DK Mok

The cover of a fantasy novel titled The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells. An epic fantasy illustration of a winged figure flying across a luminous, golden sky, over an expanse of rocky wilderness.

Enjoyed listening to The Cloud Roads by @marthawells.com, narrated by Chris Kipiniak. Filled with ancient lore, vanished civilisations, wondrous cities, and vivid, complex cultures, it reminded me of why I love fantasy worlds. Plus cool characters and sky islands!

💙📚🎧 #BookSky #Fantasy

ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 winners The winning images in the world's biggest space photography competition have been revealed

Cool images from the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Highlights include a smoky nebula, streaking comet, ethereal auroras, and an intense close up of the sun.

📷 #Space #Astronomy #Photography

A new life for empty offices: Growing kale and cucumbers In some cities, as many as one in four office spaces are vacant. Some start-ups are giving them a second life – as indoor farms growing crops as varied as kale, cucumber and herbs.

Interesting article about converting vacant offices into indoor farms. Apparently, office-to-farm conversions can be easier than office-to-housing ones. Plenty of challenges, but I like the idea of hyper-local micro-farms with minimal food miles.

#Sustainability #FoodSecurity #UrbanFarms

a minion from the movie despicable me is standing on a wooden floor with a red light on its head . ALT: a minion from the movie despicable me is standing on a wooden floor with a red light on its head .

Aurealis Awards entries close on November 30, 2025 - this is by necessity a couple of weeks earlier than in past years to facilitate our exciting Awards Ceremony at GenreCon on the weekend of 20-22nd February!

#AurealisAwards

Bonus points for featuring a book-loving ghost, a punny bookshelf, and sparkly, autumnal spot glitter on the cover. 2/2

The cover of a children’s picture book titled Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis. A sweet illustration of a cute, rounded ghost sitting on a park bench next to two carved, Halloween pumpkins. The ghost is glancing with nervous hope at a girl sitting further down the bench. The girl has dark, curly hair and is smiling warmly back at the little ghost. Sparkly autumn leaves surround the park bench.

Recently read Little Ghost Makes a Friend by @maggiemadethis.bsky.social. This adorable Halloween story about making friends and finding the confidence to be yourself reads like a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. I loved the cute character designs. 1/2

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit #Halloween

Printing presses kept their letters in cases.

Capital letters went in the upper case.
Smaller letters went in the lower case.

This is why we say ‘UPPER CASE’ and ‘lower case.’

Ok, but what did we call them before the invention of the printing press?

MAJUSCULE and minuscule.

The cover of a children’s picture book titled Naming Ceremony, written by Seina Wedlick, illustrated by Jenin Mohammed. A vibrant illustration of a smiling girl with short, black hair cradling a happy baby. They're dressed in matching blue and yellow party outfits. In the background, their parents are busy with pink and purple balloons, banners, plates and presents.

Recently read Naming Ceremony by Seina Wedlick and Jenin Mohammed. A delightful picture book about the ways in which children’s names are gifts – “A blessing, a wish, a story” – from loved ones. A joyful and heartwarming celebration of this West African tradition.

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit #DiverseBooks

Winners: 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year awards - Australian Geographic The winning images of the 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year awards have been announced.

The winners of the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year awards have been announced! Highlights include a starry aurora over Loinnekumme Country in Tasmania, a paper nautilus riding on a jellyfish, and a striking portfolio of cephalopod portraits.

📷 #Photography #Wildlife #Nature

EARLY ENTRY REMINDER: Aurealis Awards Five days left to access early entry fee pricing!All works published January to September 2025 must be entered by 30 September to be eligible for the regular entry fee.The fee increase applies to t…

The first deadline for the year is fast approaching - just five days left to access early entry fee pricing for long form works, including novels, graphic novels, anthologies and collections.

#AurealisAwards

aurealisawards.org/2025/09/25/e...

I love the idea of abandoned mines being transformed into compressed air energy storage and gravity batteries. I’ve been reading about these ideas for so long, they felt like distant solarpunk visions. Construction at Broken Hill is starting this year.

#NetZero #RenewableEnergy

Green light for nation's first underground compressed air energy plant An old mine in Broken Hill will be re-purposed by Canadian company Hydrostor as an "innovative" renewable energy storage and generation project tipped to create hundreds of local construction jobs.

Broken Hill is getting a compressed air energy storage facility! I’d only heard about these in theory, so it’s exciting to see one being planned for NSW. It’ll be repurposing an old mining site, providing more energy security and an economic boost to the regional city.

#Sustainability #CleanEnergy

Victoria's newest bookstore opens in century-old water tower A new bookshop in a Wodonga water tower is the latest unique heritage building being transformed in Victoria.

Great article about second-hand bookshops finding homes in repurposed water towers, schools, churches and hotels. I love how these bookshops have so much character. The Book Tower in Wodonga is a cool and creative use of the space.

📚 #Books #Bookshops #SecondHand

The highly commended images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year An inquisitive pack of wolves and a stand-off between two dangerous animals are among the highly commended images in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year commended images have been announced! Emperor penguins on a precipice, a tiny grove of slime moulds, Pacific sea nettles in cordial-green waters, and a heartaching portrait of a three-toed sloth.

📷 #Photography #Wildlife #Conservation

I liked the easy-to-understand science, the conservation themes, the signal boosting for environmental non-profits, and all the hatchlings, nestlings, nymphs, fingerlings, spiderlings, joeys and puggles. And, of course, the Pobblebonk.

The cover of a children’s picture book titled Australia’s Baby Animals by Jess Racklyeft. Sweet watercolour illustrations of juvenile and adult animals including kangaroos, koalas, wombats, gliders, clownfish, gang gang cockatoos, a blue banded bee and forest dragon.

Enjoyed reading Australia’s Baby Animals by Jess Racklyeft. It’s as adorable as it sounds. Sweet watercolour illustrations and interesting info. Highlights include the Tasmanian pademelon, tawny frogmouth, gang-gang cockatoo, red handfish, and all the frogs.

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit #Nature

The cover of a children’s picture book titled My Bright Shining Star by Fatima Whitbread, illustrated by Rhian Wright. A cosy illustration of an overgrown garden and a smiling girl with curly black hair pointing up towards a bright, golden star in the evening sky. She is sitting under a colourful, patchwork blanket, in the arms of a smiling woman wearing glasses and dangly star earrings.

Recently read My Bright Shining Star by Fatima Whitbread and Rhian Wright. A thoughtful, moving book about a girl living in a children’s home and the powerful, lifelong impact a kind and empathetic carer can have. Gentle and uplifting with vivid, joyful illustrations.

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit

Sustainable cardboard homes may provide post-disaster accommodation Engineers hope easy-to-erect, sustainable cardboard homes may provide the answer to crisis accommodation after floods and bushfires.

Researchers are working to design “cardboard houses” that could provide low cost, temporary housing after natural disasters. The homes can be made with plantation waste, and they could be sourced and built locally with minimal tools.

#CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Housing

'Digital minimalists' are weaning themselves from apps, but that's not easy You've had a break from social media over the holidays, but what about a more permanent reset of your relationship with your devices? These digital minimalists did just that.

A nice article on digital minimalism. It’s not about disconnecting from the online world, but being more mindful and intentional about how you spend your time. Less doomscrolling, ragescrolling and rabbit holes. Less passive consumption. More time with friends and family. More real-world activities.

Sandhya Parappukkaran and Michelle Pereira are also the team behind The Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name, another wonderful book about a child learning to reconcile and embrace their cultural identities. 2/2

#DiverseBooks

The cover of a children’s picture book titled Words That Taste Like Home, from award-winning creators Sandhya Parappukkaran and Michelle Pereira. A magical illustration of a boy embracing his grandmother beneath a fruiting mango tree. The background behind the boy depicts geometric high-rise buildings. The background behind his grandmother depicts a Malayali-style town.

Recently read Words That Taste Like Home by Sandhya Parappukkaran. A beautiful picture book about an immigrant boy struggling to stay connected to the world he left behind. Michelle Pereira’s illustrations are enchanting, full of rich colours and soft textures. Heartfelt. 1/2

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit

World's biggest battery maker flags first commercial sodium battery packs by end of year CATL says lower cost, safer and more efficient sodium-ion batteries will be in mass production in 2025.

I remember reading about sodium ion batteries years ago and thinking they sounded cool, but probably wouldn’t ever happen.

They’re happening.

They’re potentially less environmentally damaging to manufacture than Li-ion batteries and less likely to catch fire.

#EV #NetZero #CircularEconomy

The illustrated cover of a children’s picture book titled Beneath, by Cori Doerrfeld, New York Times bestselling creator. A child cloaked in a colourful blanket tramps through a lush, leafy forest. Their gaze is directed towards the ground in an expression of gentle curiosity and wonder.

Recently read “Beneath”, another beautifully thoughtful picture book by Cori Doerrfeld. Full of tenderness and wonder, it’s a story about looking beyond the surface, understanding the world we can’t see, and having greater empathy for others as a part of our own healing.

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy - Reactor Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover… Novelette | 7,540 words They were still three hours out when Perihelion...

If you missed it, there's a new Murderbot short story at: reactormag.com/rapport-mart...

Subscribe to Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

So apparently, if I don't keep encouraging people to subscribe to Clarkesworld, they don't.

clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/

All new subscriptions go towards increasing staff pay. They deserve it, so I can't be silent.

'She didn't want to leave': Program to help people using libraries as safe spaces A Perth library trials a social worker program after noticing an increase in people using libraries as a safe space.

A fantastic pilot project to have permanent social workers at libraries. I love that this makes these vital services more accessible and friendly, with libraries being a safe space for many people. It’s also great that this program partners with social work students.

#Libraries #SocialWork

DeadlyScience

Author Corey Tutt OAM is a Kamilaroi man and founder of DeadlyScience, a not-for-profit that supports remote schools and encourages young First Nations People to participate in STEM subjects. In Deadly Reptiles, Corey also talks about the important work of Language revitalisation. 4/4

One of my favourite things about this book is the maps, including the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia. Deadly Reptiles is sorted into sections by nation and language groups, with pronunciation guides, and the regions are marked on a map. 3/4

Deadly Reptiles also discusses the conservation status of many of these animals and highlights the impacts of climate change, extreme weather, plastic pollution, the illegal wildlife trade, invasive species, and human activity. 2/4

The cover of a children’s non-fiction book titled Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, by Corey Tutt, art by Ben Williams. From the author of The First Scientists. Painted illustrations of a jalbil – Boyd’s forest dragon, and goodawoodany – northern shovel-nosed snake, surround a yellow circle symmetrically patterned with dots, lines and organic shapes.

Recently read “Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles” by Corey Tutt and Ben Williams. It’s packed with info about Australian reptiles, their First Nations names, cultural significance and ecological roles. The conversational style is engaging, the glossary is great. 1/4

💙📚👍🏼 #BookSky #KidLit