Joshua Yu Burnett
@joshuayuburnett.bsky.social
Prof of Multilingual Comp @ AWC. Degrees in Creative Writing & Af Am Lit, Scholarship in Black Speculative Fiction. Ex-expat in Bangladesh & Mexico. Dork/weirdo. Nonbinary, any pronouns fine as long as you don't call me "Mr." or "Sir." From the Bay.
Bovino is being sent to El Centro, California, which is about an hour from here. Soooo I'm not thrilled about THAT part.
January 27, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Bovino is being sent to El Centro, California, which is about an hour from here. Soooo I'm not thrilled about THAT part.
Now reading: the first novel by one of my favorite science fiction writers. I actually started this years ago, but didn’t finish for some reason, so I’m finally picking it back up now.
January 19, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Now reading: the first novel by one of my favorite science fiction writers. I actually started this years ago, but didn’t finish for some reason, so I’m finally picking it back up now.
It’s not worth it getting into shit with some rando on Reddit who’s claiming that the British Empire was actually not bad because it built British-style schools in India…right!? It’s not worth it.
January 18, 2026 at 8:04 PM
It’s not worth it getting into shit with some rando on Reddit who’s claiming that the British Empire was actually not bad because it built British-style schools in India…right!? It’s not worth it.
Watching the fist episode of Starfleet Academy. The reviews have been good, and I’m hoping it turns out well, because the most insufferable elements of online Star Trek fans have been loudly determined to hate it since before literally anything about it was known.
January 16, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Watching the fist episode of Starfleet Academy. The reviews have been good, and I’m hoping it turns out well, because the most insufferable elements of online Star Trek fans have been loudly determined to hate it since before literally anything about it was known.
Now reading: The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, last year’s Nobel Laureate in Literature. It involves a mysterious circus, a stuffed whale, and very, very long paragraphs. Also my first book read by a Hungarian writer.
January 14, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Now reading: The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, last year’s Nobel Laureate in Literature. It involves a mysterious circus, a stuffed whale, and very, very long paragraphs. Also my first book read by a Hungarian writer.
I mean, what has the LA County Sheriff's Department ever done but serve and protect with professionalism and dedication!?
(Googles for five seconds)
Um wow oh.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_i...
(Googles for five seconds)
Um wow oh.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_i...
January 12, 2026 at 4:56 AM
I mean, what has the LA County Sheriff's Department ever done but serve and protect with professionalism and dedication!?
(Googles for five seconds)
Um wow oh.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_i...
(Googles for five seconds)
Um wow oh.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_i...
Starting on The Americans tonight. Only 13 years behind, babyyyy!
January 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Starting on The Americans tonight. Only 13 years behind, babyyyy!
I always read Moby Dick as basically being an epic fantasy novel. So much of it is world building.
Also when I read it, I was in Trinidad for a conference, so the novel now forever reads in my head with a Trinidadian accent, and that's objectively awesome.
Also when I read it, I was in Trinidad for a conference, so the novel now forever reads in my head with a Trinidadian accent, and that's objectively awesome.
people think moby dick is a stern adventure novel heavy on the plot. i can't emphasize how much it's not. it's supergay chaos with 3 plot points. there's an entire chapter that's just a chowder recipe. sometimes it turns into a play. the main character is covered in whale dinension tattoos.
finally reading moby dick. why didn't anyone tell me that it's good
January 6, 2026 at 3:24 AM
I always read Moby Dick as basically being an epic fantasy novel. So much of it is world building.
Also when I read it, I was in Trinidad for a conference, so the novel now forever reads in my head with a Trinidadian accent, and that's objectively awesome.
Also when I read it, I was in Trinidad for a conference, so the novel now forever reads in my head with a Trinidadian accent, and that's objectively awesome.
I was getting out of a shower with a sliding door, slipped, and caught my big toe on the metal track of the sliding door. Ended up with like 15 stitches in my toe and a v-shaped scar.
What's the most ridiculous way you ever hurt yourself? I got out of the tub, skidded in water and tripped over the toilet. Ankle sprain.
😅
😅
January 6, 2026 at 2:36 AM
I was getting out of a shower with a sliding door, slipped, and caught my big toe on the metal track of the sliding door. Ended up with like 15 stitches in my toe and a v-shaped scar.
Now reading: The Silent Cry by Japanese Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe.
January 6, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Now reading: The Silent Cry by Japanese Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe.
My favorite massive rabbithole of the last few years: On Cinema. It's a (often very, very) dark comedy that started out as just being two stupid guys playing Siskel & Ebert, but has evolved into a pretty massive dysfunctional world of dysfunction, toxic codependency, and occasional felony murder.
u heard sharon, everyone post about their esoteric interests right fucking now. for the good of the community, we need to be hyperfixationmaxxing.
i think this site really needs to figure out how to grow the non-politics verticals (the baseball moment was a good thing!) because i suspect a lot of the bad clusters come out of the political clusters driving 95% of ENG-lang posts
January 5, 2026 at 11:18 PM
My favorite massive rabbithole of the last few years: On Cinema. It's a (often very, very) dark comedy that started out as just being two stupid guys playing Siskel & Ebert, but has evolved into a pretty massive dysfunctional world of dysfunction, toxic codependency, and occasional felony murder.
Putting together the syllabus for my Science Fiction class. When thinking of visuals to use, I immediately thought of this, which is probably my favorite cover art of the time. We're not reading the book, though (The Left Hand of Darkness). Maybe if I get to teach the class again in the future!
January 5, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Putting together the syllabus for my Science Fiction class. When thinking of visuals to use, I immediately thought of this, which is probably my favorite cover art of the time. We're not reading the book, though (The Left Hand of Darkness). Maybe if I get to teach the class again in the future!
In my case it's a line from a movie: "My problem is I've got a 50-year old lust and a 3-year old dinky."
I distinctly remember my father laughing at that line and refusing to tell me why.
I distinctly remember my father laughing at that line and refusing to tell me why.
Nothing bonds you to your childhood like knowing every word to a song you absolutely should not know
January 5, 2026 at 6:51 PM
In my case it's a line from a movie: "My problem is I've got a 50-year old lust and a 3-year old dinky."
I distinctly remember my father laughing at that line and refusing to tell me why.
I distinctly remember my father laughing at that line and refusing to tell me why.
I finished Land of Love and Drowning on the plane yesterday. Now reading: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Read the original short story in my MA program circa 2006 and have been meaning to read the novel version ever since.
January 2, 2026 at 1:37 AM
I finished Land of Love and Drowning on the plane yesterday. Now reading: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Read the original short story in my MA program circa 2006 and have been meaning to read the novel version ever since.
Books I brought back from Tallahassee. The Cometbus was a gift, the Garcia Marquez was from a box of books my parents were getting rid of. The rest were from the Goodwill bookstore.
January 1, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Books I brought back from Tallahassee. The Cometbus was a gift, the Garcia Marquez was from a box of books my parents were getting rid of. The rest were from the Goodwill bookstore.
Watching Wake Up Dead Man.
December 28, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Watching Wake Up Dead Man.
Finished Doppelganger. Now reading: Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique.
December 23, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Finished Doppelganger. Now reading: Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique.
Now reading: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein.
December 20, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Now reading: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein.
We just started watching Somebody Somewhere, and in the second episode, the sister’s family has a cheesy pillow on their couch…and the exact same pillow is in the AirBNB we’re staying in. I was amused.
December 20, 2025 at 6:20 PM
We just started watching Somebody Somewhere, and in the second episode, the sister’s family has a cheesy pillow on their couch…and the exact same pillow is in the AirBNB we’re staying in. I was amused.
Almost done with Katabasis. It has an amazing line that encapsulates the worst kind of academic: “Making impingements, implying failure, when he had no grounds to do so except for being a dick.” Amazing.
December 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Almost done with Katabasis. It has an amazing line that encapsulates the worst kind of academic: “Making impingements, implying failure, when he had no grounds to do so except for being a dick.” Amazing.
Aaaaand this is what my laptop looks like all of a sudden and without any apparent cause. Oh boy, lucky me!!!!
December 18, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Aaaaand this is what my laptop looks like all of a sudden and without any apparent cause. Oh boy, lucky me!!!!
ChatGPT and Francis Fukuyama: two sources I can't imagine why anyone would ever listen to.
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
December 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
ChatGPT and Francis Fukuyama: two sources I can't imagine why anyone would ever listen to.
Now reading. It’s about graduate students descending into Hell, which, for me, is highly relatable material.
December 16, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Now reading. It’s about graduate students descending into Hell, which, for me, is highly relatable material.
Every year, I have a personal goal to read a book per week on average – so 52 books a year. I haven't actually made that goal, though since 2018...until today.
I just finished reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, and it was my 52nd book of the year. Woohoo!
I just finished reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, and it was my 52nd book of the year. Woohoo!
December 15, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Every year, I have a personal goal to read a book per week on average – so 52 books a year. I haven't actually made that goal, though since 2018...until today.
I just finished reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, and it was my 52nd book of the year. Woohoo!
I just finished reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, and it was my 52nd book of the year. Woohoo!
Now reading.
December 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Now reading.