A preordering thread: looks like the default online system a lot of indie bookstores use now puts limits on how far in advance one can place an order for a book. Do any booksellers/tech people have insight into why this is now in place? [1/2]
Tobias Carroll
@tobiascarroll.bsky.social
Author: IN THE SIGHT; EX-MEMBERS; POLITICAL SIGN; REEL; TRANSITORY. Next up: KILL LIST (Bloomsbury Academic) NBCC Board. Freelance writer. Coffee drinker. https://linktr.ee/tobiascarroll
It's pretty cool that I've gotten multiple emails in the last week from PRH editors telling me they're interested in my work, and it would be even cooler if they were not almost certainly the work of imposters looking to part me from my money and/or internal organs.
Hey, folks. There's a @gofundme.com set up for artist Andy Fish, who is going through a very tough fight with two forms of cancer. He and his wife, cartoonist Veronica Fish (my Blackwood series cohorts) could use some help during this very tough time. I'm donating, hope you can. tinyurl.com/4wa86a6c
Donate to Help Andy Fish’s Fight Against Two Cancers, organized by Gina Gabianelli
Help Andy’s Fight Against Two Cancers Meet my cousin Andy Fish, father … Gina Gabianelli needs your support for Help Andy Fish’s Fight Against Two Cancers
tinyurl.com
August's horror shopping list is live! feat. new books from @claymcleod.bsky.social @andreamorstabilini.bsky.social @okokno.bsky.social @apthayer.bsky.social @shanehawk.com @kaileepedersen.bsky.social @adamcesare.bsky.social @chuckwendig.bsky.social & more! readjumpscares.com/2026/08/04/a...
All the New Horror Books Coming in August 2026
August 2026’s new horror books, featuring titles from Donyae Coles, Jennifer McMahon, Chuck Wendig, Kailee Pederson, Clay McLeod Chapman, Jonathan Janz, and more!
readjumpscares.com
IT'S ME
Tobias Carroll@tobiascarroll.bsky.social · 3d agoLater this month, I'll be moderating a @bookcritics.bsky.social panel on literary podcasts, featuring people from Otherppl, @bythebywater.bsky.social, Limousine, One Bright Book, and Reading Writers! Register here... us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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 · yesterdayAlternatively, 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
Every novel I've written has been a record of the inside of my brain over a certain period of time, albeit refracted in weird ways, and I just realized what my subconscious mind was doing with one element of my WIP. That wasn't very nice, subconscious mind, but it was also very bittersweet.
We’re starting the rollout for this book of bangers (about bangers) so heads up music journalists, vinyl collectors, and dads:
Midwest Calling: From First Avenue to the American Football House
Edited by Jeff Leven December 8, 2026Pre-orders now open! A collection of original essays by artists, label owners, and booking agents—from DEVO to The Smashing Pumpkins to Michigander—on how Midweste...
beltpublishing.com
Meantime, keep an ear out for this as well!
Tobias Carroll@tobiascarroll.bsky.social · 3d agoLater this month, I'll be moderating a @bookcritics.bsky.social panel on literary podcasts, featuring people from Otherppl, @bythebywater.bsky.social, Limousine, One Bright Book, and Reading Writers! Register here... us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Stop: It’s Watchlist Time. @tobiascarroll.bsky.social is back with your July Watchlist recommendations, which are translated from Indonesian, Tamil, Kurdish, and more. Check them all out at the link, or scroll for @bookshop.org links plus more info: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
....I think there just might be a dog hiding in these blankets.
btw this has options to sign if you don't make comics but are a fan or colleague of people who do! make number go up, support the union!
Jimmy Presler 🐴@jimmypresler.bsky.social · 4d agoSign this petition to show your support for keeping Senior Editors in the Dark Horse Workers Union. actionnetwork.org/petitions/dh...
I am reminded that the Punisher plays a significant role in the number one movie in the U.S. right now, so it might be time to revisit this thing I wrote a few years ago... tobiascarroll.substack.com/p/gutter-pol...
Gutter Politics: On "Punisher War Journal"
Thoughts on comics and politics, from a failed book proposal
tobiascarroll.substack.com
Later this month, I'll be moderating a @bookcritics.bsky.social panel on literary podcasts, featuring people from Otherppl, @bythebywater.bsky.social, Limousine, One Bright Book, and Reading Writers! Register here... us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Podcasts as Criticism. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Literary podcasts have established themselves as a place for insightful conversations about books and reading. For this virtual event, representatives of five bookish podcasts will discuss the ways in...
us02web.zoom.us
other people have said much more about this in other ways, but I just wanna say how sick I am of hearing bigots use "speak their truth," which originally meant "talk about the struggles of your life that other people might not appreciate or understand exist," to mean "I get to say whatever I want"
The Athletic@theathletic.com · 4d agoSpeaking for the first time since ralliers began assembling in support of her stance against transgender participation in women’s sports, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said this was an opportunity for the WNBA to uphold its values of diversity and inclusion. nyti.ms/4fHr4Qn
A gifted actor and VERY nice man (and Bronx neighbor!) who gave me so many good tidbits for the Gandolfini book. RIP deadline.com/2026/08/vinc...
Vincent Pastore Dies: 'The Sopranos' Star Was 80
Vincent Pastore, known for playing mobsters in film and TV, most notably Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO's The Sopranos, has died. He was 80.
deadline.com
Is the market for 90s hardcore t-shirts as absurd as some ebay listings suggest that it is?
Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother is the ur-text for a substantial portion of 90s indie and post-rock.
lil miss big boy@lighter.bsky.social · 5d agoPost your hottest music take. Mine is New Order is better than Joy Division.
I have a joke about the Augean stables, but it's laborious.
Tobias Wilson-Bates@phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 2y agoI have a joke about King Minos, but it’s just bull shit
Saw Brand New Day, and: gotta say, a concise screenplay and Destin Daniel Cretton knowing how to stage an action setpiece go a long, long way.
"...while in winter the sitting rooms were heated by a gargantuan tile stove that looked like a Secessionist cathedral." (from Danilo Kiš's "The Stateless One, translated by John K. Cox)
Changed "apothecary" to "pharmacy" in my WIP when I realized that I was hewing dangerously close to the Key & Peele "I'm steampunk now" guy.
Review by @tobiascarroll.bsky.social "It’s deceptive: this may be the most formally daring book Tremblay has done.... Dead But Dreaming of Electric Shape reveals itself as a genuinely terrifying cautionary tale by its conclusion" www.vol1brooklyn.com/2026/07/29/a...
A Technologist’s Nightmare: On Paul Tremblay’s “Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep”
From reading the first fifty or so pages, a reader might be left with two key impressions of Paul Tremblay’s novel Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep. The first is that it represents somethi…
vol1brooklyn.com
At @wwborders.bsky.social, thoughts on six recent books in translation... wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
The Watchlist: July 2026 - Words Without Borders
Looking for summer reads? Tobias Carroll recommends six new titles in translation, including novels, poetry, and a short story collection.
wordswithoutborders.org
Wrote about a pair of Russell Hoban novels, which is likely to lead to me reading a lot more of Hoban's books in the coming months. tobiascarroll.substack.com/p/do-we-need...
Do We Need a Russell Hoban Cult?
I’m going to say “yes.”
tobiascarroll.substack.com
Wrote about @paultremblay.bsky.social's new one at @vol1brooklyn.bsky.social... www.vol1brooklyn.com/2026/07/29/a...
A Technologist’s Nightmare: On Paul Tremblay’s “Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep”
From reading the first fifty or so pages, a reader might be left with two key impressions of Paul Tremblay’s novel Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep. The first is that it represents somethi…
vol1brooklyn.com
One more HER PRIVATE HELL thought: seems telling that one character shares a name with the musician responsible for the song "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" - a phrase that would work perfectly as an alternate title for the film.
Really dug @awalrusdarkly.bsky.social's review of Her Private Hell, which raised some elements of the film (including Tarot references) that I did not catch at all. popheist.com/fantasia-fes...
Fantasia Fest Review: 'Her Private Hell'
A near-ecstatic odyssey of destruction and rebirth, 'Her Private Hell' is about destroying what's impeding evolution, no matter the cost.
popheist.com