Stephen Dilley
@stephenjdilley.bsky.social
English teacher & HoD, bookworm, UKLA Book Awards team, Just Imagine reviewer, primary school governor and very amateur musician.
All views my own.
All views my own.
220. Floating Home: Lessons From a Life Less Ordinary by Adam Lind
A lovely, uplifting read in full of wisdom the author has gathered through his life on a narrowboat.
A lovely, uplifting read in full of wisdom the author has gathered through his life on a narrowboat.
November 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
220. Floating Home: Lessons From a Life Less Ordinary by Adam Lind
A lovely, uplifting read in full of wisdom the author has gathered through his life on a narrowboat.
A lovely, uplifting read in full of wisdom the author has gathered through his life on a narrowboat.
219. Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance by Joe Dunthorne
An extraordinary memoir and family history in which the author investigates his Jewish great-grandfather's work developing chemical weapons in Nazi Germany and then in Turkey. One of my favourite reads of 2025.
An extraordinary memoir and family history in which the author investigates his Jewish great-grandfather's work developing chemical weapons in Nazi Germany and then in Turkey. One of my favourite reads of 2025.
November 8, 2025 at 8:57 PM
219. Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance by Joe Dunthorne
An extraordinary memoir and family history in which the author investigates his Jewish great-grandfather's work developing chemical weapons in Nazi Germany and then in Turkey. One of my favourite reads of 2025.
An extraordinary memoir and family history in which the author investigates his Jewish great-grandfather's work developing chemical weapons in Nazi Germany and then in Turkey. One of my favourite reads of 2025.
218. Reek by @alastairc.com
Terrific dystopian thriller from @barringtonstoke.bsky.social with such sophisticated exploration politics, economics and the environment as part of a gripping narrative.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
Terrific dystopian thriller from @barringtonstoke.bsky.social with such sophisticated exploration politics, economics and the environment as part of a gripping narrative.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
November 8, 2025 at 8:55 PM
218. Reek by @alastairc.com
Terrific dystopian thriller from @barringtonstoke.bsky.social with such sophisticated exploration politics, economics and the environment as part of a gripping narrative.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
Terrific dystopian thriller from @barringtonstoke.bsky.social with such sophisticated exploration politics, economics and the environment as part of a gripping narrative.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
217. In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillett
A brilliant and profoundly personal exploration of a novel I love teaching - this will be such an invaluable resource.
A brilliant and profoundly personal exploration of a novel I love teaching - this will be such an invaluable resource.
November 7, 2025 at 8:25 PM
217. In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillett
A brilliant and profoundly personal exploration of a novel I love teaching - this will be such an invaluable resource.
A brilliant and profoundly personal exploration of a novel I love teaching - this will be such an invaluable resource.
Here are some of my favourites from last year's UKLA Book Awards Information category...
November 7, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Here are some of my favourites from last year's UKLA Book Awards Information category...
216: The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound by Raymond Antrobus
A powerful memoir about deafness, identity and belonging from an award-winning poet.
A powerful memoir about deafness, identity and belonging from an award-winning poet.
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 AM
216: The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound by Raymond Antrobus
A powerful memoir about deafness, identity and belonging from an award-winning poet.
A powerful memoir about deafness, identity and belonging from an award-winning poet.
215. Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Another brilliant study of criminal psychology and violence from the author of His Bloody Project, based on a real-life series of murders in the Outer Hebrides in 1857.
Another brilliant study of criminal psychology and violence from the author of His Bloody Project, based on a real-life series of murders in the Outer Hebrides in 1857.
November 5, 2025 at 8:48 PM
215. Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Another brilliant study of criminal psychology and violence from the author of His Bloody Project, based on a real-life series of murders in the Outer Hebrides in 1857.
Another brilliant study of criminal psychology and violence from the author of His Bloody Project, based on a real-life series of murders in the Outer Hebrides in 1857.
214. One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson
Passionate and wide-ranging reflections on the power of stories inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
Passionate and wide-ranging reflections on the power of stories inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
November 3, 2025 at 9:30 PM
214. One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson
Passionate and wide-ranging reflections on the power of stories inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
Passionate and wide-ranging reflections on the power of stories inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
213. The Silver Book by Olivia Laing
A fascinating, illuminating novel which transports us to the world of 1970s Italian cinema as we follow a young British art student who becomes the lover of legendary designer Danilo Donati and ends up working on Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò.
A fascinating, illuminating novel which transports us to the world of 1970s Italian cinema as we follow a young British art student who becomes the lover of legendary designer Danilo Donati and ends up working on Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò.
November 2, 2025 at 8:31 AM
213. The Silver Book by Olivia Laing
A fascinating, illuminating novel which transports us to the world of 1970s Italian cinema as we follow a young British art student who becomes the lover of legendary designer Danilo Donati and ends up working on Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò.
A fascinating, illuminating novel which transports us to the world of 1970s Italian cinema as we follow a young British art student who becomes the lover of legendary designer Danilo Donati and ends up working on Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò.
212. The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
This month's book club read - an ingenious futuristic sci-fi thriller/romance exploring interesting ideas around gender, culture and refugees.
This month's book club read - an ingenious futuristic sci-fi thriller/romance exploring interesting ideas around gender, culture and refugees.
November 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
212. The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
This month's book club read - an ingenious futuristic sci-fi thriller/romance exploring interesting ideas around gender, culture and refugees.
This month's book club read - an ingenious futuristic sci-fi thriller/romance exploring interesting ideas around gender, culture and refugees.
In increasing order of scariness...
October 31, 2025 at 8:14 AM
In increasing order of scariness...
211. Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt
An engaging, entertaining and surprisingly moving novel about an unlikely friendship and business partnership - The Big Short meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
An engaging, entertaining and surprisingly moving novel about an unlikely friendship and business partnership - The Big Short meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
October 30, 2025 at 5:50 PM
211. Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt
An engaging, entertaining and surprisingly moving novel about an unlikely friendship and business partnership - The Big Short meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
An engaging, entertaining and surprisingly moving novel about an unlikely friendship and business partnership - The Big Short meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Once I’d checked the indicator I got it quickly, but the definition is quite left-field and not something I’d have worked out on its own.
October 30, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Once I’d checked the indicator I got it quickly, but the definition is quite left-field and not something I’d have worked out on its own.
210. Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
This wise and honest book makes a radical case for the enduring relevance of understanding the Seven Deadly Sins in helping us to lead richer, happier and more meaningful lives.
This wise and honest book makes a radical case for the enduring relevance of understanding the Seven Deadly Sins in helping us to lead richer, happier and more meaningful lives.
October 29, 2025 at 3:41 PM
210. Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by @elizabetholdfield.bsky.social
This wise and honest book makes a radical case for the enduring relevance of understanding the Seven Deadly Sins in helping us to lead richer, happier and more meaningful lives.
This wise and honest book makes a radical case for the enduring relevance of understanding the Seven Deadly Sins in helping us to lead richer, happier and more meaningful lives.
209. The Shadow King by @maazamengiste.bsky.social
Another re-read for Year 13 coursework - a brilliant, complex historical novel about the overlooked role of female soldiers in resisting Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.
Another re-read for Year 13 coursework - a brilliant, complex historical novel about the overlooked role of female soldiers in resisting Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.
October 28, 2025 at 9:51 PM
209. The Shadow King by @maazamengiste.bsky.social
Another re-read for Year 13 coursework - a brilliant, complex historical novel about the overlooked role of female soldiers in resisting Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.
Another re-read for Year 13 coursework - a brilliant, complex historical novel about the overlooked role of female soldiers in resisting Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.
208. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Re-reading this novel as one of my Year 13 students is writing about this novel for their A Level coursework - a powerful and layered novel about staying a production of Hamlet in the West Bank.
Re-reading this novel as one of my Year 13 students is writing about this novel for their A Level coursework - a powerful and layered novel about staying a production of Hamlet in the West Bank.
October 27, 2025 at 7:58 PM
208. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Re-reading this novel as one of my Year 13 students is writing about this novel for their A Level coursework - a powerful and layered novel about staying a production of Hamlet in the West Bank.
Re-reading this novel as one of my Year 13 students is writing about this novel for their A Level coursework - a powerful and layered novel about staying a production of Hamlet in the West Bank.
207. Don't Forget We're Here Forever: A New Generation's Search for Religion by @lamornaash.bsky.social
Fascinating, wide-ranging and deeply thought-provoking exploration of young people's experiences of Christianity in Britain today.
Fascinating, wide-ranging and deeply thought-provoking exploration of young people's experiences of Christianity in Britain today.
October 26, 2025 at 8:05 PM
207. Don't Forget We're Here Forever: A New Generation's Search for Religion by @lamornaash.bsky.social
Fascinating, wide-ranging and deeply thought-provoking exploration of young people's experiences of Christianity in Britain today.
Fascinating, wide-ranging and deeply thought-provoking exploration of young people's experiences of Christianity in Britain today.
206. So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
A powerful, beautifully observed short novel exploring memory, guilt and loss of innocence.
A powerful, beautifully observed short novel exploring memory, guilt and loss of innocence.
October 26, 2025 at 9:24 AM
206. So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
A powerful, beautifully observed short novel exploring memory, guilt and loss of innocence.
A powerful, beautifully observed short novel exploring memory, guilt and loss of innocence.
205. The Other Wife by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy
An engaging and reflective novel with well-drawn characters and relationships, and interesting insights into family, race, class and sexuality.
An engaging and reflective novel with well-drawn characters and relationships, and interesting insights into family, race, class and sexuality.
October 25, 2025 at 7:09 PM
205. The Other Wife by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy
An engaging and reflective novel with well-drawn characters and relationships, and interesting insights into family, race, class and sexuality.
An engaging and reflective novel with well-drawn characters and relationships, and interesting insights into family, race, class and sexuality.
204. Jakub's Otter by @coralrumble.bsky.social
A heart-warming MG novel about friendship, poetry, nature and other good things in life, written with great empathy from the perspective of a boy who is a devoted young carer to his mum with MS.
A heart-warming MG novel about friendship, poetry, nature and other good things in life, written with great empathy from the perspective of a boy who is a devoted young carer to his mum with MS.
October 25, 2025 at 7:39 AM
204. Jakub's Otter by @coralrumble.bsky.social
A heart-warming MG novel about friendship, poetry, nature and other good things in life, written with great empathy from the perspective of a boy who is a devoted young carer to his mum with MS.
A heart-warming MG novel about friendship, poetry, nature and other good things in life, written with great empathy from the perspective of a boy who is a devoted young carer to his mum with MS.
203. Roar by Manjeet Mann
A great new YA verse novel inspired by real-life witch hunts in India and Sampat Pal's Pink Sari Gang, offering an uplifting and empowering response to patriarchal oppression and caste prejudice. Perfect for fans of The Crucible!
A great new YA verse novel inspired by real-life witch hunts in India and Sampat Pal's Pink Sari Gang, offering an uplifting and empowering response to patriarchal oppression and caste prejudice. Perfect for fans of The Crucible!
October 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
203. Roar by Manjeet Mann
A great new YA verse novel inspired by real-life witch hunts in India and Sampat Pal's Pink Sari Gang, offering an uplifting and empowering response to patriarchal oppression and caste prejudice. Perfect for fans of The Crucible!
A great new YA verse novel inspired by real-life witch hunts in India and Sampat Pal's Pink Sari Gang, offering an uplifting and empowering response to patriarchal oppression and caste prejudice. Perfect for fans of The Crucible!
Just a few out of many I could have chosen...!
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Just a few out of many I could have chosen...!
202. Second Best by David Foenkinos translated by Megan Jones
A darkly comic translated novel imagining the life of the boy who lost out on the part of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe, exploring the lasting impact that disappointment and rejection can have. Entertaining and thought-provoking.
A darkly comic translated novel imagining the life of the boy who lost out on the part of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe, exploring the lasting impact that disappointment and rejection can have. Entertaining and thought-provoking.
October 20, 2025 at 8:09 PM
202. Second Best by David Foenkinos translated by Megan Jones
A darkly comic translated novel imagining the life of the boy who lost out on the part of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe, exploring the lasting impact that disappointment and rejection can have. Entertaining and thought-provoking.
A darkly comic translated novel imagining the life of the boy who lost out on the part of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe, exploring the lasting impact that disappointment and rejection can have. Entertaining and thought-provoking.
201. Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
This YA novel about first love over a summer in Rome is another visual treat from Selznick, and a lovely gateway to A Room with a View, Still Life & Call Me By Your Name.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
This YA novel about first love over a summer in Rome is another visual treat from Selznick, and a lovely gateway to A Room with a View, Still Life & Call Me By Your Name.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
October 20, 2025 at 5:47 PM
201. Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
This YA novel about first love over a summer in Rome is another visual treat from Selznick, and a lovely gateway to A Room with a View, Still Life & Call Me By Your Name.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
This YA novel about first love over a summer in Rome is another visual treat from Selznick, and a lovely gateway to A Room with a View, Still Life & Call Me By Your Name.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...