I am generally being good and not buying new books but this was on sale and I’ve read the first two.
THE WOMAN WHO LAUGHED, Simon Mason (UK) (US+)
PREVIOUSLY: accessions 30may25
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Jason McCombe, “Lichen Mantis”
That bungalow was where I first read Kathryn Davis’s The Thin Place—a chorus of a novel about a small town in New England called Varennes. It features the voices of all kinds of creatures that live there: humans, yes, but also cats and dogs, beavers and moose, even lichen. You could call it ecofiction if you like the sound of that word, but I do not, so I will call it visionary, which is how I would describe pretty much everything that Kathryn Davis has written.
morning computer: some useful things first thing in the day.
My free weekly newsletter is at https://orbitaloperations.beehiiv.com/
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The Bloody Ploughman apples came up small this year, but they’re finally ripening. Bright cold morning.
TODAY:
- Bluesky Hits 40 Million Users, Introduces ‘Dislikes’ Beta
- Can a dopamine detox reset your brain? Taken literally, the idea makes no sense. But it might still be good for you
- Add This to the Canon of Great Diplomacy Books
OPERATIONS: Catching up, as previously noted. Also I need to swap out the earbuds on the mp3 player, because they’re just fucking annoying, and load up another SD card with music – one for recent purchases, one for Davachi/Vantzou/Malone/Radigue, I think. I need to go back into a couple of old notebooks later to find some project notes.
STATUS: Finally fixed sleep – 8hrs 14mins – inbox 94 and about to get shredded. Newsletter is in the pipe for tomorrow. Printer has finally decided it hates the off-brand matte photo paper I’m using and so I’ve had to order different stuff, because printers are all sent from hell
READING: AUTOCRACY INC, Anne Applebaum (UK) (US+)
LISTENING: Ultimate Calm
LAST WATCHED: BUGONIA at the cinema. Notes next week.
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
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Social media usage peaked in 2022 and has been on a steady decline since. An analysis of 250,000 adults across more than 50 countries by the digital audience insights company GWI found that adults aged 16 and older spent an average of two hours and 20 minutes per day on social platforms at the end of 2024. That figure is down almost 10% from 2022. The decline is most pronounced among teenagers and people in their twenties. Usage has traced a smooth curve upward and then downward over the past decade. This is not simply the unwinding of increased screen time during pandemic lockdowns. The data also captured a shift in how people use these platforms. The share of people who report using social media to stay in touch with friends, express themselves or meet new people has fallen by more than a quarter since 2014. Opening the apps reflexively to fill spare time has risen. North America is an exception to the global trend. Social media consumption there continues to climb. By 2024 it reached levels 15% higher than Europe. Meta and OpenAI recently announced new social platforms that will be filled with AI-generated short-form videos.
morning computer: some useful things first thing in the day.
My free weekly newsletter is at https://orbitaloperations.beehiiv.com/
Comments closed- First review I’ve seen of the new Thomas Pynchon novel
Kindle books on sale:
AUTOCRACY INC, Anne Applebaum (UK) (US+) fits nicely into some of my recent reading.
I read a book about Libertaila decades ago, so this, PIRATE ENLIGHTENMENT, caught my eye. (UK) (US+)
I don’t normally buy how-to books about writing these days, and I’ve never been an especial admirer of Delany beyond his short story “Aye, And Gomorrah” – except that that is one of the best short stories in the SF canon, and I read a long interview with him, I think in the Charles Platt book? Which would be where I got the concept of the novum. So, for 99p or whatever it was, I’m going to give ABOUT WRITING (UK) (US+) a go.
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Abraxas Publishing were kind enough to send me a copy of their facsimile edition of Aleister Crowley’s TANNHAUSER, in a gorgeous A4 form. Abraxas are doing all kinds of weird and occult stuff, and their website is really worth a look if you’re into that stuff. Lovely looking objects.
This should be the product link, in Finnish and in English.
