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Distracted Magpie

@magpiepages.bsky.social

230 followers 490 following 450 posts

Bookish sort of fellow. Big into SFFH. Reviews for @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social. Trying to write short fictions. AuDHD. I will forget this account exists at some point. he/they Other stuff: https://bio.link/distractedmagpie

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Jan 1

Here we go, a new year, a new platform, a new reading list.

I aim to read for enjoyment; to try and avoid books I don't want to read blocking my flow; and reminding myself it's OK to skip a book if it's not bringing the joy.

#BookSky 🔵📚

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · 22h

Heading back into the horror genre, the next read was:

Futility
by Nuzo Onoh

A bloody good tale of revenge and its consequences, with wit and thought-provoking prose.

app.thestorygraph.com/books/880af9...

#booksky #horror #futility #nuzoonoh #africanhorror

Futility by Nuzo Onoh

Betrayed by the men in their lives, two women seethe with rage and bitterness. When a trickster s...

app.thestorygraph.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · 23h

Next this month was:

Fate's Bane
by C.L. Clark

A sapphic tragedy of a novella with subtle magic and a beautiful story (for you to cry over 😭)

app.thestorygraph.com/books/c57d3f...

#booksky #sff #wlw #sapphic #fantasy

Fate's Bane by C.L. Clark

Warring clans. Burning hearts. Deadly fate. The clans of the fens enjoy a tenuous peace, and it i...

app.thestorygraph.com

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · 12d

OCTOBER

I seem to be slowing down as the year goes on but next up has been...

The October Film Haunt
by Michael Wehunt

Deeply creepy and impenetrably weird. Horror film becomes real, perfect for the scary season.

app.thestorygraph.com/books/10906e...

#booksky #THEOCTOBERFILMHAUNTTHEFEARISREAL

The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt

Horror Movie meets the scope and emotion of Stephen King in this heart-pounding, magnetic tour de...

app.thestorygraph.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · 24d

Trying to catch up to my ARC list...

The Night Birds
by Christopher Golden (@cgolden.bsky.social)

Besieged aboard a rusting wreck in the Gulf of Mexico, by an ancient evil and acolytes, a small group try to survive amid a savage storm.

app.thestorygraph.com/books/13c3e8...

#booksky #horror

The Night Birds by Christopher Golden

The next gripping, atmospheric horror novel from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden, set i...

app.thestorygraph.com

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · 27d

SEPTEMBER READS

Coming out in October, as part of the Saga Doubles format was:

Red Star Hustle / Apprehension
by Sam J. Miller & Mary Robinette Kowal

Two stories in one book. Both are crime sci-fi that are snappy and engaging.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

#booksky #scifi #comingsoon

Red Star Hustle / Apprehension (Saga Doubles)

Two expertly crafted crime stories set in a far-future …

www.goodreads.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 5

Also in August, I read...

When Among Crows
by Veronica Roth

The first novella in her Curse Bearer series, featuring old world folklore, monsters and knights, and a quest in search of Baba Jaga.

app.thestorygraph.com/books/110b5f...

#booksky #wrapup #amreading

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

When Among Crows is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking ...

app.thestorygraph.com

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 3

Another example of the govt making no sense. It didn't escape notice the arrest was made the first day the OSA was officially active and the wording "incite violence" is in the OSA as something it wants to stop. So the gov wants to police the internet but WAIT NO NOT LIKE THAT

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 1

Had an official rejection, am I a writer now?

#authorsky #writersky #impostersyndrome

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 1

Have added a tbr tier system to my GR masterlist. The only entry in the top tier is a book that isn't releasing til 2027. Might have been a bit strict on the first pass through!

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 1

Currently making my way through an eARC of Red Star Hustle/Apprehension (it's a double book).

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Sep 1

It's a dangerous thing to find a good (long) SFFH recs list. My tbr has swelled by 34 this morning. I feel like I need some sort of priority system to tag them with. The tbr is getting dangerously close to equalling the 'read' list!

#booksky #tbr #bookrecs #sffh

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 29

DROUGHT.

The answer is DROUGHT.

Don't moan about a pitiful bit of rain interrupting your previous heat wave then turn around and ask why the trees are stressed. FFS.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Why are leaves on trees turning brown in summer? - BBC News

Forestry experts say leaves falling from trees is not down to an earlier change in seasons.

www.bbc.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 29

Rogues and Rebels Epic Book Giveaway #giveaway #win

kingsumo.com/g/1yp6yo1/ro...

Rogues and Rebels Epic Book Giveaway

Rogues and Rebels Epic Book Giveaway by The Fantasy Fiends Publishing Inc.. Hosted by KingSumo Giveaways

kingsumo.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 29

Not sure whether to be relieved or concerned that two days after this post the algo is now serving me - almost exclusively - "get your novel written!" courses and products.

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 27

I enjoy that I confuse the algorithms, as I get both period pants & erectile dysfunction ads, however... As I experience neither of these, I feel like it's all such a waste of effort.

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 28

If the meeting starts at 1500, don't dial in at 1458 and expect me to be there.

🤬

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 27

I enjoy that I confuse the algorithms, as I get both period pants & erectile dysfunction ads, however... As I experience neither of these, I feel like it's all such a waste of effort.

Reposted by Distracted Magpie

Humble @humblebundle.com · Aug 25

Fall for the series that inspired the Apple TV hit with the all-new Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries + More Bundle!

Supports ‪@wck.org | https://bit.ly/4lFLFFL

Martha Wells' Murderbot and More by TOR | Humble Bundle

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Reposted by Distracted Magpie

Tommy Wolf @theravening.bsky.social · Aug 26

A good bundle recommendation, books by @marthawells.com I have read the first one some time ago so now I'm a few pages into second Murderbot and already having a fun time again (ART) www.humblebundle.com/books/martha...

Humble Book Bundle: Martha Wells' Murderbot and More by TOR

Fall in love with Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries series—the engine behind the hit AppleTV adaptation—and help support World Central Kitchen.

www.humblebundle.com

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Reposted by Distracted Magpie

Grimdark Magazine @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social · Aug 22

There is a lot of subtlety in We are Always Tender with our Dead that is disguised beneath the violence, you have to be willing to be challenged and willing to think beyond your immediate reactions to get to it.

REVIEW: We Are Always Tender with Our Dead by Eric LaRocca

We are Always Tender with our Dead, is a cursed place that doesn't let go... you'll find yourself returning to Burnt Sparrow long after you've put down the book.

www.grimdarkmagazine.com

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Reposted by Distracted Magpie

Grimdark Magazine @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social · Aug 11

This is an immersive story that will swallow you whole and spit you out, back into cold harsh reality, when it’s done with you. It is the warm embrace of old friends, as daggers flash in the darkness just out of sight.

REVIEW: Of Empires and Dust by Ryan Cahill

Ryan Cahill, returns with the fourth novel, Of Empires and Dust, in his runaway success of a series, The Bound and the Broken.

www.grimdarkmagazine.com

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Reposted by Distracted Magpie

Grimdark Magazine @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social · Aug 12

At Dark, I Become Loathsome is the echoing refrain that creeps through Eric LaRocca’s latest novel like a vine seeking you out, intent to pull you down into the undergrowth.

REVIEW: At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca

At Dark, I Become Loathsome is the refrain that creeps through Eric LaRocca’s latest novel like a vine pulling you into the undergrowth.

www.grimdarkmagazine.com

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Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 23

Next up, a book club read &recent award winner:

The Tainted Cup
by Robert Jackson Bennett

A fantasy, murder-mystery set in a captivating world of leviathans & plant-based bio-engineering, this introduces the enigmatic Ana & anxious Din as a crime-solving duo.

app.thestorygraph.com/books/e1def2...

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murd...

app.thestorygraph.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 20

While you're eagerly awaiting the next installment of Alien: Earth, here's an article discussing the importance of Ripley as an action hero I wrote for @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social earlier this year.

Will Wendy become a new Ripley?

www.grimdarkmagazine.com/ellen-ripley...

#AlienEarth #Alien

Ellen Ripley, Action Hero

Now, more than 45 years later, Ripley remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the first female action heroes in Western cinema

www.grimdarkmagazine.com

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 19

If we all have to suffer under OSA, how many complaints would it take to get Ofcom to sanction the evil wizard-school hack for contravening the whole "spreading hatred" part?

P.s. who wants to organise en masse complaining?

Distracted Magpie @magpiepages.bsky.social · Aug 15

Finished the long rewatch of OG Criminal Minds and now started Evolution first watch. I am amused by and enjoying the increased level of swearing 😂 "wank-weasel" is a fave so far.

If they drop a C bomb, I will explode with joy.