
This is the inverted cover of Everybody's Perfect, as seen by me in Dark Reader (this is a screenshot) and weirdly it's still a great cover!
Scene representing #October, from the 15th-century Très Riches Heures — taking place at what would now be the centre of Paris (a block or two south of l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts). More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures
It has been a few years since I remembered to start reading _A Night in the Lonesome October_ on October 1st, so I have just read chapter 1 of _A Night in the Lonesome October_. Out loud. Obviously.
Happy October butterflies! Here's #SomethingBeautiful - this morning's moon looking pale and interesting, a true Pre-Raphaelite beauty drowning in blue sky as still and clear as a gazing pool.
Cedric Whiting@thatcedric.bsky.social · 4d agoThe moon at 9:25 this morning (hand held shot)
4. Not with a bang, by Temi Oh 5. Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz (audiobook) 6. Everybody’s Perfect, by Jo Walton #2026reads #AugustReads I wrote a blog post inspired by reading Not with a bang, and buying Everybody’s Perfect.
Into (and out of) Edinburgh theatre narratives
Reflection on theatre seen at the Edinburgh Festival 2026, the links with other fiction, including books, and the effective of experiencing narratives for a second time. By an academic librarian on…
researcherlibrarian.wordpress.com
It really is odd and fascinating what persists. It seems plausible that come 2048 more people will know of and talk about Dodie Smith and her relatively obscure novel I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, published 100 years earlier, than once-superfamous-A-lister Johnny Carson. Cult art really lasts.
Kevin Stone@bighouse.bsky.social · 4d agoTry asking a Gen Z about Johnny Carson. He literally was the most important and famous person in Hollywood on his Tonight show run.
Beforecast Episode 4 with @adapalmer.bsky.social is now live on Youtube, and everywhere you get podcasts! In this episode, we discuss why Machiavelli truly loved Florence, and refused to go anywhere else. Youtube: youtu.be/ehJRm-OzbHo RSS feed for the show: feeds.libsyn.com/622815/rss
Why did Machiavelli love this city so much? | Beforecast Episode 4 with Ada Palmer
YouTube video by Beforecast
youtu.be
Listening to the brilliant podcast beforecast.fm! It's fantastic fun. Very recommended!
Beforecast — Now Live
Historian Ada Palmer on the real Machiavelli. Episode 3 is out now. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube and more.
beforecast.fm
Since I finally shelved some books, an updated bookcase shot. Among the new titles shelved properly for the first time in non-fiction Lu–Z are @adapalmer.bsky.social's INVENTING THE RENAISSANCE and @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social's LIMITARIANISM. Oh and Palmer and @bluejo.eurosky.social's TRACE ELEMENTS.
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestOfTheMonth. I love #CedarWaxwings, and I find the awkward teenage ones especially charming. This one sat in this spot and stuffed its face with every available berry. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #wildlife #WildlifePhotography #nature #NaturePhotography
There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them. —Jo Walton @bluejo.eurosky.social
