@bookluvvr.bsky.social
100+ pages an hour, 5+ hours a day = an expensive book habit to feed! Maximalist fiction championed by Steven Moore to popular novels hated by Harold Bloom. Top 3 = Ulysses, Gravity's Rainbow, Infinite Jest.
After a (very) fallow year [by my standards] of barely 210 books so far, I've somehow got through 6 books in the last 6 days (2214 pages) so might be finally starting to read more regularly again. Although I'm back to my lazy ways today and barely 100 pages into my next book.
November 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
After a (very) fallow year [by my standards] of barely 210 books so far, I've somehow got through 6 books in the last 6 days (2214 pages) so might be finally starting to read more regularly again. Although I'm back to my lazy ways today and barely 100 pages into my next book.
Read Sharon Bolton's "The Token". As page-turningly gripping and enjoyably plotted as always! The 'controversial journalist and [Talk TV] show host' Peter Morgan, sounded suspiciously similar to Piers. My one quibble was with the (entertainingly written) 'thirty years earlier' flashback... 'Does 1/2
November 25, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Read Sharon Bolton's "The Token". As page-turningly gripping and enjoyably plotted as always! The 'controversial journalist and [Talk TV] show host' Peter Morgan, sounded suspiciously similar to Piers. My one quibble was with the (entertainingly written) 'thirty years earlier' flashback... 'Does 1/2
Read Terry Pratchett's "Raising Steam". While listening to @mappingthezone.bsky.social's "Vineland" season, a discussion of the Discworld novels prompted me to look at the list of them to try to decide which was my favourite. I promptly realized that for some reason I had never read this final 1/4
November 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Read Terry Pratchett's "Raising Steam". While listening to @mappingthezone.bsky.social's "Vineland" season, a discussion of the Discworld novels prompted me to look at the list of them to try to decide which was my favourite. I promptly realized that for some reason I had never read this final 1/4
Read Reese Witherspoon & @harlancoben.bsky.social's "Gone Before Goodbye". As compellingly page-turning as always, with the breakneck speed masking any implausibilities. After innumerable twists on the missing person dead/not dead scenarios, he is still not predictable. Reached the end without 1/4
November 23, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Read Reese Witherspoon & @harlancoben.bsky.social's "Gone Before Goodbye". As compellingly page-turning as always, with the breakneck speed masking any implausibilities. After innumerable twists on the missing person dead/not dead scenarios, he is still not predictable. Reached the end without 1/4
Read Craig Brown's "Ma'am Darling". Finally got around to this after hearing it so warmly recommended during @iammilliam.bsky.social's appearance on an old episode of @notrollergirl.bsky.social's "You're Booked" podcast - and is very very glad I did. For some reason when it came out, I must have 1/6
November 22, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Read Craig Brown's "Ma'am Darling". Finally got around to this after hearing it so warmly recommended during @iammilliam.bsky.social's appearance on an old episode of @notrollergirl.bsky.social's "You're Booked" podcast - and is very very glad I did. For some reason when it came out, I must have 1/6
Read @ruthwarewriter.bsky.social's "The Woman in Suite 11". This slipped down very easily. It was nice to re-meet some characters from the earlier book (even if in my case it was only from 4 months ago rather than 9 years!) Immediately zeroed in on the same out of place word that tipped off Lo 1/3
November 21, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Read @ruthwarewriter.bsky.social's "The Woman in Suite 11". This slipped down very easily. It was nice to re-meet some characters from the earlier book (even if in my case it was only from 4 months ago rather than 9 years!) Immediately zeroed in on the same out of place word that tipped off Lo 1/3
Read @lissakevans.bsky.social's "Small Bomb at Dimperley". Read this as slowly as I could to savour it, as after enjoying the previous four novels over the past year I knew I would soon have no new ones left. Loved the evocative nature of the period language and references - pi-jaw, halma, 1/5
November 21, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Read @lissakevans.bsky.social's "Small Bomb at Dimperley". Read this as slowly as I could to savour it, as after enjoying the previous four novels over the past year I knew I would soon have no new ones left. Loved the evocative nature of the period language and references - pi-jaw, halma, 1/5
@lissakevans.bsky.social's "Small Bomb at Dimperley" opens with Prosser's 'Companion to Buckinghamshire' mentioning 'a trio of carved wyvern'. Knows that a fictional 1908 book could absolutely phrase it like this, but that doesn't stop my brain screaming at me that it should be wyvernS! Will 1/2
November 20, 2025 at 9:57 AM
@lissakevans.bsky.social's "Small Bomb at Dimperley" opens with Prosser's 'Companion to Buckinghamshire' mentioning 'a trio of carved wyvern'. Knows that a fictional 1908 book could absolutely phrase it like this, but that doesn't stop my brain screaming at me that it should be wyvernS! Will 1/2
Re-read @ianrankin1.bsky.social's "Fleshmarket Close". Thought that this tale of 'refugees and asylum-seekers, the economic migrants. The mistrust and resentment they brought with them, the way tribes feared anything new, anything form outside the camp's tight confines'. would be particularly 1/5
November 20, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Re-read @ianrankin1.bsky.social's "Fleshmarket Close". Thought that this tale of 'refugees and asylum-seekers, the economic migrants. The mistrust and resentment they brought with them, the way tribes feared anything new, anything form outside the camp's tight confines'. would be particularly 1/5
Read Thomas Peermohamed Lambert's "Shibboleth". That was one of the funniest books I have read in quite a while (and funny because it's true!) Had put off reading it for about 6 months because despite being a lover of campus novels, I wasn't convinced that I'd like this hyper-modern spin on 1/3
November 19, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Read Thomas Peermohamed Lambert's "Shibboleth". That was one of the funniest books I have read in quite a while (and funny because it's true!) Had put off reading it for about 6 months because despite being a lover of campus novels, I wasn't convinced that I'd like this hyper-modern spin on 1/3
Read Stephen Greenblatt's "Dark Renaissance". Has been a fan of Greenblatt's writing, New Historicism, literary biographies and most importantly Kit Marlowe since the first year of my English Lit degree, so this was a delight. Understandably it was 'conspicuously marked by words like perhaps and 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Read Stephen Greenblatt's "Dark Renaissance". Has been a fan of Greenblatt's writing, New Historicism, literary biographies and most importantly Kit Marlowe since the first year of my English Lit degree, so this was a delight. Understandably it was 'conspicuously marked by words like perhaps and 1/2
Read Robert Shea/Robert Anton Wilson's "The Golden Apple". Did not enjoy this as much as the first volume (although obviously I did like it enough to finish it). It had fewer memorable set pieces, paranoid conspiracy theories or phrases. (Did like 'the cab crawled along fast enough to possibly 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Read Robert Shea/Robert Anton Wilson's "The Golden Apple". Did not enjoy this as much as the first volume (although obviously I did like it enough to finish it). It had fewer memorable set pieces, paranoid conspiracy theories or phrases. (Did like 'the cab crawled along fast enough to possibly 1/2
Read Lee & Andrew Child's "Exit Strategy". A quick read, and the early multiple fight scenes were very well done. I agree with some of the reviewers that the second plot half was unnecessarily convoluted, and some of the expositional conversations felt forced. Reacher seemed a little more kill 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Read Lee & Andrew Child's "Exit Strategy". A quick read, and the early multiple fight scenes were very well done. I agree with some of the reviewers that the second plot half was unnecessarily convoluted, and some of the expositional conversations felt forced. Reacher seemed a little more kill 1/2
Reading this review of John 'penis with a thesaurus'/'malfunctioning sex robot attempting to administer cunnilingus to his typewriter' Updike's Letters (which I probably won't read), reminds me that I really do want to read "Couples".
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
John Updike: A Life in Letters review – the man incapable of writing a bad sentence
Friends, enemies and lovers animate more than 60 years of the author’s remarkable correspondence
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Reading this review of John 'penis with a thesaurus'/'malfunctioning sex robot attempting to administer cunnilingus to his typewriter' Updike's Letters (which I probably won't read), reminds me that I really do want to read "Couples".
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
After trying the first book shortly after it came out and deciding after an appropriate number of pages that it wasn't for me, this episode has done what 10 years of people telling me I was wrong hasn't - made me want to go back and attempt it again.
New episode up now. Transit by Rachel Cusk, and the Outline trilogy as a whole, discussed by Andy, Una and Nicky. @iammilliam.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @birchos.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/1c43...
Transit and the Outline Trilogy by Rachel Cusk
open.spotify.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
After trying the first book shortly after it came out and deciding after an appropriate number of pages that it wasn't for me, this episode has done what 10 years of people telling me I was wrong hasn't - made me want to go back and attempt it again.
Read Robert Rankin's "Normanghast". That was a very pleasurable trip down memory lane. I gobbled down all his books chronologically in 2007-8, then read each of the new ones as they came out right up to this one which I'm getting to 2 years late. This was a welcome revisit to all the Brentford 1/3
November 14, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Read Robert Rankin's "Normanghast". That was a very pleasurable trip down memory lane. I gobbled down all his books chronologically in 2007-8, then read each of the new ones as they came out right up to this one which I'm getting to 2 years late. This was a welcome revisit to all the Brentford 1/3
Read @chrischibnall.bsky.social's "Death At The White Hart". Finally got around to this after picking it up based on his excellent @backlisted.bsky.social appearance discussing Ishiguro's "The Unconsoled" in April. A gripping detective tale full of well fleshed out convincing characters. The 1/2
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Read @chrischibnall.bsky.social's "Death At The White Hart". Finally got around to this after picking it up based on his excellent @backlisted.bsky.social appearance discussing Ishiguro's "The Unconsoled" in April. A gripping detective tale full of well fleshed out convincing characters. The 1/2
Read Ian McEwan's "What We Can Know". As a devourer of Richard Holmes' literary biographies, campus novels, climate fiction, discussions of the history/future of the humanities and the novels of Ian McEwan (!) this was tailor made for me. Enjoyed lots of things about it, including but not 1/3
November 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Read Ian McEwan's "What We Can Know". As a devourer of Richard Holmes' literary biographies, campus novels, climate fiction, discussions of the history/future of the humanities and the novels of Ian McEwan (!) this was tailor made for me. Enjoyed lots of things about it, including but not 1/3
Near the beginning of @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Men in Love", Renton tells us in Amsterdam 'Ah've never paid for sex', which is odd because in "Trainspotting" he was forced to leave Aberdeen University 'mid-way through the first year after blowing his grant money on drugs and prostitutes.' 1/2
November 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Near the beginning of @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Men in Love", Renton tells us in Amsterdam 'Ah've never paid for sex', which is odd because in "Trainspotting" he was forced to leave Aberdeen University 'mid-way through the first year after blowing his grant money on drugs and prostitutes.' 1/2
Read Muriel Spark's "A Far Cry From Kensington". That was very funny! The sly asides and witty comments by the narrator were delightful (although the author certainly did not intend my internal sophomoric snigger at phrases like 'Abigail showed me her Box'!) The humor made the nastiness and 1/2
November 10, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Read Muriel Spark's "A Far Cry From Kensington". That was very funny! The sly asides and witty comments by the narrator were delightful (although the author certainly did not intend my internal sophomoric snigger at phrases like 'Abigail showed me her Box'!) The humor made the nastiness and 1/2
Read @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Trainspotting". Watched the film on its November 1997 Channel 4 premiere, and again in January 2017 before going to see "T2 Trainspotting", but had never read the novel. Suspects the non-standard spellings/Scottish dialect on the first page had always put me off. 1/4
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Read @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Trainspotting". Watched the film on its November 1997 Channel 4 premiere, and again in January 2017 before going to see "T2 Trainspotting", but had never read the novel. Suspects the non-standard spellings/Scottish dialect on the first page had always put me off. 1/4
Re-read Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights". Goodness me is good... Constantly found myself wondering why I read so many contemporary crime novels when I could be reading classics like this. Would love to spend a whole year reading nothing but Victorian fiction. This time around I was very aware 1/3
November 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Re-read Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights". Goodness me is good... Constantly found myself wondering why I read so many contemporary crime novels when I could be reading classics like this. Would love to spend a whole year reading nothing but Victorian fiction. This time around I was very aware 1/3
Listened to Thomas Pynchon's "Vineland". Unlike "Mason & Dixon", this audiobook was very easy to follow. The voices, songs (and Reagan impersonation) were all great. Definitely feels I have a hand on this one now, although still needs to listen to the final episode of the Slow Learners Podcast.
November 8, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Listened to Thomas Pynchon's "Vineland". Unlike "Mason & Dixon", this audiobook was very easy to follow. The voices, songs (and Reagan impersonation) were all great. Definitely feels I have a hand on this one now, although still needs to listen to the final episode of the Slow Learners Podcast.
Read Jack Daniels' "Running Formula". This was a lot to take in over a short time, but the explanations for things like the reasons behind each type of sessions were extremely helpful. The description of stroke volume finally made it clear to me how exercise lowers resting heart rate. Initially 1/2
November 5, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Read Jack Daniels' "Running Formula". This was a lot to take in over a short time, but the explanations for things like the reasons behind each type of sessions were extremely helpful. The description of stroke volume finally made it clear to me how exercise lowers resting heart rate. Initially 1/2
Read Benedict Jacka's "A Judgement of Powers". Had been in a brief reading slump, but this unputdownable read-in-one-sitting book pulled me out of it. Had wondered whether I ought to re-read the two previous books in the sequence prior to the release date. Events for the characters follow on 1/3
November 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Read Benedict Jacka's "A Judgement of Powers". Had been in a brief reading slump, but this unputdownable read-in-one-sitting book pulled me out of it. Had wondered whether I ought to re-read the two previous books in the sequence prior to the release date. Events for the characters follow on 1/3