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gavingrant.bsky.social
Gavin, Small Beer, long covid, &c.
@gavingrant.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1.5K following 2.5K posts
Gavin J. Grant. He/him. Born: 323ppm. Peely-wally vegan Scottish immigrant. Equality? I like it. BLM. Antifascist. Trans rights=human rights. Long covid 12/21, meh. Tired. Wears masks, asks you to, too. smallbeerpress.com (closed) & LCRW. bookmoonbooks.com
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gavingrant.bsky.social
Protests against authoritarian regimes
1) today at the Minneapolis airport, USA
2) Tblisi, Georgia, Jan. 10, 2026
Screenshot of 2 posts: ‪1st post: Megan Greenwell‬ reposted their earlier post ‪@greenwell.bsky.social‬ · 5h My mom is a priest who’s been showing up at the courthouse in her city every week for months in a clerical collar to help immigrants and confront ICE. I’m not religious, but I find the moral leadership she and other faith leaders are showing exceptionally moving. ‪ which quote posted Jack Jenkins‬ ‪@jackjenkins.me‬ · 5h Singing and it's a video of many many religious leaders wrapped up for the cold with foam pads for their knees for kneeling and they are singing "Oh Sister let's go down to the river to pray" The 2nd post is Reposted by Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 ‪Giorgi Gogia‬ (bio: Associate Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch) ‪@ggogia.bsky.social‬ · 18m 🚨 #Georgia is using new assembly restrictions to arbitrarily detain peaceful protesters, including for simply standing on a sidewalk near parliament. This chills free expression and violates international human rights standards, says @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/01... and has a picture of many people waving Georgian flags and holding up their phones with their lights on. There's a Ukranian flag being carried along too.
January 23, 2026 at 10:37 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
I was looking up something about Naomi Mitchison's Travel Light & came across this 2005 piece @jedediahberry.bsky.social wrote for the Small Beer newsletter.
Cannot wait to get the beautiful new UK edition—looking forward to reading Samantha Shannon's intro.
smallbeerpress.com/not-a-journa...
Small Beer (Peapod Classics) cover: green bands on top and bottom with quote by Amal on front and Le Guin & Holly Black on back and Kevin Huizenga's pen drawing of Halla's legs coming down from the top band and lots of people and things from the book (winged horse, dragon, Constantinople/Micklegard) at the bottom. 1952 Faber & Faber cover of Travel Light with an illustration of 2 sides of a gold torc or bracelet Beautiful cover of the new UK Virago edition of Travel Light with UKL quote ("Read it now") and "Introduced by Samantha Shannon". Cover illustration by Sanae Sugimoto with a red dragon and Halla (whose flowered cloak includes the ocean) on the Valkyrie's winged horse (which has bears and city buildings on it) with some red clouds, all going left to right with a real sense of motion. Our well read copies of the Faber & Faber hardcover, Virago pb (so many of these have passed through my hands), and our paperback edition on the coffee table this morning in the sunlight streaming in the window behind this couch.
January 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Meanwhile thinking about global temperatures rising 1.5°C since 1970 and wondering what the next 25-30 years will bring.
Very messy hand-drawn extensions to global climate highlights bar chart showing 2025 as 3rd-warmest year on record. Extrapolating to 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2060 with notes that it might go back to 1940s and '50s (tagged Nice dream), remain about the same and start going down (tagged working together, phew), keep going up but start leveling off in say 20 years (tagged well, that's a bit toasty) or continue with the line started about 1970 (tagged Goodbye AMOC, hello havoc)
January 17, 2026 at 7:49 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
A snowy day, in Northamp-town
Was not low, did not have me down
Snow in the foreground with more sticking to trees and shrubs in front of a shed & chicken coop
January 17, 2026 at 7:35 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Lauren Michele Jackson recommends Geoff Ryman's novel Was in "Reading for the New Year: Part Three
Recommendations from @newyorker.com writers"

www.newyorker.com/books/book-c...
Was by Geoff Ryman Oz will never be over. The world that L. Frank Baum created in 1900 with “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” has long exerted a powerful thrall. The great Gore Vidal counted himself among the “most Americans” of his generation who had lost and found themselves in it: “In some mysterious way, I was translating myself to Oz, a place which I was to inhabit for many years while, simultaneously, visiting other fictional worlds as well as maintaining my cover in that dangerous one known as ‘real.’ ” Most Americans today, it’s safe to wager, owe their idea of Oz to the 1939 film adaptation and hunger, it would seem, for darkness as much as dazzle. For those, tired of the candy-floss fare of “Wicked” and its cinematic adaptations, I recommend Geoff Ryman’s 1992 novel. Ryman’s narrative lands upon lives crossed in some way with Baum’s book, and cares less about upending fantasy than treating it seriously, as a shade of reality most Americans cannot live without—a necessity that, if devastating, often proves less so than the alternative. There is a child whose happy world is shattered when his friends from Oz cannot make the leap into what people around him consider to be reality. There is an elderly woman, Dotty, who spends her days revisiting her Kansas childhood, bleak but for the intervention of a twinkling substitute teacher, and part-time actor, named Mr. Baum. There is a makeup artist whose adolescent charge is the professional little girl who finds true home in the heat of M-G-M lights. “I am a fantasy writer who fell in love with realism,” Ryman writes in the postscript. “It is necessary to distinguish between history and fantasy wherever possible. And then use them against each other.” — Lauren Michele Jackson
January 16, 2026 at 12:10 AM
gavingrant.bsky.social
These brighter ones went up last February and have proved popular. Thanks to everyone who bought them (and donated) we've sold 199 and raised $2,121 for Safe Place International
www.bonfire.com/read-books-p...
Lovely "helliconia" (pink) t-shirt with Read Books Punch Nazis in white ink on the front.
January 8, 2026 at 3:23 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Rachel Reid + How to Be a Rich Old Lady makes for a good week's reading
Screenshot of "Bookshop.org Best Sellers of the Week" and it is six Rachel Reid hockey romances and one book titled How to Be a Rich Old Lady by Amanda Holden
January 7, 2026 at 4:41 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
In Teensy Tiny Small Beerland news: we published 2 issues of the best zine named after Victorian wristwear.

Issue #51 (orderable below, mais oui) to print subscribers on Monday & the ebook will go out in 2026.

Odd? Sure. Whimsical & daft like the current tyrant? No.

smallbeerpress.com/lcrw/2025
Screenshot of the SBP site showing 2 issues of LCRW: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet No. 51 At least 24 Hours from Tulsa as the zine flies. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet No. 50 At least 24 Hours from Tulsa as the zine flies. LCRW at bat, 50 not out.
December 31, 2025 at 8:51 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Could someone write a @firefox.com* extension so that anyone whose name appears in the #epsteinfiles has a ghostly "Epstein Files" behind it?

* or other browser as I suppose I'll be deleting this when they add more AI
Epstein files at 25% opacity behind Noam Chomsky's name
December 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Cass Neary still grabbing people by the collar, pickpocketing their meds at the same time:

"Neary is my favorite type of protagonist, which is to say, she’s a dubious one. She’s a liar and a thief, a traumatized alcoholic with a deeply destructive streak."

www.midcoastvillager.com/life/books/a...
Screenshot of cover and this text: Cass Neary is a loser. She wasn’t always a loser; she was once a lauded photographer with a zeitgeisty beat and an eye for beautiful decay. But at the opening of “Generation Loss,” our narrator has aged out of any "It Girl" status she once held. “In my case, it was no secret,” she tells us. “Everyone knew I’d blown it.” Neary is my favorite type of protagonist, which is to say, she’s a dubious one. She’s a liar and a thief, a traumatized alcoholic with a deeply destructive streak.
December 22, 2025 at 3:57 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Recently reminded that I really enjoyed Juan Martinez's Research Notes on @necessaryfiction.com where they invite authors "to describe their process for a recent book, with 'research' defined as broadly as they like"
necessaryfiction.com/researchnote...
Cover of Yosip Ibrahim’s book Yo Visite Ganimedes: dark blue, yellow title, white subtitle and author name, 4 flying saucers. From Juan: "This is a copy of Yosip Ibrahim’s alien-abduction narrative Yo Visite Ganimedes mentioned in “Souvenirs from Ganydeme.” My parents totally owned this book, but they don’t remember why"
December 10, 2025 at 4:07 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
I realize I could get paid (sure, SBP & me could do with more $ :) but what a waste of time the Anthroprick (sick) (sic) shit is.

I'll get paid & pass most through to authors but what parasites (derogatory) all the LLM grifters are. *This* is how we all have to spend our days because of them? Ugh.
screenshot of Anthropic - Bulk Filer Claim Template.numbers with title from SECTION B: WORKS INFORMATION Please provide the information below for each work you are claiming. You can find much of this information in the searchable Works List (https://secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup). SECTION C: OTHER RIGHTSHOLDERS You are required to identify and provide any contact information you have for anyone you believe may be entitled to submit a claim related to the Claimed Work including authors, co-authors, co-owners, and publishers of the Claimed Work.
December 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Ok, will accept $1.5 billion to be flowed through to authors.

$3,000 - expenses? Hmm. I like the other lawsuit where copyright theft means $150k per book much better.
Notice of $1.5 Billion Proposed Class Action Settlement Between Authors & Publishers and Anthropic PBC A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not junk mail, an advertisement, or a solicitation from a lawyer. Dear SMALL BEER PRESS: A Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit claiming that Anthropic infringed protected copyrights by downloading works in two allegedly pirated online datasets called Library Genesis (LibGen) and Pirate Library Mirror (PiLiMi). The current Settlement provides for approximately $3,000 per work, prior to the deduction of any costs, fees, and expenses as described below.
December 1, 2025 at 3:24 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Excellent thread, Nick! Way to go.

Maybe you can pass this on to whoever runs the site: it's throwing up an error for me in Firefox & Safari — might be just there's no https version available. Screenshot, etc.:
Websites prove their identity via certificates. Firefox does not trust this site because it uses a certificate that is not valid for www.starshipsofa.com. The certificate is only valid for the following names: *.wpengine.com, wpengine.com Error code: SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN View Certificate
November 25, 2025 at 8:21 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Ugh, this was turned on (not by me). Many thanks to @cairosteele.com for posting this image.
Screenshot: Customer feedback Find out what your customers like and how you can improve. Only you will be able to view their feedback. and then the "Collect feedback" switch, which I had not touched, is on.
November 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
"And that's today's news. Over now to sports headlines and . . . what the hell?!"
Kris Boyd Jets player in critical condition after being shot in abdomen
November 17, 2025 at 2:57 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
What perfect albums came out the year you turned 16?
Cowboy Junkies, Whites Off Earth Now!! Iron Maiden, Somewhere in Time Kate Bush, The Whole Story
November 17, 2025 at 4:32 AM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Walking the dog
Clouds across a sparse few stars
November 14, 2025 at 3:42 AM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Death cult
Screenshot of 2 news stories: CBS News US conducts 20th strike on alleged drug boat, killing 4 people The Guardian Florida kills man on death row in state’s 16th execution this year
November 14, 2025 at 3:37 AM
gavingrant.bsky.social
If you have $25 you can loan, please join me in helping Enna in Yoro, Honduras, to buy a complete solar lighting system:
www.kiva.org/invitedby/ga...
Picture of Maria in a pink top next to maybe a solar inverter in her wall.
November 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Took the dog out and the sky looked same old beautiful thing. Phone saw more.
A very little magenta and the rest purple aurora above a telephone pole and some clouds.
November 12, 2025 at 3:31 AM
gavingrant.bsky.social
The 1% for the Planet auction ends today: I skipped all the travel, the books weren't for me, but the many snacky goods, wellllllll

event.auctria.com/8fe5c5cc-6dd...
Screenshot of a few of the food items from the auction: 3 coffee bundles, chocolate gift set, food box, tea coins (UK only).
November 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
Roads of the Roman Empire: so many; also: so few.
The itiner-e.org map of the world showing the relatively small extent of the Roman roads. Screenshot of itiner-e.org site only including the empire roads from Britain down to Morocco and across North Africa and Europe to Egypt, Syria, and Türkiye.
November 6, 2025 at 7:46 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
[Spelled coupon wrong 4 times writing this (How?!?)]

25% off a bunch of our books from now until year end using code

SBP25

smallbeerpress.com/not-a-journa...

indiepubs.com/collections/...
Screenshot of covers: Taboo, Telling the Map, Tender, & Terra Nullius Screenshot of covers: The Silverberg Business, Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea, Spirits Abroad, A Stranger in Olondria, & Stranger Things Happen Screenshot of covers: Never Have I Ever, OKPsyche, Privilege of the Happy Ending, Prophecies, Libels, & Dreams, & Reconstruction Screenshot of covers: Never Have I Ever, OKPsyche, Privilege of the Happy Ending, Prophecies, Libels, & Dreams, & Reconstruction
November 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
gavingrant.bsky.social
This quote from Pamela Schwartz — director of regional coordination at Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness — has been playing over and over in my head since I read this Gazette story by Alexander MacDougall:
gazettenet.com/2025/10/24/h...
screenshot: “The idea that somebody becomes a criminal because they have no place to live is really beyond a sense of common decency,” Schwartz said. “It does not solve homelessness. It’s ludicrous to think of that as a solution.”
November 2, 2025 at 8:33 PM