It’s Saturday and you deserve a treat so sit back with a cuppa and catch up on this week’s Wombling Along gathering reviews and more I saw online this week www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2026/2/...

David over at blue book balloon joins the tour for Catherine by Essie Fox today.

#TheApprentice this year seems to have ditched the treats - seems like miserable penny pinching, wouldn’t it have been better just not to have the foreign trip?

So much fun to translate these! Stella is something special!

'a grand, sweeping read' writes @bluebookballoon.bsky.social

No matter the era, you can always spot the Call of Cthulhu characters. Keeper: "We're going to have a serious game with rich characters as they wrestle with trauma & untold horrors, while also learning a whole lot about history." Players: "Finally! Also, we want a detective dog in an adorable hat."

In languages such as Spanish, you can make an adverb by adding ‘-mente’ to a feminine adjective: ‘claro’ (clear) > ‘claramente’ (clearly) This suffix has a fascinating origin: it’s the same word as the feminine noun ‘mente’ meaning “mind”. Click my new graphic for the story of Romance adverbs:

New Review - a dark cult is suddenly disrupted by a new arrival that reminds someone that they once were more than this - I highly recommend The Unworthy by Augustina Bazterrica translated by Sarah Moses www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2026/2/...

New on the blog today for #ReadIndies, I've written about some of my favourite books from NYRB Classics. Featuring books by Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Comyns, J. L. Carr and more! @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social #BookSky 💙📚 #TranslationThurs jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/02/12/s...

Review for Brennan LaFaro's The Denizens is up. Southern gothic horror at its finest, a tale of a grief-stricken man and a . #HorrorFiction #BookReview gnofhorror.com/the-denizens... @brennanlafaro.bsky.social @nefariousbatpress.bsky.social @tcparker.bsky.social

Joining the tour for #Catherine by @essiefox.bsky.social, out now from @orendabooks.bsky.social. Raw, emotional retelling of Wuthering Heights. Don’t miss this! Many thanks @annerandomthings.bsky.social bluebookballoon.blogspot.com/2026/02/blog... #BookSky 📚💙

*NEW BLOG POST* My review of #FirstDate by Gemma Amor is live on #damppebbles! Packed to the brim with relentless, palpable tension. This is a book that will get under your skin. Engrossing, nerve-racking, and pretty darn brutal! My review ➡️ buff.ly/JRuROyN @daturabooks.bsky.social #BookSky

I have a few of these on my patch too... I call them nilforts.

13th February 2026 marks the 29th anniversary of the Great Lego Spill, when nearly five million pieces of Lego fell into the ocean after a cargo ship laden with goods was hit by a storm.

Catherine: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights by Essie Fox @EssieFox @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours liveanddeadly.net/2026/02/12/c... From @bethsy.bsky.social

Today I am sharing my thoughts on Catherine, the brand new novel by Essie Fox, a retelling of Wuthering Heights from Catherine's perspective. @essie_fox_author @orendabooks @essiefox.bsky.social @randomthingstours #bookthreads #books #bookstagram #booksky #bookreview #catherine

David over at Blue Book Balloon reviews In this city, Where it rains today.

We were delighted to be joined by @starkholborn.bsky.social to discuss her latest novella, FOR THE ROAD, on this week’s #podcast! Listen here: linktr.ee/fictionfanspod #booksky 💙📚

"First the Angles, then the Saxons, and don't get me started on the Normans ..." Oh, no, wait, he doesn't mean that: he's a racist. OK.

Lovely review for In This City, Where it Rains! "A dash of the uncanny. Then a bit more. And then it goes full-blooded horror...both naturalistic and creepy, it's a story that powerfully inhabits its own metaphor, pointing both to a state of stasis and, perhaps, to awakening and renewal." 🖤🌧️✨

This is not an exaggeration.

NEW POST: Over on the blog today is a review of HOLLOW KING by WAYLON GRAVES. A fun little monster hunter story. www.fantasybooknerd.com/2026/02/book...

Hey folks -- Signal Boost time for this week's #TheFullLid. If you have a creative project to promote, leave the details in a reply. Include the title and a link please, so folks can find it. For pre-launch crowdfunders let us know about 2 weeks in advance.

*sees national newspaper article* ‘the problem with [insert classic novel] is there are no likeable characters…family relations are hard to follow…’ *slaps head* *decries state of education & literacy* *wonders why anyone bothers writing* *continues to write complex book full of dislikable people*

We just heard that it's International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 👩‍🔬👩‍🔬 During World War One around 12,000 women worked at H.M. Factory Gretna. Many of these would have worked with the chemical process of making cordite. #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience

Shakespeare anticipates 2026.

In her new book, @lyndseycroal.bsky.social gives us a city where it always rains. Uncanny, considering the weather we’re having in the UK now. My #review of In This City, Where it Rains bluebookballoon.blogspot.com/2026/02/revi... #horror #BookSky 📚💙 (It’s a cracking read!) @lunapress.bsky.social

Hello Lunchtime Crowd - sadly this one did not work for me

The rain will continue until morale improves.

Early stroll. I leave the house a minute later than I usually do. I see someone in the distance; he sees me in the distance. Trees like an audience wanting an encore. Birds scatter song-pepper on Wednesday’s plate. Morning’s slow unfolding.

It’s a story about a woman whose body has always been contested territory, by traffickers, by cartels, by economic systems, finally seizing control of it, even if that control comes via monstrous transformation. gnofhorror.com/maria-the-wa...

I will personally be celebrating St Scholastica’s Day by hearing from @dannybate.bsky.social and @susiedentwords.bsky.social about Danny’s book, Why Q needs U! Absolutely packed room tonight, and I highly recommend the book itself

On publication day - a lovely review. Many thanks!

Why is that pile of Things to Do leaning to one side? It’s a list.

I like that the latest version of Bluesky does drafts. I don’t like that at the top it asks “What’s up?” which suggests something is wrong. Nothing’s up! Everything is fine. Really, it’s all fine!

"... a long history of impactful engagement with the local community..."

Looking at the weather and thinking I shouldn't have published a book last week about an alternate Edinburgh cursed by eternal rain and grey skies, in case I accidentally manifested this 🌧️ (At least I've seen no ghosts...yet)

Stop scrolling! We are as far from Punk as Punk was from the 1920s. ...continue scrolling.

In a variation on the normal, irritating problem of clattery music being played over a phone speaker, there is a woman on this train who is playing Italian opera and once you get used to it it’s actually quite a nice background.

Reviewed A.G. Slatter’s ‘A Forest, Darkly.’ A dark, atmospheric witch tale with a standout older heroine. More than just a fantasy, it’s about found family and survival. #AGSlatter #DarkFantasy #BookReview @angelaslatter.bsky.social @titanbooks.bsky.social gnofhorror.com/a-forest-dar...

New Review - a fantastic trip to the ballet awaits that explores the magical power of a workplace community creating art for the fae - I strongly recommend The Apple and The Pear by @rymkechacha.bsky.social out now thanks to @titanbooks.bsky.social www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2026/2/...

“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.

I will be forever grateful to Backlisted for introducing me to a lot of authors and books that are now favorites. Well done, team. Rest easy.

Lovelies, here's a shiny new episode of Starship Alexandria, in which we discuss a recommendation from @aptshadow.bsky.social : A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith-Spark. There will be spoilers as we discuss the book in some depth! starshipalexandria.com/episode-10-a...

🔪❄️😬💔🌹👀 www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-date...

I'm looking forward to another episode of Question Time or News night with pundits opining on why Net Zero is too expensive, while the local news covers people in Somerset who may have to abandon their homes for good and farmers in despair about damage to their yields.

Can human beings create genius level intelligence? Sure, we just need to continue having children and the occasional genius will appear.

Impressive ‘Tabletop Gaming and Miniature Painting Community’. I’m in the southern regions of the cluster, as it happens.

Louder for those in the back: All 👏🏼 resistance 👏🏼 is 👏🏼 real 👏🏼