First signs of #spring

I’m dislike International Women’s Day, which strikes me as patronizing, but I wouldn’t mind taking a bite of these luscious #chocolate cakes from my local pasticceria… #March8

Recently @causticcovercritic.bsky.social deplored typos in a new #book but this is next level – the novel stops at page 712 and the final pages (713-724) are set in reverse order (ie 724, 723, 722 etc) requiring you to read backwards – for this & some typos, thank @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

Reading vol 3 of #ADancetotheMusicofTime by #AnthonyPowell and watching episode 2 of the 1997 miniseries adapted from the books… Did you watch the series with your #anthonypowelltogether people, @alisonjaye.bsky.social?

I’m not a fan of #truecrime and disliked #InColdBlood, but @clairewords.bsky.social recommended #ThisHouseofGrief by #HelenGarner so I gave it a go and – what a book! So relentlessly questioning and insightful. Such precise, unfussy writing. I’m in awe. #Booksy 📚

Four years have passed since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia was supposed to win in three days. Instead, Ukraine reinvented modern warfare, built a drone industry, and can destroy a thousand Russian soldiers in a day. Ukraine can win.

Here we go! Volume 2 of A Dance to the Music of Time by #AnthonyPowell… #Booksy 📚

In case anyone has doubts about what team I’m supporting in the men’s #curling final today… @jasonnoiles.bsky.social #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026 #winterolympics

On display at the Palazzo Diedo in #Venice, the #Muranoglass installation Omen by #UrsFischer evokes raindrops – I think – or maybe a meteor shower…? #art #contemporaryart

Meanwhile, on the vaporetto… #Venice #Venezia #carnival #carnevale

#TurtleDiary by #RussellHoban is going to haunt me. Such an insightful novel. Thanks for the recommendation, @grantmcgaheran.bsky.social! #Booksky 📚

Sunday #bubbleandsqueak – perfect winter food, so comforting. #vegetarian #vegan #plantbased #cabbage

A page-turner if I ever read one – Truth by the great #PeterTemple is another brilliant recommendation from @jasonnoiles.bsky.social #Booksky 📚

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified by the IOC from competing in the Olympics after wearing to practice a memorial helmet featuring images of Ukrainians killed by Russia in its war on Ukraine. Despite being unable to compete, he has become a hero in Ukraine.

I guess the #squirrel is Cortina d’Ampezzo’s spirit animal…? The adorable critter is everywhere. #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026

It’s a lovely day in Cortina d’Ampezzo… #Olympics #WinterOlympics #chocolate #snow #Olympics2026 #MilanCortina2026

Call it a competition and you can create extraordinary drama with just a broom and a slab of stone… #Olympics #WinterOlympics #curling #MilanCortina2026

Who knew a novel about artist in AIDS-devastated 1980s #NYC could be hilarious, wild and witty in addition to being poignant? @jasonnoiles.bsky.social that’s who. #PlaysWellWithOthers by #AllanGurganus is truly brilliant.

If you’re interested in the #history of #publictransportation, check out Alessandro Rizzardini’s book Dal remo al vapore, which focuses on #Venice and its famous vaporetti. #ReadingVenice #Venezia readingvenice.com/2026/02/01/d...

Dazzling Byzantine manuscripts on display until Feb. 22 @ the Biblioteca Marciana in #Venice #Venezia

granular, practical, well organized info here: www.wired.com/story/how-to...

Anthony Horowitz is one of my very favorite crime writers but #MarbleHallMurders is not his best vintage IMO

If you’re in #Venice, don’t miss the Gabriele Bella exhibition @ Fondazione Querini Stampalia. Bella delightfully documented daily life in 18th c. Venice, including the lagoon’s 1706 freezing over… #Venezia #art

It’s live! Presenting the new incarnation of my site, #ReadingVenice. Like it says on the tin, it’s about #Venice and its #books, from classics by Henry James to stories by Daphne du Maurier & the latest non-fiction www.readingvenice.com

Spotted in #Venice – beautiful, eye-catching anti war, pro #Ukraine posters from the Italian NGO Emergency

I had absolutely loved On Chapel Sands by #LauraCumming so I was eager to read her Thunderclap. It’s very different but just as brilliant – it makes you see, it makes you feel, it makes you think. #Booksky 📚 #art #Fabritius

Your Cherokee words for today. The top word is English followed by how it is written in the Cherokee language followed by how it is spelled in English then how to pronounce it phonetically.

How cheerfully he seems to grin How neatly spread his claws! And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws. #LewisCarroll #crocodile #Venice #Venezia #spazzini

People give you book recommendations. But only Jason @jasonnoiles.bsky.social drives across half the continent and delivers his recommendations to your doorstep. The Broken Shore by #PeterTemple is a revelation. #Booksky 📚

My website #ReadingVenice is back online! #Weebly deleted it for months (no reason was ever given) so I’m ready to migrate to a new #CMS (preferably w/ hosting) – recommendations welcome! readingvenice.weebly.com

Come to me, you pretty leafy green things, come to me! #farmersmarket #Venice #Venezia

Carnival doesn’t start in #Venice for another 2 weeks but heaps of festive golden #frittelle can already be seen in pastry shops all over the city #Venezia

Today several #Stolpersteine were placed on the streets of #Venice – these poignant markers indicate where people used to live before they were taken to concentration camps and exterminated. #Shoah #WW2

Reading A Winter Book by #ToveJansson with @lizoksbooks.bsky.social. The book features enchanting pictures from Jansson’s life, including her childhood. #ToveWinter26

#Venice is running an ad campaign encouraging people to drink #tapwater and use refillable bottles to reduce #plasticwaste. And there’s water fountains all over the city, which is really handy.

Taking off from Tivat is just magical! Under Mount Lovćen covered with snow you can see the #Kotor bay, the Tivat bay, the #Adriatic in the distance

A dusting of #snow has appeared on the mountains around the #Kotor bay

Swirl appreciates it’s #Caturday but she’d rather stay under the duvet thank you very much #CatsofTwitter

I made #bubbleandsqueak for the first time and was so scrumptious I *may* just have to make it again tomorrow. #vegetarian #plantbased

It’s almost like they scheduled this for #ToveWinter26, @lizoksbooks.bsky.social!

We understand the assignment. Keep documenting. Keep sharing. Keep speaking out. 🤝 Threads by @jason_whitman

Srećan badnji dan! Wishing a happy Orthodox Christmas Eve to those who celebrate. Like many Serbian Orthodox people in the ex #Yugoslavia, my friend is offering guests priganice (basically donut holes) and dried fruit - and much rakija

It’s been a rough week for Tiger but he made a recovery on time to show off his whiskers and sparkling eyes on #Caturday #CatsofBluesky

While staring out the window at falling snow, thinking of #ToveWinter26, I happened to see a fox running through neighbors' yards. What a perfect day to start Tove Jansson's "A Winter Book"! ❄️📖 Feel free to join me & @petipaw.bsky.social if you have a copy. Or even read TJ's "Summer Book" instead!🌞

The moon also rises

As the year draws to a close, I’m signing off 2025 with a magical find! An ancient amber bear. Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark, from a submerged Mesolithic settlement in the North Sea. ✨ Happy New Year all! ✨ National Museum of Denmark 📷 by me #Archaeology

I’m finally catching up! I’m reading A Dance to the Music of Time by #AnthonyPowell and I’ll never again see a sugar dispenser without thinking about Winderpool… #Booksy 📚

A friend was going to church this morning. I walked with him lit a candle. I need the light inside.

Happy Boxing Day! This autumn, @petipaw.bsky.social & I decided to read Tove Jansson's "A Winter Book" in Jan. 2026. Please join us! This will be very low-key: read what & when you like. I'll start Jan 1, read 1 story a day & post a bit. ❄️📖 #ToveWinter26 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Winte...

The Embassies of Germany, Great Britain and France performed "Shchedryk" in the Kyiv metro on Christmas Eve For over a century, the legendary Shchedryk by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych has been heard around the world as a symbol of Christmas #Ukraine #Russia