iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Morroco reading 🇲🇦 🇲🇦 I wanted a desert fantasy book to read while camping out in the Sahara and The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty more than delivered. The world building was incredible and I fell in love with the characters. Can't wait to read the next in the series! #Booksky #travelsky

I'm holding up the book "The City of Brass" in getting of a row of camels in the Sahara desert.

A landscape shot of the Sahara desert, with a man leading a row of camels in the distance

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Starting the week with a fresh read! After finishing Mexican Gothic, I'm trying this Hawaiian gothic novel. What's everyone else reading? #Booksky #amreading

The novels "Mexican Gothic" and "That Which Feeds Us" side by side.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Me: Telling everyone I don't like literary fiction. Also me: Highlighting sections of a novel about a woman in Paris who does nothing all day but stay in her apartment and think about psychology theory. 🤷🏾‍♀️ #Booksky #amreading

I'm holding up the open pages of the novel "Scaffolding" by Lauren Elkin. In the background you can see sunny skies and Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

My motto this season is do whatever makes you happy. Walking the streets of Paris makes me happy. 🥰🥰

A photo of Avenue du Suffren in Paris, you can see a crossroads with a line of apartment buildings and the Eiffel Tower looks in the background.

I'm standing by a lamppost with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

My goodies arrived from Afori books! The Reformatory was one of my favourite reads last year, so I had to get my own copy. And now I'm on a mission to read more of Tananarive Due's books. #Booksky #amreading

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Went on a mission to find the best cinnamon buns in Copenhagen and learned it's all about the cardamom buns! The cinnamon ones were pretty good too 😋 #travelsky

I'm holding up a cinnamon bun from Meyers Bageri

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Nothing like a 5k beach run to start the week. So lucky to get all this sun while in Bournemouth. 🔆 🔆 #travelsky

Beach huts line the walkway at Bournemouth beach

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

For the next couple days I'll be looking out at these beach views and taking part in a self-created writing retreat with my sisters. Going to focus on getting the words on the page and revising this novel! ✍🏾💪🏾💪🏾 #amwriting #authorsky

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Someone in my book club asked if anyone had heard of this book and it was none other than the Parable of the Sower by! I jumped at the chance to reread this and thrilled that more readers will get to experience Butler's genius with the novel being turned into a movie too 🤩 #Booksky #amreading

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Bird spotting on my Sunday morning run 👀🦜

A green parrot in the branches of a tree

A green field, blue skies and some clouds

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Thoroughly enjoyed seeing Cynthia Erivo's one woman production of Dracula. Truly incredible how she learned so many lines.. Some highlights were her portrayal of Dracula with a Nigerian accent and those brief moments where she sang such was just breathtaking!

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

First 5🌟 read of the year was Oyinkan Braithwaite's Cursed Daughters. And what a treat to firstly buddy read this with my sister and then also discuss it with the author and fellow readers as part of the @thecandidbookclub.bsky.social #Booksky #amreading

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I added some new genres to my audio listens last year but imaginative fiction was still at the heart of most of what I listened to. Love a good audio book that makes you want to not switch off. #Booksky #amreading

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Finally got a readers pass at the British Libray and used my day off to dig deeper into my research on the Jamaican Maroons 🇯🇲🇯🇲 Many of the books I've been looking at are out of print and very expensive, having access like this is such a big help! #amwriting #Booksky

A stack of history books on Jamaica and the Maroons on a desk in one of the reading rooms at the British Libray

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

I love when it a book has a good ending and my first read of 2026 had just that. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August features a great game of cat and mouse across and a unique spin on time travel. #Booksky #amreading

I'm holding up the book The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

My top books of 2025! There were many that really stayed with me after reading, like Death of the Author. I blitzed through the Black Sun series, discovered new authors in Out There Screaming and reading Cane Warriors while on a beach in Jamaica was one of my favourite reading experiences. #Booksky

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

There's nothing like working your way through an author's catalogue. This year I really enjoyed reading some of Alex Wheatle's novels. From the history of Tacky's rebellion in Jamaica, an adventurous tale of Kemosha Black to an emotionally gripping memoir. #Booksky

Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Tried out the Icelandic tradition Jólabókaflóð of exchanging books on Christmas eve with @oliviascatastrophe.bsky.social and spent Christmas day reading the First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North 📚🎄🥰 #Booksky #amreading

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

And look how stunning the Folio edition is of the Binti trilogy 🤩 The art work really brings the imaginative world to life. #Booksky

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

I started the year reading Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor and finished it with the Binti trilogy. So fascinating to see the parallels between these two works but also how different they are. I love it when books feel like they're in conversation with one another. 5✨ #Booksky

The books "Death of the Author" and the Folio edition of the Binti trilogy side by side

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

At the Spotify 2025 wrapped audio party yday. Was nice to reminisce on my fav audio listens this year (Lessons in Chemistry, Fundamentally) and see one I enjoyed on the top list (The Trading Game.) Also a great performance from George the Poet on the power of audio books. #SpotifyWrapped #booksky

A list of the top UK audio books on Spotify this year with Gary Stevenson's the Trading Game at the top

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

FINALLY went to see the Kerry James Marshall exhibit @royalacademyarts.bsky.social and it was everything I was hoping for and more. Love how much agency the Black people in his art have and how much books both inspire the works and also feature in them. A real must see exhibit. #Artsky #booksky

An art work by Kerry James Marshall showing people in a library of the future

An art work by Kerry James Marshall showing women and children in a hair salon

An art work by Kerry James Marshall of Harriet Tubman and her husband

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Coming to the end of what will undeniably be my favourite series read this year. If you want to read some non-Western centered fantasy with expansive world building and intriguing characters you have to try @rebeccaroanhorse.bsky.social's Between Earth and Sky series! #Booksky #amreading

The novels "Black Sun," "Fevered Star," and "Mirrored Heavens" stood side by side

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

My trip to Jamaica and the fact that my novel is set there definitely had a big impact. I also had that reggae playlist on repeat while writing 🇯🇲🇯🇲 #SpotifyWrapped

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Who listens to music when they write?? My writing playlist definitely skews my #SpotifyWrapped as the top 2-5 songs are all ones that I've been listening to this year as I write my novel. ✍🏾 #Booksky #amwriting

My Spotify wrapped showing the songs in order of most listened to: Pump me Up by Krosfyah, Reincarnated by Kendrick Lamar, Le Depart by Adi Oasis, Goliath by Jessie Reyez and Affirmations by Renn Olympus

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Earlier this week, had a great evening listening to Temi Oh in conversation with Adrian Tchaikovsky to mark the 10th anniversary of Children of Time. #Booksky

Temi Oh in conversation with Adrian Tchaikovsky at Waterstones

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

A very wicked night at a pre-screening of #wickedforgood with @oliviascatastrophe.bsky.social. The two powerhouses Cynthia and Ariana really make this movie and I loved seeing their chemistry and hearing those harmonies 🎶

My sister and I at a pre-screening of Wicked for Good. A billboard featuring the actors and yellow brick road is the backdrop

We show our wicked wristbands ahead of the movie screening

My sister and I pose with mulled wine at the Leicester Square Christmas Market

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

This was such a fun audio book. Never did I think a novel about a lecturer running a de-radicalisation programme for Isis brides in Iraq would be so funny, while also balancing the human element of the story. #Booksky #amreading

A screenshot of the audible app showing the novel "Fundamentally" by Nussaibah Younis

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Saw some cool French translations of Octavia Butler's novels at Tropismes Libraries in Brussels. Definitely one of the fancier looking bookshops I've visited lately 👀 #booksky

French copies of Octavia Butler's novels

The interior of the Tropismes Libraries in Brussels

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

7am to train Brussels = star gazing at 4am in South London, baked blueberry and banana oats and a good book on the train to get me through the journey 🚂 #Booksky #travelsky #amreading

I'm holding the book "Call down the Hawk" by Maggie Stiefvater

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Also got to meet the incredible Talia Hibbert! I absolutely adore Get a Life, Chloe Brown and would highly recommend her books. #Booksky #bbbf25

A photo of me standing next to the romance author Talia Hibbert at the Black British Book Festival

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

More gems were dropped at the Romantasy panel, lots of discussion on how Black authors can overcome the challenges they might face entering the traditional publishing space. #Booksky #bbbf25

Olivia-Savannah Roach, Talia Hibbert, Carol-Anne Royer and Aje Roberts seated at BBBF stage to discuss Romantasy.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Loved the romance panel on writing about chaos and softness in relationships. Particularly, Lisa Bent's comments on writing a protagonist who is dating intentionally already knowing their worth and that they have a crown on their head. More of this please! #romancebooks #bbbf25

On the stage at BBBF is Stephanie Yeboah, Bolu Babalola, Lisa Bent and Kya Buller.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

So excited to be at the Black British Book Festival today @barbicancentre.bsky.social. So many interesting talks, don't know how I'm going to fit them all in! #Booksky #bbbf

A display showing a sign for the BBBF event at the barbican centre

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Birthday gift from the husband rescued me from my holiday reading slump. Shame I finished it in 24 hours and it didn't last longer 😅 #Booksky #travelsky #amreading

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Playing my favourite game, can you guess the titles of these blind book dates? Pretty sure the first is The Road by Cormac Mccarthy... #Booksky

A wrapped book with the clues: Post-apocalyptic, fatherhood, endurance, self sacrifice

A wrapped book with the clues: black mythology, anthology, love and golden thread

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

"A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.." - Upper Street Bookshop near Angel, London

A photo of the store front of Upper Street Bookshop in near Angel station in North London

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Lekker boekje lezen, koffie drinken bij een Amsterdaamse gracht ☀️☀️ And yes this book is just as good as everyone is saying it is! 5✨ #Booksky #travelsky

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Back in the Netherlands for the weekend and couldn't resist stopping by Amsterdam for a quick visit. 📚🇳🇱🇳🇱 #travelsky

Two cinnamon buns from "Have a Roll' in Amsterdam

A photo of a Dutch street in De Pijp area in Amsterdam

A photo of me holding up the book "Efter" by Hana Bervoets

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

They had some lovely editions of some of my favourite classics which I couldn't resist...

A special edition of the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A special edition of Emma by Jane Austen

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Can't believe I've been in London this long and never visited the Notting Hill Bookshop before. #Booksky

The shop front of the Notting Hill Bookshop

A sign inside the Notting Hill Bookshop that reads 'Days without a Julia Roberts or Hugh Grant joke' 'Current score: 0'

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

It was a musical weekend with first Evita and then the Devil Wears Prada musical on Saturday. Definitely brought back the nostalgia seeing the movie play out on stage. 💃🏾💃🏾

Vanessa Williams and the cast of the Devil Wears Prada musical dancing as the audience applauds the close of the musical

The Devil Wears Prada sign outside of the Dominion Theatre

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Completley blown away by every single actor and the production of Evita. Rachel Zegler's voice was breathtaking, she completely owned that role. Diego Andres Rodriguez as the narrator was incredible. That standing ovation went on for ages! #Evita

A photo of the cast of the Evita musical on stage. Rachel Zegler curtsies and receives applause

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Absolutely stunning views in Taormina 😍☀️☀️ #travelsky

A view of the Sicilian coast from Taormina

A view of Mount Etna from the ancient theatre in Taormina

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

The food markets in Sicily, Palermo are everything 😍 #travelsky

A photo of a market display in Palermo showing an array of seafood and pasta

A photo of a market display in Palermo, showing veg and pasta

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Really enjoying buddy reading Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood with my sister. I get most of my book recommendations from Olivia-Savannah and I loved her idea of reading this Sicily set romance during our family holiday to Sicily! ❤️☀️🍋 #Booksky #amreading

A photo of myself and my sister standing back to back holding up the novel 'Problematic Summer Romance' by Ali Hazelwood.

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aprilroach.bsky.social @aprilroach.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

In the world of afrofuturism, the sankofa is a key image. Ytasha L. Womack writes the word sankofa means to "retrieve," it's about "looking back to go forward," signifying a way to the future by "remembering the past." 1/ #booksky #writingcommunity

A page out of "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures." The page is titled 'I came to Africa on a spaceship' and has the author's name, Ytasha L. Womack.

The front cover of the museum book "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures."

Image of a gold weight featuring a sankofa bird looking backward on top of a pyramid and dating from ca. 1700-1900.

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