alyssa sanford

Cursed Mountains and Deathly Lakes: When Nature Is Explained By Myth The drive to explain perplexing things in nature, and the desire to understand earthshaking events of unfathomable scale are timeless human impulses. Found in cultures around the world, geomyths at…

Can a mountain really be cursed? @amayor.bsky.social explores the folklore behind natural history.

What Kind of Questions Did 17th-Century Daters Have? A 17th-century column shows that dating has always been an anxiety-riddled endeavor.

Even as gender norms have evolved, the history of advice columns shows that people have always found love confusing and anxiety-inducing, writes @sophiastewart.bsky.social:

Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages

“Rare Tongues is at heart a personal journey. . . . Gibb navigates complex and sensitive terrain—technical and politically charged—with both scholarly rigor and warmth.”

Read the full review of @drlornagibb.bsky.social’s global tour of endangered languages at @wsj.com:

www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

‘“I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer”’ Review: Instruction Fit to Print The first advice column was published in 17th-century London. Correspondents were especially interested in the topic of sex.

“In ‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer,’ Norton . . . brilliantly selects the most compelling—or bizarre examples” from the world’s first advice column, delivering “[a] delightful compendium of 17th-century advice to the lovelorn.”

Read the full @wsj.com review: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Concerned about press freedom? Here are some things you can do about it. - Poynter Poynter spoke with several people to see what everyday folks can do to support press freedom organizations and press freedom.

The responsibility of supporting press freedom cannot and should not fall on one person — or even the entire press corps.

Here are steps anyone can take to support press freedom:

www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

What Am I Supposed to Do? On feeling small in turbulent times

I woke Papi up from his long nap to answer a letter from a concerned reader who says they feel scared and small in the wake of everything these days johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/what-am-i-...

FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS This set of frequently asked questions is intended to help library workers, library advocates, and library users understand this Executive Order.

one of the easiest ways to show support for your local library branch: sending an email to your congressional representatives & us senators that urges them to overturn the executive order that would cut off federal funding to museums and libraries. only takes one click!

www.ala.org/faq-executiv...

Princeton president Christopher L. Eisgruber: “The attack on Columbia is a radical threat to scholarly excellence and to America’s leadership in research. Universities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights.” theatln.tc/9MMrKDHy

Shilling Books While Rome Burns: Why Politicians Need to Focus on Their Day Jobs To some of his constituents, it may seem as though Chuck Schumer, the Minority Leader of the US Senate, has spent a bunch of time pontificating on Bluesky lately and not enough time taking decisive…

I found the book angle on much of my discontent with my elected officials, and I went off. lithub.com/shilling-boo...

Sloane Crosley: On the Fine Art of Saying “No” Many years ago, right before I quit my job as a book publicist, a coworker knocked on my office door and asked me if I wanted to accompany her to a reading. Stressed, distracted and with one tote b…

“Brevity is the soul of politeness. In an industry that traffics in words, it can feel like rudeness.” Sloane Crosley on the art of saying “no.”

Read Natural Magic author Renée Bergland's guest essay on finding hope in an uncertain ecological future, via @nytopinion.nytimes.com:
bsky.app/profile/nyto...

coming to a bookstore near you on April 22!

Bezos' changes at 'Washington Post' lead to mass subscription cancellations — again Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos's changes to the opinion pages have led subscribers to cancel in droves. It's the third wave of mass cancellations at the Post in just a few months.

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos's changes to the opinion pages have led subscribers to cancel in droves. It's the third wave of mass cancellations at the Post in just a few months.

Federal workers with Long COVID face firings, loss of accommodations, and more challenges under Trump - The Sick Times Many federal government employees with Long COVID and other chronic diseases and disabilities are deeply concerned about their future under the Trump administration. The Sick Times spoke to several fe...

Today @thesicktimes.bsky.social: I spoke to several federal workers with Long COVID who are deeply concerned about their future employment under the Trump administration. thesicktimes.org/2025/03/03/f...

"The White House is limiting the AP’s press access because they think the AP is pushing a 'partisan agenda.' Believe it or not, pushing a partisan agenda is generally protected by the 1st Amendment, so retaliating against the AP on that basis is as clear cut a violation as you’re ever going to get."

it's a great day to cancel any active amazon prime subscriptions (and to support your local news media)!

The "campus free speech" and "cancel culture" panics were obvious efforts to seed the ground for a huge expansion of left-wing censorship and right-wing propaganda. That effort appears to have worked.

Association of University Presses logo

We join with publishers, authors, booksellers & librarians to affirm that the White House executive order recognizing only two sexes constitutes censorship and has no place in a free society.

University presses strive to give voice to the breadth of human knowledge & experience.

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We stand with @americanbookseller.bsky.social in asserting that the “erosion of the right to read anywhere threatens the right to read everywhere.”