I know I met a lot of people on here who followed @bigbeardedbookseller and contributed every Monday. I am going to try and keep the tradition of Monday bookposting from next week so spread the word - the more books the merrier!!!

I’ve been reading a lot about the end of the Roman republic recently, and the slide of that empire into imperial monarchy. The stamping of the leader’s face on coins, colossal statues and a reworking of the forum. But even Augustus didn’t build himself a ballroom-fortress.

Cartoon by Tom Gauld.

365 days ago was the last time I spoke to one of my oldest friends. We spoke for just over an hour and we laughed at the ridiculousness of so much and so many. He didn’t wake up two days later, and I miss him hugely. This isn’t about me, this is about remembering my friend. 🥃

The director of McDonald's Netherlands is called... Zoe Hamburger www.mcdonalds.com/nl/nl-nl/con...

Watercolour painting of some garden pots. #art #watercolours #painting

I don't really post anymore, but I would like to carry on writing books at some point in the future. Hate to be annoying, but any chance you could retweet so old twitter followers can find me if they want to? Going to delete my twitter, or at least abandon it on lock and let it die a slow death.

Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.

Two of my mother's systeres lyve yn Trastevere and make jokes and jestes all the tyme except when thei playe yn their pop punke bande. Thei are My Comical Rome Aunts.

Has anyone read my beautiful (credit to my lovely publisher), calming, life-affirming book? Do you think it would make a nice Christmas gift? Can you help me let people know about it? Here it is: geni.us/ThePlaceImin 🎁

Some are querying whether Andrew can renounce a dukedom without an Act of Parliament. But you can parse a duchy and he’s left outside. Good night.

Not my usual fare but really enjoyed Dance With The Fae by @elisabethhobbes.co.uk !

My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books. p.s. I have a new book of cartoons out soon: www.tomgauld.com/comic-books-v2

Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene

Do you YEARN for a MILITARY COUP? There’s plenty of them in this:

Lovely chicken sorrentina for lunch!

It's Monday again and today I'm reading Craftland by James Fox What book(s) are you reading this week? 💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR alt text in images please

Great series!

It's Monday again and today I'm reading Reframing Women Printmakers by P L Henderson What book(s) are you reading this week? 💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR

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...

Monday comes around again and this week I'm just about to start 'The Salt Grows Heavy' by Cassandra Khaw What book(s) are you reading this week? #MondayReads #AmReading #BookSky 💙📚

📷 A Döner Kebab Seller in Kağıthane Picnic Area, Istanbul, 1855 #Döner #Kebab

If only there were a book, I hear you say, about the reality of the special relationship and the folly of relying on the Americans as allies.

Only four weeks to go until the next Inspector McLean book is out! jamesoswald.co.uk?page_id=1542

Sorry to say you can’t get 25 per cent off but I see @waterstones.bsky.social has declared A Line In The Sand one of their “bucket-list books”, so if you’ve been meaning to read it, now’s the moment

Lovely lunch. Chicken jalfrezi, tarka daal and basmati rice with peas. Not bad for a Thursday lunchtime!

A reminder: Vladimir Putin could end the war in Ukraine right now, just by ordering his soldiers to go home. No need for treaties or negotiations.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 12/20 #booksky #20bookchallenge #bookchallenge

G'morning, & happy Monday! Reading nothing today to keep my brain free of distraction after a re-read of Powell's A Question of Upbringing for this evening's online #MusicOfTime book group hosted by @neglectedbooks.com. Like the sequence as a whole, a work that no amount of re-reading can exhaust.

Monday morning and that means we talk about what we're reading. I'm currently reading Scuttler's Cove by David Barnett, lovely piece of folk horror What book(s) are you reading this week? #BookSky 💙📚 #AmReading #MondayReads

Any other mystery/crime readers out there? Do you know there’s a feed where we can talk books & gossip about authors? Maybe if we’re really nice we can get @ellygriffiths.bsky.social to spill a secret about her new book. Join me on the Mystery feed! (Click & pin.) ⚡️📚💙 bsky.app/profile/did:...

Here, broken down into a thread, is a copy of my last post on X. 1. This is my farewell post. I am not deleting this account, as I don’t want to lose the archive, and I don’t want my name taken by imposters. But, for as long as Musk owns the platform, I’ll no longer use it.

A moving tribute for a brilliant filmmaker.

It's clear from this that Kemi Badenoch's team Don't Look Back In Hansard.

Finished C J Sansom's Lamentation (excellent). Starting Robert Harris's An Officer And A Spy about the Dreyfus scandal, and also Elephant In The Stadium by Arunabha Sengupta, about India's first series win in England in 1971. (Cricket, for any US followers!)

Word of the Day is ‘uhtcearu’ [ucht-kay-aru, with the 'ch' as in the Scottish ‘loch']: Old English for ‘the sorrow before dawn', when you lie awake in the darkness and worries crowd your mind.

Every single thing that everybody suddenly wants to do in Greenland - mine for minerals! use shipping lanes! set up bases! - can be done right now, while Greenland is part of Denmark. The discussion of "occupying" Greenland is just a pointless piece of aggression towards an ally.

OK. So, Im here. This is my first Bluesky post. I should probably make it memorable. OR... I could just post this rakish picture of me eating a slice of cake... If you don't know me, I write crime novels. See my website: www.vaseemkhan.com . If you do know me, help me connect & tell me what to do.

Looking for some new authors to obsess over in 2025? Here’s my starter packs with some of this year’s debuts! Can’t wait to read their books #BookSky go.bsky.app/RYHeizd

I'm late checking in, but finished Stephen King's 'The Stand' yesterday (huge but worth it), and am now buried in Will Sergeant's 'Bunnyman'. I also need to read more of the RoL series; they're really good.

Could two followers please copy and re-post this tweet to show that someone is always there? National Suicide Prevention Hotline Call: 0800 689 5652 (UK) 1-800-273-8255 (USA) 1.833.456.4566 (Canada)

When life gives you lemons, paint them! This vibrant watercolour of lemons and other citrus goodies is my #ArtAdventCalendar for today. 🎨 #watercolor #painting #art #artsky #fruit

#98 of 2024. #BookSky 💙📚

"I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time. It was the early summer of 1945, and we walked through the streets of a Barcelona trapped beneath ashen skies as dawn poured over Rambla de Santa Mónica in a wreath of golden copper." Time for a reread

That would be an ecumenical matter

During Covid lockdown, if you had family round on Christmas Day the police could force their way into your home and make them return to their own homes. Does anybody know if this service is still available and, if so, do you have to book it?

MY YEAR-END READING STATISTICS #wrapped (originally for @theguardian.com)

Lunch today. Cod in a chorizo, tomato and butter bean stew. And very nice it was!