So fellow UK #lmpbc folk, any of these appeal? Happy to dive back into the shelves of the unread if not.

Read this a long while ago and loved it, and there‘s still a lot good about it - the use of metafictional techniques in order the interweave stories, the manipulation of narrative time, the pacing, the literary devices in play ... but ... on second read with fresh eyes, the use of Trisomy 21, writing of women, of relationships with minors ... these leapt out at me and undid a lot of the good in the plotting.

This was a really vibrant verse novel. Not gimmicky - the use of verse absolutely brought the narrator alive and hit with an immediacy of voice. The story was enhanced by this closest-of-first person view. Definitely worth reading.

This has gained the Trixie seal of approval, not least as she can now eat the bookmark!

Loved this book. It‘s a fantastic story made of stories. A rich new world and strong, interesting characters. It catches you with a crime and doesn‘t let go, all the time asking questions of you as a reader and of the authors as tale-tellers. Smart, challenging and gripping. Roll on Book 2 in the summer.

Book post 📚 ✉️💜

When you‘re reading a book by your ex-MA Creative Writing tutor and you feel they are personally challenging you about your work in progress via the page in hand 🤣😱 This is a great book, full of stories and intrigue. Go read it everyone!

Riding out Storm Ciara with a pile of books and some unicorn slippers today.

This chunkster arrived today for an @LibraryThing group read in March. A wee bit fatter than I thought it would be 🤣🤦‍♀️

The audiobook was wonderfully narrated and the characters sprung out at me - they were deliciously flawed on every level. The sense of place that Braithwaite writes into the novel unfolds Lagos like a pop-up book. I‘ve closed it for someone else to discover 💜 #newyearwhodis

This was an absolute must of a read. For a small book, it raised big issues and unpacked so many complex ideas about systemic racism and it‘s effect on Black youths and adults. From the historical to the contemporary, Coates deconstructs the long-reaching effects of slavery and ‘ownership‘ of the Black body - by others and by the individuals themselves - and he does so by allowing us to be privy to an extended ‘letter‘, of sorts, to his son.

Just love this so far. Hugely drawn in and the verse-form really drives home the character‘s voice. The brevity of verse means there are no wasteful words. 💕

Lunchtime cup of tea and this utterly engaging book recommended by @shadowspeak17 for #NewYearWhoDis. January was a bit of a bust for me reading-wise because I started a new role at work but I‘m catching up now and this is a great find. I lived in Poland for years and am married to a Pole and parent to a half-Pole. I know the mountains so well. This book is just right to start a dreary February.

This is a thought-provoking book - I am not the intended audience but that doesn‘t mean there isn‘t so much to be learnt from it.

PJs, hot milk and the first of a pile of books ... Perfect Friday! Apt reading considering the wider world today. Not really putting my mind at rest, to be honest 🤷🏼‍♀️

A re-read on audiobook ahead of reading The Fall of Hyperion for #NewYearWhoDis. I‘d forgotten how good this is ... which makes me feel better about burning an audiobook credit on it when I couldn‘t find where I‘d put my paperback copy 😂🤦‍♀️

Not sure I‘m going to finish all these by the end of the year 🤔 One book at a time - rereading the early Witcher books after bingeing the series so I can read the last two and complete it. Love these books. Read the first ones in Polish when I lived there in the early 90s. Didn‘t think I‘d like Cavill but I was wrong - he‘s my Geralt!

Starting the year off a wee bit early with ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer‘ from @shadowspeak17 ‘s list of recommendations for #NewYearWhoDis. Looking forward to reading these recommendations in January (and the rest of them throughout the year!) @monalyisha Great way to find new books and Littens 💕

I can tell from the first few pages this is going to be a tough one. As a child of the 70s who grew up in the UK close friends with children of RAF parents in the 80s and early 90s, I very much remember that terrorism wasn‘t always as easy to blame on the ‘other‘ as it is nowadays. When we got our driving licences, we knew that we didn‘t touch any car without checking the wheels for suspect devices. I remember the events of this book at the time.

Love this bookmark - my friend brought it back from the top of the Shanghai Tower for me last year. Black, Listed is a really thought-challenging book that isn‘t challenging to read but does make you take the measure of the language you have been accustomed to hearing throughout your life.

Latest up for audiobooks - I‘m all about the nonfiction memoirs on audio right now. Only just started this one but it has caught me at the outset so let‘s see where it goes from here.

Easy like a Sunday morning. Coffee, tales of Trump and a lay in. I always find Woodward‘s books easy to read and impeccably researched. ‘Wired‘ about John Belushi is one of my favourite nonfiction books. This one isn‘t disappointing. A very quick read.

This is a really difficult but important book. It truly illustrates the destructive power of bullying in a way that‘s visceral. Ben Smith is truly inspirational.

Bedtime listen at the moment. Honest, harrowing but also hopeful in its depiction of the reality of building a family life that includes someone who has a long-term, erratic mental illness.

This is so good! My amazing MA Creative Writing tutor is part of the duo that wrote this. I was supposed to be saving this for the new year while I finished off my current reads but I trapped a nerve in my shoulder today and I‘m feeling sorry for myself so it‘s blanket-sofa-treatread day. This is just the ticket!

It‘s cold outside ... I was going out for a run but might have an hour more reading in my toasty bedroom 🤣

I thought this book was excellent as I read it: immersive world, complex & nuanced characters, superb use of POV. Then I got to the last quarter and realised it was so much better than I originally thought. The first book in a long, long while that has challenged me to go back to the first page at the end to revisit my now-outdated assumptions. Beautifully paced. Wonderfully rich and diverse. One of the best books I‘ve read in 2019.

Cheating on my current reads with this one ... after a toasty bath and now in my favourite pyjamas. The dreaded head cold won‘t win the day.

Today is sponsored by the book pile & all the tissues available to humanity. ‘Tis the season 🤧

A really thought-provoking book that sits at the boundary of identity, language and race. I‘d say recommended reading for anyone interested in challenging themselves to be better at recognising the multiple implications of the words and labels we use today. It‘s written well with real humour on occasion, without detracting from the seriousness.

This is smart, original and incredibly well-crafted fantasy. Definitely worth all the acclaim.

Most excited for this one! 😁😁

It's a beautiful day outside - the first proper Spring day - and I'm sick with a stomach bug ☹️🤢

Making the most of being confined to bed by catching up on reading for my Creative Writing MA ... which has been one of the best decisions I made this academic year.

I'm really enjoying my new iPad Pro too ... we got a teaching award at work for a module I wrote so I splurged!

Listening to this on audiobook while I pot on squash and cabbage seedlings in the greenhouse. BMO the Book Cat was keeping an eye on the orchard for me.

There's so much wrong with these books but I still enjoy them for a light listen. The narrators really need to learn to pronounce Polish properly though. It's dreadful, frustrating and unintelligible at times.

Glorious Spring day in the UK today. Managed to get 3 beds ready for planting in the veg garden and got the broad beans & peas in. Lots of potting in the greenhouse too. I've earned this little beauty that arrived today and a cold beer 😁🍺

I ate all the Jalapeño and Cheese crisps in the house and read this while my husband was at the gym. I am shameless and without any measure of guilt ?

Apart from being incredibly interesting, this one is so well written.

"A lawn, when you come to think of it, is nothing but a meadow in captivity."

I live in a small English village. I love the quiet and the relationship we have with nature and the seasons. This sums up what I don't like about heavily manicured gardens.

This was a really entertaining tale and I did enjoy the world-concept. Somehow, the characters didn't ring authentic though. Still, definitely worth a read (or listen ... Rosario Dawson was an engaging narrator).

Listening to this on audio while I'm potting on my seedlings in the greenhouse ... with a beer. Perfect way to spend Good Friday Bank Holiday.

Interesting to consider how conditioned we've all been to link personhood to documentation. It makes it so much easier to treat people poorly when society is trained to consider validity as a document trail.

So excited about this one! Love, love, love Becky Chambers' sci-fi!

Off to the hairdressers ... not sure I have enough books 🤣

Looooonnnng day at work. Bit like Game of Thrones on our uni campus right now. Audiobooks are my way of switching off before bed. Artemis is entertaining. Not perfect but entertaining.

Greenhouse, coffee and an audiobook. Perfection!

Gardening time doesn't mean it can't be reading time.

"He wants to believe that playing by the monarchy's rules will keep us safe, but nothing can protect us when those rules are rooted in hate."

Salient words.

My husband just announced 'We have too many books in the house.'

It's our 20th anniversary this week ... surely by now he should know there's no such thing as too many books 🤣

Saturday morning. ☕️🍪📚