Books I finished in March 2026: 1) "Into Thin Air" by Orjan Karlsson: I had a hard time putting this thriller down. The short chapters all drive the plot forward in a satisfying way, and make it easy to blitz through the story. And I really warmed up to the investigation team, so it's great news that there are more books in this series. 2) "Speak Still" by Wing Lam Tong: One of those books that make me wish the author was my friend - we'd have so much to talk about. Speak Still is about bilingualism, translation, colonialism, and much more. Even though it's quite short, I enjoyed going through it slowly, considering every word with care. 3) "Rinsed" by Geoff White: because if you don't know me by now, fraud and scams are one of my rabbit holes. Watching my colleagues' jaws drop as I told them "I'm reading a book about crypto money laundering" at the company retreat was priceless. Jokes aside, though: credit to this book for making the subject matter accessible (I cannot overstate just how little I "get" crypto, but could follow along just fine), and for painting a clear (if frightening) picture of the magnitude and scale of the crimes tech money laundering facilitates. 4) "Karla's Choice" by Nick Harkaway: would you believe I never read a George Smiley novel in English? I shall be righting that wrong. Starting from the end, i.e. the most recent novel written by John Le Carré's son. It's everything I'd expect from a spy story from the original series, down to the tone of voice and '60s setting. Highly recommended for the spy novel fans out there.

Books I read in March: switching genres like it's nobody's business. Special thanks to @404ink.bsky.social (the reflections on bilingualism in Speak Still will stay with me a long time), and to @orendabooks.bsky.social, because In Thin Air has to be the best thriller I've read in many months.

In a parallel universe, the third photo is a certain house on my street, which was really up for auction some time ago. I looked it up online expecting a listing just like that, but nope - they chose to focus on the business opportunity of acquiring a house with all tenants already inside.

My #1 favourite is still there, luckily, though that's for breakfast pastries (all the same, it they ever close, I'll riot). We're also very close to the only authentic Italian small pastry shop I've seen in London - I say I should visit more, but the one thing that's not authentic is the prices.

And so this is goodbye to the best custard buns I had in my life of eating pastry (which is in fact my entire life). Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened, and all that. No, but seriously, what's their secret for making custard this good? It'll live rent-free in my head for the years to come.

Haha yes, spoiler, they did have enough custard buns in the end. They are the best custard buns I've ever had, so there's no doubt I'll be missing them. But I'm also lucky that I stumbled upon the notice that they were closing just the other day, otherwise I might have found out too late.

If you land on something practical that doesn't cost an eye, I'd love to know what you choose - I might be needing exactly that sort of gift next month.

Yes, it's the custard buns I've been almost throwing a tantrum about today.

Now what do we think is in this bag? What might it be? 👀

Max 2 of each item per person, and if my eyes are not receiving me, I'm now spotting 8 custard buns. We can do this. We can do this. They are sold out of their very famous bread, but that was always a side quest.

They should be taking all of my multitasking as a gift, because who can really expect to be productive while stressing out about custard buns?

The two women in front of me are now talking about how much they like custard buns, and the fact I'm only seeing one on the counter does not bode well, my friends, not at all (still 10 people in front of me and I've been here half an hour now, wtf).

Yes, quite! As far as first world problems go, London bakery queues stress me out like few others. Also this place always had the weirdest opening hours, which means I could never go as often as I wanted (if my employer reads this, it's all good, I'm fielding Slack chats).

I'm live-texting the queue to my partner (about halfway through now), and the woman who just walked out with four overflowing paper bags will be getting side-eye emoji-ed for the next five minutes.

One of my two favourite local bakeries is closing tomorrow, I'm in a huge queue (before they're even open) to score one last custard bun I may not get, and despite the nice things I know I have in this world, I'm in full "why can't we ever have nice things in this world" mood right now. Send cats.

Just out! New micro! By me!

There are faint echoes of long-forgotten people and events here. Teenage Me dug out the memories, Present Me merged them into fiction. Damn, I might get emotional about this one. Thank you @identitytheory.bsky.social & @vicnogaywrites.bsky.social for giving it a chance.

Hi Tom, is one still available and is choosing a specific bookmark / postcard an option? There are two designs I particularly love, and I'm happy to wait if they're already taken but might be remade.

Thank you so, so much for reading my work. It's not often I have anything to put out there, out of being slow or too self conscious, or going through very expected strings of rejections. Your words made my day.

every time i look at instagram, i feel like im the only adult who doesn't know how to make money

Thank you again, it was such an interesting book I wouldn't have found otherwise. I wasn't totally on board with the way Veronica is written, but the criminal case was compelling enough that I'd read number 2.

Books I read in February: 1) "Little Bosses Everywhere" by Bridget Read. One of the slow-burners I started in January. An in-depth coverage of MLM culture and its ties with conservative (and eve far-right) ideology, which are, frankly, frightening. Highly recommended. 2) "The Fragility of Bodies" by Sergio Olguín. Picked up from a recommendation on Bluesky, it reminded me how much I love the subtle, eerie darkness of South-American mysteries. Not a perfect book (the protagonist is very clearly a woman written by a man, if you catch my drift), but the criminal case at the heart of it is haunting and well-developed. 3) "We Could Be Rats" by Emily Austin. I've seen few authors portray mental issues as realistically as Austin, which is absolutely a credit to her. This book was a little too disjointed in terms of narration and point of view for my taste - "Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead" was far superior in terms of craft.

February reads on @thestorygraph.com: Scams! Haunting Argentinian mysteries! Young women going through mental health breakdowns! I'm all about the joyous reads, you see. Little Bosses Everywhere is a 10/10 recommendation, if you're into MLM deep dives or getting angry about the state of the world.

Happy birthday! Glad to hear it's without that particular worry. Hope plenty of very nice things have been coming your way today.

I can hardly believe this, but I submitted 5 pictures with 5 minutes to spare!

Bonus fun fact: had to take a detour to reach the cafe because the nearest park exit was blocked by a filming crew, and rumour has it they're shooting Mobland season 2. If true, once it's out I'll have seen 3 TV series with scenes filmed in my area. Almost feels like getting my own 15 mins of fame!

I'm sitting outside my favourite neighbourhood cafe with a flat white and an ebook, and the lady behind me in the queue had a gorgeous gorgeous dog, and for the first time today, I feel I'm onto something that might ease the knot of anxiety I've had in my stomach over something silly I think I did.

Yes! You are submitting! And whatever the outcome, I'd love to see your choices. I'm tempted to look through my folders too, now, though the theme sounds challenging for someone who hardly ever photographs people.

Thank you, Kathy, so kind of you to share! I still remember the feedback the piece got on your forum, and it was a big part of what encouraged me to keep submitting this over the years.

Sharp and beautiful? Well, that just made my day. Thank you so much for publishing my work - that in fact has made my month.

That's exactly how my job hunt is going. Options: take a big pay cut crossing my fingers for better environment, or hold on to a salary that pays my mortgage until I'm laid off. The roles that match what I make demand AI-wrangling skills I just don't believe companies put any thought into defining.

Hi! Happy Saturday! Have some microfiction by yours truly, courtesy of @templeinacity.bsky.social.

I started this a lifetime ago in a @kathyfish.bsky.social Flash Fiction Extravaganza - so pleased it's found a home. Will share a photo of the OTT Christmas lights that inspired it if you ask nicely.

What really got me is that the stripes look so fake I had to wonder whether they were added in post-production via MS Paint!

I feel I know people who'd actually go for the in-home climbing wall, but the Austin Powers bedroom takes the cake on this one, excellent choice, it'll be seared in my brain for the rest of the day.