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Robin Bird

@robinxbird.bsky.social

1K followers 330 following 1.5K posts

Pronouns em/em/eir (they're singular, nice and easy) Trainee counsellor, attempting to write eir dead father's memoir, bookish, lefty, nerdy, disabled and British. https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/skeletonrobin

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · Aug 11

I'm going to be writing about my experience of writing. Specifically writing The Book.
This first post is about deathbed promises, grief, and getting started.

Found over on Medium.

#writing
#nonfiction
💙📚💡

A Sword Would Be Easier

I now understand all those fantasy epics where the protagonist’s motivation is that they made a promise to somebody on their deathbed…

robintynan.medium.com

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Reposted by Robin Bird

Jennie Kermode @jenniekermode.bsky.social · 1h

Living in a tent will not be safe for tiny Talia, or for Julia, as the stormy season worsens and Gaza moves into winter. If you can, please help Samaa to get the $800 she needs to move back to Gaza City and rent a room there. gofund.me/db56c7ce3 @mommunism.bsky.social @lexialex.bsky.social #SkyAid 🍉

A Palestinian woman cradles a baby against her shoulder and holds hands with a small girl as they stand in a rubble-strewn street beside a bus packed full of belongings.

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Reposted by Robin Bird

Joy @joyfromghazza.blacksky.app · 3h

Hi!
Am Joy, a Palestinian poet & writer from #Gaza. All my accs on BlueSky were banned, so I have joined BlackSky,& I hope it’ll be a wonderful experience.
My campaign is verified by @mommunism.bsky.social lunched it to start my life anew after being faced #genocide

www.chuffed.org/project/evac...

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 4h

The trick to finding all my lost lip balms, is doing a load of laundry.
I swear i check pockets before putting things in the machine. But here we are, an hour later, with a collection of damp little tubes.

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 5h

I'm really looking forward to it when i have a functioning brain not being packed full of theory and research and meta analysis

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

7. Really this is something to be aware of for me. Be a bit more choosy and careful going forward. Make use of the library for comfort reads or dive back into old favourites. Don't get caught up in "ooh new book" fever when it's not serving me. The books will still be there in the future.

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

6. So have i just filled my shelves with books I'm not going to read for months? instead I'll be seeking out yet more books to fit my needs and wants? I've not really stuck to my personal rules about considered consuming and that's a bit of a shame. It feels like a disservice to the books.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

5. What I'm actually yearning to read right now aren't beautifully crafted, thoughtful, clever or difficult (in subject or style) pieces of literature. Why I'm yearning for is light, easy going, maybe a bit silly, maybe even formulaic. Not that they are "bad books" or lesser quality.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

4. I've picked up books that are online with my tastes of have been on my radar for a while: Elektra, the Octavia Butler, James. But i also know that at the moment I'm struggling with fatigue. A lot of my reading time is actually going to academic reading. Dense, serious books.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

3. So this means being selective about what books i obtain. Books that i think I'm actually going to read and enjoy not just the current big hit. That means being conscious of my likes and needs. This is where I've messed up a bit this time even though these books were either discount or free

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

2. I try not to let my tbr get too big because it's both against my values of consuming (even though second hand circumvents this somewhat). But also because i want books for reading. Not just sitting on shelves.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 6h

I'd gotten my tbr down to 4 books. I also had destashed and given 10 books to community shelves. Unfortunately i also bought 3 new books and picked up 5 from the shelves. So the tbr is back to double digits.

Hmm this is gonna be a thread.

📚💙

Stack of books on a shelf. Top to bottom:
William S Borough, Queer
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, chronicle of a death foretold
Octavia Butler, Fledgling
Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Tales from the cafe & Before Your Memory Fades
Percival Everett, James
Nguyên Phan Qué Mai, The Mountains Sing
Jennifer Saint, Elektra
Sándor Márai, The Rebels
Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
Rebecca F Kuang, Yellowface
Fly on the wall peess, Modern Gothic

There are more books behind. The shelf is bare wood, the wall bright yellow. It's a bit chaotic in a bookish way.

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Reposted by Robin Bird

Cassie aka Lamia @intersectionscch.bsky.social · 1d

Today is World Mental Health Day.
There is nothing about war, genocide, fascism, famine, starvation, and disaster which fosters mental (or physical) wellness.

So let's practice balancing talking about and planning with maintaining access to out joy.
🔴Live Now: twitch.tv/mentallamia

a calendar with the words world mental health advocate for men health care for all on it

Alt: a calendar with the words world mental health advocate for men health care for all on it

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Robin Bird

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 11h

Ever since I finished Question Time, Reform have massively been on the attack.

Including a rant from Richard Tice entirely designed to distract from Reform and Russia.

Everyone should know about Nathan Gill, the bribes from Russia and the link to Reform.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 9h

Sword and heart. T Kingfisher's Swordheart already exists and that's sufficient

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 9h

Also SAD may be associated with low vitD but is not the same as low vitD. If you live in the UK or similar latitudes you should probably take vitD though. Some people also get SAD which is where lamps and other management comes in.

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 9h

You also need to be sat quite close to the lamp for it to be effective: the weaker the lamp the closer you have to be. These are not tanning or UV lamps so are safe to sit in front of. But it does mean just having a "daylight bulb" in your normal light fitting may not cut it.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 9h

Do you have SAD (seasonal affective disorder? Time to get the SAD lamp out. Studies in support of light therapy suggest at least 10000 lux so you need a proper lamp not just a phone app. But for me it's totally worth it.

An extremely bright glowing lamp casting the rest of the picture into darkness.

The rectangular lamp switched off so you can seen it sat on my desk next to a laptop with a stack of books behind

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

This illustration is adorable

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

Did not manage a rummage as there were prior at having tea next to it and i didn't want to barge them out of the way. Which means I'll have to go back. Woe. Woe is me.

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

Dropping off books at a community bookshelf at a local queer cafe. Going to have a rummage and see if there's anything to take home.

I'm a big believer in passing on books and that i don't need to keep them all, even the 4 star reads!

📚💙

Big stack of books on a shelf including Devils Breath, A Botanical Daughter, My Life in Sea Creatures and, All Fours.

A wider view of the bookshelf packed full of books with faux flowers and fairy lights.

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

Read this for the second time recently and it had really grown on me

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

Warlords of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker
And Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Venn on audiobook.
(And some academic books on existentialism and grief, as a treat)

Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

If i didn't like you for your writing, I'd like you for this alone.

Reposted by Robin Bird

Sakher and Reem 🍉🇵🇸 @sakher-gaza.bsky.social · 1d

They say the war is over... but the pain inside me hasn’t ended.
The bombs may have stopped falling, but the struggle is far from over.
I'm Sakher — a young man who lost everything in this war.
My home… gone. My memories, my work, my future all destroyed
More talk in the comments

gofund.me/f116bf44

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Robin Bird @robinxbird.bsky.social · 1d

We accidentally a universe and now we're gods is always a favourite of mine. But adding in an ethics board and undergrad physics makes it better