Book 6 was Service Model, written and read by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

The new Luddite rebellion, starring a robot 🔨
C3PO on a quest to find a human to serve while in the company of a really weird robot 🤖
Join a union 💪

#bookstodon

Alt...

Service Model, written and read by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

"The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leafy ... "

Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2 Scene III

https://www.opendemocracy.net/the-big-blair-era-loophole-behind-palantirs-tiny-tax-bill/

#ShakespeareSunday #Bookstodon #TaxTheRich #UKPolitics

Alt...

The big Blair-era loophole behind Palantir’s tiny tax bill Palantir’s UK CEO Louis Mosley says the company uses “a standard tax incentive” to minimise corporate tax. But the UK is one of the few countries that allows for this.

So I hear it is #BookLoversDay today. If you are looking for reviews of academic non-fiction works in the realm of biology and related disciplines, you know where to go...

https://inquisitivebiologist.com

#TootingMyOwnHorn #Books #BookReview #Bookstodon @bookstodon

"The Books that saw it coming"

Bookstores and librarians ❤️

#Books #bookstodon

Alt...

This is a Books-A-Million display, often curated to feature classic dystopian literature and "banned books". The top shelf showcases George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" alongside Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". Middle shelves feature works by Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale". The bottom shelf includes "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury and "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown.

Tom Gauld on punctuation in the wild

Be careful out there

edit: hasjtag

#Cartoon #TomGauld #Punctuation #Writing #Bookstodon #cartoon

Alt...

A foru panel cartoon 1. A drawing f a house with open windows, punctuation marks are escaping ‘with the windows wide open to combat the summer heat, a breee blows through the punctuation factory scattering newly minted marks across the countryside . Two people talk in a light punctuation rain, ‘the, is….. “Very” odd’ “(indeed)*, confused locals find their conversations peppered with unexpected pauses and unwanted emphasis 3. A duck on the water, Naturalisst obersve the effect is not limited to the human populationQua’ck? 4 Fortunately a batch of explanation points drift into a =district council meeting causing it to proceed with unusual efficiency - people discussion things, each statement proceeded by one of more !s

My haul from Waterstones this morning. I went specifically looking for Body Work so was delighted to find it. I didn't mean to buy the two other books. I was initially drawn in by the lovely covers, then the 'buy one get one half price' stickers. I've enjoyed many Japanese novels in translation, starting with The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki a few years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Makioka_Sisters

#books #bookstodon

Alt...

Three books laid out on a sofa cushion. At the top Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch. Underneath two Japanese novels in translation: The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa, tr by Allison Markin Powell, and More Days at the Torunka Café by Satoshi Yagisawa, tr by Eric Ozawa. That one has three cats and knitting on the front so I can't go wrong!

Stolen from @Funktious as I thought it was such a great idea: a thread of all the books I read in a year.

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession, read for a #bookgroup that unanimously loved it. Set in modern day Ireland, it's a contemplative and gently humorous story of two men who in their own ways don't fit in to the world. It's lovely, and quite different in tone to the TV adaptation that treats them as a couple of kooky misfits. They are so much more than that. #books #bookstodon 🧵1

Alt...

Cover of the book Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession. A yellow paperback cover with what I assume is a sunfish drawn.

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell, a proof copy. I enjoyed this as I'm increasingly enjoying slightly spooky stories with a gentle supernatural element. It's set in the C18th and follows the events of a family moving into the family seat and facing up to the events of the past. I liked the protagonist Belinda and thought LP hit just the right note of 'is she imagining it or is there really something going on?'. Recommended if the tone and subject matter appeals to you. #books #bookstodon 🧵2

Alt...

Cover of House of Splinters by Laura Purcell: a dark cover depicting a loose wreath of roses with hands in it, with old fashioned sleeve cuffs.

Don't Tell the Patient by Bill Inman. This is a cheat really as I've been reading it on + off for ages but finished it today. BI set up the yellow card scheme monitoring adverse reactions to prescribed drugs and worked in drug safety for 30yrs. This is a fascinating history, if a little leaden in style, and a real eye opener about the politics and finances involved, as well as going into incentivising GPs to prescribe new drugs. We aren't told enough about this as patients #books #bookstodon 🧵4

Alt...

Don't Tell the Patient by (Dr) Bill Inman. A hardback with a block yellow and white cover with the title in black capitals.

The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller. Bought for a book group meeting that I had to bale on. I loved this! Set in the snow of early 1963, it follows two couples both expecting their first child. It's mainly about relationships of all sorts, where people come from and how realistic or not their expectations are. It's excellently written and although the ending is a little vague it's perfectly in keeping with the story. #books #bookstodon 🧵5

Alt...

The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller. Appropriately pale snowy cover with a royal blue circle in the middle bearing the title in white letters. Just behind the book and out of focus, my cat Tails is curled up on an orange velvet chair.

Archaeology is Rubbish by Tony Robinson & Prof Mick Aston. This well-written storified skip through the process of a commercial archaeology dig is a fun and interesting read. I picked it up on a whim in the library then bought my own copy to augment my medieval #archaeology degree which taught me no practical skills whatsoever 😄 If you love/d #TimeTeam or are just generally interested in archaeology I recommend it, though some techniques have really moved on since 2002 #books #bookstodon 🧵6

Alt...

Archaeology is Rubbish - A Beginner's Guide by Tony Robinson and Professor Mick Aston.

As Many Souls as Stars by Natasha Siegel, another publisher's proof. A story about magic, selling your soul and living under a curse, set from the C16th-C20th. I felt all the way through that I wasn't quite grasping something, but there was enough in it to keep me reading. Overlong in my opinion: the charm wore off and I really wanted to be done with it, but the writing's not bad and it must have taken lots of research.

#books #bookstodon 🧵7

Alt...

A black book cover with a heavy design of flowers, leaves and stars. Gold capitals say LIVE MANY LIVES LOVE THE ONCE, which isn't the title.

Alt...

The spine of a black book with a pattern of flowers, leaves and stars and in gold capitals the author's name and the book's title.

The Defector by Evelyn Anthony. I loved this! This very copy used to sit on my grandparents' bookshelf, now on mine with a few of its fellows, so I thought it was time I read it. It's a spy story centring around an ex-KGB official, the Defector of the title, and the bargain he makes for sharing information on how far Russia and America are prepared to go to protect their oil interests in the middle east 🤷 I'll be reading the next two parts, probably starting tonight 😄

🧵8

#books #bookstodon

Alt...

Front cover of The Defector by Evelyn Anthony. A painted design of a man's head and shoulders, view straight up his nose, flanked by two smaller images of women.

The Avenue of the Dead by Evelyn Anthony. This was a poor successor to The Defector. The plot centres around the wife of a top US politician and reminded me very strongly of Second Lady by Irving Wallace, published just the year before. Another Davina Graham story, the plot is unlikely and hard to believe though to be fair I didn't see the crux of it til it was revealed. It ends on a good cliffhanger so I'll probs read the final part of the trilogy and leave EA there.

#9 🧵 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

The Avenue of the Dead by Evelyn Anthony, 1980s hardback. A Mexican statue is posed with a gun against a glowing red background.

Circle of Days by Ken Follett. I had such hopes for this as I'm right into the Neolithic 🪨. It's worth listening to the pod shown first. It centres on relations between three tribes, how that leads to the building of Stonehenge, and what's involved. Sadly it's 75% fantasy and that spoilt it for me. I loved the PotE series so hoped for more from this but a history book it ain't. Not one for purists, which it turns out I am. Some good research in places though.

#10 🧵 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

Screenshot of an The English Heritage pod episode interviewing Ken Follett about the book. It wouldn't just let me copy the episode link, ooooh no.

Alt...

Circle of Days by Ken Follett. Two superimposed images of Stonehenge on another glowing red background - summer solstice - with KF's name in understated inch high gold letters.

The Story Collector by Iris Costello. Some interesting snippets of WWI history in an otherwise quite familiar type of book. The plot was rather lurid in places and 100% did not need the Reid's grandson strand. The accents project turns out to be real which is lovely.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/09/world-war-british-accent-recordings

#11 🧵 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

Dark blue cover with painted flowers up the sides growing out of an open wooden box.

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. This book was hyped on the cover so my expectations were high and they were met.

Set in the 80s it focuses on Nick, who lodges in London with the grand family of fellow Oxford grad Toby, whose father Gerald is a Tory MP. Nick hides his homosexuality in a time of AIDS tragedy and hysteria, which together with Gerald's nefarious activities puts them ultimately on a collision course. Outstanding writing, excellent characterisation.

#12 🧵 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

Monochrome cover showing several blurry boys in evening dress larking about against an indistinct background. The title is in shocking pink capitals and relates to either cocaine, architectural elements or something else altogether.

Longbourn by Jo Baker. This is Pride and Prejudice below stairs, very skilfully done. As well as providing an insight into the work behind all the social events in P&P it shows us another side of its protagonists and sets them all against the realities of life for rich and poor in early C19th Britain. I question whether the final bit rings true - would Sarah really undertake that journey? - but overall I really enjoyed it, unlike other reworkings of #Austen's characters.

🧵17 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

Paperback cover showing the back view of a well-dressed woman in a pale dress facing green panelling, around which is just visible a young female servant carrying a heavy bucket.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. I chose this as the 'book made into a film' on my library bingo card. I knew the story obviously and I swiftly realised that with AC's formulaic writing if you already know whodunnit the writing can be pretty turgid. Repetitive ain't the word. Not really recommended unless you have no idea whodunnit and enjoy a very iterative approach to case solving.

🧵18 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

A paperback cover with stylised people arranged in a train carriage. The title is written over the top in thin bright blue capitals and Christie's signature is in white across the top.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. I knew nothing about this but love GG so was optimistic. All through the book I swithered between enjoying it or not but I reckon that's Greene and his existential crises for you. It riffed on the usual themes. It was my library bingo pick for 'a book set in a foreign country'. I learned about Vietnam and the war, rued everyone's attitude to Phuong and thought how Fowler fitted in with all Greene's antiheros.

🧵19 #books #bookstodon

Alt...

Screen grab of a cover which isn't the edition I read as I can't find that cover and forgot to take a photo at the time. Abstract design royal blue, grey and red shapes with the title and author is ln large white lettering.

Book 5 was Now Shake It, Baby! by Micah Flowers.

Black disabled nonbinary demisexual lesbians 🧡💛🩷🤎
A dancer and a DJ 🎶
Shame-free first time ✅

Get it direct from the author: https://payhip.com/b/IDiP5

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

Now Shake It, Baby! by Micah Flowers.

When the past comes back to haunt you. ‘The Danger of Life’ is a fast-paced thriller set in Scotland during World War Two. It uses many real settings, transported eight decades back in time.

This modern image shows the Clan Cameron Museum close to Achnacarry Castle in Lochaber. The castle was home to the Commando Basic Training Centre during the war and much of the story is set here.

Find out more on our website:
https://www.arachnid.scot/book-dol/index.html

#Books #Bookstodon

Alt...

The image shows an oblique view of a long white single storey building with four windows, a central door and a pitched slate roof with two white chimney stacks. Its right end is nearest to the viewer. At the far end is a flagpole with a red and yellow striped flag while this side of the building is an old artillery piece. There are wooded hills in the background. The front cover of ‘The Danger of Life’ is shown in the bottom left corner.

🚤🌊 Nancy Drew's lakeside adventure takes a dangerous turn in this clip from a LibriVox reading of the 1930 public domain classic, THE BUNGALOW MYSTERY. 🔍

📚It's just one of tens of thousands of free public domain audiobooks in the LibriVox Audio Collection on the Internet Archive. From mysteries and adventures to poetry, history, science fiction, and children's classics, there's always something new to hear. 🎧

Find your next audio adventure 👇
https://archive.org/details/librivoxaudio

#Bookstodon #LibriVox

I'm always so happy when sales of Volume 4 of my translation of Mogador's memoirs show up in the monthly report. That means people are making their way through the entire series! It does have a satisfying ending.

I built a simple little website to make it as easy as possible for folks to buy from decent sources:

https://mogadormemoirs.com/

#translation #books #bookstodon #memoir

Some enticing #horror reading: with local scribe Rhiannon Grist's excellent take on creeping Scottish folk-horror - Home Sick (pub
@solarisbooks
) is delightfully unsettling & one of our staff recommendations.

.

#books #livres #horreur #FolkHorror #StaffRecommends #bookshops #librairies #bookstodon #HomeSick #RhiannonGrist #RecommendedReading #ScottishFiction #ScottishLiterature

Alt...

Paperback copy of Home Sick, with a sheep on the cover staring at the reader, face out on the horror shelves of the Edinburgh Bookshop, with a staff review below it to recommend it

Or, with The Vampire Lestat hitting the BBC iPlayer, why not go classic, and enter the deep, lush, sensually Gothic world of Anne Rice's hugely iconic & influential entries into the genre?

.

#books #livres #horror #horreur #HorrorFiction #Vampire #VampireFiction #AnneRice #InterviewWithTheVampire #ClassicHorror #bookstodon #bookshops #librairies

Alt...

Paperback copies of Interview With the Vampire (black cover, red, Gothic lettering), and The Vampire Lestat (parchment white cover with gold, Gothic lettering), in the Edinburgh Bookshop

This #SolarPunkSunday my book is on sell in smashwords as part of the summer sale. It is the story of a 70yr old woman who has to coordinate the defense of her decentralized nation when a colonizee invades to steal the tech that makes them a #solarpunk utopia. Get it here https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1977090

#books #book #bookstodon #sff

Book 4 was The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid (narrated by Greg Boudreaux).

Two totally heterosexual hockey bros 🏒
And they were roommates 🛌
Hockey culture is basically indistinguishable from evangelicalism ✝

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid (narrated by Greg Boudreaux).

"Out came Snufkin and the grasshopper, playing with all their might.

A huge barrel of palm-wine was rolled out, and everyone got a little birch-bark mug to drink from. The glow-worms rolled themselves into a ball in the middle of the glade, and everybody sat around drinking wine and eating sandwiches.

'Now we should tell a story,' said Sniff.

And nobody gave a thought to the comet that was rushing towards them, lighting up the night with its fierce glow."

#MoominMonday #Bookstodon

Alt...

Black and white illustration from Comet in Moominland shows the gang drinking palm-wine and telling stories in the forest

"Before them lay the ocean, glittering in the sunshine. 'I want to go for a swim!' cried Moomintroll, for he felt all right again. 'Me too,' said the little creature, and so they ran right into the water.

'Don't stay in too long,' called Moominmamma, and then she lay down to sunbathe, for she was still quite tired."

from 'The Moomins and the Great Flood', by Tove Jansson

#MoominMonday #Bookstodon #BeMoreMoomin

Free Book Alert!

So my book is on promotion on Kobo, discounted to $0 from 3rd to 9th August, but I think it's only available in these locations: CA, US, UK, AU, NZ. It's being featured on the Free Page of Diverse Stories, so hoping it gets some more attention. Help spread the word!

Here is a link to get it.
https://www.kobo.com/ebook/the-blossoming-of-the-big-tree-1

#books #bookstodon #solarpunk #sff #book

🎤 STARTING IN 15 MINUTES! 🆓

Join us soon for a free livestream booktalk with author Simone O. Elias in conversation with Sonia Mansfield about Elias's new book, PORCELAIN RAGE: A MANIFESTO FOR THE GEN Z WOMAN.

🕕 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET
📡 Join the #livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/vf0w9qqvHKA

#Bookstodon

Alt...

Promotional graphic for a "Porcelain Rage" book talk, with a bold green "TODAY!" graphic overlaid on the left panel. Text reads August 4th, doors at 5:30pm, talk at 6:00pm, in person at Internet Archive, 300 Funston Ave, SF. The event features Simone O. Elias in conversation with writer and podcaster Sonia Mansfield, discussing why Elias wrote a manifesto for her generation and chose to release it as an open-access book through the Internet Archive rather than a traditional publisher. The graphic includes photos of both authors, a stack of books, the Internet Archive lectern icon, and the pink-and-green Porcelain Rage cover art.

Book 3 was Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (narrated by Adjua Andoh).

After a long life as a ship-mind, Breq finds herself isolated in a single human body against her will.

Adjua Andoh could read me the phone book.

https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781405532389-ancillary-justice

#bookstodon

Alt...

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (narrated by Adjua Andoh). My listening supports The Portal Bookshop Libro.fm

Book 2 was Shirley by Charlotte Brontë (narrated by Lia Williams).

I’ve been reading about the Luddite Rebellion lately (it forms the background of this book). I wanted an abridged version because it’s 25 hours long, but this is so condensed that it comes down to:
Girl A meets Girl B
*and they were roommates*
Then the girls marry boys

Anyways, it’s in #KoboPlus if you really want to confuse yourself: https://www.kobo.com/en/audiobook/shirley-140

#bookstodon

Alt...

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë (narrated by Lia Williams).

This is a cool website. Mapping the journeys from books.
This is the voyage of the Pequod.

#bookstodon
https://readingmaps.com/maps/moby-dick

New month, new book thread! First up, A Little Discovery by Kate Bauer (narrated by Sam Stark).

The messiest divorce in the history of messy divorces 🫟
Cuddle puddles 🧸
Communal living … with kink 😈

Get it in #KoboPlus: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/audiobook/a-little-discovery

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

First up, A Little Discovery by Kate Bauer (narrated by Sam Stark).

3 of 5 stars for The Moon Glow Bookshop, by Seo Dong-won

https://lordofthemoon.com/bookreviews/the-moon-glow-bookshop/

#LordOfTheMoonBookReview #BookReview #Bookstodon

"Over the course of the ten-hour flight to Lima, Elliot patiently explains to Mark all the ways that Facebook basically handed the election to Donald Trump. It's pretty fucking convincing and pretty fucking concerning."
1/3 #carelessPeople #bookstodon
#DefendDemocracy

Alt...

Book cover showing what appears to be a pair of women's legs upside down protruding from a blue field, which could be interpreted as water or a pool.

Book 29 was Theoretically Straight by Amy Bailey & Alexander C. Eberhart (narrated by Mark Sanderlin & Jacob Bell).

But he’s a cheerleader!
Teenage bi-awakening 🩷💜💙
Homophobic parents … but everyone else is affirming 🏳️‍🌈

Get it in #KoboPlus: https://www.kobo.com/en/audiobook/theoretically-straight

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

Theoretically Straight by Amy Bailey & Alexander C. Eberhart (narrated by Mark Sanderlin & Jacob Bell).

Hello beautiful people. If you didn't catch my post from a few weeks ago, I've been spending the past 4 months setting up a pay-what-you can/affordable indie writing festival that will be both in-person here in Nelson, Aotearoa New Zealand, but also online. (Ooohh ahh.)

https://www.beautifulwords.net/

The in-person program's been announced and we're super excited. It'll be from the 1-26th September.

The online program's going to be announced in two weeks and will run from the 1-10th October. We've got a bunch of marvellous guests and practical workshops.

If you want to keep up to date and not miss anything, there's a newsletter sign up on the website. We'll be sending out our first newsletter in the next few days. We promise to make it interesting!

Thank you so much for reading my newsish whatnot. 🌺🌸😊

#books #bookstodon #writing #newzealand

📖 At just 16 years old, Simone O. Elias wrote PORCELAIN RAGE: A MANIFESTO FOR THE GEN Z WOMAN.

Her book explores femininity, culture, history, mental health, and the pressures shaping a generation.

Elias chose to publish it as an #openaccess book, making it FREE through the Internet Archive!

🆓 Read & download:
https://archive.org/details/porcelain-rage/PorcelainRage_Ack/

And Learn more about Elias, her book, and the Aug 4 #booktalk with livestream 📡 & in-person 🎟️ options at our blog:
https://blog.archive.org/2026/07/27/simone-o-elias-porcelain-rage/

#Bookstodon

Alt...

Book cover for "Porcelain Rage: A Manifesto for the Gen Z Woman" by Simone O. Elias. Bold green title text sits on a pink background above an image of a woman's bare legs on a green background, wrapped by a snake coiling from the thigh down to the feet.

Alt...

Slide reading "Porcelain Rage: Book Talk with Simone O. Elias & Sonia Mansfield." Includes a photo of Elias leaning against a brick wall in a floral dress, a photo of Mansfield smiling in rhinestone cat-eye glasses, and a pink-toned illustration of a toppling stack of books.

Alt...

Event details slide reading: August 4th, doors at 5:30 pm, talk at 6:00 pm, in person at Internet Archive, 300 Funston Ave, SF. Text describes a book talk with Simone O. Elias in conversation with author Sonia Mansfield, discussing "Porcelain Rage: A Manifesto for the Gen Z Woman" and why Elias chose to release it as an open-access book through the Internet Archive rather than a traditional publisher. The Internet Archive lectern icon appears at the bottom, with a pink-toned stack of books in the corner.

Book 28 was The Midnight Train by Matt Haig (narrated by James Norton).

Wilbur Budd, this is your life … on a train 🚂

At the age of 81, Wilbur dies of a heart attack. Then he goes on an adventure.

#bookstodon

Alt...

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig (narrated by James Norton).

Book 27 was Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff 🇨🇦

Sending a combat team on a diplomatic mission? Sure! What could go wrong? 🪖🎖️
Humans plus pheromonal aliens plus hungry aliens 👽

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff 🇨🇦

Book 26 was Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden (narrated by Cherise Boothe and Adenrele Ojo).

Remember that episode of Doctor Who with the space whales? 🐳 🚀
Like that but with added class struggles and power dynamics 💪🏾
And a little dash of queer love 🏳️‍🌈

#bookstodon #queerbooks

Alt...

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden (narrated by Cherise Boothe and Adenrele Ojo). My listening supports The Portal Bookshop Libro.fm

Just finished "the years of rice and salt" de Kim Stanley Robinson.

Same style as mars trilogy. Just individual mundane stories making the (his)tory

Pleasant read. Keep asking myself "OK where does they want to bring me ?" the answer being "nowhere" (or I missed something)

Will pbly reread in the future.

Now @pluralistic 's reverse centaur guide to life after AI

#bookstodon

One of my other hobbies is collecting old travel books. By "old", I mean 100+ years. Most are from the "Peeps At Many Lands" range, published between 1904 and 1934.

I started it on a whim. Now it feels like an act of rebellion.

#BooksSaveLives #Shelfie #Bookstodon

Alt...

Collection of old travel books, on a pine shelf with a dark varnish. To the right is a pair of fluffy highland cow doorstops, slowly being squeezed out by the collection.