We are so excited to be hosting Ibram X. Kendi, in conversation with our local Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), in celebration of his newest book “Chain of Ideas”! This event will be taking place on March 31st, at 7PM at First Parish Church. Tickets still available at portersquarebooks.com!
One of my favorite parts of this whole thing is that it implies Rubio lied about his shoe size.
Pediatricians across the U.S. are contending with a sharp rise in vaccine hesitancy. They are trying to do what is best for children’s health while staying sensitive and supportive, even as they bear the brunt of parents’ mistrust and confusion.
It's stunning how ignorant the DOGE bros were who were sent into agencies. Justin Fox cannot even articulate in his own words what his "present understanding of DEI" is: he can't even formulate a coherent sentence about it. I wouldn't hire him for basic tech support. #NEH
youtu.be/jomaMvItnew?...
When you build a machine to target people based on gender, race, or any other identity, it ends up targeting Jews too.
New deposition testimony shows a DOGE staffer flagged a Holocaust documentary—about Jewish women forced into slave labor by the Nazis—for termination.
His reason is shocking.
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Learn more about the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the webpage below, and be sure to come see us if you plan on attending!
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Sparkly turquoise graphic displaying the logo for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which will take place from April 18th to April 29th at the University of Southern California. Beneath the logo and festival information is a glittery illustration of an open book. At the bottom of the graphic are the words “Join Me!” and directions to learn more about the book festival at the website “latimes.com/fob”.
Turquoise graphic promoting an author panel that will take place at the 2026 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The panel is titled “Innovators Award Winner We Need Diverse Books in Conversation with Glory Edim of Well-Read Black Girl”. Beneath the title is a panel of four vertical rectangles displaying headshots and names of all four panel participants: Glory Edim, Roxane Gay, LeUyen Pham, and Caroline Richmond. At the bottom of the graphic is logistic information for where and when the panel will be taking place: Saturday, April 18th from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Town & Gown Signing Area 1. For more information, folks can visit “latimes.com/fob” online.
We Need Diverse Books will be at #LATimesFOB!
Glory Edim, founder of Well-Read Black Girl, will be in conversation with WNDB Board Members Roxane Gay and LeUyen Pham as well as WNDB’s Executive Director, Caroline Richmond.
📅 Saturday, April 18th
⏰ 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
📍 Town & Gown - Signing Area 1
Uber faces a CA lawsuit claiming that giving riders the ability to select women drivers discriminates against men. Uber and Lyft have a strong case against discrimination litigation because there is a business need to protect clients from sexual assault and rape.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
This was such a fun read, with lots of thoughtful insights about success.
Even as a cynical scholar of rape culture, I'm shocked that this isn't the headline story on domestic politics everywhere right now. It's just an unfathomable abuse of power, in clear violation of the law.
Elizabeth Warren: "I am a hard no on a supplemental. This is not a war the American people want us to engage in. This is not a war that makes us safer ... No. No more money. The only thing Congress has the power to do is to stop actions like this through the power of the purse."
in case you've never seen it, this is Roger Ebert on The Mummy
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” peaks at #2 today in ‘84
“We got every racial group of girl—mixed, Spanish, white, black, Asian,” said Lauper, “so that every little girl who looked at that video would .. understand that every young woman, older woman, every person is entitled to a joyful experience.”
> @covie93.bsky.social
I started off immersive reading then switched to audio while I detangled my hair. They Call Her Regret has been a literal page turner. I cannot wait to share my review with my students. 📚🎧
#blackbooksky #booksky #yabookrecs
When tribal representatives identified and reported the violations, they say they were met with racism and threats. tribalbusinessnews.com/sections/rea...
A developer in California was ordered to return land to three local tribes by the California Coastal Commission. The developer ignored planning and environmental regulations to build a coastal residence. The site sits on a historic village of the Wiyot Tribe.
My photo shows the monochrome mosaic floor of the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in Herculaneum. Black tessarae (mosaic tiles) are used to depict the sea god Triton, who is holding a club over his left shoulder and a small fish in his right hand. He is surrounded by a cherub, dolphins, octopus, and a squid. Set against a white tile background.
Here’s a fuller view of the mosaic floor in the women’s changing room (apodyterium) at the Central Baths in Herculaneum. The monochrome floor mosaic depicts a marine scene featuring the spectacular octopus together with the sea god Triton, a cherub, dolphins, and a squid.
My photo shows a Roman floor mosaic depicting an octopus. The octopus is composed of small black tesserae (tiles) and has eight writhing arms with suckers and narrow curling tips. It is set against a white tesserae background. Octopus detail from a monochrome marine mosaic featuring Triton with a cherub and various sea creatures, including the octopus, dolphins and a cuttlefish, at the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in Herculaneum.
Spectacular octopus from the floor of the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum.
📷 by me
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
If you’re roughly my age, it’s wild to reflect on the optimism for the future Americans felt when Obama was elected — young Americans spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate! — and contrast with what we face today. The falloff over the past 18 years is hard to process.
During Amazing Stories’ greatest run in the 1940s-‘50, Isaac Asimov and Ursula Le Guin are first published there; other contributors include Philip K. Dick and Frank Herbert. Gernsbach had long since left the magazine but he’s honored as the namesake of sci-fi’s Hugo Awards. 7/7
Despite his healthy revenue Gernsbach overextends his company, Experimenter Publishing, with too many titles. It survives the Great Depression under new ownership, which transforms the physical magazine into a true pulp (previously it was on quality paper). 6/7
As the first magazine dedicated to science fiction—the term that will define the genre, despite Gernsback’s love for “scientifiction”—Amazing Stories is an immediate success. Circulation within a year surpasses 100,000. To its monthly run it adds an annual, then a quarterly. 5/7
The original stories of Amazing Stories, such as “Station X” and “The Talking Brain,” tend to be crudely but vigorously written. They imaginatively explore implications of the new tech of the era, including radio, airplanes and X-rays—with only occasional forays into space. 4/7
The first table of contents
Typical ads in the first year
The initial issue dated April contains solely reprinted material by such giants as Poe, Verne and H.G. Wells, as well as other modern writers. In future issues, Gernback will identify original stories—still a minority of the content—in the tables of contents with asterisks. 3/7
One of Gernsback's magazines, Science and Invention, touted his invention of the "isolator" for doing distraction-free work
Gernsback wears his isolator
Gernsback had previously edited magazines such as Modern Electrics and Radio News, appealing to hobbyists in these fields, and had rounded out issues with fantastical fiction. These prove so popular that he launches a title devoted to the stories through his New York firm. 2/7
March 10, 1926: The first issue of Amazing Stories goes on sale in the U.S. Its creator and publisher, Hugo Gernsback, proclaims it “The Magazine of Scientifiction” and promises to fill it with stories of “charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision.” 1/7
From Bookofthemonth.com
The Book of the Month Club peaks in the 1950s when it has enrolled over 500,000 members and is selling 9 million copies a year. With the collapse of the print industry it will be rebooted in 2015 as an online book book subscription service. 7/7
A 1974 ad
A 1981 ad
Booksellers' initial reaction to the Book of the Month Club is to fear a threat to in-person sales. As the service grows into a trusted brand, however, it's seen as a boon to the entire publishing industry, with selected titles gaining both through club and store sales. 6/7
From a Book of the Month Club brochure in 1939
Before it's a best-seller, Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" is made a Book of the Month Club selection in 1936; others given the boost include "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Hobbit." The club has misses, too, passing on "The Grapes of Wrath" as too controversial. 5/7
