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Darran McLaughlin

@mcdarran.bsky.social
966 followers 824 following 100 posts

Manager of @bookhaus.bsky.social Bristol. Eco-socialist

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Reposted by Darran McLaughlin
qntm @qntm.org · 03/10/2026
I'm going to be at Bookhaus in Bristol on Tuesday 13th October! If you want a thing signed, this is one to look out for
bookhausbristol.com
Bookhaus Bristol – Author Talks, Readings & More
Discover upcoming events at Bookhaus Bristol, including author talks, book readings, and literary discussions.
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
9. On the bus. I have toddlers and can almost never read at home
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
8. Not sure. I have memories of loving Roald Dahl novels
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
7. I've been into reading since childhood. I loved the Fighting Fantasy books, Tolkien etc... I got into Steven King as a teen. Then it was Kafka, Kerouac, Salinger, Heller, Camus etc...
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
6. Universality by Natasha Brown, How do People Stay the Same by Mark Bowles, Invisible Planets edited by Ken Liu, The End of Everything by M John Harrison. Currently reading The Good, the Black and the Boujee by Symeon Brown
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
5. I get my books from my bookshop @bookhaus.bsky.social
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
4. I usually look at the history, politics, philosophy and art sections
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
3. Hard to say what my favourite genre is because I read widely. Let's say Science Fiction
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
2. Top five. Let's say Sentimental Education by Flaubert, Tristram Shandy by Sterne, 2666 by Bolano, Remembrance of Things Past by Proust and The Waves by Virginia Woolf
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
1. Is The Trial by Kafka
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Ok, let's do this old school engagement list.
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Find of the day at Kelham Island Second Hand bookshop
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
I haven't seen anyone on the left dismissing air conditioning. I have only seen people saying that it won't solve the problem of worsening climate breakdown, and people on the right taking that as an argument against air conditioning
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Reposted by Darran McLaughlin
Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Our movement has been all over Greater Manchester this weekend, delivering thousands of leaflets for our brilliant candidate Geraldine Coggins. Affordable housing for all - not rip off flats in the centre. Labour has failed. Only the Greens can take on and beat Reform.
The green party leader Zack Polanski has framed the contest as a two party race between his party and Reform.
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Defend Our Juries @defendourjuries.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
BREAKING: Judge Johnson has confirmed the Filton Four will be sentenced based on a 'terrorist connection'. This heart breaking news comes despite the protestors never being charged or convicted of terror offences or violent intent. For more info: defendourjuries.net/savinglives/
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Gregk Foley @gregk.co.uk · 03/06/2026
If you suggest police officers shouldn’t kick people in the head, you’ll get the chief of the Met condemning you on national television. If you say the police are institutionally racist against whites and suggest people should riot, you’ll get invited onto a BBC couch to expand upon your theories.
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Pete Birkinshaw @binaryape.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
FPTP is like The One Ring of politics in the UK. They know they need to destroy it, but once it's in their hands they think "Why shouldn't we keep it? We can use it for good!" and then everything goes dead-Boromir-shaped
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I've read 65 out of 100 on the list. How many have you read? www.theguardian.com/p/x4f9v5
theguardian.com
The 100 best novels of all time
The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
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bookhaus @bookhaus.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
I'm on 65/100 of these. How about you? www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
theguardian.com
The 100 best novels of all time
The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Populist is one of the most useless, abstract, content-less expressions of our age. Conflating anti-establishment, anti-centrist politics from the left and right is a patently obvious technique to discredit the left and insulate the establishment from criticism
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Andrew Kelly @andrewkelly.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
This is a positive book, beautifully written, with inspiring stories from many different places and communities. I’ll be discussing this with Hazel Sheffield and guests 28 April @bookhaus.bsky.social. Book here: www.bookhausbristol.com/events/#e151...
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Hettie O’Brien @hettieobrien.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Thanks for having me for the Bristol launch of THE ASSET CLASS, @bookhaus.bsky.social!
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Hettie O’Brien @hettieobrien.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
I’ll be talking about THE ASSET CLASS at @bookhaus.bsky.social in Bristol this coming Monday: tickets are available online www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/boo...
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
I've already emailed your publisher, but we want to do a launch for this @bookhaus.bsky.social
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Robert Chapman @drrobertchapman.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
We are one week in and have reached 26%! We're incredibly grateful for all the support so far. But we've still got a long way to go to bring a radical bookshop back to Newcastle. So please do send our crowdfunder to anyone you think might want to support! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/booksfromb...
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I'm Baltic -maxxing. I'm in my Hanseatic league era
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Kate Mackenzie @katemac.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Countries that *did* deploy a lot of renewables & electrification are already faring better than they otherwise would have . Here are some examples: 1/ Pakistan, still highly exposed to Gulf LNG supply crunch BUT estimated to save $12 billion due to solar boom: www.linkedin.com/posts/lauri-...
bar chart of Pakistan estimated savings on fossil fuel imports due to  solar deployment, from 2018 to 2026 (current year is projected only). y axis is in USD billions. starts off at zero and then is about 0.5bn in 2022 and rises to almost 5bn in 2025 and estimated 7bn in 2026. from CREA
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Dear @lucympowell.bsky.social, Why did you invent a fake tactical voting company to stop the Green Party beating Reform? I'm starting to think your letters haven't always been in good faith...
Dear Lucy
On the eve of the by-election, your Labour party spokesperson has admitted to the Huffington Post that a
Labour party leaflet has been delivered through doors with your imprint recommending a vote for Labour
by a tactical voting organisation which does not exist.
This is deeply troubling, it is actually lying to voters. Did you approve this? Do you feel the Labour Party
in government should be held to different standards in terms of honesty to the British public?
In your last letter to me you mentioned your ‘very extensive data’ and ‘having spoken to over a third of
eligible voters’ which led you to an understanding that the by election ‘was a contest between labour and
Reform’. Clearly this latest development only tells voters one thing - you will employ any type of
political deception (or in Urdu “Dhoka” ) to win.
You will be very aware that all three real tactical voting organisations are recommending a vote for the
Greens as the best way to stop Reform. Lying to the voters, as you have been caught doing, raises the real
prospect that Reform will be the beneficiaries, something you have said that you don’t want.
As this is such an important issue, for the sake of your own reputation, I would strongly urge you to
apologise to the voters of Denton and Gorton before the polls open in the morning.”
Kind regards,
Zack Polanski
Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
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Roger Hallam @rogerhallam.com · 24/02/2026
Thank you to everyone who came to the launch of Suicide at @bookhaus.bsky.social in Bristol. We appreciate everyone who showed up and engaged so openly. We're coming to London next, book your place: housmans.com/event/book-l...
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Revolution in The 21st Century @revolution21c.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Thank you to everyone who came to the launch of Suicide at @bookhaus.bsky.social in Bristol. We appreciate everyone who showed up and engaged so openly. We're coming to London next, book your place: housmans.com/event/book-l...
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Call me a vulgar Marxist but it's obvious that the increase in far right party support is because of an irresolvable crisis of capitalism. The ruling class always stoke up far right, racist and nationalist politics when they need someone to blame for the conditions of everyone's lives getting worse
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Rose Schmits @roseschmits.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
“The greens havent arent mates with the mega pedo because they’ve not had to confront the reality of governing” really says so much about how you see the way of things lol
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem. Thank you. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Sadly suppressing such a devastating report doesn’t make the risks go away - it just makes them even harder to deal with. Facing up to the truth is the first step to coping with it - it’s beyond scandalous that ministers tried to prevent this. They need to act - and fast
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
“But what deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps we've taken toward integration, I've come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house."  Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
When we said NATO wasn't working we were derided. When we said a nuclear weapons system relying on the US is dangerous we were called stupid. The truth is the establishment are more interested in kissing US feet than keeping the UK safe. It's time for a rethink.
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🧌🥛 🏨 @comraderobot.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
hey train perverts wanna see the shinkansen cloaca
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bookhaus @bookhaus.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
We are hiring a bookseller at bookhaus. Please share with anyone who might be interested
Job advert for a bookseller
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David Hayden @seventydys.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
I chair the acquisitions meeting of @reaktionbooks.bsky.social, an independent publisher. We're open to unsolicited book proposals: history, art, music, film, food, animal studies and any great indefinable non-fiction book ideas you might have. Check out the list and get in touch.
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Greens Organise @greensorganise.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Nothing is ever going to change... Unless we organise. Find out your Green role at greensorganise.uk/your-green-role , and get involved with your local party today.
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Sabrina Fernandes @sabrinafernandes.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
We will either end fossil fuel dependency and the predatory extractivist basis of global production, or they will end us through wars and ecological collapse - all at the same time.
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Verso Books @versobooks.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
The Bolivarian Revolution by Simon Bolívar, featuring an introduction by Hugo Chávez, is free to download. "Bolívar foresaw the threat of the US and described it with surprising clarity: 'the United States seems destined by Providence to plague America with miseries in the name of Freedom.'"
versobooks.com
The Bolivarian Revolution
Known throughout Latin America as El Libertador, Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar was one of the most important leaders in the wars of independence from Spain. Recently revived by Venezuelan pre...
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Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
2025 in the UK in a nutshell, folks: some of the country's most odious racists, who also never shut up about free speech & the right to offend, calling for a man from a racialised minority to have his citizenship cancelled over alleged racist speech, while the media dutifully jots it all down
bbc.co.uk
Home secretary urged to strip activist of British citizenship
Shabana Mahmood is facing growing calls to revoke the citizenship of British-Egyptian dual national Alaa Abdel Fattah after the emergence of social media posts.
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Remember when every leader wanted their picture taken with Greta? She is still that truth teller, they just can't face the truth of their crimes.
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Jeremy Gilbert @jemgilbert.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Huge news and probably the most significant win for the UK left since Corbyn became Labour leader in 2015. A comprehensive rejection of Starmerism by the country's biggest union and Labour's largest affiliate.
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
So… big news. (Keep reading.)
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Darran McLaughlin @mcdarran.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
The writing of Mircea Carterescu
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Alyssa Harad @alyssaharad.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
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violet allen @blipstress.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
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