iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A Dark Matter is the first in Doug Johnstone’s Skelfs series. The Skelfs are three women: grandmother, mother, & daughter who, upon the death of the paterfamilias, find themselves running an Edinburgh-based funeral home & private investigation service. Dark, funny, thrilling. ⚡️📚💙

A photograph of the British paperback edition of Doug Johnstone’s novel A Dark Matter, sitting on a cozy wool blanket: perfect cold weather reading material.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Mystery novels for me this week: Doug Johnstone’s A Dark Matter and an upcoming release by J.A. Jablonski, Resolute Death. 📚💙

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

May We Feed the King is a perfect companion novel to Richardson’s new biography of Alexander the Great (my previous post), as it wrestles with problems of history: much depends on who does the recording, the state of their own life, current events, & what new information has been unearthed. 🖋️📚💙

A photograph of the North American paperback edition of poet Rebecca Perry’s debut novel May We Feed The King, nestled amongst the blanket I was using to ward off an early October chill and the fancy pillow we bought in the gift shop at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris a few years ago, featuring rabbits from an old French tapestry. Seemed fitting.

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Susan DuBose @houseofbast777.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

"Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of another..There are just some kind of men who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results." #Booksky

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Alexander: God, King, Man is a completely absorbing & astonishing new biography of Alexander the Great by one of my very favourite historians. Richardson’s passion & enthusiasm for his subjects always shines through in his exuberant prose & his carefully thought out & well-crafted arguments.💡📚💙

A photograph of sassy cat Mickey (black and grey tabby) next to the North American hardcover edition of Alexander: God, King, Man, Edmund Richardson’s thrilling and fascinating new biography of Alexander the Great, which draws on new information from recently translated cuneiform sources and a wildly broad range of sources and authorities on the subject.

I highly recommend anything Richardson writes. Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City (published as The King’s Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria in North America) about 19th century adventurer/amateur archaeologist Charles Masson is also well worth reading. Richardson’s prose practically fizzes with interest, intelligence, and humour; he brings ancient history to vivid life. Good stuff!

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If you have time, that would be nice. Thanks Kate!

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

That would be so kind! I’m going to scour our indigenous section at the bookshop tomorrow too, to see if I can find a good local history.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Thank you for sharing this, Kate. I didn’t know. I will definitely learn more about it now. 🧡

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Today is Canada’s National Day For Truth & Reconciliation. In light of that, I’m recommending my very favourite Canadian novel (The Great Canadian novel, IMO), Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese: the horrors of residential school, hockey, healing, & compassion. 💙📚 douglas-mcintyre.com/products/978...

douglas-mcintyre.com

Indian Horse

Description Saul Indian Horse has hit bottom. His last binge almost killed him, and now he’s a reluctant resident in a treatment centre for alcoholics, surrounded by people he’s sure will never unders...

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Libro.fm @libro.fm · 28/09/2026

Say you read one book a month. If you buy the book at your indie, it might cost a few more dollars than from a megaretailer. Now imagine if 9 more people in your community made that switch. What may feel like a small thing is often actually big, especially when we work together 💓

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Good to know! I shall investigate.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I’ve embarked upon her Cazalet Chronicles and her writing is WONDERFUL.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Between Two Rivers is a charming introduction to ancient Mesopotamian history told by describing items found in a museum of sorts in ancient Ur. The archaeologists who unearthed the items 100 years ago were the Woolleys, upon whom Agatha Christie based her characters in Murder in Mesopotamia. 💡📚💙

A photograph of two books: the 2025 North American hardcover edition of Moudhy Al-Rashid’s Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History and a paperback edition of Agatha Christie’s Murder in Mesopotamia (first published in 1936; this “official authorised” edition was published by William Morrow in 2025). Al-Rashid’s history is very accessible and offers a relatable, personal kind of introduction to the wonders of ancient Mesopotamia. The Christie novel is very much of its time (misogyny, xenophobia, colonialism), but worth reading as a companion piece to Al-Rashid’s history, if only to flesh out the fascinating character of Louise Leidner, based on the real-life archaeologist Katharine Woolley who, with her husband, worked on the site in ancient Ur and uncovered the “museum” Al-Rashid describes in her book.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

His thesis does hold up for publishing. By virtue of Amazon’s size, they have a shocking amount of control over publishers, authors, readers, & booksellers; in pp. 147-150 he explains his own struggle with Amazon’s control (via their near monopoly) over where he is able to publish his audiobook.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Enshitification is an important book. Doctorow is mad (& funny) as hell, & explains here why we should ALL be mad as hell & why/how we should fight back. Without anti-trust regulation & strong labour laws, enshitification for the rest of us is Big Tech’s logical conclusion. Highly recommended.💡📚💙

A photograph of the paperback edition (with a new preface!) of Cory Doctorow’s book about the evils of Big Tech and monopolisation, Enshitification. And because I am lazy like that, here are few words from Cory himself:

“Greetings, followers of my reader! This is Cory Doctorow writing to you, and your friend has very nearly finished reading my excellent 2025 book, Enshitification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It, available at finer bookstores everywhere, as well as on monopoly electronic retail sites that should be condemned to the scrap heap of history.” pp. 292-293

I especially like that last bit about retail sites. Enjoy.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I’ve embarked upon E.J. Howard’s Cazalet Chronicles. It begins with The Light Years, the story of an upper-middle-class English family & their country house in the years before WWII. The characters are complex & the plot allows a fascinating glimpse into a very particular time, place, & society. 🖋️📚💙

A photograph of a 2013 paperback edition of the first volume in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s Cazalet Chronicles, The Light Years. Originally published in 1990, The Light Years introduces the reader to the Cazalet family and their country house Home Place in the years leading up to World War II. Although a slice of life in a very particular time, place, and people, many of the themes of individual powerlessness in the face of larger historic events (war, economic uncertainty, class divisions, systemic sexual inequality and misogyny) remain startlingly relevant. Thoroughly absorbing storytelling.

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CynfulArts 🐾 @cynfularts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I have read many books that have made me uncomfortable, sometimes profoundly so, but I can not think of a single book that I regret reading. Banning books that make you uncomfortable isn't helping anyone. To be uncomfortable is to grow

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The fifth in Simon Mason’s terrific DI Ryan Wilkins series, The Dangerous Stranger is as quirky & riveting as all the rest: assumptions (by the characters & the reader) are challenged, wrongs are mostly righted, knots are tied & some of them are untangled. ⚡️📚💙

A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of the fifth book in Simon Mason’s highly addictive DI Ryan Wilkins series, titled The Dangerous Stranger. Set in Oxford, the series features “odd couple” DIs Ray Wilkins and Ryan Wilkins (no relation).

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I read Mrs. March ages ago and loved it. It’s wonderfully twisted, surprising, and creepy. Feito’s Victorian Psycho is supposed to be quite good too (according to a friend), but I haven’t read it yet. 🩸📚💙

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Everett’s brilliant new novel (out in March) is about Arthur Champion, a Black American music student forced to fight a war on two fronts: one at home in the USA, one overseas. The novel is replete with history & music (& music history!) & the triumph of self-expression over hate & injustice. 🖋️📚💙

A photograph of the (highly coveted) galley edition of Percival Everett’s new novel, Serious Music, coming to an independent bookshop near you in March 2027. The novel is heartbreaking, funny, enraging, and ferocious. Every bit as gorgeous as Everett’s writing (succinct, effortless, flowing, jarring when it needs to jar) is the music he describes. I’ve made a playlist of the composers and pieces mentioned in the novel, from classical to ragtime to blues, and am listening to it as I write this. Seriously — don’t miss this one.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

“If the doom narrative of the prognosticators is getting to you and the future of reading feels precarious … support the bookstores where reading is bedrock; where the end of reading just means you’ve finished a book ...”

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Melissa Auf Der Maur is wonderfully weird, relatable, inspiring, & fiercely independent. Along with the crazy rock-&-roll lore, her memoir offers insights into the ravenous greed, cynicism, & misogyny of the corporate music industry, & the toll taken by addiction & living amid constant chaos. 💡📚💙

A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Melissa Auf Der Maur’s memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A ‘90s Rock Memoir. I loved learning about her child- and young-adulthood growing up in Montreal, and her wild experiences touring with Hole, one of the fiercest grunge bands of the ‘90s. I love that she is so fearlessly herself. Good, inspiring reading.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It’s so interesting and readable. I feel like Auf Der Maur is so fully herself in it: weird and creative and so frank about sometimes uncomfortable situations. And all that music history. Good stuff.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Same!! I’m really looking forward to seeing in person the photography she describes in the book.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I’m just about finished Melissa Auf Der Maur’s memoir; her exhibit at the AGO will be the perfect follow-up! 💡📚💙

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

A short memoir by Montrealer Pare-Poupart in which he tells hair-raising stories about his work, & explains the satisfaction he takes in doing it well. He also points out the appalling amount of trash our consumerism creates & advocates for “freeganism,” a culture of radical reuse & recycling. 💡📚💙

A photograph of Simon Pare-Poupart’s memoir about his work as a garbageman in Montreal, the job satisfaction and friendships he took from that work, the importance of garbage collecting to our cities and lives, and that it is incumbent on each of us to reuse and recycle more and throw away less.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle is a novel based on the life of Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Plotted at a good pace, it offers a glimpse into the lives of artists, women, & the wealthy of seventeenth century Rome & Florence. Caravaggio also makes an appearance. ⌛️📚💙

A photograph of the Canadian paperback edition of Elizabeth Fremantle’s novel Disobedient, about the life of Artemisia Gentileschi. If you’re not enraged enough after that, this article by the BBC is interesting: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260325-the-artworks-by-women-where-men-got-the-credit

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A trusted friend, also going through a difficult time, suggested the journals as a friendly distraction. Please report back on your findings, as I am interested to know what others think of them.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

My dear Holmes, begin forthwith at the beginning. The first two volumes should hold your attention and perhaps also, as it did with mine, entirely consume it.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I just enjoyed a week in the company of 4 good friends & a host of eccentrics in Victorian London. The 8 existing volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion are compulsively readable, funny, & were an absorbing distraction from hospital corridors. Like Fleabag, but make it Victorian. ⌛️📚💙

A photograph of 8th volume of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. Each volume of these self-published books is a different colour. I understand that larger publishers are now republishing the novels, and I wish Beth Brower well; her work is sprightly and funny, and her characters thoroughly loveable, even when they are being awful.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Little Spark is another thrilling, eloquently spun tale by Jess Kidd about an eerie, unnerving family living in a ramshackle old mansion atop a dangerous marsh where lurk only smugglers & men of ill intent. The heroine is feisty & clever, the bad guys are really rotten. Great good fun! 🖋️📚💙

A photograph of an already much-loved (we’re passing it around the shop) advance reading copy of Jess Kidd’s new novel, Little Spark. Available now in the UK, but not until February (booooooo!) in Canada. Like everything Kidd writes, the language dances and sparkles and makes me want to linger, but the story irresistibly pulls me forward, and it’s always over far too soon. Little Spark was a welcome retreat into a world of clockwork marvels, horrible family secrets, dastardly villains, and stalwart heroes. I’m looking forward to reading it again.

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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Someone just asked “Why waste time reading the book when you can just watch the movie?” and long story short it's perfectly acceptable to remove toxic people from your life.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

An older book now (2009), Patrick Radden Keefe’s true crime exposé about Sister Ping, a complicated, highly prolific human smuggler operating a worldwide business from a noodle restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown, remains extremely relevant. As always with this author, highly recommended. 💡📚💙

A photograph of the 2010 North American paperback edition of American author Patrick Radden Keefe’s book about organised crime and illegal immigration in New York’s Chinatown — The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream.

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Brandi Buchman @brandibuchman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Library funding is tied to usage.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Wonderful! I’m due to have the advance reading copy of her new novel (Little Spark) today, and I’m just so darn excited. It’s already available in the UK, coming to Canada in February. 💃🏼

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

That’s so nice! Thanks Adam.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I really enjoyed A Waiter in Paris. Chisholm’s new book, Murder in Paris ‘68 is good too: gritty and noir-ish.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Benoit Gallot’s memoir about Pere-Lachaise, for which he has been the curator since 2018, is a charmingly chatty dive into all aspects of the cemetery, from his life & job to the animals that thrive there, to the famous, infamous, & ordinary people interred there. Entertaining & informative. 💡📚💙

A photograph of the hardcover Canadian edition (Greystone Books) of Benoit Gallot’s delightful book The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Pere-Lachase, translated by Arielle Aaronson. The book includes black and white photographs of wildlife and monuments in the cemetery taken by Gallot.

A photograph of a monument in Pere-Lachaise taken when I was there in 2013: a girl with a long braid hanging over her shoulder kneels in prayer.

A photograph of the monument erected for Oscar Wilde’s grave in Pere-Lachaise, taken when I visited in 2013. The monument was designed and sculpted by Jacob Epstein. A glass barrier had to be installed to protect the stone from all the lipstick left by those kissing the monument.

A photograph of a monument in Pere-Lachaise, taken on my 2013 visit. A woman stands atop a tomb and weeps, face in her hands. I love a good cemetery, and Pere-Lachaise is among my favourites. I envy the curator his job there.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

For fans of post-WWII noir, gritty detective stories, & political intrigue, I can recommend Edward Chisholm‘s true crime book about the 1968 (unsolved!) murder of gangster Stevan Markovic: friend, valet, etc. to “the world’s most beautiful man,” French actor Alain Delon (contains seedy bits). 💡📚💙

A photograph of the cover of the Canadian (House of Anansi) paperback edition of British author Edward Chilsholm’s true crime book Murder in Paris ‘68: A True Story of Death and Glamour. The white cover features a black and white photograph of Alain Delon in one of his fancy cars, looking over his shoulder at the photographer. He’s lovely, but he’s shifty.

The book is written in an occasionally over-the-top noir style, which makes it a lot of fun to read, if you like that kind of thing (I do).

Chisholm’s first book, A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City is also worth reading. Apparently it’s going to be a movie soon, which is nice for Chisholm.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Patrick Freyne‘s funny & touching debut novel is kind of like a Gen-X take on The Commitments. A Gen-Xer myself, I had a lot of fun with this novel. Friendships (& bands) form, conflict happens, tragedy strikes, lives are changed, reconciliations ensue. Or they don‘t. But life & music goes on. 🖋️📚💙

A photograph of the (autographed!) hardcover edition of Irish columnist Patrick Freyne‘s debut novel Experts in a Dying Field. I felt very at home with all the Gen-X humour and music references. The writing is light and hilarious, but clever and thoughtful, too. Freyne’s characters are quirky and loveable, even when they’re awful. Good stuff.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Cory Doctorow‘s newest book about the uses & abuses of AI technology provides a sane, expert, & delightfully snarky analysis of a much-hyped, nefariously misused technology. I especially appreciated his clear explanatory analogies. Highly recommended. 💡📚💙

The North American paperback edition of Canadian author Cory Doctorow‘s latest work of non-fiction, The Reverse Centaur‘s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence Before It‘s Too Late. I want to give one to every mindlessly AI-enthusiastic tech bro I know (thankfully, their numbers in my life are dwindling).

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Suzanne Vega, Left of Centre Howard Jones, Things Can Only Get Better Nik Kershaw, Wouldn’t it be Good

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I hope you enjoy them! I just love Kidd’s storytelling, it pleases me so much when others readers discover her. I’m really enjoying this cozy mystery series of hers, let me know your thoughts.

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Kenyan entomologist/evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino Martins‘ new book about the hidden world of parasites is occasionally super-disgusting & consistently utterly fascinating. His delight in & enthusiasm for his subject is as infectious as many of his subjects. Also, people: Wash👏 Your👏 Hands👏 💡📚💙

A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Dr. Dino Martins’ book Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites. It was the beautiful-yet-revolting illustration of a leech on the cover that made me pick up this book in the first place, wondering what on earth would make anyone want to read it. So I read the first few sentences and then couldn’t stop. Reading this book was like sitting on a rock in one of Dr. Martin’s wilderness classrooms, enthralled and appalled in equal measure by the astonishing lifeforms he winkles out from their hosts and hidey-holes and discusses with such zest and vigour. His compassion, intelligence, and humanity combined with his excitement about his subject make it impossible to look away. I have to say, though, I felt itchy through the whole thing.

Highly recommended. Going off to wash my hands again …

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Simone @frauchen.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Unferth’s novel Earth 7 is a study in the resilience of human adaptability & connection; two women who grew up during the great depopulation find love, hope, & reasons to live even in the desert wasteland that was our beautiful planet. Profoundly touching & heartbreaking. 🪐📚💙

A badly lit photograph of the British paperback edition (Daunt Books Originals) of Deb Olin Unferth‘s new novel of love and environmental devastation, Earth 7. Grim but beautiful. It‘s also a kind of portrait of a not-very-good mother who is just doing her best to raise a decent human being in fairly dire circumstances.

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