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.