Monthly Archives: September 2021

Non-fiction 3 (YTD 30) Rose, by Jon Arnold The Massacre, by James Cooray Smith Gods and Tulips, by Neil Gaiman Non-genre 3 (YTD 22) Jack, by Marilynne Robinson Kipps, by H. G. Wells 4.50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie Scripts … Continue reading →

Wed, 18:14: April 2013 books https://t.co/ZLXleoP2QO Thu, 10:45: RT @MatthewOToole2: We are in the genuinely surreal situation of the British government simultaneously trying to pretend there isn’t a cris…

This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and … Continue reading →

Tue, 18:13: 560 days of plague https://t.co/F6cph859xE Tue, 20:48: RT @SatEvePost: The Day the Earth Stood Still, the classic sci-fi film, turns 70 today. We took the opportunity to chat with actor Billy Gr…

Well, major drama today. F got pinged yesterday as having had a high risk contact last week, went for a test and was told today that he had tested positive for COVID. So I immediately went and got myself tested … Continue reading →

Mon, 16:09: For all fans of British politics, we present the UK Party Conference Quiz, 2021, from @apcoworldwide @UKPoliticalNews – give it a try! https://t.co/PsY2WC0XJ3 Mon, 18:31: Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, by Rebecca Hall and Hugo … Continue reading →

Second frame of third chapter: One of my impulse purchases at Shakespeare and Company in July, this is a graphic story presentation of Rebecca Hall's research into a particularly obscure bit of American and British history: the role of women … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: RT @AmbLindnerIndia: Why not start this Saturday with a big smile? Here a nice read (and incredible dpa pic!) by Danielle Cohen of New York… Sun, 14:48: RT @SamJamesMorgan: THREAD on the cartoon/comic world’s climate change progress. 1. … Continue reading →

The second of the Black Archive books analysing past stories of Doctor Who looks at The Massacre, a 1966 First Doctor story which has been lost from the archives, apart from an off-air audio recording, a few photographs, and the … Continue reading →

Well, well, well – I had not realised that Dennis Villeneuve's Dune is not yet out in the UK or America. My British and American (and I guess also Irish) friends, you have a treat in store. F and I … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:13: Just imagine if Verity Lambert had been brought back as Doctor Who showrunner 17 years after 1963. It would have been her instead of John Nathan Turner! Sat, 12:56: RT @johnmcgooner: @CaitlynBBS https://t.co/qpdzgNlRHE Sat, 13:29: Dune!!!!! (at @Kinepolis … Continue reading →

Given the very encouraging news that Russell T. Davies is returning to Doctor Who, it's by fortunate coincidence that today I am reviewing a study of his first ever Who episode back in 2005. I actually wrote most of this … Continue reading →

Galaxy Quest won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2000, beating The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, Being John Malkovich and The Iron Giant in that order That was also the order at nominations phase, Galaxy Quest three votes ahead … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: RT @apcoworldwide: In the latest edition of #StayAhead, we look at the state of #geopolitics and its impact on #business sectors. https:/… Fri, 16:05: https://t.co/fon6vO86hz Fri, 16:17: !!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/FWnuL6MChT Fri, 18:04: Friday reading https://t.co/PoqsRH2LwW Fri, 18:13: RT @Jess_Sargeant: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: But even knowing this, I had no all-consuming desire to commit words to paper. I’m an action gal, not a pen-pusher. I wrote my first book just so all of time and space wouldn’t get … Continue reading →

Current Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson The Wych Elm, by Tana French Last books finished Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, eds. Zelda Knight & Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald Set This House in Order: A Romance … Continue reading →

Thu, 17:11: Dan Savage Revolutionized Sex. Then the Revolution Came for Him. What does he believe now? https://t.co/VjvYRs0PEr Fascinating profile. Thu, 18:04: March 2013 books https://t.co/4RfLpc804q Thu, 19:01: First indoor in-person event! (@ Renaissance Brussels Hotel – @renbrussels in Ixelles, … Continue reading →

This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:56: The Australian submarines : the perfect storm of failed diplomacy https://t.co/ugWAfmcfcb Good plague-on-all-their-houses comment from Georges Ugueux: it “can only be described as a debacle for all parties involved.” Wed, 13:49: Interested to see that Amanda Sloat @A_Sloat … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third story ("La carte" / "Tickets on Time"): 12 février. — Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu. Déjeuné aujourd'hui avec mon vieil ami Maleffroi, conseiller à la préfecture de la Seine. Je l'ai cuisiné adroitement, … Continue reading →

Tue, 18:53: Hurricane Fever, by Tobias S. Buckell https://t.co/SztPAYnpAh Tue, 20:24: RT @aTunkel: Excited and proud to have @apcoworldwide join @TentOrg and the Coalition for Afghan Refugees it assembled, to create economic… Wed, 10:45: Visit Lud-in-the-Mist for Halloween https://t.co/VtVMCESWF7 Great … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: “I was. . .” Delroy started to excuse himself. A really accomplished technothriller, set in a slightly divergent timeline where the Caribbean states have got their act together to be an effective counterpart to the … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: RT @G_S_Bhogal: My peoples, the time has come for a MEGATHREAD. In 40 tweets I will explain another 40 concepts you should know. Strap in… Mon, 18:06: Blood of Atlantis, by Simon Forward https://t.co/pOkzFrsPRv Mon, 19:54: RT @wef: … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Another trawler nosed its way into the circle of piers, hunting for a berth among the gently jostling vessels. The most recent arrival was tying up, a couple of the crew handing off packing crates … Continue reading →

Sun, 15:11: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings https://t.co/bFFc1bMoGD Sun, 18:37: Jack, by Marilynne Robinson https://t.co/jRDfC7WVSF Mon, 10:45: RT @EdnaKB2: UK woman found guilty of false gang-rape claim lodges appeal in Cyprus Student, 21, who said Israeli tourists … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: “Yes,” she said. “Good evening.” There were tears in her voice. This is the fourth book in Robinson's Gilead series, about two families from the town of that name in Iowa. We had got parts … Continue reading →

More or less on a whim (and a couple of positive recommendations seen on Facebook) I made a rare excursion to the cinema, my first since the pandemic, to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It is … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:52: 550 days of plague https://t.co/Iwap85HBIG Sat, 14:04: RT @faduda: So it seems Orla Brady really is your Romulan Irish Mammy. https://t.co/t9vihuMW2s Sat, 14:04: RT @AnMailleach: If you’ve got a very strong opinion on the MDH/ Armagh invitation situation, … Continue reading →

The Sixth Sense won the first Nebula Award for Best Script for 22 years, after the original Star Wars in 1978. The other 1999 finalists were The Devil's Arithmetic, The Iron Giant, The Uranus Experiment: Part 2 and The Matrix. … Continue reading →

I've been thinking about how long I'll keep up this series of ten-day check-ins. On the one hand, regular writing is good discipline in general. On the other hand, I really hope this will all be over soon. I posted … Continue reading →