• Wed, 15:40: Hild, by Nicola Griffith https://t.co/zSQDhBTiwQ
• Wed, 17:50: RT @Storiestobe: First, I want to reiterate that I am with Courtney and that I have resigned my #RWA membership. This entire thing is horri…
• Wed, 18:53: RT @0tralala: Of no interest to anyone, but the last time an episode of #DoctorWho was first broadcast on a Wednesday was The Time of the D…
• Wed, 19:47: RT @bbcdoctorwho: TEN MINUTES TO GO! #DoctorWho https://t.co/ImURAQIMo7
• Thu, 10:14: RT @lowflyingrocks: 2020 AD, 10m-22m in diameter, just passed the Earth at 16km/s, missing by 895,000km. https://t.co/yuuuEPVOUT
• Thu, 10:45: A Weapon With a Will of Its Own: How Tolkien Wrote the One Ring as a Character https://t.co/MTsqwcdOQ9 Well put.

Second paragraph of third chapter:

“It would have been a girl, my king,” said Breguswith. “It would have been your peaceweaver.”

I start the year with ten books which I read last month but have not yet blogged. Will clear that backlog over the next week or so.

First up is Hild, by Nicola Griffith, a fictionalised account of the childhood of St Hilda of Whitby. There are no fantasy elements – Hild is treated as a seer by her king and his household, but in fact she is just very observant and smart. Griffith really brings seventh-century Britain (especially what's now North-East England) vividly to life, with convincingly depicted cultures, languages, religions, and people. Hild grows from little girl to young woman in an intensely political and violent society, which is turning from paganism to Christianity and also evolving from tribalism to some new destination. The pace is quite slow, but that just gives you time to appreciate the detail. You can get it here.

This was my top unread book by a woman and my top unread non-genre fiction book. Next on those piles are Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman, and Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver.

• Tue, 12:56: Andre & Anor v Clydesdale Bank Plc [2013] https://t.co/BPc1YxxShY A long read but fascinating: the case of the miss… https://t.co/dDRuRFE5An
• Tue, 15:26: Tuesday and December books roundup https://t.co/rTXHgY7N6b
• Tue, 16:07: My 2019 books https://t.co/NvC4hFouTC
• Tue, 16:44: The best books that I read in 2019, in five sections and eight tweets. i) Science Fiction and Fantasy 3) _Childre… https://t.co/LGll6PSalQ
• Tue, 17:11: A thought as the year ends: 學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。 Xué ér bù sī zé wǎng, sī ér bù xué zé dài. Confucius: Learning witho… https://t.co/bQBjzOwBEj
• Tue, 20:29: 2019 books poll https://t.co/5cnku35tHi
• Tue, 20:48: RT @barry_shep: Townlands in Ireland containing ‘Bally’. https://t.co/n1k6mBC8iy
• Tue, 22:16: *jaw drop* https://t.co/mWaXf9HMIM
• Tue, 22:19: RT @dduane: The phrase “In accordance with our bylaws and policies” is ringing increasingly hollow… https://t.co/ZZTUTTJTvI
• Wed, 11:25: RT @JohannShiel: @pmdfoster @duponline @IrishTimes @GerryMoriartyIT @BorisJohnson @LeoVaradkar @simoncoveney @theresa_may An economically-u…