Recent Posts

  • Winding Up the Week #485

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    This week I look back at books read and the conversations they’ve sparked, plough through a crop of compelling literary pieces from across the blogosphere, bring a few earlier posts back into view, unveil Spooktastic Reads 2026 and the 2026 Christmas Challenge, mark several annual observances (including European Day of Languages and the birthdays of T.S. Eliot, Jane Smiley and Irvine Welsh) and gather numerous features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #484

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    Following a little break, I turn this week to books newly read and discussed, wander through some of the most engaging literary writing to appear on the blogosphere, revisit earlier posts worth rediscovering, note a handful of timely observances (including Hispanic Heritage Month and the birthdays of William Golding, Stevie Smith and George R.R. Martin) and draw attention to a scattering of intriguing features from across the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #483

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    In this week’s slightly shorter wind up I focus on books read and reviewed, keep up with a variety of literary anniversaries (including Read a New Book Month, National Read a Book Day, Roald Dahl Day and the birthdays of Alice Sebold, China Miéville and others) and call attention to fascinating features from across the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #482

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    This week I turn to books newly read and discussed, revisit earlier posts worth rediscovering, note a handful of timely observances (including the closing few days of Tove & Moomin Month, Literacy and Numeracy Week and Frankenstein Day) and draw attention to a scattering of intriguing features from across the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #481

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    This week I turn to books recently read and reviewed, roam through some of the most engaging literary writing to surface on the blogosphere, mark a handful of notable anniversaries (including Tove & Moomin Month, International Hashtag Day and the birthdays of Dorothy Parker and Ray Bradbury) and spotlight a selection of intriguing features from across the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #480

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    This week I delve into books newly read and reviewed, roam through some of the most compelling literary commentary on the blogosphere, mark a variety of celebrations (from Tove & Moomin Month to the birthdays of Walter Scott, Charles Bukowski, Diana Wynne Jones and others) and shine a light on intriguing pieces from across the Internet.

  • High Summer, Low Tides #ToveTrove

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    I return to the Finnish archipelago for Tove & Moomin Month with my latest addition to the Tove Trove library – a reading of ‘The Summer Book’, Tove Jansson’s portrait of a grandmother, a granddaughter and the small island where they spend a single summer.

  • Winding Up the Week #479

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    Following my two week hiatus, I turn to books read and reviewed across the Internet, explore standout literary writing, note a range of anniversaries (including Tove Jansson Day, National Book Lovers Day and the birthdays of Philip Larkin and P.L. Travers), revisit earlier posts ripe for rediscovery and spotlight engaging features from around the web.

  • A Little Something to Fill the Gap

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    A short week for me means a brief message rather than my usual weekly wind up. You will, however, still see announcements for both Tove & Moomin Month and Women in Translation Month 2026, and among the birthday celebrants this weekend are Herman Melville, James Baldwin and Rose Tremain.

  • Winding Up the Week #478

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    This week’s round up moves from recently read and reviewed books to notable pieces of literary writing across the blogosphere, alongside a handful of anniversaries worth marking (including the birthdays of George Bernard Shaw and Aldous Huxley). It also gathers a selection of intriguing book related features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #477

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    This week’s round‑up ranges from recently read and reviewed books to standout literary writing across the blogosphere, alongside anniversaries of note (among them World Listening Day and the birth of William Makepeace Thackeray). It also returns to earlier posts deserving another look and draws together a set of intriguing book‑related features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #476

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    This week’s round-up gathers recently read and reviewed books, standout literary writing from across the blogosphere and a selection of notable anniversaries (including Bowdler’s Day, Malala Day and Henry David Thoreau’s birthday). It also revisits past posts worth rediscovering and highlights intriguing book-related features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #475

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    This week I focus on books read and reviewed, discover some of the best writing about literature on the blogosphere, keep up with a variety of literary anniversaries (including Alice in Wonderland Day, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthday and something else on 4th of July that has slipped my mind), focus on past posts deserving to be rediscovered and call attention to fascinating features from across the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #474

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    This week I focus on books read and reviewed, discover some of the best writing about literature on the blogosphere, keep up with a variety of literary anniversaries (including Helen Keller Day and Global Smurf Day), spotlight past posts deserving to be rediscovered and call attention to fascinating features from across the Internet.

  • Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson #ToveTrove

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    My latest addition to the Moomin shelf in the Tove Trove library is ‘Finn Family Moomintroll’, the third book in the original series, published in 1948.

  • Winding Up the Week #473

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    This week I look at books recently read and reviewed, discover standout literary writing across the blogosphere, keep pace with a host of anniversaries (including Audiobook Appreciation Month and Jean Paul Sartre’s and Ian McEwan’s birthdays), revisit past posts ripe for rediscovery and highlight fascinating features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #472

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    Following my two-week hiatus, I look at books recently read and reviewed, discover standout literary writing across the blogosphere, keep pace with a host of anniversaries (including the birthdays of William Butler Yeats, Dorothy L. Sayers and Harriet Beecher Stowe), revisit past posts ripe for rediscovery and highlight fascinating features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #471

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    In this, my final wind up of the month, I look at books read and reviewed, discover standout literary writing across the blogosphere, keep pace with a host of unusual anniversaries, announce a two‑week hiatus, revisit past posts ripe for rediscovery and highlight fascinating features from around the Internet.

  • Winding Up the Week #470

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    This week I look at books read and reviewed, discover standout literary writing across the blogosphere, keep pace with a host of anniversaries (including National Biographers Day and the birth of Adrienne Rich), announce Paris in July 2026, revisit past posts ripe for rediscovery and highlight fascinating features from around the Internet.