"The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease." - Marianne Moore, born this day, 1887

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Nick Sharratt from the reissued You Choose Christmas (with Pippa Goodhart), first out in 2023, inviting readers to choose baubles, food, Christmas sweaters, activities, presents …This cornucopia of a scene offers the chance to visit a bookshop @nicksharratt.bsky.social

The Weekly Wrap: November 9-15 Reading and the senses, Francis Crick, AI translations, The Paris Review, Sylvia Plath, Shakespearean deaths.

Question of the Day: To what places will your books take you this weekend?

Featured Book: Loved Moore's debut novel "Crumpled Paper" so was pleased to receive his new one. So what is the difference between making art and making noise? crumpled-paper.com

"I don't mind dying, I'll gladly do that, but not right now, I need to clean the house first." -Astrid Lindgren, born this day, 1907

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Tony Meeuwissen (digression from Christmas books) from a reissue of his Remarkable Animals, out from Otter-Barry Books on 13 Nov. One of 1000 permutations using 10 animals. In this case, Ruby-Topaz hummingbird with trunkfish and caterpillar. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

Review: Beyond Church and Parachurch A proposal that moves beyond siloed, competitive relationships to a collaborative model of missional extension.

"A friend is a gift you give yourself." -Robert Louis Stevenson, born this day, 1850

Featured Book. One belief is among the most popular, the other among the least. Explores what the Bible says about each. Banner of Truth

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Sydney Smith. It's time I think for a run of Christmas books, starting with the paperback of Santa's First Christmas by Mac Barnett, out from Puffin since Oct. How Santa got to enjoy Christmas Day himself. Smith works his usual magic with light @puffinbooksuk.bsky.social

Review: One Star, Three Kings Imagining the journey of the Magi, blending scripture and history as they follow the star and seek the newborn King.

Question of the Day: Do you think it is too soon to be announcing best books of the year? #booksky

"I want my prose to be as clear as a pane of glass." -Tracy Kidder, born this day, 1945

In “The American Revolution,” an illustrated companion to a new documentary series, the conflict is global, gruesome and tearing us apart. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/b...

Review: The Light Fantastic Saved from falling off Discworld, Rincewind, Twoflower, and the Luggage try to avert its destruction by a red star.

Question of the Day: As you shelve your books, how important is the appearance of your shelves/stacks from an aesthetic point of view? #booksky

"There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look." - Kurt Vonnegut, born this day, 1922

Featured Book. Always thought librarians rock. Little did I know of their role in WW2! @eccobooks.bsky.social

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by John Devolle from Humans, a book of funny, flat, graphic images and few words, in the Big Science for Little Minds series. Look for the bats, flea, mouse, moth, spiders, seagull, badger, robin, chicken, other wildlife and pets. Pushkin 6 Nov. @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

The rags-to-riches tale had already made fans of Zadie Smith and Dua Lipa. Roddy Doyle, who chaired the judging panel, called the book “singular” and “extraordinary.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/b...

Review: The Sacred Art of Slowing Down Explores ways to become aware of our inner state, to tune into our bodies, and tend our souls.

Question of the Day: The Edmund Fitzgerald sank 50 years ago today. Are there maritime stories, fictional or historical, that you like? #booksky

Featured Book. For those who affirm the authority of the Bible, this raises an interesting question. NT writers and early church fathers often quote from the Septuagint. @ivpacademic.bsky.social

"You can't crush ideas by suppressing them. You can only crush them by ignoring them." -Vachel Lindsay, born this day, 1879

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jane Ray from Anya‘s Quest, the story, based on Hindu mythology, of a girl trying to save the planet. By Jasbinder Bilan, Walker Books 6 Nov. Ravishing and magical use of colour and decoration and fantastical Hindu imagery. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social @janeray.bsky.social

Review: The Gales of November A new history of the Edmund Fitzgerald, its final voyage, crew and captain, and the possible reasons for its sinking.

Question of the Day: What book series did you like when you were young?

"No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be." -Bram Stoker, born this day, 1847

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Lou Baker-Smith from Welsh Children's Laureate Nicola Davies' The Secret World of Seahorses. An absorbing and beautifully composed and coloured scene of the destructive practice of turning sea horses into potions and trinkets. Walker Books 6 Nov @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

How the critic Malcolm Cowley made American literature into its own great tradition www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

The Weekly Wrap: November 2-8 Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com The Weekly Wrap: November 2-8 Writing for AI One of the articles I feature this week highlights one writer's realization that those of us still writing may not only use AI to write but are likely writing for AI. I know this to…

"We have art in order not to die of life." ~ Albert Camus, born this day, 1913

Featured Book. Newly arrived. A magisterial study of the person and work of Christ, both in Scripture and in historical theology. P&R Books

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by German illustrator Michele Ganser from non-fiction study Amazing Shark, with narrative by Michael Stavaric. Painstaking, monochrome image with the elegance of an old-fashioned etching. Pushkin Children’s 6 Nov @michaelstavaric.bsky.social @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

Review: Let’s Be Reasonable An conservative argument for liberal education rooted in John Locke's idea of the cultivation of reason.

Question of the Day: When is your best time of the day to read?

"I'm an American, and always will be. I happen to love that big, awkward, sprawling country very much - and its big, awkward, sprawling people." James Jones ("From Here to Eternity"), born this day, 1921

Featured Book. Weaves Greek mythology into a cohesive narrative while setting it alongside other ancient texts. Covenant Books

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Dermot Flynn from Fia and the Last Snow Deer. Verse novel set in prehistoric Ireland, by Eilish Fisher. Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. Reindeer, “Deer Mother“ & magic feast, in a room as “bright as the sun“. Puffin pb 6 Nov @puffinbooksuk.bsky.social

Review: The Wages of Cinema A Christian aesthetic of film in conversation with Dorothy L. Sayers' ideas on creativity and artistic integrity.

Question of the Day: What was the best book you read in October? #booksky

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant, born this day, 1885

For Bonfire Night, #NewIllustrationoftheDay by Grahame Baker-Smith is from The Flickering Fires, in a series that puts the history of humanity's relationship with the 4 elements into a story. Decorative tracery of trees and dramatic use of light and dark. Templar pb 6 Nov. @templarbooks.bsky.social

“Book of Lives” offers two distinct versions of the esteemed novelist: “Peggy Nature” and “the brooder.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/b...

Review: Pietr the Latvian Maigret tracks an international criminal appearing in a number of guises, not always sure he is tracking the real Pietr.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite work of history?

Featured Book. David McCullough commended this book as influential for him, so I picked up a copy, not noticing its 950 pages of dense print. Sure hope it is good! Wesleyan University Press

"If you spend your whole life being depressed about life, you're wasting it." - C. K. Williams, born this day, 1936

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Goldsmiths graduate Yibing Deng from her A Song of the Seasons, which follows a mother bear and her cubs through the year. Gentle, decorative pencil illustration with simplified shapes, pretty colours and a sense of softness. Post Wave 23 Oct. @postwavebooks.bsky.social