For @stujallen.bsky.social's Hungarian Lit Month, I have read "I Don't Care", a story collection by Ágota Kristóf (tr. Chris Andrews). I found it as ostensibly spare, and as deeply felt, as her Notebook Trilogy. More thoughts here: www.davidsbookworld.com/2026/02/10/h...

Happy New Year!

For Strange Horizons, I've been working on a review of A Granite Silence, Nina Allan's fascinating examination of a historical crime as a network of jostling stories. The review went online yesterday: strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...

I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while: here’s @davidheb.bsky.social on the incomparable Nina Allan’s latest, A Granite Silence: “In her latest novel, Allan turns her attention to a historical murder case: The many worlds that spiral out from one tragic event.”

We on the shadow panel have chosen our winner of the #InternationalBooker2025, in advance of tomorrow's official announcement. We chose On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (tr. Barbara J. Haveland). More info here: shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/we-have-a-...

From the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson). I found this a powerful experience. www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/07/i...

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (tr. Sophie Hughes): short novel about a young ex-pat couple searching for the perfect life. I particularly like the way it embodies its own theme, skating over the surface of what it depicts. Book 2/13 read from #InternationalBooker2025.

My first stop on the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson), a poignant novel of friendship. www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/04/i...

Some group predictions from our shadow group. IBP longlist tomorrow! @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com/p/some-predi...

Our shadow panel created our first post about our IBP adventure. Want to meet the readers? @stujallen.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/shadowin...

Our IBP shadow panel is gathering our process and thoughts in a Substack this year. Join us? @stujallen.bsky.social @davidheb.bsky.social @fulcherkim.bsky.social @jeremykoenig.bsky.social @marinasofia.bsky.social shadowingtheibp.substack.com?r=atko7&utm_...

Recent reading: The Bridge Between Worlds by Gavin Francis. A fascinating tour of bridges and what they mean, combining history, geography, memoir, culture, and more besides. www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/30/t... @drgavinfrancis.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk

For #JanuaryInJapan, thoughts on Touring the Land of the Dead by Maki Kashimada (tr. Haydn Trowell), a pair of novellas about contrasting family relationships. www.davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/03/t...

My first review for this year's #JanuaryInJapan looks at Rin Usami's 'Idol, Burning' (translated by Asa Yoneda), more J-Pop than J-Lit ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/i...

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

My favourite books read in 2024: featuring Jeffrey Lewis, Hiroko Oyamada, Helene Hanff, and Noémi Kiss-Deáki. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/30/a...

The week is done at @strangehorizons.bsky.social, and ICYMI we had quite a brace of reviews: Catherine Baker on @jedediahberry.com's "spontaneity"; @davidheb.bsky.social on Ali Smith's "abstraction"; and @redfernjon.bsky.social on @amendlocke.bsky.social's "engrossing ... worldbuilding."

Ali Smith's new book, Gliff (the first of two linked volumes) is set in a future of banal oppression. It's particularly concerned with the abstract dimensions of oppression and resistance. I've reviewed it for @strangehorizons.bsky.social... strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/...

Hello there! I have been neglecting this account, and intend to post more often from now on...

To mark Han Kang's Nobel Prize win, I've looked back over my thoughts on her work. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/10/11/a...

Han Kang won the Nobel Prize? Excellent!

Today, for #WITMonth, I am revisiting my 2018 review of Sayaka Murata's excellent Convenience Store Woman (tr. @ginnytkmr.bsky.social). #TranslationThurs www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/08/29/a...

My latest subscriber copy from @galleybeggars.bsky.social. This book is a real gem.

This novel invigorated me: a protagonist living in the shadow of his famous namesake, with the possibility of other paths through life hovering just out of reach.

I've just watched Memento for the first time in over twenty years, and discovered that I'd completely misremembered the ending...

Some thoughts on After Nora by Penelope Curtis, a novel of family history and characters seeking understanding through art... www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/04/26/l...

I enjoyed An Untouched House by Willem Frederik Hermans (tr. David Colmer): a microcosm of wartime horror beneath its own mask of civility. It also had the balance of specific and abstract that I found missing from Prophet Song.

Today I'm part of a blog tour for the new 'Futures' series of book-length essays, published by Melville House. I'm looking at The Future of Songwriting by Kristin Hersh. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/02/23/m...

I've read Prophet Song. I quite liked the abstract nature of its dystopia to begin with, but ultimately I felt it really needed something more tangible, more specific.

I'm sad to hear this morning that Christopher Priest has died. He was one of my favourite writers, central to shaping my taste in books. In novels like The Affirmation, there's a sense of mystery at the heart of reality that I found electrifying.

This article prompted me to choose a book from New Zealand to read next... www.theguardian.com/world/2024/j...

My thoughts on Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (tr. David Boyd): a deceptively quiet set of stories that keeps opening out the further you look in. www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/01/11/w...

@mkmarion.bsky.social @radzpandit.bsky.social @abibliophobia.bsky.social Thanks for sharing my posts recently.

Latest reading: Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (tr. David Boyd). I love how these stories subtly illustrate the undercurrents in their characters' relationships.

I read The Moustache by Emmanuel Carrère (tr. Lanie Goodman): a simple cosmetic change leads to a spiral of paranoia... www.davidsbookworld.com/2024/01/02/t...

I've picked out six of my favourite books that I read this year – by coincidence, three from the International Booker Prize, and three from the 1930s... www.davidsbookworld.com/2023/12/28/a...

Happy Christmas!

From an ordinary front door to a wager over reality: thoughts on This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack www.davidsbookworld.com/2023/11/09/t...

Are there any adaptations or cover versions that loom larger in your mind than the original? For me, The Three Musketeers always makes me think of Dogtanian – and I can't hear 'Not Fade Away' without thinking of the skeleton selling Scotch VHS tapes...

6 authors I love: Yoko Ogawa Christopher Priest Han Kang Sayaka Murata Lucy Wood Tarjei Vesaas

More Goldsmiths Prize reading: I enjoyed Man-Eating Typewriter by Richard Milward, with its clash of voices and realities that plays out on the page. www.davidsbookworld.com/2023/10/11/g...

I'm working my way through this year's Goldsmiths Prize shortlist. My first title was Lori & Joe by Amy Arnold, a looping tale of grief held at bay... www.davidsbookworld.com/2023/07/11/p...

"Is that Edward St Aubyn you're reading?" "Some Hope." "Never Mind."

Introduce yourself with three books you love: - Han Kang, The Vegetarian - Tarjei Vesaas, The Ice Palace - Jon McGregor, Lean Fall Stand

Well, this is terrifying. I found a book of cartoon foxes drawn by famous writers for charity. Here are the contributions of Kazuo Ishiguro and Andrew Motion.

Excited to have a copy of This Plague of Souls, the forthcoming novel by Mike McCormack. Published by Canongate in October.

I'm not really following the Booker this year, but... 50% Paul?!

Reading my first Hrabal for Czech Lit Month...

"I've been reading Adam Mars-Jones." "Caret?" "No, I didn't need much encouragement."

Currently, this is like trying to reconstruct a jigsaw using random pieces, and without the box for reference.