The book I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel held up against an orange wall with a contrasting yellow shape painted on, giving the effect of an abstract rising sun

I'm a fan (Sept 25). Unhinged. In a good way - but not always. The scathing disectional interludes read like an overly enthusiastic student’s notes in the margins. The rub is that of new trainers on a freshly popped blister. But perhaps the sense they don’t belong simply adds to the point. #BookSky

Original cover for Stephen King’s The Stand. It shows two jester-like characters fighting. One wears white, looks elven, and has a sword. The other has a long blank beak, red hood and fights with a pick axe.

Still regularly (re)made for screen. Still never as good as the book!

(My copy, from the 1990s, shows a solitary crow in the middle of the road.)

#BookSky #BookChallenge

A gold, ornate mirror with the poem text across it in a cursive handwriting font. Rays of light reflect onto the mirror.

Mirror, mirror

Be authentic, they say
Give yourself to us
Lay yourself bare
Let us consume you
And decide if you are real

#SmallPoemSunday #authenticity #WritersOfBluesky #poem #poetry

The book Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow pictured in a scratched, white shower tray with a chrome plug. Shadows are cast across the picture

Girl in Pieces (Aug 25). YA fiction is so important & this is a real hard hitter. Good for family book club, to open up tricky conversations with teens. Raw and unflinching, it speaks to the intensity of emotions & experiences as you grow up (and for some of us, forever) #BookSky

a digital illustration in the style of a relief print depicting a black cat in a defensive pose holding a torn and tattered transgender pride flag in its mouth as it looks directly towards the viewer. the background is purple with some specks of blue and pink showing through, and behind the cat is a black midground resembling grass or flames. the top right corner features a box with a caption reading "T.D.O.V."

DON'T LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN 🏳️‍⚧️

#art #tdov #transart

Yes yes yes! 📚

Sometimes I pop a cheeky fiver in the pages of a book before dropping it in the community library too 💸

Gotta reward a love of reading!

The book Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger on a symmetrical chevron striped blanket

Her Fearful Symmetry (Aug 25). An odd read. Doesn't find its feet as melodrama, thriller, gothic, romance, supernatural and doesn't move smoothly between them. I kept thinking 'and what?'. Striking, given how darkly harrowing and achingly beautiful The Time Traveler's Wife is. #BookSky

The book The Motorcylce Diaries by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara held up in front of a motorbike on a gravel path, with a field behind it.

The Motorcycle Diaries (Jul 25). Re-reading this knowing the broader outcome is bittersweet. I reject Kerouac comparisons - not least the mission. Light & joy alongside shade here. I wonder what the world would have been like with Che in it & how else he might have changed. Especially now. #BookSky

The book Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater held up in front of a Waterstones bookshop

Death of a Bookseller (Jul 25). I judged a book by its cover but should have read its blurb. Serial killer fetishisation 👎 Satire maybe - but not quite landing. And damaged outsider as dangerous stalker? I love unlikeable women but this didn't give them enough care. (PS I love horror tho) #BookSky

The UK government is active and complicit in so many illegal, dangerous, and inhumane things.

Right now, 11 million people in Cuba are starving. They’ve been at the brunt of sanctions for decades, for daring to be independent.

Hasta la victoria siempre 🇨🇺

Help now 👇

cuba-solidarity.org.uk

This flash microfiction comp is the absolute best. I had a blast (and some successes!) the last two years.

Gutted I can’t make this years - holding March in my diary next year already!

Congrats to Christy for this winning story 💕

#WritingCommunity

On the TBR 🐙🚀

#BookSky

The book ‘Butter’ by Asako Yuzuki lying in a patch of bright yellow buttercups and green grass, surrounded by dry, pale, dead grass

Butter (July 25). Rich & dense like buttery noodles - and just as tasty. Looks bulky but I didn't find it long at all. The characters stumbling into connection, their little choices & rebellions... Freedom from others, ourselves, and the joy of being alive? Everything. #BookSky

I will never recover from learning about the wood wide web. Trees are life 🌳

Can’t wait to give this a look 💚

The book ‘The dream you ordered is sold out’ by Miye Lee is on a blue bed with a black cat lying across it, staring into the camera. The book cover is bright pink with a tall rainbow stretching around a brightly coloured high rise building with trees surrounding it.

The dream you ordered is sold out (June 25). The cover GRABBED me the first time I saw it. I spied it not long after in a charity shop & knew it was meant to be. Original, imaginative, easy reading that was enjoyable from beginning to end. Loved furry friends getting their dreams too #BookSky

The book ‘You are not alone’ by Cariad Lloyd on a wooden table with a cup of half-drunk strong tea next to it

You are not alone (June 25). I'm glad this book has been written, even if it didn't speak to me. That, in a way, supports its purpose - there's more than one way to process, grieve, and live. Its outlining of society's collective misunderstading of the seven stages of grief is important #BookSky

The book Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang sitting on a cooker hob next to pancake ingredients, a whisk and a tiny frying pan

Yellowface (May 25). Deliciously dark and moreish. And another foray into Twitter! The value of racial diversity - so long as it's thru a white lens, cultural appropriation, obsession 👌 The 'sprucing' of ideas lends itself nicely to AI debates too. I gobbled it down like a little pancake #BookSky

The book Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason in a puddle on an outside concrete floor. Rain is pouring down.

Sorrow & Bliss (May 25). Unlikeable women are my jam. So much of the anger, pain, indifference and underlying desperation to understand resonated with me. The portrayal of love and support, even in complex relationships, is beautiful and made me reflect on my own life, too #BookSky

This is who runs this account

the author absolutely made all the right choices with the story and characters. It would’ve been disappointing to follow where my head was going at some points! Nice to be schooled sometimes 🙏

The book ‘The List’ by Yomi Adegoke laying on an open MacBook, with an open notebook and pen next to it. The social network Twitter is open on the screen.

The List (Apr 25). A time capsule of Twitter at its best and (almost) worst, with a nuanced look at how we can protect each other - and how that can be abused to cause harm (thru the brilliant lens of black love). So well written it had me rooting for things that made me question who I am! #BookSky

The book ‘Making it’ by Laura Kay on top of a scrap book with scissors lying near by

Making It (Apr 25). Feel-good, relatable, easy-reading that gets you invested enough in the characters to keep turning the pages while completely rooting for them. Tackles its themes with kindness and respect. If your heart hurts, read this and feel better. #BookSky

🙏 progress over perfection always

The book ‘Timeless Simplicty’ by John Lane held up against an uneven red and beige stone wall

Timeless Simplicity (Mar 25). Even though I'm all over these themes, this didn't hit the spot. Bit patronising, bit gendered, bit blinkered. Things have got thicker and faster in the 25 years since it was published - so the overall message is extremely on-point. Meet me in the woods? #BookSky

the uncorrected proof part really grabbed me. Very lucky that it’s a great read too!

A close-up of a large red book (The Descent, by Jeff Long). A black creature with big wings and small horns sits atop the title letters.

Found this uncorrected proof in a second hand bookshop basement in the mid 2000s (published 1999). Only 50p! I love it - chilling, intriguing, thought provoking

🤭

#booksky

The book ‘burnout’ by Dr Claire Plumbly against a charcoal wash background with three matches next to it. One is straight and unlit, the second is burnt half way down, and the third is completely black, burnt, and bent over.

Burnout (Mar 25). A place I've spent a lot of time, which I've since learnt a lot about and now help others with. When I'm not visiting again 🙈 An accessible and practical guide - but, if you are burnt out, you'll probably need help working through it #BookSky

Love learning about dreams ☁️ a beautifully surreal part of our existence.

There’s stuff in here about taking control of your dream content - my subconscious already marries up with my conscious to try to interfere in interesting ways…

The book ‘Buried in Treasures’ partially hidden by various clutter, from magazines, jumpers and clothes to cat toys, shoe boxes, and tins.

Buried in Treasures (Mar 25). Forever trying to declutter? Can't stop stuff coming into your home? Got ADHD and need help with systems? This could be the practical guide you need. Essential for any professional declutterer or relevant social services worker. Non-judgmental, supportive - air kiss 👌