Slow times in the accessions department of late—the institution is working on a number of large projects which are constraining budgets both fiduciary and temporal—but here’s a handful of new acquisitions.

Frankfurt’s On Bullshit. One might argue that the time to acquire this book was immediately after its publication; certainly, the years since have only provided more material relevant to the topic. But perhaps this slim volume might serve as a paddle substitute while we navigate this particular torrential creek?

Carrington’s Complete Stories. The institute is very fond of Leonora Carrington’s paintings, and figured the stories might be equally of interest. (On the basis of the first quarter of the book, it would appear not, but we’ll keep at it.)

Barton’s Don’t Get A Job, &c. After immediate review upon arrival, this was a sorely misjudged accession: aimed at a readership younger and less cynical than that to be found at the institution, and redolent of a frankly exhausting you-can-do-it socnet positivity, turning to this book for constructive business advice is perhaps as wise as turning to an accounting textbook for artistic inspiration. Your mileage may vary considerably, of course.

Strahan’s Communication Breakdown. MIT Press’s short sf annual is back again, sent to the institution for review, just like last year’s.

Boyd’s Origin of Stories. An obvious accession for the institution, to the extent that it’s baffling that there isn’t already a copy on file.

---

Apologies, regular readers, for the recent shortfall in posts here—and for the concomitant cliche of saying that Big Things are in the pipeline, and are keeping me very busy. Come the turn of the year, I’ll be full-time freelance… and this time round, I’m going at it all guns ablaze.

Which means a lot of different things, but this might be the most pertinent: if you’ve ever thought “this guy should start some sort of newsletter or subscription-based writing set-up”, then you’ll pretty soon be getting an invitation to put your money where your mouth (or mind) is.

Because I want to do this properly, and to do it My Way, making the plans and setting it all up properly is taking some time. Things should kick off when the calendar rolls over to 2024. In the meantime, keep ’em peeled for further announcements, eh?