iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Before, during and after a brilliant gig at Pizza Express Soho. The Søren Bebe Trio were an absolute delight.

A piano on the stage of Pizza Express Soho jazz club before a gig

A tall white man in a black shirt, Kasper Tagel, playing a double bass and a white man with a dark beard and wearing a white shirt and autumnal-coloured sleeveless jumper, Knut Finsrud, playing the drums.

The Søren Bebe Trio taking the applause of the audience at the end of the gig.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

September's reads: (apart from the couple I posted before taking a break) - extraordinary and comforting poetry, gentle-ish crime, fun musical travel memoir and starting the new Richard Osman (thoroughly enjoying it so far). #newreads #septemberreads

A montage of six books I've read in September:
"Talking About Detective Fiction" by P.D. James;
"Into The Hush" by Arthur Sze;
"The Peace of the Wild Things" by Wendell Berry;
"The Uke of Wallington" by Mark Wallington;
"Murder on the Marlow Belle" by Robert Thorogood; and
"We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

New read: fancied something fairly unchallenging and cheerful, and the Famous Five seemed like a good idea. Not read this one in a very long time, and it was slightly grittier than I remembered. #newread #fivegotobillycockhill #famousfive #enidblyton

The cover of a paperback book, "Five Go to Billycock Hill" by Enid Blyton, which shows four children in 1980s clothing with a dog on a hillside, all peering into the sky.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

New read: since the holiday I've been immersed in this brilliant book, really fun set up, great characters and setting. Only sleep deprivation and being at a festival (not entirely unrelated, admittedly) stopped me whipping through it even faster than I did.

The cover of a paperback book, "The Murder at World's End" by Ross Montgomery, which features a large house perched on a clifftop with the sea crashing against the rocks below.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

New read: holiday read 3 - picked up in a local bookshop here, a bit of cosy-ish crime, I'm hoping. #newread #holidayread #murderonthecornishtrain #jmhall

The cover of a paperback book, "Murder on the Cornish Train" by J.M. Hall, which features a train going over a viaduct emitting a large cloud of red steam, where the title is placed.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

New read: another holiday read - a book picked up on the basis of the title and premise pretty much alone, which is unusual for me! #newread #holidayread #theinfinitesadnessofsmallappliances #glenndixon

The cover of a small orange hardback book: "The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances" by Glenn Dixon, which features an illustration of an elderly man leaning forward in an armchair to look at a disc-like robot hoover on the floor.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

New read: A pretty gripping novelisation of a rather forgotten BBC scifi gem. A good way to start the holiday reads! #newread #StarCops #ChrisBoucher

The cover of a paperback book: "Star Cops" by Chris Boucher, which features an abstract image of an astronaut's helmet with stars and the badge of the International Space Police Force in the background.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

New read: A good mystery in a fun setting, very twisty with some good characters (as well as some I found difficult to like at all! #newread #TheKillerQuestion #JaniceHallett

The cover of a paperback book: "The Killer Question" by Janice Hallett, which features a chalkboard sign advertising a quiz which has had a question mark painted over it in blood and a pint of beer and some quiz sheets on the floor next to it.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

New read: a rather overdue return to the world of Gary Thorn and his squirrel mate. #newread #TheHotelAvocado #BobMortimer #haveacampachoochooonme

The cover of a yellow paperback book: "The Hotel Avocado" by Bob Mortimer, which features half an avocado. In the centre, where the stone should be is a grey squirrel.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

New read: a brief trip back to a classic Cyberman misadventure. #newread #DoctorWho #TheInvasion #IanMarter

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

New read: the novel of a favourite radio series - by then also a TV sitcom - that balances the funny with emotional intelligence and a realistic dose of sillyness, as the show does. #newread #AfterHenry #SimonBrett

The cover of a paperback book: "After Henry" by Simon Brett, which is dominated by the title, with a smaller photo of the TV sitcom cast below.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

New read: been dipping in and out of this for a while, interesting insights into the work and world i personally find challenging, to say the least. #newread #banthisfilth #marywhitehouse #benthompson

A bright yellow paperback book - "Ban This Filth! Mary Whitehouse and the battle to keep Britain innocent" by Ben Thompson. The cover has a collage of images either scribbled over or redacted in some way, they feature Alf Garnett, Benny Hill and the Sex Pistols.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

New reads: continuing my slow read-through of one of my favourite authors with one less-well-known and one well-known of her books. Both muse on and use time interestingly, both great. #newreads #PenelopeLively #GoingBack #AStitchinTime

The cover of a paperback book: "Going Back" by Penelope Lively, which shows two children running barefoot across a field with ttwo family photos of them below.

The cover of a paperback book: "A Stitch in Time" by Penelope Lively, showing a girl smiling off to the right, merging into a victorian seaside scene below, which in turn merges with a stony patch of beach that includes several visible fossils in the rock.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Tiring that the media coverage of Ben Stokes' resignation is all shocked speculation on the reasons without acknowledging the irony that for the past two weeks they've been gleefully gossiping and reporting on his suspension for something that he wasn't even involved in.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

New read: more cricket history, although a little more recent than the previous one, and those involved perhaps a little less polite! #newread #thecricketwar #gideonhaigh #cricketbooks

The cover of a paperback book: "The Cricket War: the story of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket" by Gideon Haigh, which shows the West Indian bowler Wayne Daniel tossing the ball in front of himself while walking to his bowling mark.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

New read: With test cricket back, I fancied diving into some cricket history, and this appealed (pun absolutely intended). #newread #chasingjessop #simonwilde #cricketwriting

A paperback book, "Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket's Oldest Record" by Simon Wilde, the cover of which is red and shows a photo cutout of the cricketer Gilbert Jessop playing an attacking shot.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

New read: A fun little seaside mystery with an interesting cast of characters, especially the detective, and a good mystery. Must remember to keep an eye open for the next one! #newread #murderatgullsnest #jesskidd #crimefiction

A paperback book, "Murder at Gull's Nest" by Jess Kidd, the cover of which is bright blue and shows a seagull with a bottle of poison held in its beak standing in front of a distant dark house.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

New read: having waited patiently for the paperback version, I'm diving into this - although my eyes are struggling to cope with the brightness of the cover! #newread #whathaveidone #benelton #autobiography

A paperback book, "What Have I Done? My Autobiography" by Ben Elton, the cover of which shows a photo of the author performing with a microphone, with strips of bright pink, blue and orange above and below it.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

New read: a suggestion i picked up from the chat around the "100 best novels" nonsense a few weeks ago, and managed to find in our local library. A fun diversion - publishing, the occult and celebrity hangers-on combining into an enjoyable little novel. #newread #afarcryfromkensington #murielspark

A rather battered paperback book - "A Far Cry From Kensington" by Muriel Spark - the cover of which shows three stylised versions of some of the main characters; one a larger woman in a red dress, another a man in a blue blazer and purple shirt holding a cup sat on an office chair and another woman in a grey dress behind him.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New read: This was excellent - interesting premise of an alternative UK (and indeed wider) leading to tensions with plenty of echoes in the current state of the world. Funny, gritty and enjoyable. #newread #pagans #jamesalastairhenry #althistory

A paperback book - "Pagans" by James Alastair Henry - the cover of which features a daub of black paint that resolves into a city skyline at the top with a divide in the centre which appears to have a drop of blood hanging from it above two small white figures.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

New read: New Alan Bennett is always a treat, although I often put off reading it until it's out in paperback and a bit easier to heft around. This time I didn't put it off, and am glad of the choice because his is a voice I will miss very much when it is gone. #newread #alanbennett #enoughsaid

A hardback book - "Enough Said" by Alan Bennett - the cover of which features a photo of the author reclining in a comfortable chair, head supported by his hand on a cheek.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

New reads: A couple of fun reads to round April out - a play script which I wish I'd seen when it was on, as I love The Pin and the script alone is great fun; and a wonderful study of one of my ultimate comfort viewing films, A Hard Day's Night. #newreads #thecomeback #aharddaysnight

A paperback book - "The Comeback" by Ben Ashenden and Alex Own, a green cover with the cut-outs of the authors' heads on two cartoon bodies performing under a spotlight

The cover of a paperback book: "BFI Film Classics: A Hard Day's Night" by Samira Ahmed, which shows four television sets on a blue background, each showing a quarter of an individual Beatle's face.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Some of us have muted the names of certain individuals bc we are exhausted of hearing them twist reality for their own gain and turn people against each other. Post about them all you want, but if you're going to add screenshots at least put the names in the post or alt text so we can avoid them.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

New reads: A bad week (migraine with added vertigo all followed by a heavy cold) made a bit brighter by digging out the BFI TV Classics book on one of my favourite series (once I could read again!), watching a new Beatles film and starting on Beatley read I hear is rather good. #newread

A paperback book: "John and Paul - a love story in songs" by Ian Leslie, the cover of which features the title in bright orange above an image of John Lennon and Paul McCartney sitting on some seaside railings, talking.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

New read: making a start in earnest on a lent book with some tea, as well as some poetry ive been joyfully dipping in and out of for a few days now. #newread #thewayofjulianofnorwich #Gordonvellls #poetry

A purple book on a wooden table in front of a cup of tea. The book is "The Way of Julian of Norwich" by Sheila Upjohn, and the cover features a branch tip with some leaves and hazelnuts still intact.

A book on a wooden table. The book is "Wasp Disentaglement for Beginners" by Gordon Vells, and the cover is a bright yellow and black abstract design.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

New read: A couple of library reads - first a dive into fantasy (as recommended by lovely Penny) with an intriguing and hopeful novel, and then an enjoyable later Pratchett that I haven't read before. #newread #libraryreads #TheGoblinEmperor #KatherineAddison #Snuff #TerryPratchett #fantasy

A paperback library book, "The Goblin Emperor" by Katherine Addison, the cover of which shows the title surrounded by intricate blue and gold patterning.

A hardback library book, "Snuff" by Terry Pratchett, the cover of which shows a man in armour at the wheel of a ship, with chickens flying off in the foreground.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

New read: Amongst all the torrential rain, I'm returning to the comfort zone on the Dwarf. #newread #reddwarf #infinitywelcomescarefuldrivers #grantnaylor

A paperback book, "Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" by Grant Naylor, the cover of which shows a space scene with a road sign in the foreground that has been damaged by something that has shot past, leaving a trail behind it.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

New read: I went to the library for something, spotted this on a shelf and sat to have a quick read. A short while later and I found myself at the end of the first chapter, having smiled throughout. So here I am. #newread #onceuponatineinthewestcountry #tonyhawks

A hardback library book, "Once Upon a Time in the West Country" by Tony Hawks, the cover of whih shows a photo of the author on a bike facing two small pigs in the foreground.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

New read: I am always a little wary of more modern Holmes stories, but found this one intriguing enough to try. #newread #sherlockholmes #thedevilspromise #davidstuartdavies

A library paperback cooy of "Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Promise" by David Stuart Davies, the cover of which shows the silhouette of the great detective holding a pipe and a coin with a pentagram design against a green background.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

New read: Campion is pretty dependably enjoyable, so glad to find this in the local library. #newread #TheMysteryMile #MargeryAllingham #crimefiction

A library paperback copy of "The Mystery Mile" by Margery Allingham, which shows an image of a red chess piece - a knight - on a black background.

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Reposted by Chris Fosten

archivetvmusings @archivetvmusings.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The Beiderbecke Affair - We Call it the White Economy (20th January 1985). Today's episode mainly concerns smashed greenhouses, supergrasses and Helen of Tadcaster.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

New reads: Escaping the horrendous outside world with a trip back in time to revisit the sweet and silly wisdom of the Moomins. Will be re-reading more of these in the next few months, I think. #newreads #FinnFamilyMoomintroll #TheExploitsofMoominpappa #ToveJansson

Two paperback books, the first - "Finn Family Moomintroll" by Tove Jansson - is light blue and features a pair of moomins sitting on clouds, and the second - "The Exploits of Moominpappa" by Tove Jansson - is light green and shows a moomin standing on a mountain top holding a sheaf of papers and a walking stick with a flying submarine craft in the sky behind him.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

New read: Catching up with the Coopers Chase gang again - each revisit is a lovely reminder of how good these books are. #newreads #themanwhodiedtwice #richardosman #rereads

A paperback book - "The Man Who Died Twice" by Richard Osman, the cover of which is dominated by the author name and title, but had a trotting fox in the centre.

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Reposted by Chris Fosten

Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

You honestly don't have to show me what Twitter's saying. That's why I'm here and not there.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

New reads: Kicking off a new year of reading with a gentle wander through the Hundred Acre Wood with these nice second-hand copies I got years ago to preserve the ones I remember reading as a child! #newreads #WinniethePooh #TheHouseatPoohCorner #AAMilne

Two old paperback books - "Winnie-The-Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner" by A..A. Milne - the cover of one showing a small bear looking thoughtfully at some bees and the other showing the same thoughtful bear in a red jumper with a small piglet wearing a green outfit and a young boy dressed in a blue raincoat and hat.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

New reads: Seeing in the new year with some older friends - just the first couple of chapters last night felt like a settling into a favourite armchair. Happy new year, everyone. #newreads #newyearread #thethursdaymurderclub #richardosman

A paperback book - "The Thursday Murder Club" by Richard Osman - the cover showing mostly the title and author name, with a silhouette of a fox in the centre.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

New read: well, an old favourite, really - and a perfect post Christmas caper, especially if you want to feel a bit better about your own alcohol consumption... #newread #dashiellhammett #thethinman

A paperback book on a bookshelf - "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett - the cover of which shows a pair of feet in formal shoes walking across a wet street.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

New reads: My reading over Christmas week, with a definite theme... first, the stage adaptation of a favourite, then an entertaining book about Christmas telly and then a deep dive into John Masefield and the Box of Delights.

A paperback book - "The Box of Delights" adapted for the stage by Piers Torday. The cover shows a wooden box releasing shards of light, creating images of a Mr Punch puppet, a stag and a wolf in the starry sky, while two wolves approach through the snow.

A paperback book - "Ben Baker's Christmas Box" by Ben Baker - the cover of which shows the neon outline of a television set, with the title on the screen.

A hardback book - "Opening the Box of Delights" by Philip W Errington. The cover shows an open small wooden box, with images of the writer John Masefield and Patrick Troughton as Cole Hawlings behind.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

New read: a slightly more trusted source for a festive read - hopefully Mrs Bradley will be just the tonic! #newread #deathcomesatchristmas #gladysmitchell #mrsbradleymysteries #festivereads

A paperback book - "Death Comes at Christmas" by Gladys Mitchell - the cover of which shows an English village street in thick snow.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

For years I've been listening to a ragged, 10th-hand recording of The Killing Season by R.D.Wingfield every Dec. I've tidied up my copy, never imagining it would be repeated from deep in the archives. But what a great surprise amongst the listings in the festive Radio Times!

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

New read: another festive adventure that I hadn't read before and had high hopes for because the premise is great, but... sigh. Maybe it's because I wasn't familiar with their other books or their style, but I was not a fan. Mercifully, it was both cheery and quite short. #newread #festiveread

A small green paperback book - "The Christmas Thief" by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. The cover shows a close-up of the branches of a Christmas tree with a bauble decorated with an image of a man in a red jumper dragging away a Christmas tree in the snow.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

New read: A festive tale I'd never heard of, by a writer I've never read anything by... but rather enjoyed. Enjoyably just as romantic towards the train itself as the storyline between the main characters. #newread #festiveread #thechristmastrain #davidbaldacci

The cover of a paperback books - "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci - which shows a snowglobe with a steam engine inside.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

New read: starting the festive reading with something short but warm and the friendly side of grim... #newread #festivereads #ahighlandchristmas #mcbeaton #hamishmacbeth

A light purple paperback book - "A Highland Christmas" by M.C. Beaton. The cover is dominated by the title, but also features a Christmas tree with presents round the base and a fireplace.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

New reads: two Target novelisations found in a charity shop - one of those rare times when I've found some I didnt already have in the wild! #newread #doctorwho #targetnovelisations #destinyofthedaleks #fourtodoomsday #terrancedicks

Two small paperbacks next to each other, both Doctor Who Target novelisations by Terrance Dicks: "The Destiny of the Daleks," which shows a man with a mop of curly hair and a scarf looking thoughtful surrounded by daleks; and "Four to Doomsday" which shows a man in edwardian cricketing garbage in front of an alien humanoid creature sitting on a throne-like chair.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

New read: before I move on to other things for a while, a few more - lighter - ghostly tales, this time from a writer I remember well from childhood and used to seek out in the school library (when I wasn't looking for Tintin or cricket books!) #newread #whosafraidandotherstories #philippapearce

A slightly battered old paperback book - "Who's Afraid? and other strange stories" by Philippa Pearce. The cover show several images related to the stories within: a startled boy, a dog, a teddy bear with stern-looking eyes and a gentleman playing a violin.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

New read: An excellent new anthology of ghost stories from the British Library's Tales of the Weird series. Plenty were new to me, with some old familiars thrown in too - fun! #newread #thehauntedlibrary #britishlibrary #talesoftheweird #spookyreads #tanyakirk

The cover of a paperback book - "The Haunted Library: Tales of cursed books and forbidden shelves" edited by Tanya Kirk. The cover shows an illustration of a woman in a hat entering a library holding a candle to see some ghoulish figures in front of the shelves.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

New read: a Susan Hill ghost story I knew nothing about until I stumbled across it in the local library, but it sounds both comforting and unsettling at once. #newread #thesmallhand #susanhill #ghoststory

A small hardback book - "The Small Hand" by Susan Hill - the cover of which shows a flowery carved pattern with the shadow of a small boy in the centre.

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

What perfect album came out the year you were 16?

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Chris Fosten @alphaood.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

New read: the next stop on my slow chronological readthrough of one of my favourite writers - this is one I never came across as a kid. A little less on the ghostly side, but a gentle joy, nonetheless. #newread #penelopelively #thehouseinnorhamgardens

The cover of a small 1980s paperback - "The House in Norham Gardens" by Penelope Lively, which shows a teenage girl holding a ceremonial tribal shield standing in front of a victorian house.

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