Michelle Johnston
@eleytherius.bsky.social
Artisanal mess-creator, writer of novels, life-long student of bewilderment, doctor in the trenches. Carnie in a past life, probably. Has trouble writing bios.
Book 9/30 Woo Woo. Ella Baxter. I worship at the altar of a great opening sentence. It tells you everything: the swagger; the style; the entire story encapsulated in one brief string of words. Plus, Woo Woo is unhinged, wild, dark, light & shines that brilliance on our weird conceptions of art
November 26, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Book 9/30 Woo Woo. Ella Baxter. I worship at the altar of a great opening sentence. It tells you everything: the swagger; the style; the entire story encapsulated in one brief string of words. Plus, Woo Woo is unhinged, wild, dark, light & shines that brilliance on our weird conceptions of art
we've got 22 more to go ... ☺️
November 25, 2025 at 6:13 AM
we've got 22 more to go ... ☺️
Book 8/30 Nightingale. Laura Elvery. How rich. How enticing. How puzzling is this book. A story drifting between times & styles & narrative as though it's on a whimsical wind. Entering history through a side door, it's only PARTLY about the world's most famous nurse. It deserves all the accolades.
November 24, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Book 8/30 Nightingale. Laura Elvery. How rich. How enticing. How puzzling is this book. A story drifting between times & styles & narrative as though it's on a whimsical wind. Entering history through a side door, it's only PARTLY about the world's most famous nurse. It deserves all the accolades.
Book 7/30 The Peak. Sam Guthrie. I fell for this one. Ruthless, sneaky Australian politics, a global apocalyptic crisis, and that excellent thing, a STORY. Blade sharp writing with an insider's understanding of the fragile, geopolitical tectonic plates we muck around with. It really is a cracker.
November 24, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Book 7/30 The Peak. Sam Guthrie. I fell for this one. Ruthless, sneaky Australian politics, a global apocalyptic crisis, and that excellent thing, a STORY. Blade sharp writing with an insider's understanding of the fragile, geopolitical tectonic plates we muck around with. It really is a cracker.
Book 6/30. A Century of Poetry from The New Yorker. This book has made me stupidly, deliriously happy. 1000 pages of poetic glory. Every day, a number from 1-1000, chosen at random, letting the poem of the page speak. The advice I've got! I highly recommend this mode of living, pals.
November 23, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Book 6/30. A Century of Poetry from The New Yorker. This book has made me stupidly, deliriously happy. 1000 pages of poetic glory. Every day, a number from 1-1000, chosen at random, letting the poem of the page speak. The advice I've got! I highly recommend this mode of living, pals.
MAYBE I'M JUST PROVING I DIDN'T STEAL IT, MARTIN
November 23, 2025 at 5:11 AM
MAYBE I'M JUST PROVING I DIDN'T STEAL IT, MARTIN
Book 5/30. First Name Second Name, Steve MinOn. Another flight of glorious imaginative fancy - a peripatetic odyssey - reaching back through our peppered Australian past with the undead jianghsi as our wry guide. Superb. Deserving of all its awards and accolades.
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Book 5/30. First Name Second Name, Steve MinOn. Another flight of glorious imaginative fancy - a peripatetic odyssey - reaching back through our peppered Australian past with the undead jianghsi as our wry guide. Superb. Deserving of all its awards and accolades.
Book 4/30 The 31 Legs of Vladimir Putin. Oof - this wild flight of imaginative conceit, a barreling journey into comedic, absurd possibility. The ordinary juxtaposed with the powerful terror-wielders. 16 bewildered Putin lookalikes, around the world, on retainer. Glorious, mad, prescient.
November 21, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Book 4/30 The 31 Legs of Vladimir Putin. Oof - this wild flight of imaginative conceit, a barreling journey into comedic, absurd possibility. The ordinary juxtaposed with the powerful terror-wielders. 16 bewildered Putin lookalikes, around the world, on retainer. Glorious, mad, prescient.
Perfectly put!
November 21, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Perfectly put!
Book 3/30 The Safekeep. Van Der Wouden. It hardly makes me original, but this piece of magnificence, managing to both glance off the holocaust & be profoundly, close to unbearably erotic (who can DO that?) was near perfection. I want to shout it from all the rooftops. The Safekeep! The Safekeep!
November 20, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Book 3/30 The Safekeep. Van Der Wouden. It hardly makes me original, but this piece of magnificence, managing to both glance off the holocaust & be profoundly, close to unbearably erotic (who can DO that?) was near perfection. I want to shout it from all the rooftops. The Safekeep! The Safekeep!
Fabulous news!
November 12, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Fabulous news!
💕but there are also the:
Right there, thank you very much
And
Drop and roll (good Aussie first aid kid)
Right there, thank you very much
And
Drop and roll (good Aussie first aid kid)
November 1, 2025 at 11:37 AM
💕but there are also the:
Right there, thank you very much
And
Drop and roll (good Aussie first aid kid)
Right there, thank you very much
And
Drop and roll (good Aussie first aid kid)
big smoochy hug.
August 5, 2025 at 8:20 AM
big smoochy hug.
so fabulous, so wonderful.
July 24, 2025 at 11:53 AM
so fabulous, so wonderful.
you are an exceptional writer, though, so I'd pay (double win)
July 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
you are an exceptional writer, though, so I'd pay (double win)