Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Stephen Sparks

@ssparks.bsky.social

1.6K followers 210 following 6.9K posts

“To disappear, but not completely, so that you can know it.” - Elias Canetti Point Reyes Books (pointreyesbooks.bsky.social) & Wayfinder Bookshop in Marin County, CA

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · 12h

I love this.

1 1

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · 14d

Meanwhile, in San Rafael...

Aggressive squirrel seeking food sends at least two people to ER in California

‘Very mean’ animal, appearing out of nowhere and clawing and biting people’s legs, still on the loose in Bay Area city

www.theguardian.com

2 8

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · 20d

Was this in a box on your front porch, Caroline

1 1

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · 22d

I read it last year, felt the same. Beyond the eerie resonance, it's a very good novel.

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · 22d

Legends means we're old, doesn't it.

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 31

Field Companion for Wandering; lots of Etel Adnan; Puddles; Like a Sky Inside; Notes on Nothing; Lynne Tillman; My Heart Has So Many Flaws; Short Talks; and lots of stuff from World Poetry and Winter Editions, among others.

1 1

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 29

Two of the best booksellers to do it visited @pointreyesbooks.bsky.social today. I've learned a lot from (and drank a lot with) Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay and even more from Paul Yamazaki of City Lights.

Two legendary booksellers--Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay Book Company and Paul Yamazaki of City Lights--stand in Point Reyes Books.

2 1 32

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 25

Currently reading: @peterbrannen.bsky.social 's very good new book, The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything.

An advance reading copy of Peter Brannen's The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything sitting in a windowsill with redwoods in the background

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 22

I found Adam Nicholson's How to Be a nice addition to this canon.

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 20

Let's talk!

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 4

This is a breathtaking and heartbreaking poem by @joriegraham.bsky.social

When the End Starts | Jorie Graham

all of us are shopping.Our lists are made out carefully.Don’t forget anything a voice calls out.Remember what I asked you for. Do I know her.She is oddly

www.nybooks.com

2 1 7

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Aug 3

Reading lately:

Six books laid out on a carpet: The Book of Disappearance; Strata; Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless; The Earth is Falling; Silence of the Gods; and The Kingdom of This World

1 1 25

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 19

Closing in on 2,000 copies sold of that edition of John Fowles' Tree. So happy to see it going and going at @pointreyesbooks.bsky.social.

3 2

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 15

Was led to that and the Antimemetics book above it by the New Yorker article. www.newyorker.com/books/under-...

Why Good Ideas Die Quietly and Bad Ideas Go Viral

A new book, “Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading,” argues that notions get taken up not because of their virtue but because of their catchiness.

www.newyorker.com

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 15

Rob's right: this is a sharp and thoughtful book. I'm excited to talk with Ben about it when he visits Point Reyes on August 9. ptreyesbooks.com/event/2025-0...

1 10

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 14

Reading lately, w/ @dorothyproject.bsky.social, @joannapocock.bsky.social, @adambecker.bsky.social, and others.

A stack of books including More Everything Forever, North to the Future, Nova Scotia House, Greyhound, There is no Antmemetics Division, Antimemetics, and The Endless Week

4 2 21

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 12

It's a great novel. I have read and liked the Wolf Hall trilogy, but possibly enjoyed Place of Greater Safety more.

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 11

If you're going to Connemara, read Tim Robinson's books on the region. They provide such depth and insight (and will give you a clue as to where to find Wittgenstein's cottage).

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 11

I spent last August reading Hilary Mantel's Place of Greater Safety and it really scratched that big book itch.

2 3

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 11

Excited to read it. Our sales rep is sending an ARC, so I should have it soon!

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 11

Oh, this looks great. Adding to my fall order for @pointreyesbooks.bsky.social immediately.

1 1

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 8

Looks great, I can't wait to have them on the shelf at @pointreyesbooks.bsky.social. (And at home.)

1 1

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 7

Brian Carter's Black Fox Running

Stephen Sparks @ssparks.bsky.social · Jul 2

"The libertarian withdrawal from democratic life is often imagined as a quest for freedom. In fact, it is a search for its opposite — control — which at the societal scale is tyranny."

Private Worlds

Today's billionaires and technofascists threaten to rob the American people of things we are supposed to hold in common.

placesjournal.org

1 6

Reposted by Stephen Sparks

Janessa Goldbeck @janessagoldbeck.bsky.social · Jun 16

🚨 There’s a lot of horrific news out of Washington right now—but you might have missed this: Senate Republicans just introduced a plan to sell off 120 million acres of our public lands.

Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵

230 4.8K 7.9K