The following is an edited version of an article that first appeared in OSV Quarterly: your definitive source for comprehensive updates on our verticals, exclusive editorial insights from Jim, thought-provoking articles from the team, and more. The first edition of the magazine launched on Wednesday, 18 October, and is available (for free) here.
Two Thoughts
2023 will mark the launch of Infinite Books. The flagship publication? Two Thoughts by our very own Jim O’Shaughnessy.
The tradition that is Two Thoughts began on the 28th of December, 2020, with a throwaway tweet by Jim that read as follows:
“Two thoughts from Buckminster Fuller:
‘There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.’
‘Don’t fight forces, use them.’”
Since then, Two Thoughts has become a daily institution.
What was once two thoughts has become two thousand: a compendium of wisdom, which will—at long last—realize its butterfly-status in book form.
Two Thoughts will take the reader through a selection of 365 of Jim’s favorite thinkers, coupled with some wise words from the man himself—such as his classic Twitter-thread-turned-essay The Thinker and the Prover.
White Mirror
Infinite Books has many more thoughts and thinkers in the pipeline, however. In July of 2023 we ran a short story contest entitled White Mirror, encouraging writers to submit their fictionalized (and idealized) visions of humanity’s future.
The winner was a writer who goes by the name of Tinkered Thinking.
As we speak, already armed with a cult following on Twitter and two collections of short stories to his name, Tinkered Thinking is working on his third. The title? You guessed it.
With White Mirror, which stands to be Infinite Books’ first foray into the world of storytelling, Tinkered Thinking promises to leave an indelible mark—an indelibly protopian mark— on the genre of science fiction. The future can’t come fast enough.
Box of Stars
Which brings us to Edward Rooster, a prolific yet meticulous author, who guested on Infinite Loops in March of this year. For over a year now, Ed has been studying the intersection of history and technology through a magical realism, publishing stories and chapters on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis via his Substack.
Now, under the aegis of Infinite Books, Ed is stitching together his chapters and fitting them along the spine of his first novel: Box of Stars. It’s a novel that not only reimagines the future, but the past and present—a perfect companion for White Mirror on the sci-fi section of your bookshelf.
Born To Fit Out
While Edward Rooster’s and Tinkered Thinking’s stories transport us to the stars, our next publication begins in the streets. Condemned as a child to poverty, gang violence, and homelessness, the odds of David Rhoiney making it to adulthood at times appeared slim. The odds of escaping poverty seemed slimmer still.
Twenty-five years later, David’s career defies belief. Now a qualified robotic surgeon, he has also excelled as a Division I athlete in basketball and sprinting, a U.S. Navy cryptologist, a financial educator, a public speaker, and a web designer and developer.
Penned by OSV team member Ed William, this biography is a story of ambition, sacrifice, intelligence, ruthlessness, resilience, hubris, loss, and, ultimately, hope.
For a preview of David’s story, check out his Infinite Loops appearance from last year.
You can check out the rest of the inaugural edition of OSV Quarterly here.
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