bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Read Lionel Davidson's "The Rose of Tibet". That was hugely enjoyable! Initially it made me think of "Kim" and "Lost Horizon", but it was very much its own novel. Learnt words like tsampas, cruse, rat-hares etc. Nanga Parbat made me think of the Arrowverse. The descriptions of injuries (to men and 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Read @susiedentwords.bsky.social's "Death Write Large". This (long awaited) sequel, was just as enjoyable as its predecessor. In recent years I haven't been a huge fan 'cosy crime' novels or the trope of amateurs assisting police this closely. So it is a testament to the strength of the writing that 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Somehow David Kynaston's Tales of a New Jerusalem project must have passed me by, but after reading about this and looking up the earlier ones I'm definitely going to start with "Austerity Britain 1945-51" it sounds like it might be my sort of thing. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...theguardian.comDeep into the Sixties: Britain 1965-66 by David Kynaston review – a tour de force of popular historyFrom the Beatles and the World Cup to racism and homophobia, the latest instalment in Kynaston’s series captures a society in the throes of change 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Read @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Can Nothing Save Us". This was absolutely masterly. Gulped it down in about 4 and a half hour long 100 page chunks. Just like the Entertainer and Home Secretary in "Men in Love", the brief appearances of the President added to the (scary) verisimilitude. Now instead 172
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Read Steve Cavanagh's "One of Us is Guilty". Just like the author, I can't believe this is already the 10th Eddie Flynn. Just as wonderful as its predecessors. Predicted one of the major twists, but not all of them. As always the different voices were pitch perfect, both the depictions of trials 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Read Edgar Rice Burrough's "Tarzan of the Apes". Had put off reading this, as I assumed it wasn't very good. It might not always have been well written, but it was absolutely gripping pure escapism. I'd only seen the 1932 movie, so was repeatedly surprised by the plot. It's not exactly "The Jungle 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Read Graham Swift's "Ever After", remembers being puzzled by "Last Orders" a long time ago, but loving "Waterland" both times I read it. This one was really really good, full of poetry and Shakespeare. I'm always a sucker for first person narratives. The deaths and the grief were incredibly moving. 010
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Read @irvinewelsh.bsky.social's "Men In Love". I smiled early on when Renton was reading "The Canterbury Tales" and thought 'Yuv goat tae read it oot loud tae get it; we're just no used tae seeing words oan a page like thon.' Although I didn't read them out loud, that was perfect advice for the 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Read Rob Grant & Andrew Marshall's "Red Dwarf: Titan". Has fond memories of the first five TV series (and the spinoff books) so was worried how this would stack up. It perfectly combined nostalgia with its callbacks and easter eggs for diehard fans with a well written engaging plot and some very 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/09/2026On my third read through of "Infinite Jest", I've finally followed closely enough to realize that (whilst watching the expiring cat) the phrase 'Lenz would dab his butt with a spitty finger' is referring to extinguishing his cigarette and not what I pictured him doing on the previous two occasions! 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/09/2026I finally listened (via @mymartinamis.bsky.social's) to the already infamous Will Self speech... I am very much not an advocate of 𝐷𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑖𝑙 𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑖 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑚, and had it been published as an essay I'd have been amongst the first to read it (if only to try to disagree with the conclusions). But (with 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Re-read Gwendoline Riley's "The Palm House". Stands by every word I wrote first time around - this is simply amazing. Will quite happily read it a third time (although I really need to read her other books first!) 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Read @sirbenfro.bsky.social's "The Violent Hour". Has been a huge fan of the Inspector McLean novels since "Natural Causes". This was no exception. For some reason I'm fairly familiar with both beserkers and selkies, so I twigged fairly early on where things were headed. However that did not 1/3 251
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Picked up a copy of "The Penguin Complete Novels of George Orwell" and was disturbed to find that they were in alphabetical order ("Animal Farm", "Burmese Days", "A Clergyman's Daughter" "Coming Up for Air", "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", "Nineteen Eighty-Four") rather than chronological...! 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Read Rob Rinder's "The Defence". Has enjoyed each of these slightly less than its predecessor, but still liked it enough to finish. This time around the 'twists' seemed very strongly telegraphed and were less surprising. Some of the skewering or very modern types was amusing. Ultimately I was 1/2 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Read Anita Brookner's "A Start in Life". Had previously read "Look at Me" and "Latecomers", but with the new Hermione Lee biography coming out I decided it was finally time. I could tell from the opening paragraph that this was an amazing book, and now think it is possibly one of the strongest 1/2 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Read Caroline Bicks' "Monsters in the Archives". This was fascinating. It was wonderful to learn more about the early drafts of the @stephenking.bsky.social novels that I know so well. Was delighted by details like original names of various characters (and the unwritten first ending to "The 1/4 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Read @matthaig.bsky.social's "The Midnight Train". Has read and enjoyed the previous three novels, and this was just as good. Loved the book references, and the accuracy of the allusions to popular culture in different years. It was nice to read a novel set in Sheffield. "Reading is marvellous". 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Read @ambroseparry.bsky.social's "Death of Shame". It had been nearly three years since I read (and enjoyed) "Voices of the Dead", so some of the pertinent details of the backstory were a little hazy. But the novel itself was as engrossing as all its predecessors. It handled the at times 1/3 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Read John Lanchester's "Look What You Made Me Do". I'd loved "Debt to Pleasure" and enjoyed some of "Reality and Other Stories". This was on another level to the latter, totally engrossing with perfectly signalled twists. Contemporary and satisfying. Will have to read "Capital" now. 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Read @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social's "A British Childhood". This is a wonderful book. Even before I'd finished it, I was recommending it to people - and I'll be buying multiple copies as gifts. The personal and historical accounts providing snapshots of the difficulties experienced by parents 1/4 174
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Started Francis Spufford's "Golden Hill". In the list of coins and notes that Mr Smith gets given for his four sovereigns, the line 'And a Moresco piece we can't read' made me think 'The Beginnings'! 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Re-read John Irving's "The Hotel New Hampshire"... Wow! Read this 19 years ago, and although I remembered many scenes/lines completely there was also so much I'd forgotten (like the multiple heart attack deaths). Enjoyed this even more than Garp. Still finds the whole people not being able to 1/3 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Read Ian Fleming's "Octopussy and The Living Daylights". Enjoyed 'Octopussy' + 'The Property of a Lady'. The Bond stories seem to work best when they go in directions that are different from the novels. Liked working my way through the oeuvre, but is also glad I can now read something else! 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Read Ian Fleming's "For Your Eyes Only". These were all new to me. Liked 'Quantum of Solace' and 'The Hildebrand Rarity' the most. Enjoyed the phrase 'sweet Fatty Arbuckle' and might have to start using it instead of Fanny Adams! Worked out in the title story that the American poetess who 1/2 110
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Re-read "The Man With The Golden Gun". More or less as I remembered it, very little to say about this one. 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Re-read Ian Fleming's "You Only Live Twice". The @backlisted.bsky.social episode on OHMSS mentioned the increased drinking, but even Bond's regular half pints of spirits didn't prepare me for 'Dikko Henderson downed his ninth pint of 𝑠𝑎𝑘𝑒.' Liked the (pre-Casino Royale movie) David Niven 1/2 141
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Re-read Ian Fleming's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Enjoyed the nodding reference to Ursula Andress and the approval of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. The action scenes were very well done. Agreed with @valmcdermid.bsky.social's 2006 introduction both that 'agri-terrorism holds a particular 1/2 110
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Read Ian Fleming's "The Spy Who Loved Me". Was unfamiliar with how this differed from the earlier novels, so had to check at first I was reading the right book. Can see why contemporary readers expecting the James Bond formula disliked it, but I'm a sucker for first person narratives and sub "No 1/2 110
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Re-read Ian Fleming's "Thunderball". Liked effleurage, vinaigrette (the box rather than the dressing, casuarinas, bogosity, cagnotte; didn't like the repeated archaic term for isolated parts of coral reef or Bond's attitude to women drivers 'Women together cannot keep silent in a car, and when 1/2 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Read B. R. Yeager's "Amygdalatropolis". Had been meaning to read this ever since watching Travel Through Stories' review. It didn't disappoint. Yes it was transgressive, and disgusting, but I sat and read it in one sitting. It certainly captures a very specific aspect of the internet. The 1/3 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Read Howard Jacobson's "Howl". Has never fully understood his arguments about the UK media coverage of Gaza/Palestine being anti-semitic and stoking blood libel, but after reading this I'm probably closer to grasping what it is he thinks than I've been before. Learnt plenty of Yiddish words, 1/3 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Re-read Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger". Liked chorine and triptyque. It definitely has some 'of its time' attitudes, but the plot stands up. Plenty of memorable scenes and phrases. 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Read Jessica Guess' "Cirque Beserk". Is still working my way through Stephen Graham Jones' list of favourite Slasher Books in the NY Times. This was a fun quick read, hitting all the right notes. Was surprised that by the final chapter I was rooting for the villains! 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Liked @backlisted.bsky.social's Summer Reading 2026 special. Might re-read the Laurie Lee and Gwendoline Riley. Had already seen "The Gilt Kid" recommended on here, got a copy and am looking forward to it. But I instantly ordered "Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky-Tonks" by Jimmy McDonough. The 1/2 161
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Re-read Ian Fleming's "Dr No". This was quite nostalgic, as I remembered my teenage self's reaction to passages like the centipede or the ridiculously contrived pain test. Enjoyed 'jippa-jappa baseball caps', the mention of the Jamaican expression 'rarse' and a reference from 1958 to 'You have 1/2 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Read @brookmyre.bsky.social's "Quite Ugly One Evening". Has fond memories of discovering this author and binging his wonderfully enjoyable novels about 12 years ago, then reading the new ones as they came out. The return of Jack Parlabane was long awaited, and I loved the occasional passing 1/5 4175
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Read Jason Ayres' "1986: A Year in the Life of Lucy Hart". This was as entertaining, comfortably nostalgic and compulsively readable as all its predecessors. Clara (and her ADHD child, diagnosed via an online questionnaire) were impressively awful. Getting to see the support act for Metallica 1/2 110
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Read Christopher Howse's "Soho in the Eighties". This enjoyably filled in some of the background from reading Jeffrey Bernard's collections of 'Low Life' columns last month. Hypocoristic, faience, macedoine and briscola were all new words to me. Wonders how many readers today still know about 1/5 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Read Ian Fleming's "From Russia With Love". That was very enjoyable (even better than the film). I enjoyed encountering the less common spelling 'yoghourt' and the words 'stockinet' and 'crambo'. I also liked learning the Russian 'peasant obscenity' 'Sookin Sin' [сукин сын] and the 'gross 1/4 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Re-read Martin Amis' "The Pregnant Widow". Remembers being excited when this was announced, hoping it was better than "Yellow Dog", buying it, reading it... and very little else about it! Does remember recognising 'According to an English novel he had read, men understood why they liked women's 1/4 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 04/07/2026Re-read John Irving's "The World According To Garp". Wow... That was absolutely amazing. I binged Irving in 2007 and then read all his subsequent novels as they came out, except for the most recent which I struggled to get into. Returning to this one was a (nostalgic) experience. The vast 1/5 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Read Ian Fleming's "Diamonds Are Forever". Although I'd seen the film several times, I'd not read this one before. A gripping quick read. Chatoyance and yegged were new words to me. 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Read Bret Easton Ellis' "American Psycho". I bought this when the film came out, but was quickly defeated not by graphic descriptions of violence but by the fashion labels. In my memory there were far more sartorial descriptions than there actually were. Has read all his other books, absolutely 1/4 100
Reposted by @bookluvvr.bsky.socialspooky biblioklept @biblioklept.bsky.social · 30/06/2026bigreaderbadgrades.substack.com/p/we-always-...bigreaderbadgrades.substack.com"We Always Leave Things Unfinished"William T. Vollmann is dying. In his Sacramento studio, he talks America, unfinished work, and the 3,096-page opus he finished just in time. 086
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Eagerly bought "The Pregnant Widow" in hardback when it came out, read it and hasn't thought of it since. This episode makes me want to immediately re-read it, and get Leon Craig's "The Decadence" (which unaccountably passed me by, despite being a huge fan of her mum!) 000
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Re-read Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita". On my first reading years ago I went in prejudiced against the subject matter, but was blown away by the gorgeous language. This time I read Alfred Appel Jr's amazing annotations after every couple of chapters and realized just how much I had missed. The 1/4 110
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Read Ian Fleming's "Moonraker". Knows I started this a couple of times as a teenager, but not being a Bridge player never got past the lengthy description of the 'famous Culbertson hand' at the end of Chapter 7. This time I was gripped by the whole thing. The usual unbelievable action set 1/2 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 22/06/2026Read Jakob Kerr's "Dead Money". This was a fast moving, gripping, read-in-one-sitting novel. Due to the author's personal experience, the descriptions of start up culture were very convincing. (Liked the line 'Tech founders would sooner use Windows than be saddled with something as banal as a 1/4 100
bookluvvr.bsky.social @bookluvvr.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Hadn't realized whilst reading those, that Norman Balon was alive until earlier this month... www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/norman-...theoldie.co.ukRIP Norman Balon, Soho's rudest man, at 99. By Christopher Howse - The OldieI asked Norman Balon whether he really had been London’s Rudest Landlord, as he’d declared in big letters painted on the corner of the Coach and Horses in Soho. It was his choice to meet there, which... 000