Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Chris Fosten

Dr Rebecca Warren @drrjwarren.bsky.social · 1d

This - in spades.

Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 1d

Nationalism is a shibboleth. The challenges we face are daunting. But we are not going to overcome them by hunkering down behind of imaginary lines scrawled on a map by medieval warlords. Our problems are transnational, and the solutions are too.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 2d

New reads: starting some spookier reads for Halloween on a trip up to London with a lost classic and an enjoyable retelling of Beowulf. Both enjoyable in rather different ways.
#newread #theloststradivarius #jmeadefalkner #beowulfdragonslayer #rosemarysutcliff #spookyreads

A paperback book standing upright on a table in a train carriage. The book - "The Lost Stradivarius" by J. Meade Falkner - is back with an abstract orange pattern featuring the shape of a violin and things that could be seen as faces.

A paperback book - "Beowulf: Dragon Slayer" by Rosemary Sutcliff - the cover of which shows a warrior wearing a Saxon helmet. Behind him is a shoreline and a longship making its way across the water with a dragon flying overhead.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 5d

New read: having enjoyed the last book a little less than hoped because it cut a bit too close to the bone at the moment (racism in small towns/villages), I went for this interesting little one as a bit of a firebreak.
#newread #doctorwho #wearefallingthroughspace #jdavidreed

A yellow paperback book on a stripey rug. The book is "We're Falling Through Space: Doctor Who and celebrating the mundane" by J. David Reed, and the cover features a white mug covered in blue Police boxes at varying angles.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 10d

I had put a cheery little Lego set aside for a day that I found difficult. That day arrived recently - and now I have a couple of little desk buddies to keep me company. Feels like a win...
#selfcare #lego

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 10d

New read: facing some chillier weather with some cosy crime to start off with...
#newread #simonbrett #thefetheringmysteries #thekillingatthecafe #guiltatthegarage

Two paperback books on a bookshelf. One, "The Killing at the Cafe" by Simon Brett, has a white cover showing a china cup and saucer and a half-eaten biscuit next to some bullet casings and blood. The other, "Guilt at the Garage" by Simon Brett, is light green and shows car-related images around he title, as well as a fountain pen and a poison symbol.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 11d

(and there's a great Colin Firth cameo in it too)
#ryelane

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 11d

Finally got round to watching Rye Lane. I know, I'm a couple of years behind, but it's fantastic: funny, moving, charming and sharp, authentic in all the right ways and satisfying as they come.
It's under 90 minutes but it feels effortless and like it has all the time in the world.
#ryelane

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16d

New read: Another battered old Holmes Puffin Classics collection, but lovely to revisit some favourites through it.
#newread #theextraordinarycasesofsherlockholmes #sirarthurconandoyle #puffinclassics

The cover of a 1990s Puffin Classics edition of "The Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which shows a close up image of a deerstalker hat, a tobacco pipe and a magnifying glass on top of a newspaper.

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 19d

If you're going to post screenshots of things about particular politicians, fine: you do you.
But please at least have the decency to add alt text so those of us who have muted their names can be spared seeing it...

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 21d

New read: I have other full collections of the Holmes canon, but the old Puffin editions are still a really nice and satisfying way of revisiting some of the best known stories.
#newread #sherlockholmes #sirarthurconandoyle #thegreatadventuresofsherlockholmes #puffinbooks

The cover of a Puffin Classics edition of "The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which shows a man in a brown coat and deerstalker hat smoking a pipe, a grey haired man in grey tweed cap and coat with him, and in the foreground a dead body being discovered by a maid.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 22d

Absolutely endorse this suggestion - when I was studying it at uni I got hold of her reading to complement the paper version & it was superb.

Andrew Male @andrewmale.bsky.social · 22d

If you’d like to spend 11 hours in the company of Patricia Routledge #RIP may I suggest her peerless reading of Wuthering Heights. Because it’s such an ungovernable text everyone who reads it interprets it differently. Behold PT’s awe at Heathcliff, her disgust at Linton, her contempt for Cathy…

Pic of Patricia Routledge being used to inform people who ask that the recording is on Audible although why they can’t find out that information for themselves I really don’t know.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 22d

New read: I've put off reading this for too long, I think, especially given how much I enjoyed Storyland (and there's a third, even more interesting one still to read!)
#newread #wild #amyjeffs #earlymedievalbritain

The cover of "Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain" by Amy Jeffs, which features a wood engraving of a tree against the sky, the wood picked out in bronze.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 24d

I'd pre-ordered it and then managed to be away for a couple of days when it was delivered!

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 25d

New read: Always a good day when there's a new Thursday Murder Club to read. My only complaint is that it only took 2 days to read... Just the thing to get through a cold with!
#newread #theimpossiblefortune #richardosman #thursdaymurderclub #crimefiction

A hardback book, "The Impossible Fortune" by Richard Osman, which features an orange outline which features a small fox silhouetted above the title.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 25

New reads: with the recent news of Chrostopher H. Bidmead's passing, I revisited his most significant contributions to Who, which i am very fond of. Then, given the state of the world, stuck around for a little longer with Uncle Terrance.
#newread #doctorwho

The covers of two Doctor Who novelisations by Christopher H. Bidmead: "Logopolis" which shows the threatening face of the Master and a large satellite dish, and "Castrovalva" which shows the smiling face of the Fifth Doctor in front of a view of space with a number of very bright stars.

The covers of two Doctor Who novelisations by Terrance Dicks: "The Keeper of Traken" which shows a serious looking young woman in front of a statue with glowing red eyes, and "Meglos" which shows a bearded man holding a laser gun and the Fourth Doctor with skin like cactus.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 18

New read: Nipping back through time a few hundred years to visit St Erconwald's and the London of Sir John Cranston and Brother Athelstan.
#newread #thehouseofshadows #pauldoherty #thesorrowfulmysteriesofbrotherathelstan #crimefiction

The cover of "The House of Shadows" by Paul Doherty,a small green paperback with an illuminated letter H and an illustration of a knight in armour riding a horse.

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Reposted by Chris Fosten

Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · Sep 17

MY DOCTOR

Doctor Who Positivity (Tom) 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 @positivitywho.bsky.social · Sep 17

The Seventh Doctor being iconic

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 16

New read: I was reading something else, but this arrived in the post, so I dropped everything and enjoyed this - really lovely little adventure, beautifully realised.
#newread #whokillednessie #paulcornell #rachaelsmith
#zoop

A copy of the new comic "Who Killed Nessie?" by Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith on a colourfully-striped rug. The cover shows a group of mythical creatures and a human standing round the chalk outline of the Loch Ness Monster's body.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 11

New read: suckered in by the cover, the setting, and the lofty promise of the review on the back cover: "Pleasant and enjoyable." This turned out to be quite good fun.
#newread #buriedincornwall #janiebolitho #crimefiction

The cover of "Buried in Cornwall" by Janie Bolitho, which shows a copse of trees on the top of a frosty hillside at sunset.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 9

New read: the weather has turned (hooray!) and I was in the mood for a gentle return to non-holiday normal life. This very much fit the bill.
#winterholiday #arthurransome #swallowsandamazons #newread

The cover of a well-read 1980s copy of "Winter Holiday" by Arthur Ransome, which shows three children hauling a sledge up a snowy hill.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Sep 4

New read: I've had this copy of Betjeman's Cornwall for more than 30 years. It's yellowing, but otherwise doesn't show the multiple readings I've subjected it to. Revisiting it yet again as a way of pretending I'm still in North Cornwall.
#newread #betjemanscornwall #johnbetjeman #cornwall

The cover of "Betjeman's Cornwall" by John Betjeman, which shows a man in a suit and cap holding a walking stick looking out to sea with a beach and hillside in the background.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Aug 29

New read: a book I excitedly ordered immediately on discovery and then saved for holiday. Enjoying it now, between staring at either the sea or the heavy rain today!
#newread #bentonandhawthorneinvestigate #lucymccaul #candyjarbooks #doctorwho

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Aug 27

Now on holiday, and it isn't a proper break without a Christie...
#newread #agathachristie #themovingfinger #missmarple

The cover of an 80s paperback edition of "The Moving Finger" by Agatha Christie, showing a letter being written on a typewriter by a pair of hands wearing yellow gloves.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Aug 27

New read: returning to a favourite series for an easy, enjoyable read. #newread #simonbrett #thefetheringmysteries #thepoisoninginthepub #crimefiction

The cover of "The Poisoning in the Pub" by Simon Brett, featuring images of things associated with pubs: a pub sign, two horse brasses, a dartboard and a pint of beer, as well as a bottle of poison.

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · Aug 17

New read: enjoying going back over this great new series through the novel.
#newread #bookish #markgatiss #matthewsweet #crimefiction

The cover of "Bookish" by Matthew Sweet, which shows a bookcase, a revolver, a dagger and a man in suit and hat all made of paper.

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