Nelson
@nappell.bsky.social
Public Librarian, current Library Director. Trying to uplift books I love. And lots more.
First two stories have been great. Give this press a follow - or a submission.
Calling all writers of #mystery #southerngothic #darkhumor #offbeat & #literary #fiction! We are seeking short stories. Brown Hound Press is a new venture. We've come out of the gate strong and received a lot of early praise. We pay writers and we respond within 2 weeks.
brownhoundpress.com/submit
brownhoundpress.com/submit
February 15, 2026 at 10:19 PM
First two stories have been great. Give this press a follow - or a submission.
Reposted by Nelson
Did you know that St. Louis is conveniently situated on a major bird migration route in North America? Millions of birds each year travel the Mississippi Flyway during the fall and spring. 🐦
Check out this booklist and start exploring! slpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/disp...
Check out this booklist and start exploring! slpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/disp...
February 15, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Did you know that St. Louis is conveniently situated on a major bird migration route in North America? Millions of birds each year travel the Mississippi Flyway during the fall and spring. 🐦
Check out this booklist and start exploring! slpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/disp...
Check out this booklist and start exploring! slpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/disp...
Let’s move this direction.
@todmaffin.com @codeblackamerica.bsky.social
'I traded my U.S. medical career for life in Canada. Here’s how the two health systems stack up.'
'I traded my U.S. medical career for life in Canada. Here’s how the two health systems stack up.'
I traded my U.S. medical career for life in Canada. Here’s how the…
The differences hit me immediately, and are profound.
canadahealthwatch.ca
February 15, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Let’s move this direction.
We are Re-watching Slow Horses and I’m enjoying this show even more the second time around. Writing, plotting, acting, all so good - and so damn funny. Gary Oldman is so perfect for the role of Jackson Lamb.
February 15, 2026 at 3:19 AM
We are Re-watching Slow Horses and I’m enjoying this show even more the second time around. Writing, plotting, acting, all so good - and so damn funny. Gary Oldman is so perfect for the role of Jackson Lamb.
“"The ghost story, in other words, will always, on some level, fail to capture the haunting, just as the algorithm will always fail to capture the life."
I learned a lot reading this.
I learned a lot reading this.
New from me, at @vqr.bsky.social: a few years ago two people contacted me about a TEDx talk I once gave, “The Art of Haunting.”
When I replied I’d never given a TEDx talk, things just got weirder.
On AI, ghosts, what it means to tell a story, and what Italo Calvino saw coming 60 years ago. Enjoy!
When I replied I’d never given a TEDx talk, things just got weirder.
On AI, ghosts, what it means to tell a story, and what Italo Calvino saw coming 60 years ago. Enjoy!
The Art of Haunting
The email was innocuous enough. A woman wrote to me explaining how her partner had been talking about my work and how much he’d enjoyed it—in particular, he’d remembered me giving a TEDx talk about gh...
www.vqronline.org
February 13, 2026 at 2:41 PM
“"The ghost story, in other words, will always, on some level, fail to capture the haunting, just as the algorithm will always fail to capture the life."
I learned a lot reading this.
I learned a lot reading this.
Found outside library during pruning: a praying mantis nest.
February 13, 2026 at 1:27 AM
Found outside library during pruning: a praying mantis nest.
There is nothing more frustrating in the customer service world than calling for cellular phone service problems. Somehow, against the odds, they've made it even worse than it was. It's maddening.
February 12, 2026 at 5:33 PM
There is nothing more frustrating in the customer service world than calling for cellular phone service problems. Somehow, against the odds, they've made it even worse than it was. It's maddening.
A great short story from Brown Hound Press. The Storm is coming, and Emily will be forced to make a choice...
Story of the Week: Libby Cudmore’s “The Pantry” was the first story I purchased for Brown Hound. I love a southern gothic vibe. Can Emily overcome the corrosive influence of her husband’s church and rechart the future of her family?
@libbycudmore.bsky.social
www.brownhoundpress.com/stories/libb...
@libbycudmore.bsky.social
www.brownhoundpress.com/stories/libb...
Libby Cudmore - The Pantry — Brown Hound Press
Emily carefully set the last jar on the shelf, watching the collagen-thick bone broth quiver in the pantry’s dim light. She ran her fingers along each neatly labeled jar; bone broth in beef and chicke...
www.brownhoundpress.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:19 PM
A great short story from Brown Hound Press. The Storm is coming, and Emily will be forced to make a choice...
Libraries cannot be the only answer to homelessness. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make progress. It’s always a fight. But doing nothing means the library takes on the burden. Which means staff.
The Parker administration is failing so many of our most vulnerable neighbors while hanging our overworked, underpaid library workers out to dry www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
Library warming centers strained workers and left people without help for complex issues, staff say
Library workers and volunteers say people in mental-health crises, struggling with substance-abuse issues, and requiring wound care are coming to the warming centers and they have no backup.
www.inquirer.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Libraries cannot be the only answer to homelessness. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make progress. It’s always a fight. But doing nothing means the library takes on the burden. Which means staff.
At this point we’re criticizing the young for grocery shopping, eating and hydrating.
Splurging on juice and chicken?
Gen Zers and millennials are swimming in student debt and may never own homes, but they’re splurging on gut-healthy juices and rotisserie chickens.
February 11, 2026 at 4:00 AM
At this point we’re criticizing the young for grocery shopping, eating and hydrating.
Splurging on juice and chicken?
Gen Zers and millennials are swimming in student debt and may never own homes, but they’re splurging on gut-healthy juices and rotisserie chickens.
The Booming Business of Luxury Grocery Stores
A new crop of gourmet grocers has hit the city, drawing lines of trendy TikTokers, MAHA-curious health fiends and Instacart devotees who want to pop in for a treat.
on.wsj.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:57 AM
Splurging on juice and chicken?
AI “Intensifies” work.
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: “.. In our in-progress research, we discovered that AI tools didn’t reduce work, they consistently intensified it.”
hbr.org/2026/02/ai-d...
hbr.org/2026/02/ai-d...
February 10, 2026 at 1:40 PM
AI “Intensifies” work.
It’s a ways off from publishing, doesn’t have a final title, but the Ada Palmer books sounds great.
Jo Walton ( @bluejo.bsky.social ) kicks off a new year of reading recs with some fascinating memoirs and letters, some light romance, and a sneak peek at Ada Palmer's upcoming series about Norse myth and Viking culture!
Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2026 - Reactor
Compelling memoirs, Vikings, Heyer, and early experiments in authoritarianism
reactormag.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:01 PM
It’s a ways off from publishing, doesn’t have a final title, but the Ada Palmer books sounds great.
This Super Bowl viewing party is Off The Hook.
February 9, 2026 at 12:05 AM
This Super Bowl viewing party is Off The Hook.
Reposted by Nelson
I cannot stress this enough: court case after court case has ruled that AI does not count as an author when it comes to copyright. Any minute now an AI bot is gonna start reskinning and reselling AI slop and the "authors" will have zero legal recourse because they didn't actually author shit.
February 8, 2026 at 8:19 PM
I cannot stress this enough: court case after court case has ruled that AI does not count as an author when it comes to copyright. Any minute now an AI bot is gonna start reskinning and reselling AI slop and the "authors" will have zero legal recourse because they didn't actually author shit.
Trade secret: This is how librarians make their recommendations, too.
Ah yes, I do choose which books to read based on “who wrote the most of them this year”
I'm going to win.
February 8, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Trade secret: This is how librarians make their recommendations, too.
It’s science!
The Washington Department of Natural Resources makes a good point.
February 7, 2026 at 10:03 PM
It’s science!
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
“No, You want to put your last name, at your birth.”
“No, You want to put your last name, at your birth.”
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"No, it's not based on a real person."
"No, it's not based on a real person."
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"It's in the syllabus"
"It's in the syllabus"
February 7, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
“No, You want to put your last name, at your birth.”
“No, You want to put your last name, at your birth.”
Happy sleepy #caturday from this kitty. She and the dog respect each other’s boundaries, and they’re willing to share the sunbeam space as long as each gets their own space.
February 7, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Happy sleepy #caturday from this kitty. She and the dog respect each other’s boundaries, and they’re willing to share the sunbeam space as long as each gets their own space.
It’s a moral failing of society to not address this better than we have.
February 7, 2026 at 7:41 PM
It’s a moral failing of society to not address this better than we have.
“Past Tense” by @mardoucomics.bsky.social is brave, essential storytelling about her reckoning with her early life. It’s so well done. This deserves space on any comics/therapy/psychology/family systems bookshelf. Whatever it has sold, it should sell more. #booksky #therapy #comic #graphicnovel
February 6, 2026 at 2:56 PM
“Past Tense” by @mardoucomics.bsky.social is brave, essential storytelling about her reckoning with her early life. It’s so well done. This deserves space on any comics/therapy/psychology/family systems bookshelf. Whatever it has sold, it should sell more. #booksky #therapy #comic #graphicnovel