Liz Bourke
@hawkwinglb.bsky.social
Ph.D Classics. Reviews @ Reactor Magazine (ex. Tor.com) and Locus Magazine.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hawkwing_lb
Wordpress: https://lizbourke.wordpress.com
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@hawkwing_lb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hawkwing_lb
Wordpress: https://lizbourke.wordpress.com
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@hawkwing_lb
Pinned
Liz Bourke
@hawkwinglb.bsky.social
· Nov 9
κῆπος τῶν βιβλιοθηκῶν | a garden from the libraries
Liz Bourke: books, history, writing, and culture.
lizbourke.wordpress.com
Hello, new followers! I write reviews of science fiction and fantasy novels for @locusmag.bsky.social and for @reactorsff.bsky.social. On my blog lizbourke.wordpress.com/news-and-upd..., I write about the nonfiction I've been reading lately, and the occasional deeper dive on some aspect of SFF.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Next up, @readingtheend.bsky.social. Jenny is a perpetrator of stone cold bangers and amazing litfic recommendations. Wanna see a sex scene dissected? Look no further.
Anatomy of a Sex Scene: Heated Rivalry Edition - Reading the End
Stop saying there's no plot! A romance critic explains the craft of the sex scenes in Crave's Heated Rivalry (2025).
readingtheend.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Next up, @readingtheend.bsky.social. Jenny is a perpetrator of stone cold bangers and amazing litfic recommendations. Wanna see a sex scene dissected? Look no further.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Then we have @dreddieclark.bsky.social. If you want alternative awards shortlists that big up both the midlist AND things that might have been missed from previous years, I know a guy.
Casting the net a little wider
Alternative Nebula & Hugo shortlists: or the problem of the tordotcom award for novellas published by Tor
borrowed-and-blue.beehiiv.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Then we have @dreddieclark.bsky.social. If you want alternative awards shortlists that big up both the midlist AND things that might have been missed from previous years, I know a guy.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
And finally, @mollytempleton.com. Also notable for her work on the LeGuin prize, Molly writes reviews, news and a column for Reactor. There are SO MANY. It is very hard (but extremely worth it) to keep up.
Molly Templeton, Author at Reactor
reactormag.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:35 PM
And finally, @mollytempleton.com. Also notable for her work on the LeGuin prize, Molly writes reviews, news and a column for Reactor. There are SO MANY. It is very hard (but extremely worth it) to keep up.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
As it's Hugo time, I wanted to talk about a category I care about, and which I think could do with a bit of extra love when it comes to nomination time - it's best fan writer!
(this is gonna be a thread of me doing hype, which I'm bad at, but that is much deserved by all here linked, pls be nice)
(this is gonna be a thread of me doing hype, which I'm bad at, but that is much deserved by all here linked, pls be nice)
February 18, 2026 at 9:02 PM
As it's Hugo time, I wanted to talk about a category I care about, and which I think could do with a bit of extra love when it comes to nomination time - it's best fan writer!
(this is gonna be a thread of me doing hype, which I'm bad at, but that is much deserved by all here linked, pls be nice)
(this is gonna be a thread of me doing hype, which I'm bad at, but that is much deserved by all here linked, pls be nice)
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Scifi led us to believe the threat from AI systems would be sentient robots enslaving populations or triggering nuclear war.
Instead we have dumb systems that are just as dangerous because they're using all the available components, electricity, water & money that their makers can throw at them
Instead we have dumb systems that are just as dangerous because they're using all the available components, electricity, water & money that their makers can throw at them
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 18, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Scifi led us to believe the threat from AI systems would be sentient robots enslaving populations or triggering nuclear war.
Instead we have dumb systems that are just as dangerous because they're using all the available components, electricity, water & money that their makers can throw at them
Instead we have dumb systems that are just as dangerous because they're using all the available components, electricity, water & money that their makers can throw at them
Reposted by Liz Bourke
I mean a sentence like "Data centres use 22 per cent of all electricity in the Republic (compared with 18 per cent used by urban households in 2024) and that is forecast to exceed 30 per cent early next decade" is objectively insane
Inside the Dublin data centres consuming an unknown amount of energy
Software giant Microsoft’s electricity demands remain a source of contention, in particular when it comes to powering AI
www.irishtimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 8:26 PM
I mean a sentence like "Data centres use 22 per cent of all electricity in the Republic (compared with 18 per cent used by urban households in 2024) and that is forecast to exceed 30 per cent early next decade" is objectively insane
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Oh yeah, we had a law on the books that allowed "the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs*" to prevent the broadcast of "any particular matter or matter of any particular class", it was used heavily during the 70s/80s to control coverage of the conflict in Northern Ireland
*No, really.
*No, really.
February 18, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Oh yeah, we had a law on the books that allowed "the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs*" to prevent the broadcast of "any particular matter or matter of any particular class", it was used heavily during the 70s/80s to control coverage of the conflict in Northern Ireland
*No, really.
*No, really.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
No harm, anyway, so, while we need to rein in social media companies, we should be deeply sceptical and wary of overregulation, particularly when you live in a country with such an ignoble history of how such laws can be abused for authoritarian reasons, and how easy it is to slide backwards
February 18, 2026 at 1:33 PM
No harm, anyway, so, while we need to rein in social media companies, we should be deeply sceptical and wary of overregulation, particularly when you live in a country with such an ignoble history of how such laws can be abused for authoritarian reasons, and how easy it is to slide backwards
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Until the early 90s, information about access to abortion care outside the state was heavily censored. Also, college film societies would hold illicit screenings of banned movies like "A Clockwork Orange" or "The Life of Brian". And many of these censorship laws *remain* on the Irish statute books.
February 18, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Until the early 90s, information about access to abortion care outside the state was heavily censored. Also, college film societies would hold illicit screenings of banned movies like "A Clockwork Orange" or "The Life of Brian". And many of these censorship laws *remain* on the Irish statute books.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
When I occasionally lecture Irish college students, it's often on the topic of social media and censorship. One of the things I try to impress upon them is that up until the 1990s, Ireland had the most draconian state censorship regime in the Western World, & Playboy was only unbanned here in 1994.
the Irish censorship regime was insane until, what, the late 1980s or so?
Huh.
February 18, 2026 at 1:13 PM
When I occasionally lecture Irish college students, it's often on the topic of social media and censorship. One of the things I try to impress upon them is that up until the 1990s, Ireland had the most draconian state censorship regime in the Western World, & Playboy was only unbanned here in 1994.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Man, The Exorcist was only released here legally in *~*\*2000*/*~*.
When I occasionally lecture Irish college students, it's often on the topic of social media and censorship. One of the things I try to impress upon them is that up until the 1990s, Ireland had the most draconian state censorship regime in the Western World, & Playboy was only unbanned here in 1994.
the Irish censorship regime was insane until, what, the late 1980s or so?
February 18, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Man, The Exorcist was only released here legally in *~*\*2000*/*~*.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
The question is not the lobbying. The question is how many of these lines- like the banning access to social media to under 16s but not making it the duty of Meta to enforce- appear in the mouths of our Ministers over the next few months.
Meta tells Ireland to use its EU presidency to advocate scrapping a law to crack down on addictive social media features.
They also want landmark EU legislation on artificial intelligence (AI) to be "paused and rethought."
www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
They also want landmark EU legislation on artificial intelligence (AI) to be "paused and rethought."
www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
Meta urges Ireland to block planned EU law targeting addictive social media features
The tech giant included the proposal in a submission to the Government on Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency
www.irishtimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:32 PM
The question is not the lobbying. The question is how many of these lines- like the banning access to social media to under 16s but not making it the duty of Meta to enforce- appear in the mouths of our Ministers over the next few months.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Seems like a good time to mention the Bokkja i bakken (The Dog on the Hill) statue at the Holmenkollen Ski jump in Oslo - created by Elene Engelsen to celebrate the fact that the escape of a dog onto the jump happened so often it almost became tradition (photo (c) me from a trip last July)
February 18, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Seems like a good time to mention the Bokkja i bakken (The Dog on the Hill) statue at the Holmenkollen Ski jump in Oslo - created by Elene Engelsen to celebrate the fact that the escape of a dog onto the jump happened so often it almost became tradition (photo (c) me from a trip last July)
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Age verification may be well intentioned, but it raises serious privacy concerns and will not fix the real problems online.
We should be tackling toxic algorithms and holding platforms accountable for the content they promote.
We need solutions that actually make the internet safer for children.
We should be tackling toxic algorithms and holding platforms accountable for the content they promote.
We need solutions that actually make the internet safer for children.
February 18, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Age verification may be well intentioned, but it raises serious privacy concerns and will not fix the real problems online.
We should be tackling toxic algorithms and holding platforms accountable for the content they promote.
We need solutions that actually make the internet safer for children.
We should be tackling toxic algorithms and holding platforms accountable for the content they promote.
We need solutions that actually make the internet safer for children.
I like Winter Olympics doggo. What a good dog. Good dog got bored! Needed to run! Run in the snow! Run with the skiers! RUNRUNRUN.
February 18, 2026 at 3:48 PM
I like Winter Olympics doggo. What a good dog. Good dog got bored! Needed to run! Run in the snow! Run with the skiers! RUNRUNRUN.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
"oh and look, some sort of helicopter from norway's team seems to be following him, how strange!"
February 18, 2026 at 3:40 PM
"oh and look, some sort of helicopter from norway's team seems to be following him, how strange!"
Considering that Gondor looks like a medieval polity, structurally - maybe 10th- or 11th-century France would be a reasonable comparison - Aragorn doesn't have the state capacity to have a very granular tax policy. Very likely he would have to have decentralised tax collection - i.e., tax farming.
has anyone tried to write a piece actually speculating on what aragorn's tax policy would have been like
February 18, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Considering that Gondor looks like a medieval polity, structurally - maybe 10th- or 11th-century France would be a reasonable comparison - Aragorn doesn't have the state capacity to have a very granular tax policy. Very likely he would have to have decentralised tax collection - i.e., tax farming.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
I’m constantly astounded at the sheer level of artistic production coming out of Iceland. Novels, movies, music. Amazing.
February 18, 2026 at 2:23 PM
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
I totally get the sense of betrayal and resentment among university teachers about the lawsuit demanding compensation for ‘inadequate’ education during COVID. But there are better targets for our anger than the students involved…
thesphinxblog.com/2026/02/18/c...
thesphinxblog.com/2026/02/18/c...
Country Feedback
A basic fact of student feedback, certainly in any class bigger than ten or so, is that there will always be at least one gratuitously negative and basically unfair response. Sometimes that student…
thesphinxblog.com
February 18, 2026 at 12:10 PM
I totally get the sense of betrayal and resentment among university teachers about the lawsuit demanding compensation for ‘inadequate’ education during COVID. But there are better targets for our anger than the students involved…
thesphinxblog.com/2026/02/18/c...
thesphinxblog.com/2026/02/18/c...
Reposted by Liz Bourke
London is a short flight way. There's already been warnings about measles risk at the Winter Olympics. m.independent.ie/irish-news/h...
Here's the HSE advice on getting vaccinated against measles.
www2.hse.ie/conditions/m... #SpéirGorm
Here's the HSE advice on getting vaccinated against measles.
www2.hse.ie/conditions/m... #SpéirGorm
February 18, 2026 at 11:46 AM
London is a short flight way. There's already been warnings about measles risk at the Winter Olympics. m.independent.ie/irish-news/h...
Here's the HSE advice on getting vaccinated against measles.
www2.hse.ie/conditions/m... #SpéirGorm
Here's the HSE advice on getting vaccinated against measles.
www2.hse.ie/conditions/m... #SpéirGorm
Reposted by Liz Bourke
If you want to write anything good, you cannot afford to be afraid of your reader.
February 17, 2026 at 8:06 PM
If you want to write anything good, you cannot afford to be afraid of your reader.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Almost every complaint about what academics in the humanities study could be solved by quantities of money that are - in the scheme of these sorts of things - very small.
In that context, what is telling is that the right, aware that the humanities were for sale, opted to destroy them instead.
In that context, what is telling is that the right, aware that the humanities were for sale, opted to destroy them instead.
February 15, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Almost every complaint about what academics in the humanities study could be solved by quantities of money that are - in the scheme of these sorts of things - very small.
In that context, what is telling is that the right, aware that the humanities were for sale, opted to destroy them instead.
In that context, what is telling is that the right, aware that the humanities were for sale, opted to destroy them instead.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
Re-reading a bit of McDonnell's Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic and I'm struck by how, uh, unconvincing, I find his section on virtus and women.
His argument is that women sat outside of virtus (as implied by its etymology) but then concedes a bunch of examples where they have it!
His argument is that women sat outside of virtus (as implied by its etymology) but then concedes a bunch of examples where they have it!
February 15, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Re-reading a bit of McDonnell's Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic and I'm struck by how, uh, unconvincing, I find his section on virtus and women.
His argument is that women sat outside of virtus (as implied by its etymology) but then concedes a bunch of examples where they have it!
His argument is that women sat outside of virtus (as implied by its etymology) but then concedes a bunch of examples where they have it!
Thought provoking and useful thread.
Thinking about the impact of LLMs on the way I earn a living - writing - and I wonder what the long-term impact will be.
On the one hand, LLMs do not seem capable of producing *good* writing, in the sense of original, engaging writing (they can manage clarity, though). But they can do *quantity.*
On the one hand, LLMs do not seem capable of producing *good* writing, in the sense of original, engaging writing (they can manage clarity, though). But they can do *quantity.*
February 18, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Thought provoking and useful thread.
Reposted by Liz Bourke
this is a really good thread, and something we were discussing at dinner. my bet is that we’re going to need to see the rise of personal recommendations, networks where someone’s taste / curation directs people to certain higher quality writing
Thinking about the impact of LLMs on the way I earn a living - writing - and I wonder what the long-term impact will be.
On the one hand, LLMs do not seem capable of producing *good* writing, in the sense of original, engaging writing (they can manage clarity, though). But they can do *quantity.*
On the one hand, LLMs do not seem capable of producing *good* writing, in the sense of original, engaging writing (they can manage clarity, though). But they can do *quantity.*
February 18, 2026 at 6:15 AM
this is a really good thread, and something we were discussing at dinner. my bet is that we’re going to need to see the rise of personal recommendations, networks where someone’s taste / curation directs people to certain higher quality writing