Heron Books in Bristol are running an advent calendar in the shop where the first person to buy a book each day up to Christmas gets to pick a mystery proof from a lucky dip. They knew I wasn’t getting a book advent calendar myself this year …

I won’t be getting Backlisted books in my advent calendar this year as we have too many we haven’t read already, and we don’t have the shelf space! Maybe next year, I’ll have had chance to catch up a bit, there will be more authors featured that we want to collect and it will make a return.

I finished this last week, and I’m still thinking and chuckling about it now. I think few books make you laugh out loud, but chuckling aloud is a pretty good indicator of a humour. A bookseller by accident having lost his work as a journalist to online media, and attempting to revive …

Cinema trip today to see Wicked For Good (good, but supposed highest quality “Epic” screen at Vue looked like you were watching it projected onto water that had an oily film on top) and The Running Man (very good but didn’t have anything that made it feel specifically like an Edgar Wright film).

Going to the bookshop annual party this week, and they’ve asked everyone to come as book cover or in a costume inspired by a book. I’m not really a dress up person, so I’m going lowkey with a prop to make a favourite book cover. Can you guess what it is?

Listened to the new @backlisted.bsky.social episode on Patreon this morning and it’s another excellent, interesting discussion. I went into the bookshop to order the book and H asked me what it was about. I tried to remember Una’s blurb and failed miserably. Advised him to just listen to Backlisted!

Heron Books in Clifton, Bristol going all out with the window display for On the Calculation of Volume (love the calendars where every day is 18th Nov!) www.instagram.com/p/DRPNAtMjCU...

Here we go again …

I listened to the audiobook of Outline today. Unlike when I tried to read it for a book group a while back, I did make it to the end this time. I’m still bemused by the book, despite an excellent Backlisted episode discussion. Part of the problem with the audiobook is that KST does a Greek accent …

I’m reading Service by John Tottenham at the moment. About a hundred pages in and it’s so good. It’s funny enough that I’ve chuckled out loud a few times, and the occasional footnotes are gems. Enjoying it enormously

It’s here! On the Calculation of Volume III has arrived. I’ve taken the day off on Tuesday to read it. Also Outline and Transit by Rachel Cusk because, you know, Backlisted (although I have actually bought the audiobook of Transit this morning to see if KST can help me make it to the end this time.

Clifton Oxfam always has the creepiest dolls on display in the window.

It’s #LetterboxdFriday, and here are my #LastFourWatched. I guess I’m fully in Christmas film mode now!

Thank you so much for recommending Remember the Night @mariephillips.bsky.social. I’ve just watched it and it was fantastic. I will be adding it to my Christmas viewing list from now on. Barbara Stanwyck was absolutely brilliant, and I loved the ending. Thank you again!

I’ve pitched a project I really want to do and had zero interest so far: celebrating the history of books that aren’t “real books”. Rather than the usual “children’s canon”. Because those were my favourites growing up. And I suspect I’m not alone. My love of reading comes entirely from those.

Time to start Hallowe’en reading. I’ve picked a collection of Robert Aickman stories, Dark Entries. I’ve been listening to all the previous @backlisted.bsky.social Hallowe’en episodes this week, and @andrewmale.bsky.social’s fist pick was Aickman’s Cold Hand in Mine, so Dark Entries is calling!

I will miss Claudia so much on #Strictly. My favourite memories are mostly from It Takes Two days. Here’s one I found as a reminder youtu.be/TTxPWVqrW58?...

My latest book order arrived today with a few beauties! First up, I found another Joan Barfoot book from The Women's Press in great condition. Another @backlisted.bsky.social influenced purchase, and I’m holding @regretteruane.bsky.social responsible.

The anticipation is palpable … what book will be joining my @backlisted.bsky.social Hallowe’en shrine this year?

This always fascinates me. I read a book this week and really enjoyed it, but only found out afterwards it was meant to be funny. I had no idea, but an event with the author the day after I finished reading it, confirmed that it was a comic novel.

Haven’t done a #FridayReads in ages but I’ve started Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox (@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social) this afternoon and I love it already, so just thought I’d share the news.

I wonder if it was me being mentioned on Locklisted this week 😂

Braved the wind and rain to find solace in Heron Books and @maxminervas.bsky.social this morning. Now I have some more bookshelf space, I immediately feel the need to fill it, so new books were purchased.

Good news, @backlisted.bsky.social can continue for a while longer. I’ve managed to give away enough books for a reorganisation of the shelves to free up the remaining corner shelf for future episodes.

Having to cull some books as we have NO SPACE left on the shelves. Here’s what will be going so far after going through 75% of the living room shelves.

I hate to tell all @backlisted.bsky.social fans this, but the podcast needs to finish after the Bob Dylan episode, because I have no space left in the bookshelf.

It’s #LetterboxdFriday, and here are my #LastFourWatched. Can you believe I’d never actually watched The Great Escape before?

The paperback of Monkey King, Journey to the West has finally been published and my @backlisted.bsky.social shelf is complete once again!

Excellent venting by Andy here, made us laugh a lot! Also loved the meditatively useful list as it included one of my favourites (Virginia Astley, From Gardens Where We Feel Secure).

Just finished The Last Days of Summer by @sarramanning.bsky.social. My favourite of her books so far. The perfect ending for the story that has developed over the book. Bravo.

Call of the Wilde I can draw one of these for you if you like. All my cartoons are drawn to order, they're not prints. www.worldofmoose.com/products/cal...

Congratulations! I loved this poetry collection.

Some of my favourite Robert Redford films - Barefoot in the Park with Jane Fonda, The Way We Were with Barbara Streisand, and obviously, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Had to stop watching The Way We Were during the hospital scene because I was crying so much I couldn’t actually see the screen.

Sat in the cafe reading my book this morning and felt something touch my leg. The dog with the people two tables down looked up at me with wistful eyes, so had to put down my book to stroke his head. Ten minutes later he’s sat by my side still being petted. Good boy, Dennis.

Just listened to the latest @backlisted.bsky.social episode through Patreon. I won’t spoil who the guest is as I don’t think it’s been announced, but it’s a returning guest whose previous choice is one of my favourites, and their new choice sounds fantastic. Excellent, excellent episode!

Lots of thunder and lighting around this morning. Very odd being in the shower and hearing thunder so loud you feel like your body is rumbling with it.

For any @backlisted.bsky.social listeners who enjoyed this episode from 2017, BBC Four are not only showing the film adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on Thursday 11th September, but following it with an episode of Parkinson including Anita Loos as a guest. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/45-...

My friend set a reading challenge for Women in Translation month this year. The challenge was to read six books, and gave us sixteen different prompts to help us choose our books. I finished the challenge yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed all of the books I picked.

Another Women in Tranlsation month crossover with @backlisted.bsky.social, this time it’s the poetry of Hannah Arendt

My god, @backlisted.bsky.social knows how to pick ‘em. The Image of Her was completely absorbing and … and I don’t really know what else to say. I can’t describe my feelings about it, but it’s right up there with my favourite books of the year so far.

Love it when Women in Translation month and @backlisted.bsky.social coincide! Just starting The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir, translated by @laurenelkin.bsky.social, who was the guest for the Backlisted episode about the book. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...

I finished this one this afternoon. Immediate 5 stars. Devastatingly good. (See last posts on the quoted thread for the essay that broke me).

This morning, I’ve started The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg, and yet again am eternally grateful to @backlisted.bsky.social for introducing me to an author I’d never read before and who is now one of my favourites, and have lots of her books to look forward to.

I’ve also finally managed to focus on reading more than a page of a book, and finished reading Just a Little Dinner by Cécile Tlili translated by Katherine Gregor from @foundryeditions.bsky.social.

Two and a half weeks since my back problems started and definitely on the road to recovery now. This week I’ve managed to hobble and slowly walk to the remaining Gromit’s I needed to visit to finish the trail.My last three ticked off this morning. Back home for a rest now!

It’s publication day for the new edition of my first poetry collection, ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’. It’s been unavailable for nine months, following the demise of its original publisher, Unbound. I’m so delighted that Picador stepped into the breach to bring out this shiny new edition.

New episode up now. The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, with guest Paul March-Russell in conversation with Una McCormack and Andy Miller. @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social www.backlisted.fm/episodes/246...

All I have left of the 1000s of books I bought from my ex-publisher's warehouse are about 200 copies of Ring The Hill. I'd *love* to get them to good homes this week. If you're in the UK & you'd like one, for the price of your choice (any price!), pls email me your address at [email protected].

Any shares of this for algorithmical purposes much-appreciated. I'd love to get these books out of my spare room & into the world before my new novel comes out. I'll sign them all & I really am happy to let people choose what they pay. (Postage to UK is £4.)