“We must have your doublet and hose plucked over your head and show the world what the bird hath done to her own nest.” #Bardspotting #Birds #Cock CELIA As You Like It Act IV, Scene 1

A bit of #TerryPratchett chat on here these last few days. This is useful if you want to dive in but are not sure where to start.

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com. Many more here: www.theguardian.com/profile/tom-gauld

"No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space..."

I want to talk about It’s A Superpower?? like an excited toddler wants to show you a new toy. The Daily Tism made an audio sitcom. It comes out in early July. It’s producer by us & @andrewhickey.500songs.com , who has pretty much now funded a mini autistic comedy industry. What a guy. 1/

In honour of World Dracula Day, here’s my favourite scene from the ’90s film: Keanu Reeves’ Jonathan Harker meeting Count Von Counts' Dracula.

Keywords > 26 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 💡 🔥 Play streak 17 🏆 Win streak 9

“The horn, I say. Farewell. Take heed, have open eye, for thieves do foot by night. Take heed, ere summer comes, or cuckoo-birds do sing. Away, Sir Corporal Nim! Believe it, Page, he speaks sense.” #Bardspotting #Birds #Cuckoo ‘ANCIENT’ PISTOL The Merry Wives Of Windsor; Act II, Scene 1

Thanks, Vonnegut. 💜

How your email finds me today:

Hey, far be it from me to add to your #Tsundoku but if you think LAHP was good - I can't stress enough how much you will enjoy Panenka (in time for the WC) and Ghost Mountain. Go support your local independent bookstore or library now, good people of #Booksky

#Wordle 1,802 2/6* ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

AI is an enormous, terrifying problem. But people's capitulation to and mimicry of AI, and the kind of cowardly thinking it fosters, is arguably an even bigger one.

26 - 30 May. For those of you who perhaps haven’t yet read Lev Parikian’s beautiful book Light Rains Sometimes Fall (A British Year Through Japan’s 72 Seasons); this is a gentle reminder that today sees the start of: Season 23 “PEONIES BLOOM AT LAST” #Booksky

Keywords > 25 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 3✗ 💡 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 6✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 3✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 5✗ 🔥 Play streak 16 🏆 Win streak 8

“‘Fly pride’, says the peacock; mistress, that you know.” [Exeunt Antipholus/Dromio of Syracuse] #Bardspotting #Birds #Peacock DROMIO OF SYRACUSE The Comedy Of Errors; Act IV, Scene 4

#Wordle 1,801 1/6* 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I think @swansonian.bsky.social should sue on copyright grounds, personally.

Keywords > 24 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1✗ 💡 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1✗ 🔥 Play streak 15 🏆 Win streak 7

I am biased, of course, but if you are looking for a short, silly book to read right now, with absolutely zero defining central subject, may I recommend this? It's recently been republished, after an upsetting period out of print due to the demise of my ex-publishers. www.tom-cox.com/my-notebook-2/

“‘Tis unnatural, Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, A falcon, towering in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at, and kill’d.” #Bardspotting #Birds #Falcon OLD MAN Macbeth; Act II, Scene 4

#Wordle 1,800 3/6* ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟩 🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

YOU’RE LISTENING TO SISYPHUS FM, THE HOME OF NON-STOP ROCK

Keywords > 23 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 3✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1✗ 💡 🔥 Play streak 14 🏆 Win streak 6

Live And Let It Be #bondbeatles

“Do, do. He’ll but break a comparison or two on me, which, peradventure not marked, or not laughed at, strikes him into melancholy, and then there’s a partridge wing saved, for the fool will eat no supper that night.” #Bardspotting #Birds #Partridge BEATRICE Much Ado About Nothing; Act II, Scene 1

#Wordle 1,799 3/6* ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Book #30 of 2026 finished Taking Flight by Lev Parikian Charming and informative look into all things flighted. 5 🌟 Controversial take. Forget the next Dr. Who or James Bond. My shout for the next Attenborough, when it becomes available, would be @levparikian.bsky.social #Booksky #Tsundoku

"'You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet,' he said; 'perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion...He is a little queer in his ideas-an enthusiast in some branches of science. As far as I know he is a decent fellow enough.'" Happy birthday Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Well, to begin with today: happy 123rd anniversary to this extraordinary literary lineup of leather on willow enthusiasts

This bank holiday weekend… Spend over £20 - get 10% off with code GET10 Spend over £50 - get 20% off with code GET20 Prints, cards, homewares, t-shirts and more. Designed in Manchester and made in the UK. Offer ends midnight Monday 25 May 2026. www.gailmyerscough.co.uk

Keywords > 22 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 3✗ 💡 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🔥 Play streak 13 🏆 Win streak 5

#Booksky #Tsundoku Another beautiful book delivery from @bertsbooks.bsky.social

Okay. Two colleagues in Pune have helped me but so far I've got: 8032/365 - Gary Sobers. 99.94 The Don. 158 McCullum T20. 501, Lara. 333, Gooch. 376 is 4th wkt stand Laxman/Dravid (thank you Deepak & Manish on this). 16.43 is Sydney Barnes bowling figures. 104 must be Lev's. But 235 has me stumped?

This. God, this. It is such a manufactured panic and it started the moment they lost the fight over gay marriage. Support trans rights because it’s the right thing to do and also because this is all just a fascist push

@jimcollings.bsky.social Mate - if you haven't already caught this - make a bee line for it asap. I know you've got it as "Currently Reading" but this series is excellent (writing & performances) and will not affect enjoyment of the book.

Soon on Keywords you will be able to replay previous days' games. It will be a much bigger update under the hood than expected because it touches EVERYTHING and I regret not building this feature from the start. (Give the game a go if you haven't already)

Next week (May 29th - 6th June) is the annual Rik Mayall comedy festival. I've done a few new pictures for it including some exclusive stuff for @mitchbenn.bsky.social's performances. www.rikmayallcomedyfestival.com Get along if you can.

“As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen Drop on you both. A southwest blow on ye And blister you all o’er.” #Bardspotting #Birds #Raven CALIBAN The Tempest; Act I, Scene 2

#Wordle 1,798 3/6* 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

So once again I find myself toward the business end of a great @levparikian.bsky.social book - Taking Flight. And, inevitably but also enjoyably, I find another delicious #MontyPython reference. This one in The Hummingbird chapter. #Booksky #Swifts #NobodyExpects

WHAT FOOL in their correct MIND would turn down an advance from a publisher - even a small one - for a partly-written literary novel, in the current shaky climate? The answer is me. I'm that fool. This piece explains why I did it… www.tom-cox.com/writers-bloc...

Here's a nice thing from @picadorbooks.bsky.social: the chance to win copies of my books plus 2 free tickets to a show near you. Or you could be one of the even luckier non-winners. www.panmacmillan.com/brian-bilsto...

ACAA* my latest for @newscientist.com *a cartoon about abbreviations

THREAD. Sometimes you just have to write a thing for your own sanity. It was my birthday yesterday. I did manage to do a bit of celebrating in the evening with pals but I ended up spending the whole day writing the piece in this link: www.tom-cox.com/writers-bloc... I feel better for doing it.

Ridiculous business really. English isn’t so much one language as six languages in a trench-coat.

Publication day for the 10 year, totally rewritten, anniversary edition of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived. arutherford.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...

This is an utterly, pointlessly cruel policy and cis folks need to do whatever we can stand up against it. Solidarity with our trans and NB siblings 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈

As Lev points out in this thread, this must all have been rather galling for the stork, which had been successfully impaled once, and just stoically kept going (in the manner, perhaps, of someone preparing to update their LinkedIn with some shit about resilience)

Keywords > 21 May 2026 I found all 5 words! 🟩🟩🟩🟩 3✗ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✓ 💡 🔥 Play streak 12 🏆 Win streak 4