Francis Wheen picks OPF as one of his Books of the Year in the Spectator

A Tale of Toxic Friendship, With a Midlife Mean-Girl Twist www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/b...

I adore it when couples message each other about trips to the tip and picking up courgettes not realising they’re actually on the street WhatsApp

Very early reviews for Other People’s Fun (the i paper, Grazia, Red)

V happy to see Other People’s Fun in the NYT’s fiction preview: 27 Novels Coming This Fall

Happy paperback release day to the wholly delightful Small Bomb at Dimperley. Such a funny, sunny book

Pre-order bargain Link to follow

@rnib.bsky.social Huge thanks to the RNIB Library: I’ve only recently embraced audiobooks—and oh my, your stock is FANTASTIC. Many new books (Maurice and Maralyn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) but also ALL THE ELIZABETH TAYLORS. And no queue. Such riches!

Suddenly many London buses have ‘wooden floors’, as if we are in a country kitchen or an Alpine hut. Was TfL offered a job lot?

‘Unputdownable’ @thebookseller.com on Other People’s Fun by @harrietlane.bsky.social @wnbooks.bsky.social (out in October)

Wonderful book: sailing, catastrophe, the mysteries of a marriage. So well done

‘If someone wants to be seen… then someone has to watch’ - a new book from the author of Alys, Always & Her - OTHER PEOPLE’s FUN by @harrietlane.bsky.social @wnbooks.bsky.social

Your regular reminder that this is a great record, and Sing Street is one of the great movies. youtu.be/fuWTcmjnEGY?...

Loved this show at Kenwood, two rooms filled with story and character. Plus: eyes, hands and, oh my, the FABRICS Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-...

Thoughts and prayers with the Industry writing team

Today, we'll be joining the @societyofauthors.bsky.social outside Meta's offices to protest the use of pirated works to train their AI models. Join us if you can! More info: societyofauthors.org/2025/04/03/u...

Hands up if you remember buying Sunday papers from vendors at London stations late on a Saturday night. 📰🌃

We had two faint stoppages tonight. I gather it’s now a Thing? Is it true it’s men who are doing all the fainting? I found it fairly maddening; god knows how Romola Garai must feel. Terrific performances tho #TheYears

Really important and moving account of state failure in this weekend's @financialtimes.com that is free to read for all here:

Nothing I like better than catching a revival of Alys, Always but annoyingly I can't get to this. Don't miss if you are near Nottingham! This week only!

Sylvanian @backlisted.bsky.social : Imogen by Jilly Cooper

I note with interest the valedictory posts on Meta platforms by people bidding their dear, dear friends a tearful farewell but which garner no comments or likes because the algorithm deems it more important to show those friends an archive picture of Rod Stewart or an interesting fact about linseed

Baby Franz Kafka

David Lynch started doing his weather report on Joe Escalante's 'Last of the Famous International Morning Shows' on 103.1 FM L.A. in 2006. He would call in at random, describe the weather in L.A. in some poetic fashion and then abruptly hang up and it was my favourite thing in the world.

It's the relentlessness of it, isn't it. All the avenues we used to have to earn a living, one by one, and now we have to waste so much time on this shit, just to plead with our government to not drive us completely into the ground. All for some rich people to keep getting richer.

From the Observer's recently retired editor...

Snowy Day, or Bonfire Night, or Go Fishing, when Dad’s left in charge and Tim falls in the stream

To accompany my festive prep I’m listening to Small Bomb at Dimperley (as recommended by @amandacoe.bsky.social) and it’s such a funny sunny tonic, delightful in every way — thank you @lissakevans.bsky.social (also read brilliantly by Lucy Briers)

Semi-colon party all night long! Say what? Semi-colon party all night long!!

I prefer to locate this in the tradition of Tory party leaders saying weird stuff about sandwiches for no reason. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

She. Is. Mental.

Clive Myrie should button his jacket while he’s standing up

Those whispery little ads on Radio 3 for its new ‘R3 Unwind’ sibling are really setting my teeth on edge

⚠️ This Robert Jenrick account is also FAKE, I have had it confirmed directly And it is way more realistic than the fake Kemi Badenoch one – posting the same content as his X account This is very worrying

Seems nice here but the lack of clear verification is going to generate a LOT of chaos isn’t it

Good morning Bluesky. Here's a helpful starter pack for divorced men named Geoff but one has been murdered. Please help us find the killer. go.bsky.app/KDY26rh

A MASTERPIECE and will be on again at 10 and on 4OD or whatever it’s called now for a while presumably

Reviewed Megan Nolan’s second novel for the NYT

I’m watching sky news and a Tory commentator just referred to Robert Generic

@amandacoe.bsky.social Thank goodness you’re here

Book review for NYT