And here it is, after long labor, my essay on Titus Groan, the fifth in my Ballantine Adult Fantasy reading series. Here, I focus on the role of ritual and power, as well as the mysterious story of Keda and the Mud Dwellers. Writing this convinced me that Peake is genius and I look forward to more.

Slightly diminish a band: Pulped

Today is the 47th anniversary of this clearly unimprovable photo, from a story so absurd that it shouldn’t be true, but is: the day a team of workers from British Waterways pulled the plug out of the Chesterfield Canal, and all the water emptied out

This was something we said again and again in interviews and talks about the Ladybird books. When you give a child something made carefully and skilfully, they feel it. A treat. “For me?” We all remember that feeling. When you give a child something half-arsed, you tell them they don’t matter.

A few years ago during Covid, when like a lot of the country, I was going batshit, I started a mini Grand Designs, on Twitter, using tiny 18mm figures. And if people enjoyed it there, maybe they'll enjoy it here. Meet Tom & Sue.

"A.i." doesn't empower anyone. It strips them of belief in themselves and the power of their own minds and hands and abilities and stories. EVERY KID CAN DRAW. EVERY KID CAN TELL STORIES AND MAKE COMICS. Fuck "A.i." for telling kids lies and making them less-than.

In September 1980 EMI asked Roger Scott to record promos for the reissues of The Beatles’ Rock’n’Roll Music volumes 1 & 2. Perhaps unwisely, EMI also arranged for these to be produced by Kenny Everett

Often when consumed by anxiety and feeling awful in the head, I calm myself by following disused railway lines on maps, and imagine the layouts I might build based on them. For The Observer, I've written about engines big and small, masculinity and mental health: observer.co.uk/news/first-p...

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1850-1913), Jeanne d'Arc

It's possible that no artist was more felicitously matched with an author than Charles Keeping with Alan Garner!

Graphic designer life: singing Sweet Caroline, but substituting 'mise en abyme' (oh oh oh).

Ten writers by whom I’ve read more than five books: Graham Greene P.G. Wodehouse Tove Jansson John le Carré Russell Hoban Sue Townsend George Saunders John Berger J.G. Ballard Ursula K. Le Guin

Ignore the somewhat clickbaity subheader – this is a fascinating read. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

"The Master & Margarita", illustrations Gennady Novozhilov

Seeing him playing at Glastonbury reminded me of my long-held dream album. I would like Father John Misty to record a cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Death of a Ladies' Man' album in its entirety. Add on Do I Have to Dance All Night? as a bonus track. It would be *phenomenal*.

Brilliant.

It's so hot I could fall asleep in the Australian wilderness only to wake up and find my schoolmates and teacher have disappeared in unusual circumstances

+BBC CLOCK COMPETITION+ We won't be making a run of these but this Bank Holiday weekend you can win a one-off 90s inspired BBC ident clock. Follow, Like & RP to enter. Winner announced Mon AM. We've also restocked our 'Radiophonic' inspired signs & other items. hiddenbritain.bigcartel.com

The fact that AI generated kid-lit is a thing shows that some people view kids' media as something meant to distract children, and not something that's integral to cognitive development.

Never leave the house without a good book.

Hey! I really felt the weight of everything last week, and I wanted a way to talk through it... so I've been working on (maybe the first???) choose your own adventure game set up directly *in* Bluesky. And here it is! Would you like to visit the Garden of Fortune with me? Enter the garden.

Look, I admit, I should have got started earlier, but does anybody know where I can get some wicker?

Visual development art by Aurélien Predal for Moominvalley (2019–), dir. Steve Box, Gutsy Animations

Utterly magnificent.

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked, "If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?" Allow our scaled diagram to explain...

Pulp: Spike Island review – Jarvis Cocker and co’s joyous second coming

I love this.

Poster concept art for ‘Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens’ Albin Grau caligaripress.com/100-Years-of...

If it helps steer us away from nuclear Armageddon then great, but Jesus, as if the world wasn't a dark enough place already just now… (Threads is brilliant, obviously, but best seen once.)

Dianne Jackson mastered the art of turning illustrations into animation. She did it in her film The Snowman, in the Peter Rabbit series and more. Millions know Jackson's work, but few know about her. Our new issue tells the story of this great artist: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-unsung...

There’s a great interview with Nick Park about Wallace And Gromit in last month’s Empire, and this bit in particular stood out. It sums up what artists have been trying to say about AI. The mistakes and the learning aren’t things to be bypassed, but a vital part of the process 🤟

I’m reeling at the idea that ‘Alexandra Leaving’ was almost left off ‘Ten New Songs’. It’s a masterpiece; the album is unimaginable without it.

‘Faced with a sentence like this “Pearl inlaid where snow has melted”, surely a poet will ask, “But aren’t those words enough?”’

I know this is a protest, but it's very listenable as an album in its own right. I'd buy a copy.

Alfred Latour (1888-1964)

The Gainsbourg stuff is obviously iconic, but great to see a shoutout to the completely off the wall ‘L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches’. I’m looking forward to the new album. A mandolin orchestra? Merci beaucoup.

Hergé, 1933

I’m very much looking forward to @markdoyle.bsky.social’s new book on John Cale’s ‘Paris 1919’.

Turtle Diary was my gateway to Russell Hoban, and I'm very much looking forward to revisiting it through this series. #Hoban100

T.E. Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – answers questions from his publisher on inconsistent spelling of Arabic names in the proofs of ‘Revolt in the Desert’. The publisher’s queries are on the left; Lawrence’s responses on the right.

This somehow passed me by at the time, but gosh, the latest Pet Shop Boys’ album is quite something.

Sure, because the number one problem with the publishing industry is there just aren't enough books being published.

Hello! A wee introduction. I’m a children’s book designer, based in Scotland. Specialist subjects include books, illustration, publishing, graphic design and records. Curious to explore this new place…