John MacNeill Miller
@snarlsdickens.bsky.social
Writer and former English professor. Author of *The Ecological Plot: How Stories Gave Rise to a Science* (Virginia 2024). Death positive. Interested in animals, environments, and all things Victorian.
Pro tip: before you subscribe to a new quarterly make sure you know how big a commitment you’re making by asking when the next issue comes out. Could be four issues a year, sure. Could be four issues a decade, though. Could be four issues a century. Could be four issues every fucking hour
November 26, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Pro tip: before you subscribe to a new quarterly make sure you know how big a commitment you’re making by asking when the next issue comes out. Could be four issues a year, sure. Could be four issues a decade, though. Could be four issues a century. Could be four issues every fucking hour
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Has anyone done this yet
November 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Has anyone done this yet
My advisee Milo Watson just had his essay published by ISLE as an advance article! It’s a great piece on field guides: how they traditionally worked as a genre and how the genre is changing to address ongoing ecological catastrophe. Currently open access—check it out! #envhum
Is the Field Guide Sustainable? Rethinking Genre in the Face of Ecological Catastrophe
In 1934, Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds became an unexpectedly hot commodity. Booksellers blazed through Houghton Mifflin’s cautious initial re
academic.oup.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:37 PM
My advisee Milo Watson just had his essay published by ISLE as an advance article! It’s a great piece on field guides: how they traditionally worked as a genre and how the genre is changing to address ongoing ecological catastrophe. Currently open access—check it out! #envhum
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
By request, here's a thread of books that I think make excellent gifts this holiday season (obviously they're cartographically inclined, you know me)
1. Best anthology
"All Over the Map" by Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
A gorgeous, full color history of maps mind-bending maps from around the world.
1. Best anthology
"All Over the Map" by Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
A gorgeous, full color history of maps mind-bending maps from around the world.
November 21, 2025 at 7:35 PM
By request, here's a thread of books that I think make excellent gifts this holiday season (obviously they're cartographically inclined, you know me)
1. Best anthology
"All Over the Map" by Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
A gorgeous, full color history of maps mind-bending maps from around the world.
1. Best anthology
"All Over the Map" by Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
A gorgeous, full color history of maps mind-bending maps from around the world.
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Her first film will be g rated
United Talent Agency has signed literal type of cheese Parmigiano Reggiano to its roster with the goal of finding product-placement opportunities for the brand in film and TV
www.vulture.com/article/parm...?
www.vulture.com/article/parm...?
Beloved Cheese Parmigiano Reggiano Signs With UTA
The blonde Italian bombshell is about to be all over film and TV.
www.vulture.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Her first film will be g rated
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Banger of a 🧵on ideas and inspiration. 📚 #writing
I've had a few 'what do you do' convs recently, and everyone on hearing I'm an author comes out with "so how do you come up with ideas?", just like every book or movie about a writer has them staring numbly into space because they don't have an idea for the next book. And look, that is Not It.
November 19, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Banger of a 🧵on ideas and inspiration. 📚 #writing
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Explore the rich SciArt ecosystem on Bluesky with my SciArt Starter Pack.
Paleoart to fine art,
comics to medical illustration,
bioart to space imagery.
150 artists, plus the entire popular SciArt Feed 🐡.
And no gen AI or NFTs. 🥳
Paleoart to fine art,
comics to medical illustration,
bioart to space imagery.
150 artists, plus the entire popular SciArt Feed 🐡.
And no gen AI or NFTs. 🥳
November 19, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Explore the rich SciArt ecosystem on Bluesky with my SciArt Starter Pack.
Paleoart to fine art,
comics to medical illustration,
bioart to space imagery.
150 artists, plus the entire popular SciArt Feed 🐡.
And no gen AI or NFTs. 🥳
Paleoart to fine art,
comics to medical illustration,
bioart to space imagery.
150 artists, plus the entire popular SciArt Feed 🐡.
And no gen AI or NFTs. 🥳
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Take advantage of the conference discount <10NAVSA25> for 40% off until December 1!
@unipresssalesbot.bsky.social!
#readUP
@unipresssalesbot.bsky.social!
#readUP
The North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA) conference begins today! @navsa2025.bsky.social #NAVSA2025
Visit our virtual exhibit and use promo code <10NAVSA25> for 40% off through the end of the month!
www.upress.virginia.edu/exhibits/nav...
Visit our virtual exhibit and use promo code <10NAVSA25> for 40% off through the end of the month!
www.upress.virginia.edu/exhibits/nav...
November 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Take advantage of the conference discount <10NAVSA25> for 40% off until December 1!
@unipresssalesbot.bsky.social!
#readUP
@unipresssalesbot.bsky.social!
#readUP
A very good piece of environmental justice reporting about a very bad problem. (Gift link)
The Auto Industry’s Lead Recycling Program is Poisoning People (Gift Article)
We documented the toxic fallout of a green technology.
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM
A very good piece of environmental justice reporting about a very bad problem. (Gift link)
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
If you’re at @navsa2025.bsky.social please join us for the 🍃VCOLOGIES HAPPY HOUR🍃from 7-8 this evening!!!
We’ll be in the Marquee Bar and Lounge: complimentary beer/wine for grad students, first come, first served!
We’ll be in the Marquee Bar and Lounge: complimentary beer/wine for grad students, first come, first served!
November 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
If you’re at @navsa2025.bsky.social please join us for the 🍃VCOLOGIES HAPPY HOUR🍃from 7-8 this evening!!!
We’ll be in the Marquee Bar and Lounge: complimentary beer/wine for grad students, first come, first served!
We’ll be in the Marquee Bar and Lounge: complimentary beer/wine for grad students, first come, first served!
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Look at my little one, sitting coyly in the back row!!! Wish I could be there…
November 14, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Look at my little one, sitting coyly in the back row!!! Wish I could be there…
Dr Seuss: In my book The Lorax I invented the Thneed as a cautionary tale.
Apple: At long last, we have created the Thneed from the classic picture book The Lorax.
Apple: At long last, we have created the Thneed from the classic picture book The Lorax.
November 14, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Dr Seuss: In my book The Lorax I invented the Thneed as a cautionary tale.
Apple: At long last, we have created the Thneed from the classic picture book The Lorax.
Apple: At long last, we have created the Thneed from the classic picture book The Lorax.
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Ghosts Behind Glass has been officially published by @uchicagopress.bsky.social!
If you are looking for an absolutely gorgeous book that tackles a deeply serious topic, this is a perfect choice. Would make a really thoughtful Christmas gift.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
If you are looking for an absolutely gorgeous book that tackles a deeply serious topic, this is a perfect choice. Would make a really thoughtful Christmas gift.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Ghosts Behind Glass
How museums display extinct species—and what these exhibits say about us. While it’s no longer possible to encounter a dodo in the wild, we can still come face-to-face with them in museums. The rema...
press.uchicago.edu
November 13, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Ghosts Behind Glass has been officially published by @uchicagopress.bsky.social!
If you are looking for an absolutely gorgeous book that tackles a deeply serious topic, this is a perfect choice. Would make a really thoughtful Christmas gift.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
If you are looking for an absolutely gorgeous book that tackles a deeply serious topic, this is a perfect choice. Would make a really thoughtful Christmas gift.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Holy shit, just learned about the typewriter art of Montserrat Alberich Escardívol, a Catalan typist. Using an extra wide typewriter and 180 color ribbons, she built up elaborate images from simple characters like 'm' and '.' and ';'. Here is her typewritten painting of the Cathedral of Barcelona.
November 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Holy shit, just learned about the typewriter art of Montserrat Alberich Escardívol, a Catalan typist. Using an extra wide typewriter and 180 color ribbons, she built up elaborate images from simple characters like 'm' and '.' and ';'. Here is her typewritten painting of the Cathedral of Barcelona.
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Oh hey I'm quoted in the History Channel talking about Stephen King! www.history.com/articles/ste...
November 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Oh hey I'm quoted in the History Channel talking about Stephen King! www.history.com/articles/ste...
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
The James Bond franchise faces a big problem: me, the viewer, has been shot at the start of the movie through the barrel of my gun, and I'm dripping blood over my own eye balls (they're in the gun)
November 11, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The James Bond franchise faces a big problem: me, the viewer, has been shot at the start of the movie through the barrel of my gun, and I'm dripping blood over my own eye balls (they're in the gun)
Ironically, pretending to be knowledgeable about books he hasn’t read is the most relatable thing Elon Musk has ever done
November 11, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Ironically, pretending to be knowledgeable about books he hasn’t read is the most relatable thing Elon Musk has ever done
James Bond exploded into pieces and you don’t know how to keep the series going? Just stitch the dude together using whatever parts you can find. Have you never read Frankenstein?! Have you never read Dog Man?!?!
November 11, 2025 at 7:34 PM
James Bond exploded into pieces and you don’t know how to keep the series going? Just stitch the dude together using whatever parts you can find. Have you never read Frankenstein?! Have you never read Dog Man?!?!
If we lose Shelley, we lose a foundational text for modern thought and a major influence in genres ranging from horror to melodrama to science fiction. But if we lose Austen, we never get the classic 90s film Clueless. In other words, it’s a toss-up
You can only pick one. I’m sorry.
Jane Austen or Mary Shelley
Jane Austen or Mary Shelley
November 11, 2025 at 2:45 PM
If we lose Shelley, we lose a foundational text for modern thought and a major influence in genres ranging from horror to melodrama to science fiction. But if we lose Austen, we never get the classic 90s film Clueless. In other words, it’s a toss-up
I like that JCO was like “this man doesn’t read books; he has never experienced love or even fellow-feeling; not even the smallest joys are available to him; he has never even bonded with a pet” and Musk’s reply was “Not true!!!! I’ve read several books!!”
history will ultimately decide this but i think joyce carol oates might have just landed the most devastating burn in human history. like the death star trench run of posting
oh my god
November 10, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I like that JCO was like “this man doesn’t read books; he has never experienced love or even fellow-feeling; not even the smallest joys are available to him; he has never even bonded with a pet” and Musk’s reply was “Not true!!!! I’ve read several books!!”
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
Reposted by John MacNeill Miller
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.