Text of poem - 'Easter. I approach'. Easter. I approach the years' empty tomb. What has time done with itself? Is the news worth the communicating? The word's loincloth can remember little. A thin, cold wind blows from beyond the abysm that I gawp into. But supposing there were bones; the darkness illuminated like a museum? In glass cases I have peered at the brittle bundles, exonerating my conscience with mortality's tears. But here, true to my name, I have nothing to hold on to, an absence so much richer than a presence, offering instead of the skull's leer an impalpable possibility for faith's fingertips to explore.

Pasg Hapus i chi gyd!
Happy Easter to you all!

‘Easter. I approach…’ - #RSThomas
(Uncollected Poems, @BloodaxeBooks)

Not sure why, but my 2016 review of The Essex Serpent seems to have gone 'viral' on Goodreads, picking up an additional 120 likes over the past couple of weeks. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Great minds think alike! I have one coming up in my Libraries post on Monday. It's fun how this pops back up sometimes.

Reminds me of that time the recycling centre labelled a rubble bin with "no terf" and I thought, huh, not where I expected to find trans allies, but good for them! 😉

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce Review by Rebecca Foster If, like me, you’ve been following Rachel Joyce’s career ever since her 2012 debut, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I have good news to impart: The Homemade

It's been a wet Shiny Tuesday, cheer yourself up with @bookishbeck.bsky.social reviewing Rachel Joyce's latest, now in paperback. shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-homemade...

January Releases by Julian Barnes and Stewart O’Nan These two novels by literary lions (of the UK and USA, respectively) share themes of ageing, loss, and memory, as well as a wry and gently melancholy tone. I’ve read 23 books by Julian Barnes, some…

These novels by literary lions share themes of ageing, loss, and memory, as well as a wry and gently melancholy tone. (I’ve read 23 books by Julian Barnes, a favourite author of mine since my twenties, whereas Stewart O’Nan was new to me.)

Reviewed on my blog today: bookishbeck.com/2026/01/29/j...

Newspaper photo of a fox sleeping above the headline 'Sex pest failed to turn up in court'

Poor urban foxes, always being vilified by the press

I finally took the plunge and deactivated my X account. The problem is that I always forget to come here, and when I do I don't find much in the way of community or interaction...

On this day in 1963, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath was first published. Today we are delighted to share a new cover look for this iconic novel, referencing its original Faber cover by Shirley Tucker (pictured in black and white).

Design by Sophie Harris, Faber Design.

Hilarious review request via Instagram DM today: "The book (in brief) is a 36 page book that follow a character learning the lessons of a philosophy I created around the concept of honesty from a wise man on a train." 😂 I also liked the greeting: "Hi mate I will get straight to the point."

Annoyed with everyone/everything atm, so it was lovely to get this: "just wanted to say how delighted all at the Press were ... That line about 'Poles of loss and abundance' is so perfect. So grateful for the time and attention that you all gave to the book!" www.shelf-awareness.com/sar-issue.ht...

The BBC National Short Story Award 2025 Anthology UPDATE: The winner was … the story I enjoyed the least. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that Colwill Brown has a distinctive voice. Another quick contribution to #ShortStorySeptember. I was deligh…

Many thanks to @commapress.bsky.social for the review copy of The BBC National Short Story Award 2025 anthology. I managed to read it before last night's awards announcement and thoroughly enjoyed it (even though my prediction was far wrong!) bookishbeck.com/2025/09/30/t...

Thanks for the share!

Next month we're off to Berlin (and Lübeck) for the first time. I'm sure many of you will have been to the city and loved it, so do share your ideas for what we must see, do and eat!

The end of an era! It will be hard to leave a place you've known so intimately, though you're not going far. When we moved to the next street, I hated the thought of walking past our old garden and seeing changes made. Good luck with the move and settling in. I'm looking forward to your new book!

UK readers: Buy ANY book 15-17 August, and you could win a £250 Bookshop.org digital gift card! Every sale supports independent bookshops: uk.bookshop.org/lists/win-a-...

Amazing to see Peggy Seeger on her farewell tour yesterday. She's one of my heroes, still sharp as a tack at 89. Traditionals, classics ("I'm Gonna Be an Engineer"), and lots from her last album. Also a bawdy anti-Trump ditty! Her new version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" had me in tears.

Post-it note left as a place-marker at p. 38 in a copy of White Teeth donated to the Little Free Library: "Morning gorgeous :) Gone out for a walk -- should be around 40 mins. I love you very much, Ellie ❤️❤️ xxxxxxxxxx" I love these little glimpses into other lives!

It's been such a joy being part of the judging process for the McKitterick Prize over the past four years. Check out our amazing 2025 shortlist! 👇

What a novelty to get caught in the rain on my afternoon walk! I wasn't expecting to get soaked, however 😆

Looking forward to this one already!

It felt like a necessary part of my UK indoctrination 🤓 (But once was enough.)

I was forced to watch it once, at a hen do!

Two recent science books Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity by Jamie Metzl Genetic engineering is a controversial topic, and news coverage is generally lacking in proper detail or hopelessly bia…

Hmm, I don't think of anything I've read. I looked at @annabookbel.bsky.social's blog in case she'd reviewed anything relevant and the closest I saw was Symphony in C, but sounds like that was frustratingly scant on organic chemistry: annabookbel.net/hacking-darw...

@chrisfoster.bsky.social Benny wishes this was him!

It's been an honour and a pleasure to be involved in judging the McKitterick Prize again this year!

A terrific #bookpost day! Thank you to @canongate.co.uk for a finished copy of NATURE'S GENIUS by David Farrier (out on 8 May), whose Footprints was one of my top reads of 2020. Plus my Bookshop order of STAG DANCE by Torrey Peters @serpents-tail.bsky.social arrived -- solidarity with trans women!

Many thanks to @eandtbooks.bsky.social for a finished copy of CHINESE PARENTS DON'T SAY I LOVE YOU by Candice Chung, coming out on 24 April. I can't resist a food memoir (or "foodoir")! #bookpost

Thank you to @sceptrebooks.bsky.social for a proof copy of Dream State by Eric Puchner. I've been hearing great things about this one since its U.S. release (it's an Oprah's Book Club selection!). It's published in the UK on 8 May. #bookpost

Thank you to @faberbooks.bsky.social for a copy of That Broke into Shining Crystals by Richard Scott. I loved his earlier poetry collection, Soho. This is out on 22 April and I'm looking forward to reading it soon! #bookpost