iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Did I buy this book based entirely on its title? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Also yes. Do I feel like I'm being tricked into reading more body horror than I'm comfortable with this year? Hmmm... (see also: Heather Parry's Carrion Crow). @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social @annedemarcken.com #booksky

A hand holds the book "It Lasts forever and then it's over" by Anne de Marcken in front of a bokshelf. The cover, like all Fitzcarraldo Éditions fiction books, is solid royal blue with the title and author's name in white, all-caps letters.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

It feels like I'm not reading as much translation as I once did. This book is a great reminder to do so more often. #WomenInTranslation #booksky

The book "Childhood, Youth, Dependency" by Tove Ditlevsen (translation by Tiina Nunnally and Michael Favala Goldman) is posed on a bookshelf in front of other translated books. The edition is the Penguin Classic with its white and teal colour scheme, and a drawing of a city with red brick buildings.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

I never read gothic fiction/horror, but this was so good! Finished it in two days, very glad that this was put on my radar by the Lecker podcast and that my local #library stocked a copy. #booksky

A hand holds a paperback copy of "Carrion Crow", by Heather Parry, in front of a sun-lit crosshatch window.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Can't really afford to buy books or travel at the moment so I've decided the next best thing to do is to borrow books about travel from my local library. Tip top reading to start the year ✨ #booksky @monisharajesh.bsky.social @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

A hand is holding two books in front of a bookshelf. The first one with an orange cover is "Around India in 80 Trains" (paperback) and the second one is "Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train" (ebook), both by Monisha Rajesh.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Damn - the first week of January isn't over yet and I'm pretty sure this will be my best book of 2026. Setting the bar high! #booksky

Holding a paperback copy of "How to survive a plague", by David France, in front of a sun-lit window

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Always a good day when my drink matches my book 🥂 @canongate.co.uk #booksky

A shot from above of a red-ish drink in a wine glass sitting next to a red-ish book (poyums, by Len Pennie) on a round beige wooden table. The drink's a negroni sbagliato but with double the prosecco, if you care to know.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Latest read: a scintillating collection of interwoven meditations on life, death, and white things. #booksky

The paperback edition of "The White Book" by Han Kang, laid on a crumpled white duvet.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

If, like me, you've only ever eaten Chinese food in the West, this book will blow your mind. Fuchsia Dunlop does a brilliant job of explaining the exquisite intricacy of Chinese cuisine and its infinite declinations. An instant favourite, chuffed I could borrow this from my local library. #booksky

A hand holds a hardback copy of "Invitation to a banquet; The history of Chinese food" by Fuchsia Dunlop in front of a blooming magnolia tree. The book has a bright yellow cover with a drawing of a white and blue porcelain bowl from which a white cloud of steam arises. Published by Particular Books.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Obviously the first thing I did after finishing the book was to go brave the crowds at the British Museum to see the lamassu. Worth it.

Black and white photo of one of the lamassus at the British Museum - huge stone sculptures of a mythical creature with a human head, the body of a bull or a lion, and bird wings. A sign hanging from the ceiling reads "The royal palaces: Ancient Assyria".

Another lamassu in black and white. This one has lion feet.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Unintended theme in the last 4 books I read: (too) bright things #booksky @faberbooks.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk

From top left, clockwise: Burnout, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski; Feu Mange Forêt, by Clémentine Pons; The Bright Side, bu Sumit Paul-Choudhuri; and Bright Fear, by Mary Jean Chan.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

So in this spirit I've just started reading Owen Hatherley's Artificial Islands (@repeaterbooks.bsky.social), received as part of the @lighthousebks.bsky.social Beacon (current affairs) subscription in... August 2022 😅 #booksky

Paperback cover of "Artificial Islands: Adventures in the Dominions" by Owen Hatherley

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I just started reading this in ebook format yesterday and found a physical copy while browsing at my local library today. Love the coincidence :) @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social #booksky #poetry

The photo shows the poetry book "The Adoption Papers" by Jackie Kay, held in front of a bookshelf at a public library.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

So maybe I write about books *because* the world is falling apart. Because with books we can make sense of this world and, crucially, imagine others (and for this I will refer you to one last book, Lola Olufemi's Experiments in Imagining Otherwise @hajarpress.bsky.social). (7/7)

"Experiments in Imagining Otherwise" by Lola Olufemi (unimaginatively held in front of a bookcase). This is published by Hajar Press, who have a gorgeous navy/yellow/white theme for their covers, by the way. This one has a navy background, and in yellow: the title at the top, the hand-drawn outline of a circle taking up most of the cover, and the author's name at the bottom.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Finally, Violent Phenomena, edited by Kavita Bhanot & Jeremy Tiang (@tiltedaxispress.bsky.social). I'd always loved languages and the idea of translation, but had never questioned it as a tool of imperialism, a re-enactment of colonial violence. I even took NOTES (which I never do).(6/7)

"Violent Phenomena: 21 essays on translation", edited by Kavita Bhanot and Jeremy Tiang. A woman's hand is holding the book in front of a bookshelf. Is that bookish enough yet?

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

On a personal level, Susan Cain's Quiet made such a difference to my life when I first read it 12 years ago. It allowed me to consider that my way of being in the world was valid (hell, even valuable!) (5/7)

The hardback edition of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Reni Eddo-Lodge) Crippled (@francesryan.bsky.social @versobooks.bsky.social) Women, Race & Class (Angela Davis) Hostile Environment (Maya Goodfellow) On Palestine (Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappé) The Uninhabitable Earth (David Wallace-Wells) (3/7)

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Also deeply enjoyed Tiny Moons, her essays around food which have the same delicate, evocative touch. Thanks to @lighthousebks.bsky.social for recommending it. @theemmapress.bsky.social

Another book held in front of a bookshelf, how original! But the book is great - it's "Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai" by Nina Mingya Powles.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Part memoir, part nature writing, Nina Mingya Powles's contemplative writing is just a gorgeous thing. @canongate.co.uk #booksky

Oh, look, I'm holding a book! This one is "Small Bodies of Water" by Nina Mingya Powles.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

In "Divided", @sosowemimo.bsky.social exposes how structural racism pervades modern medicine. She goes back the colonial roots of medical sciences and shows how non-white people all over the world are still adversely affected both as patients and providers of healthcare services. #booksky

Black-and-white cover of "Divided" by Dr Annabel Sowemimo displayed on an e-reader, held in front of green ferns by a white woman's hand

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Should I only read green books in 2025? 😅 My first three reads of 2025 were all incredibly good so it is tempting to follow this lead...

Three books with covers in different shades of green held by a white woman's hand in front of a bookcase. The books are, from left to right: amuk, by Khairani Barokka; Nouvelles du Front, by Marine Tondelier; and Les féministes blanches et l'empire, by Félix Boggio Éwanjé-Épée and Stella Magliani-Belkacem.

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Mathilde @mathilde314.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I was lucky to be gifted a 6-month poetry subscription from @lighthousebks.bsky.social last year. What a gorgeous treat that was.

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