@Funktious@mastodon.scot
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Funktious

@Funktious@mastodon.scot

Former Midlander, Londoner, East Anglian; currently Glaswegian. Librarian, feminist, knitter, beginner potter-er and Remainer / Rejoiner. Member of the Guardian reading, tofu eating, wokerati. Unbalanced duck fanatic.

Mostly post about books, birds, cats, #Glasgow and Scotland.

Love boosting the many beautiful photos I see here, but only those with alt text.

Just my toots: https://justmytoots.com/@funktious@mastodon.scot

#Knitting #Reading #Books #Bookstodon #Glasgow #Cats #Gaming #Pottery

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

me, to fediverse
@me@mysmallinstance.homelinux.org avatar

I'm trying to convince the last friends I have left on Facebook, X, Threads, or BlueSky to join the Fediverse. Some have tried but felt a sense of loneliness. Nowadays, many people are so used to doing what algorithms suggest that they can no longer make independent choices.
My timeline here, on the other hand, is beautiful.
I see what I want, I follow people who post what I like, and no one tells me what I should do. Freedom may come with a "cost," but whatever it is, it's worth the effort. Always.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@me Yeah, lots of the people I knew from Twitter who joined Mastodon fell away from it quickly, saying they just didn't 'get it'. I think they're now all on BlueSky. I blame the latter years of Twitter where everyone just passively absorbed everything.

It took me a while to find my feet here but I did it by actively boosting, liking and replying to posts, finding and following hashtags, then people. And now I have a really nice feed and lots of interesting people and photos and conversations!

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@patrickhadfield @me I think a lot of people really loved the lively feed, the 'main character' of the day, the dunking, the news cycle comedy and I get that - I remember some really fun days when major political stuff happened (D Cameron and the pig for example…)

But I’m also happy to get away from that, tbh, it was exhausting yet oddly passive and bad for the blood pressure. Now I have book reccs and beautiful landscape photos and just daily life from across the world. Better for me mentally.

Funktious, to books
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

I've read several books in this genre over the past couple of years and what makes this one stand out is the tactility of it, which isn't surprising given the author is a ceramicist. I really enjoyed the focus on objects, and all the ways we imbue objects with meaning. And how stripping people of their belongings is also a way of stripping away their identities.

kimlockhartga, to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon I am on a graphic novel kick, continuing from last year. What are you reading this month, to kick off 2024?

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon I'm six books down already, because January is cold and wet and dark and what else is there to do but read?

All fiction so far, so just started The Hare With Amber Eyes for a change. I think I'm going to love it.

JimsPhotos, to nature
@JimsPhotos@ohai.social avatar

This is such a beautiful looking bird. Watching it today I understand why they are called wagtails (cos that's what they do, stand and wag their tails over and over). This one is a Grey Wagtail and is about 25% bigger than a Pied wagtail (my previous toot)

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@JimsPhotos I’m always so amused that these are called grey wagtails. I know there’s a yellower migrant, but could this one not be a YellowISH Wagtail? It’s such a cheery bird, it seems such a shame to call it Grey!

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

You know you're in a pub in the west end when they have Monty Don's Japanese Gardens on the big TV instead of the football...

JimsPhotos, (edited ) to nature
@JimsPhotos@ohai.social avatar

And to end today's flurry of bird photos we have the borb that is the Long-tailed tit posing side on for me in the woods today.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@JimsPhotos Lovely! I am trying to get better at spotting the small birds I hear all the time locally, so on today's lunchtime walk I spent like 5 minutes staring into a bush trying to pinpoint the loud bird I could hear and was so pleased when I focused in on a long tailed tit!

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

If it gets icy where you are and you're terrified of even the slightest slide, order yourself a pair of these right now. They really do give you a lot more grip, and therefore a lot more confidence.

https://www.tiso.com/eamgf8ti0046/yaktrax-walker-ice-grip-no-colour-tiso-yakt-1083725

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Back to work 😭

Have got my laptop open but still need to put my working space back together with monitor etc. For now I'm still on the sofa. I need to ease back in!

Solidarity with everyone else starting back today. Hope there's still some chocolate around to ease the pain.

Funktious, to books
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Lazy New Year's Day = first book read of 2024!

I've been looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It wasn't quite a five star read, but a solid four star bath read. Uplifting story, lovely characters, and of course, a fantastically snarky octopus who is the best part of the whole book; I loved him.

If only we all had smart, snarky octopi to solve our problems.

#books #bookstodon #BookReviews

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Thoroughly enjoyed this; had to top up the hot water in my bath last night just so I could finish it!

The memoir device is a really interesting way to tell what could have been a fairly rote fantasy story, and I really enjoyed the older narrators frustrated asides at her younger selves impetuousness.

Less dragons and more geopolitical intrigue than I expected, but I'll still pick up the next in this series.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

My first Erdrich and not my last! I think this will benefit from a reread to further engage with the depth of the story.

A good read for book lovers (there's a bibliography!) And features well drawn, loveable, diverse characters.

There's a very strong theme of identity throughout, and what makes an identity - a name? A uniform? A shared culture? Can you be a mum if you've never given birth? Can you be a good cop? Can you change your identity with your actions?

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Objectively a good book, but one I found difficult to enjoy.

A pandemic allows humans to understand animals. But not in a fluffy, Disney way - its all very visceral and dark and dirty.

I struggled with the lack of sympathetic characters and the gritty, coarseness of it all. Older female protagonist is good but she's difficult to like.

Ultimately does a good job of showing that for all our pretensions, we're just animals too.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

First 5 star read of the year. I absolutely love this book. I raced through it.

Its about stories and how important they are to our survival. About the unseen threads that hold us together. That the Internet, useful as it might be, does not hold much more than a fraction of our history. That the world, as it is, is enough if we decide it is.

It's such a hopeful book too, that acknowledges the danger we're in, but offers a different perspective.

Love love love.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Didn't love this one. Good story, but one dimensional characters and a bit too much melodrama.

Read The Room Of Lost Things instead - that is an excellent book, by the same author.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

I've read several books in this genre over the past couple of years and what makes this one stand out is the tactility of it, which isn't surprising given the author is a ceramicist. I really enjoyed the focus on objects, and all the ways we imbue objects with meaning. And how stripping people of their belongings is also a way of stripping away their identities.

(Reposted as forget to post to my 2024 thread, which I'm determined to keep going!)

podkaynelives, to PoE

2023 was the year I pushed myself back into reading again. I recommend all of these:

The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons.

Kaiju Preservation Society by John @scalzi. Thank you for my autographed edition of Starter Villain - it was the highlight of my Christmas presents and will be the first new book I read in 2024!

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation called Peace by Arkady Martine @ArkadyMartine

A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allen #Poe by Mark Dawidziak

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe

All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of The Night by Charlie Jane Anders @charliejane

The Sympathizer and The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Wager by David Grann

The first three books in The Expanse series (will start with the 4th in the New Year) by James S. A. Corey

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Got any suggestions for 2024 reading?

#books
#bookstodon
#2023
#AltText
#reading

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@podkaynelives good list! How about the Imperial Radch books by Ann Leckie?

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@podkaynelives you're welcome and I hope you enjoy! Also recommend Ursula Le Guin if you haven't tried her yet - The Left Hand of Darkness is fantastic and a good place to start.

thisismyglasgow, to glasgow
@thisismyglasgow@mastodon.scot avatar

Kelvin Way in Glasgow in today's unexpectedly heavy snow.

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@thisismyglasgow ooooh, lovely shot and perfectly timed too, given the very short life of this snowfall!

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

Can any , folks in the UK recommend a pair of compact binoculars? I’m considering these as my other pair are also RSPB and have been fine, but I really don’t know what else might be out there for a similar price https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars-scopes/birdwatching-binoculars/compact-binoculars/rspb-avocet-compact-8-x-25-binoculars.html

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

I’m wanting a pair to take out on my walks and get a better view of the local bird life, but whenever I take my current pair out I’m immediately accosted by well meaning middle aged men, eager to tell me that there’s a heron just around the corner. OF COURSE there is, it’s Glasgow; there’s probably 5 of them within a mile, it would be more surprising if there WASN'T a heron.

I know they mean well, but it’s tiring being treated like a brand new baby birdspotter. So, pocket bins it is!

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@NatureMC oh I know, I just want smaller ones so they won't be so obvious and these guys won't notice me and feel like "helping."

It's like they never consider the cascade effect of all of them doing this every time.

Funktious, to random
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

WOOHOO!

kimlockhartga, to books
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon This book release week in the U.S. is too abbreviated for a list.

So, I will turn things around and ask you all to tell us about a great book released in 2023 that you loved. ❤📚❤

(Or if you didn't read any 2023 releases, any one book you keep recommending to everyone!)

Funktious,
@Funktious@mastodon.scot avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon North Woods by Daniel Mason. Fantastic, sprawling novel featuring multiple generations / families that live in a house in the New England woods. A bit spooky, a bit magical, lots of nature and human nature, apples, history, and a big cat. Highly recommended!

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • JUstTest
  • mdbf
  • ngwrru68w68
  • modclub
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • InstantRegret
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • megavids
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tacticalgear
  • normalnudes
  • tester
  • osvaldo12
  • everett
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • anitta
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • cisconetworking
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •