A belated but quick read of one of the International Booker shortlist. On Earth as it is beneath by Ana Paula Maia. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e737...

People have raved about this book and, on the one hand, I can see why - it's a very believable tale of a dysfunctional family. But for me it lacked a cohesive core. My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3153...

Unlike the rest of the country, this heatwave has given me my best nights sleep in a very long time. The cats don't want to sleep snuggled up with me so I'm not constantly being woken up. I got six hours unbroken sleep last night. Can't remember the last time that happened.

That was quite the thunder storm last night. I don't think I've ever seen so much lightning before. From the map it looks like Thor has beef with the Jutes.

North Woods by Daniel Mason is 99p on Kobo and Kindle at the moment. A fantastic read if you don't mind a tiny touch of the supernatural here and there.

“So it was, on that misty morning, that Brenda set off for the capital. She knew not what she would find there, only that the time had come to move on - away from small-minded rural attitudes and people who called her ‘Oreo’ and ‘the wide panda’ - to seek a more fulfilling life.”

TEMP REQUIRED for an office based in Central London – apply in writing to Number Ten. Previous experience not essential – you’ll be out of there by five pm.

This has been sitting on my Kindle for two or three years. Sweet and not bad, but not what I was expecting. How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f635...

Saw a Spitfire and another aeroplane flying overhead in close formation today. Took a very bad photo of them.

Not the most well crafted novel, but a very important topic and reminder. A Family Matter by Claire Lynch. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/21ac...

I found this a bit dry and couldn't understand the concept behind it. Some interesting parts though. Legends by Janina Ramirez. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/52a9...

Roundup of the books I read in May. If that thumbnail isn't clickbait I don't know what is 😅 youtu.be/_iwYoKyOhP8?...

I'm not usually into surreal novels, but I really enjoyed this one. As If by Isabel Waidner. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/773f...

I loved this book about the sacrifices we make when our responsibilities pull us in different directions. Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6a90...

Years ago we put googly eyes on a giant paperclip and stuck it to the wall. Now the blu tack has melted and the paperclip has grown ears and this is basically what Darwin was talking about. #NationalPaperclipDay

After a mildly disappointing part 3, part 4 definitely picks up. On the Calculation of Bolume IV by Solvej Balle. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a827...

That's the Women's Prize shortlist finished. As none of my favourites made the shortlist I'm not really invested in who wins. Maybe Flashlight. This is a good book, but I'd recommend Gloria Don't Speak or A Guardian & a Thief more. Dominion by Addie E Citchens. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/85e5...

Of course if there's a new Elizabeth Strout out you know I've got to read it! The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/8655...

It's an odd reason to buy a book, but I immediately recognised the photo on the cover as the famous Regency Cafe in Westminster where I spent many a happy lunchtime with a plate of ham, egg and chips 😋

After a week or so of slightly rubbish weather, we're soon due to move into a bit of a heatwave. Meanwhile, I've been put on a course of drugs that don't allow me to go out in sunny weather, or even bright overcast weather 🙄🧛‍♀️

This on-the-surface sweet story of early love has more going on under the surface. Don't Laugh at Other People's Sex Lives by Nao-Cola Yamazaki. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e237...

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is 99p on Kindle, and A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar is 99p on both Kobo and Kindle today. Both well worth a read.

More books from the Women's Prize longlist. youtu.be/BqbGfHLRi9c?...

This seems to be an increasing problem. Companies must spend millions on telling us how to keep our accounts safe, and yet feel this kind of practice is acceptable.

A Women's Prize for Fiction shortlister. It's a lovely little book but not prize material to my mind. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/13b1...

This could've been a good book but sadly chose to go in an easy direction. Moderation by Elaine Castillo. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3e9f...

Loved reading this in Moderation by Elaine Castillo, a Filipino-American writer from San Francisco. I don't sound anything like David Bowie either 😂

Not sure I've ever disagreed with a shortlist as much as this one. None of my top four have made it through. I'm very disappointed.

A story of class privilege and maternal instincts. The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e307...

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang is £1.99 on Kobo and Kindle today. A very good read if you don't mind a touch of magical realism (and the horrors of humanity).

Another hoodie on the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist. The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/486a...

We're having some work done on the kitchen, and this old Delft tile style wallpaper showed up behind the cabinets. No idea how old it might be. The house was built in 1929 but I think the kitchen was a later addition.

I learnt things I should've already known about Chinese history, and far more than I needed to know about what people can do to other people. A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/25c5...

The Original by Nell Stevens is 99p on Kobo and Kindle today. Very good plot-driven novel. Recommended.

Took my bat detector to the park. These are probably common pipistrelles. The noise you can hear is the bat detector converting the bats' sounds to a pitch we can hear. I was surrounded by them at times. Absolutely magical experience.

The next on my Women's Prize for Fiction journey. Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/53d1...

My March reads. youtu.be/-6lIxXxCxUk?...

For anyone working their way through the Women's Prize longlist, Flashlight by Susan Choi is 99p on Kobo and Kindle today. It was also shortlisted for the Booker last year.

I'm not sure a book has ever walloped me as hard as this one did. Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f290...

At some point today I will have been alive for 31 million minutes. And currently my knees are feeling every one of them! #mathaversaries

Took the bat detector I got for Christmas out into the garden tonight. No luck on the bat front, but by chance I caught an exceptionally bright pass of the International Space Station 🛰️

Well, this was a punch in the guts! A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9873...

Oysterplant: very rare across coastal northern Britain and found at only a handful of sites here in Shetland. Always a highlight for our groups in spring and summer and although Gaelic isn't the mother tongue here, we love the Gaelic name Tiodhlac na mara - gift of the sea. #wildflowers #ukwildlife

thinking about the medieval cat door in Exeter cathedral again

Contrary to popular opinion, I thought this was much better than Writers and Lovers. Heart the Lover by Lily King. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/5953...

I read this so I can read its second part, Heart the Lover, which is on the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist. A bit middling. Hope I like part 2 better. Writers and Lovers by Lily King. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/60a8...

A lovely heartwarming story thanks to some kind people and local charity The Fox Project 🦊. Fox family reunited after cubs found hiding in car www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon is 99p today on Kobo and Kindle. By far my favourite book of 2024.

A very moving read, especially right now, but despite being quite short it took a bit of work to get through. The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar (trans: Ruth Martin). app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f430...

I loved the two I've already read, so I'm hoping that's a good sign for the rest on the list.