How "Cosy" is The Wind in the Willows, Really? YouTube video by Ear Read This

youtu.be/A4U4vSvnBeo?...

Macaw in the Snow by Iris Murdoch | ERT's Poem of the Day #59 YouTube video by Ear Read This

Poem of the Day for 6th Jan 2026 - feat. Iris Murdoch, Brigid Brophy, macaws and a goldfinch.

youtu.be/M9EclvBOt1c?...

#poetry

Sandpiper by Elizabeth Bishop | ERT's Poem of the Day #32 YouTube video by Ear Read This

ERT's Poem of the Day #32: Sandpiper by Elizabeth Bishop!

youtu.be/BvVQTrdI1OY?...

#poetry #edinburgh

My Shadow by RLS | ERT's Poem of the Day #5 YouTube video by Ear Read This

Happy RLS day!

youtu.be/Qjw8hUVuGXo

#literature #poetry

Poem of the Day | 9th November 2025 YouTube video by Ear Read This

Poem of the Day 9th November:
Sylvia's Death by Anne Sexton

youtu.be/twfwESafHR4

#poetrycommunity

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the attic.

@irismurdoch.bsky.social

If it’s not called And Another Thing don’t bother

What's Growing Under the Bandages? YouTube video by Ear Read This

Quick botanical themed video on E. F. Benson and The Invisible Man:

youtu.be/Xjm21kTRlfk

#booktube

Major Iris Murdoch News! YouTube video by Ear Read This

Thank you! @earreadthis.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7llU...

How This Author Outsold J. K. Rowling YouTube video by Ear Read This

youtu.be/V5XpU9UWvIM

#literature

5 Talking Points | Chapter 2 of The Wind in the Willows YouTube video by Ear Read This

Continuing my reading series on Wind in the Willows, this time its Chapter 2: The Open Road, on which we encounter Rat poetry, unchanging metamorphs and complaining horses.

youtu.be/44yy7PyWLk8

#booktube #windinthewillows

5 Talking Points | Chapter 1 of The Wind in the Willows YouTube video by Ear Read This

Today I'm starting a new series sharing a handful of highlights, observations and curiosities from each chapter of The Wind in the Willows. We start in the gloom of Mole End, with a pot of whitewash...

youtu.be/Al04rTGLEQk

Went to see The Smashing Machine tonight; still can’t stop myself mentally adding “Gromit” to the end of the title

Recent Reading in the Bookshop!

Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan
Haunted by E. Jay Gilbert
Paranormal America by Bader, Baker & Mencken
A Monstrous Commotion by Gareth Williams

youtu.be/cvImG_ppAYo

"Suddenly a Kite": A Tale of Two Poets from Palestine YouTube video by Ear Read This

Today's video looks at two pieces from the collection Poems for Palestine:

youtu.be/b3NtA3yMXWA

#booktube #freepalestine

Serious book critic wishes you may live long, prosper, and read his reviews. I'm making the most of this because there aren't many bits of writing I have matching sweaters for.

open.substack.com/pub/ashcaton...

#startrek #bookreview

'O'er a' my labours sey your skill': Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson (9781739207762) - Taproot Press UK Marking two hundred and fifty years since the death of Robert Fergusson, this collection of poems in Scottish, English and Gaelic from Scotland's most celebrated writers and emerging poets alike evoke...

Looking forward to seeing this in print next month: a new collection of poems in tribute to Robert Fergusson including one of my own in Scots!

Available to pre order now from Taproot's website: taprootpressuk.co.uk/product/oer-...

#edinburgh #literature #scotland #poet
@rfergussonpoet.bsky.social

120 copies of Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear, in three tall columns, with one copy propped up in front of them.

You may recall that I was caught up in the collapse of publishers Unbound.

I now have the rights to my book Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? And I have a lot of them to get rid of.

So if you felt like buying one I might see my office floor again before 2027.

levparikian.com/index.php/pr...

Recent Reads! Careless, Idle, Deranged and Demonic! YouTube video by Ear Read This

Discussing some recent reading in the bookshop:

Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Original Sin by Tapper and Thompson
Manic Power by Jeffrey Meyers
Daemonologie by James VI

youtu.be/FseeAkXfHZM

“Our Storied Town”: Donald Smith on Edinburgh’s Explosive Literary Past YouTube video by Ear Read This

I recently interviewed author and storyteller Donald Smith as we walked around Edinburgh's Old Town. Here's a video showing the many authors and snippets of literary history we discussed:

youtu.be/exs8EyYJcEw?...

Recent Reads! Star Trek, Starlings and Storied Edinburgh! YouTube video by Ear Read This

Reading round up from the bookshop!

Books discussed:

Open a Channel by Nana Visitor
The Starling by Stephen Moss
Edinburgh: Our Storied Town by Donald Smith
Rommel? Gunner Who? by Spike Milligan
The Best of Dorothy Parker

youtu.be/tBPa_u9kt-w?...

A Year of Birds (1984) by Iris Murdoch | Analysis & Commentary YouTube video by Ear Read This

The latest podcast on Iris Murdoch's A Year of Birds with Miles Lesson can now be watched on YouTube!

@irismurdoch.bsky.social

youtu.be/3Zwt2wc7IdA?...

A Year of Birds (1984) by Iris Murdoch Ear Read This · Episode

New episode of the podcast, looking at the poems of Iris Murdoch! @irismurdoch.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/6vSu...

Recent Reads! Gugas, Gruoch and Ghosts! YouTube video by Ear Read This

A quick reading roundup from the bookshop!

youtu.be/iPBK-LV_Zdk

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid Setting Shakespeare Straight

Thought this was awful, but enjoyed writing about it:

open.substack.com/pub/ashcaton...

Sylvia Plath and The Simpsons! YouTube video by Ear Read This

Quick video on connections between Sylvia Plath and The Simpsons:

youtu.be/Q8dG84swihU

Epitaph for Robert Fergusson (1789) by Robert Burns | Analysis & Commentary YouTube video by Ear Read This

New episode of the podcast out today on the poems Robert Burns wrote in tribute to his 'elder brother in the Muse', Robert Fergusson:

youtu.be/QH3hupdiHyo?...

“Technology is Hijacking Our Dreams”: Alice Thompson on AI, Edinburgh and Sylvia Plath | INTERVIEW YouTube video by Ear Read This

ICYMI, my interview with Edinburgh novelist Alice Thompson, recorded in Portobello Library is now on YouTube!

We talked about AI, Sylvia Plath, Edinburgh and much more...

youtu.be/SzQ1cEiBiGU?...

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Edinburgh novelist Alice Thompson about her surreal, haunting fiction. We met at Portobello Library for a conversation about artificial intelligence, Edinburgh and the influence of Sylvia Plath.

youtu.be/SzQ1cEiBiGU?...

New book review on my Substack (free!): The Last Decade of Cinema by Scott Ryan.

open.substack.com/pub/ashcaton...