Blair Hurley
@bhurley.bsky.social
Writer. THE DEVOTED 2018, MINOR PROPHETS 2023. Book lover, tea nerd, host of the Writerly Bites podcast.
My favorite book list every year!
More is more. We’ve got 380 (or so) of our favorite new books, right here:
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
n.pr
November 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
My favorite book list every year!
Reposted by Blair Hurley
Buy from the list or rag on the list, I don't care, just be about books for a minute ...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
100 Notable Books of 2025
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Buy from the list or rag on the list, I don't care, just be about books for a minute ...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
Reposted by Blair Hurley
There is no health benefit big enough to make me buy the peanut butter that you have to stir. Even if it added 3 years to my life, IT WOULD NOT BE WORTH IT
November 19, 2025 at 6:19 PM
There is no health benefit big enough to make me buy the peanut butter that you have to stir. Even if it added 3 years to my life, IT WOULD NOT BE WORTH IT
Reposted by Blair Hurley
this is it
everyone is responding to the version of the world they see
now we all see the world in large part via our chosen portion of the functionally-infinite online sources, we are increasingly each seeing a different world
everyone is responding to the version of the world they see
now we all see the world in large part via our chosen portion of the functionally-infinite online sources, we are increasingly each seeing a different world
One of the ways social media messes with our psychology is that we all think everyone is seeing the same thing - despite the exact opposite being the case. Not sure our brains can really deal with it.
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
this is it
everyone is responding to the version of the world they see
now we all see the world in large part via our chosen portion of the functionally-infinite online sources, we are increasingly each seeing a different world
everyone is responding to the version of the world they see
now we all see the world in large part via our chosen portion of the functionally-infinite online sources, we are increasingly each seeing a different world
New ep of the Writerly Bites Podcast! I'm talking about how cutting one weak sentence from every paragraph in your manuscript will make your story sing. Book recommendation is Amity Gaige's HEARTWOOD: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
116: Cut One Weak Sentence from Every Paragraph
Podcast Episode · The Writerly Bites Podcast · 2025-11-18 · 7m
podcasts.apple.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:28 PM
New ep of the Writerly Bites Podcast! I'm talking about how cutting one weak sentence from every paragraph in your manuscript will make your story sing. Book recommendation is Amity Gaige's HEARTWOOD: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
Reposted by Blair Hurley
Every year I tip my hat to Biblioasis for producing Best Canadian Essays, Best Canadian Stories and Best Canadian Poetry, and this year is no exception. #amreading
New on The Bibliophile: We're featuring a peek at the introductions to this year's Best Canadian anthologies, as each editor explores how they selected their chosen essays, poems, and stories. Find them on bookstore shelves next Tuesday, Nov 18!
digitalbibliophile.substack.com/p/knowing-se...
digitalbibliophile.substack.com/p/knowing-se...
November 16, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Every year I tip my hat to Biblioasis for producing Best Canadian Essays, Best Canadian Stories and Best Canadian Poetry, and this year is no exception. #amreading
Reposted by Blair Hurley
My favourite year for oppressed literary masculinity was 2023 when the number of women on the Booker shortlist was smaller than the number of men named Paul
Exactly one woman has won the Booker in the past six years www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
My favourite year for oppressed literary masculinity was 2023 when the number of women on the Booker shortlist was smaller than the number of men named Paul
Thrilled to have a short story, "Hairwork", in the new issue of @redividermag.bsky.social. It's about postpartum life and loss, Victorian hair art, grief and madness: redivider.emerson.edu/hairwork/
Hairwork – Redivider
redivider.emerson.edu
November 15, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Thrilled to have a short story, "Hairwork", in the new issue of @redividermag.bsky.social. It's about postpartum life and loss, Victorian hair art, grief and madness: redivider.emerson.edu/hairwork/
Why I’m sitting in a parking lot of a Trader Joe’s: I tried to take the kids with me to get snacks but everyone fell asleep in the car, help
November 6, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Why I’m sitting in a parking lot of a Trader Joe’s: I tried to take the kids with me to get snacks but everyone fell asleep in the car, help
Toddler is home sick, I'm trying to manage my expectations for what I can get done today. Sometimes the day is just thinking about your novel while a kid eats a muffin on your lap.
October 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Toddler is home sick, I'm trying to manage my expectations for what I can get done today. Sometimes the day is just thinking about your novel while a kid eats a muffin on your lap.
Hosted a Halloween cookie decorating play date, everyone had a great time but I’m still recovering from having a house full of running five year olds. Fell asleep on the couch at 9pm
October 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Hosted a Halloween cookie decorating play date, everyone had a great time but I’m still recovering from having a house full of running five year olds. Fell asleep on the couch at 9pm
I'm taking on more editorial clients this fall! If you're looking for an overhaul of your novel, an edit of your short stories, or in-depth content editing, I'm your gal: blairhurley.com/editorial
October 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
I'm taking on more editorial clients this fall! If you're looking for an overhaul of your novel, an edit of your short stories, or in-depth content editing, I'm your gal: blairhurley.com/editorial
Reposted by Blair Hurley
To become dependent on ChapGPT is to evacuate yourself from your own life.
YIKES, no thanks. I’m gonna be alive inside every damn thing I do, even and especially the ish I don’t wanna do.
YIKES, no thanks. I’m gonna be alive inside every damn thing I do, even and especially the ish I don’t wanna do.
October 15, 2025 at 8:35 PM
To become dependent on ChapGPT is to evacuate yourself from your own life.
YIKES, no thanks. I’m gonna be alive inside every damn thing I do, even and especially the ish I don’t wanna do.
YIKES, no thanks. I’m gonna be alive inside every damn thing I do, even and especially the ish I don’t wanna do.
I was shocked when I finally read Rip Van Winkle and learned he only goes to sleep for 20 years. Through cultural osmosis I thought he went to sleep for 100 years - did anyone else think this?
October 4, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I was shocked when I finally read Rip Van Winkle and learned he only goes to sleep for 20 years. Through cultural osmosis I thought he went to sleep for 100 years - did anyone else think this?
Delighted to announce that the Writerly Bites podcast is back! Look out for new episodes each week on how to make your writing better, one small step at a time. This week's episode is about re-connecting with old work: redcircle.com/shows/1fb3ce...
112: Re-connect with Your Writing
Listen to The Writerly Bites Podcast on RedCircle
redcircle.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Delighted to announce that the Writerly Bites podcast is back! Look out for new episodes each week on how to make your writing better, one small step at a time. This week's episode is about re-connecting with old work: redcircle.com/shows/1fb3ce...
My two year old just poured his miso soup into his milk and Cheerios and is happily eating it. Should I be…horrified or just pleased that he’s an adventurous eater?
September 26, 2025 at 4:48 PM
My two year old just poured his miso soup into his milk and Cheerios and is happily eating it. Should I be…horrified or just pleased that he’s an adventurous eater?
You know you're onto something when an idea just won't leave you alone. You find you have more and more questions about it that must be answered. It's a sign that you're writing something you need to write.
September 26, 2025 at 2:21 PM
You know you're onto something when an idea just won't leave you alone. You find you have more and more questions about it that must be answered. It's a sign that you're writing something you need to write.
So true- language has meaning, and adopting the language the tech companies want us to is lazy journalism and writing.
This is not a romance. Nobody is "in love" with apps. There are no A.I. boyfriends. You cannot "date" a chatbot. Accepting this framing and treating it as real is tech-industry propaganda. slate.com/technology/2...
She Broke Off Two Engagements. She Couldn’t Commit. Now She’s Dating Chatbots Instead.
As chatbot romance grows more common, women are redefining what they want from a partner—even if they are just ones and zeros.
slate.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:15 PM
So true- language has meaning, and adopting the language the tech companies want us to is lazy journalism and writing.
Reposted by Blair Hurley
Earlier this year, ProPublica found that the sepsis rate in second-trimester pregnancy loss hospitalizations increased by more than 50% under Texas’ abortion ban.
Here’s how we did our analysis.
(Published Feb. 2025)
Here’s how we did our analysis.
(Published Feb. 2025)
Texas Won’t Study How Its Abortion Ban Impacts Women, So We Did
Since Texas banned abortion, no one has studied the statewide effects on pregnant women experiencing complications. Here’s how we sifted through data on millions of pregnancy hospitalizations and anal...
www.propublica.org
September 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Earlier this year, ProPublica found that the sepsis rate in second-trimester pregnancy loss hospitalizations increased by more than 50% under Texas’ abortion ban.
Here’s how we did our analysis.
(Published Feb. 2025)
Here’s how we did our analysis.
(Published Feb. 2025)
Back to a writing routine that feels really great - a ten minute yoga routine in the morning followed by some handwriting in my notebook. It’s exciting to be working on new projects and putting my writing first in the mornings.
September 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Back to a writing routine that feels really great - a ten minute yoga routine in the morning followed by some handwriting in my notebook. It’s exciting to be working on new projects and putting my writing first in the mornings.
Reposted by Blair Hurley
After 8 years of buying the fiction for libraries, I’ve decided the most sellable title, based on trends, for a book has to be The Woman’s Daughter’s Girl. I will write this and make millions.
September 2, 2025 at 11:52 PM
After 8 years of buying the fiction for libraries, I’ve decided the most sellable title, based on trends, for a book has to be The Woman’s Daughter’s Girl. I will write this and make millions.
Just got back from a big family trip to Australia. Had a wonderful time seeing the animals and the sights and family members; and now it's back to normal life and writing. I love traveling but I love the first days back almost as much.
September 1, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Just got back from a big family trip to Australia. Had a wonderful time seeing the animals and the sights and family members; and now it's back to normal life and writing. I love traveling but I love the first days back almost as much.
I love how toddlers learn the simplest aspects of language simultaneously with imitation of more complex language style. My toddler is just learning to say "vacuum cleaner" but when his Legos come apart he will rest his chin in his hand and say "Oh, dear."
August 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I love how toddlers learn the simplest aspects of language simultaneously with imitation of more complex language style. My toddler is just learning to say "vacuum cleaner" but when his Legos come apart he will rest his chin in his hand and say "Oh, dear."
Interesting article on pragmatics in linguistics and how they convey the thinking mind behind expressed language: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/o...
Opinion | The Single Word That Explains Why Chatbots Sound So Human
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Interesting article on pragmatics in linguistics and how they convey the thinking mind behind expressed language: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/o...
In Melbourne for a day longer than I planned thanks to my flight being canceled- but we’re making the most of it with additional trips to Brunetti’s for pastries and lattes
August 23, 2025 at 11:55 PM
In Melbourne for a day longer than I planned thanks to my flight being canceled- but we’re making the most of it with additional trips to Brunetti’s for pastries and lattes