iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 18h

Lots of interesting books here! 📚💙

Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Róisín and Red meet as teenagers in 1980s Ireland. They move to London, live in a squat, and struggle to build lives. Later, the story picks up in 2007 but Red is nowhere to be found. Suffused with alcohol and barely-coped-with trauma, the characters and relationships are excellently written. 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Quite a departure for me this weekend - I read my first ever P. G. Wodehouse book. Of course I’ve long been aware of Jeeves and Wooster, and felt like I already knew them as characters. I did find the writing amusing and clever, the dialogue is quick and smart, as I’d expected. Published 1925. 💙📚⏳

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

How timely to see this review of The Recovery House by @derekowusu.bsky.social in the newspaper today. He’ll be in conversation at this author event in Bristol on Thursday (1st October). I’m looking forward to it! www.thesmallcitybookshop.co.uk/event-detail... 💙📚🖋️

thesmallcitybookshop.co.uk

The Recovery House with Derek Owusu | Small City Bookshop

Join us in conversation with Desmond Elliott Prize Winner, Derek Owusu, on his new book, The Recovery House.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Is auto-science-fiction a genre? In her new book, @naomialderman.bsky.social combines a reflective memoir on grief with the story of the appearance of a mysterious new species. I adore and respect the mimmoths! I’m still thinking about this brilliant, original & beautiful novel. Recommend! 💙📚🪐

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I’ve always been interested in the story of Medea, since I first encountered Euripides’ play as a teenager. So I was intrigued by these stories set in Mexico, in which Medea appears as a kind of avenging/supportive angel to help women in times of trouble. Yay Medea! Welcome anytime & place! 💙📚🖋️

Medea Sang Me a Corrido
By Dahlia de la Cerda
Translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I found this polemic appropriately engaging, but I fear that this book is the embodiment of preaching to the converted. The historical context is helpful for understanding the current situation; the arguments are clearly laid out. Screens=bad, books=good; but I would say that, wouldn’t I? 💙📚💡

The New Dark Ages:
The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society
By James Marriott

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What a fantastic evening at a packed event at The Small City Bookshop in Bristol listening to Zahra Joya talk about her excellent book The Vanishing Girl of Kabul. She urged us to pay attention to the women and girls suffering gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Follow @rukhshanamedia.bsky.social

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I very much liked this speculative climate fiction novel which follows the lives of two UK women, Lucy and Hester, from 2020 - 2070. Lucy is a nature-loving child during the pandemic; she becomes an activist. Hester is a documentary filmmaker whose dogs are beloved companions. A good read 💙📚🪐

When There Are Wolves Again
By E. J. Swift
Winner of the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Sort of the third part of Alexei Sayle’s memoir. Also includes plenty of funny polemic, righteous anger, and a potted social history of the last 60 years of the UK. I appreciated the good and clear explanation of Marxism. Entertaining. 💙📚💡

How I’ve Tried to Change the World:
By Walking Down the Middle of the Street Shouting
By Alexei Sayle

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Here’s a fast-paced thriller that’s easy to read. When Nadeeka arrives home she is confronted by police tape and a dreadful crime scene; her partner has been murdered. But is all as it first appears? Big twists and bad guys with uncomfortable relevance (organised English far-right thugs). 💙📚⚡️

It’s Not What You Think
By Clare Mackintosh

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

David has dementia. He’s a rich retired American executive, on his final journey via London to a Zurich euthanasia clinic. Extremely well done; I was drawn into David’s collapsing & fragmentary brain. From within his decline and bewilderment I felt lasting regret. A strong Booker contender. 💙📚🖋️

Switzy
By Emma Cline.
A paperback proof copy.
Hardback is published in the UK on 10th September.
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It was delightful to return to the Archipelago of Glimouria for more adventures. In the third part of the Impossible Creatures series for children, Herculean quests must be undertaken to save a kidnapped friend. I love the Bestiary in the back, with super illustrations and funny descriptions. 💙📚

Impossible Creatures:
The Neverfear
By Katherine Rundell

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The Curator sets up scenes in historical buildings. She meets the Archivist and decides on the era of the King. Then it’s back to the olden days of the King and his court. Original & intriguing, about the fundamental unknowability of history. With short chapters and vivid descriptions. 💙📚🖋️

May We Feed The King
By Rebecca Perry.
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Deceptively interesting Japanese murder mystery. I wasn’t sure about the use of pictures as clues, but it does work. At first the chapters seem to be separate short stories, but in fact they link together most cleverly to form a satisfying whole. We’re discussing this at Book Club tonight. 😊 💙📚⚡️

Strange Pictures
By Uketsu
Translated by Jim Rion

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Tom - the BookCellar @tombartley.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Having a play with mapping Bristol's indie bookshops. Since the last Bookshop Crawl map was published in 2025 there's at least four of us have opened new shops and in new parts of town. We plot quite nicely into north-south and east-west trails.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Enjoyable and informative, with an easy narrative style, as you would expect from @jonronson.bsky.social His insights into the personal/psychological drivers of anxiety and extremism are explored beside political/societal factors. The chapter on Graham Linehan is particularly interesting. 💙📚💡

The Castle:
Adventures in a World of Unravelling Men
By Jon Ronson.
The Independent Bookshop exclusive edition with a conversation with Patrick Radden Keefe.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Thought-provoking existential novella. A man finds himself in Hell. It’s a massive library containing all possible books. Most are nonsense; to leave, he must find his life story. Everyone in Hell is white and English-speaking. Very vivid, a bit frightening, stays with you. I liked this. 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Heartfelt coming-of-age story set in Ireland, with themes of grief & masculinity. Jack is 12 when his mother kills herself and his father goes to the mental hospital. Sent to live with his grandparents, Jack learns to deal with feelings & become a man. I enjoyed the uncles’ dialogue. Poignant 💙📚🖋️

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Cara Lavan @caralavan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Spotted on Church Road BS5 this week

A series of posters on a wall next to a high street saying another heat wave brought to you by the oil industry. It includes a map of Britain with the extreme temperatures that have been experienced this summer.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

30 years ago, teenage Ana’s body was found in a Buenos Aires suburb. This brilliant novel considers the repercussions for her family, with sections from the perspectives of different characters. My new favourite! I hope lots of people read this. Insightful, moving, and a great read #WITMonth 💙📚🖋️

Cathedrals
By Claudia Piñeiro
Translated by Frances Riddle

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This is an extremely interesting and eye-opening personal account of life in Afghanistan. @zahrajoya.bsky.social dressed as a boy from the age of 5 to get an education. Her first-hand account of gender apartheid and her path to becoming a journalist is essential reading. She founded … 1/2 💙📚💡

The Vanishing Girl of Kabul:
Betrayal, Hope and an Extraordinary Fight for Women’s Rights
By Zahra Joya
With Amie Ferris-Rotman

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I enjoyed this essay. Probably because it provided the perfect combination of teaching me something new, and confirming my existing beliefs.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Fast-paced humorous murder mystery set in a London hospital. Is doctor Eitan Rose having another episode of mental illness, or should his colleagues take heed when he claims that a killer may be responsible for the sudden deaths of senior doctors? (No reason it can’t be both.) 💙📚⚡️

A Particularly Nasty Case
By Adam Kay.
Who writes popular children’s books. Which this is, basically, but with adult sex, swearing and medical details

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I loved this absorbing & well-written YA fantasy by @franceshardinge.bsky.social In a quasi-medieval village, all lives are governed by the castle. But the castles sometimes move - playing pieces in a mysterious Great Game. Fantastic world-building, engaging characters to root for, and a 💙📚🪐

Traitors’ Nest
By Frances Hardinge
A paperback proof copy with the tagline Your Next Move Changes Everything

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

In an uncanny post-crisis Britain, beachcombers scavenge artefacts from the sea. What are the iGhetti? It’s unclear what has happened; has the continent been lost? The City invaded by aliens? I found this intriguing & unsettling, and will have to read it again. Longlisted for the Booker Prize 💙📚🖋️

The End of Everything
By M. John Harrison

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

An intense, original novel about the mother-daughter relationship, beauty standards, and integration in modern America. Linli’s mother in LA is dangerously addicted to plastic surgery. Her only chance to repair the damage is to go on reality TV. I found this sometimes gruesome & hard to read 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Maybe the most important nonfiction book this year. @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social lay out clearly, with evidence & sound analysis, the intersecting strands of encroaching authoritarianism: religious & tech bro, with their similar disregard for humanity/planet Earth. Essential! 💙📚💡

End Times Fascism:
And The Fight for the Living World
By Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor.
An advance reading copy.
Published in the UK 15th September 2026

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The balloons finally blew my way this morning!😊 Right when I was watering the plants in my back garden. They are both closer and louder than you might think! My photos don’t do them justice. I love living in Bristol! #bristolballoonfiesta #bristol

Four balloons in the sky, lots of clouds, some chimneys

Balloons in the sky above the backs of some terraced houses and the greenery in my back garden

Five balloons in the sky; below, the backs of some terraced houses and some greenery

A stripy black and yellow balloon in the sky above, not far above the back of my house

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

A very literary novel, long listed for the Booker Prize. The writing is excellent; the dialogue is brilliant, the characters well-drawn, the observations astute. Altogether highly accomplished. What the story is, I couldn’t say. 💙📚🖋️

The Palm House
By Gwendoline Riley
A paperback proof copy. The proper hardback cover has those arty legs on it

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Raven Books @ravenbooks.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Nicola Colton, in my humble opinion, deserves to be more widely appreciated. Her books are delightful, both pictures and text, with enough of a challenge to keep early readers engaged without being too much. #kidsbooksfriday #kidlit

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, fast-paced provocative romp. Kayla, a nature- & book-loving 14-yr-old New Zealander, logically decides to tackle the climate crisis by stopping those most responsible for egregious harms. Her murder of several billionaires sparks an international movement… 💙🖋️⚡️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

In an alternate 1979 England, 3 triplets live in a secluded children’s home. They receive various medical treatments; we soon suspect that nefarious experiments are happening. I enjoyed this engaging story; how far are we complicit when we ignore /allow harm to those constructed as ‘others’? 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Dilara, her husband, & her Alzheimer’s stricken father are Turkish exiles in Italy. Her renovated bathroom turns into a prison cell, in a real prison in Turkey. Intriguing and often moving Kafkaesque examination of exile, yearning, memory, politics, loss & belonging. Booker Prize Longlisted 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

A YA thriller set in the future, in a deep sea mining & research facility. I’m afraid I didn’t finish this book, which is most unusual for me. I guess I’m not the target audience. But I am looking forward to 3 new YA/older children’s books coming out soon, from great authors I love… 💙📚

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

There are some great reads here. I loved last year’s winners, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton and The Lie of the Land by @guyshrubsole.bsky.social 💙📚💡

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

This is a fantastic review, and I agree with every word. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the movie when I saw it last week. Emily Wilson’s is my favourite translation, and I’m recommending it for the introduction as much as the poem itself. I’m a complicated woman.

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

17-year-old Milde lives in The Outskirts. As a child, she & others were rounded up by soldiers, taken from their homes in The City, and dumped there. After she takes violent action against the oppressive regime, she is caught, tortured & killed - or maybe sent into space. Moving and strange. 💙📚🖋️

Event Horizon
By Balsam Karam
Translated by Saskia Vogel.
Fitzcarraldo Editions

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

When he was Children’s Laureate, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social visited lots of schools and met lots of children. Here he reports back, with reflections from his past, linking classic children’s books to important social issues (austerity, poverty, screen time etc). Lesson: read stories to kids!

A British Childhood:
How Our Children Live Now
By Frank Cottrell-Boyce

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I didn’t re-read the whole Odyssey this week, but I did read the 90 page introduction by @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social to her excellent translation. It’s effectively a very interesting and insightful short book in its own right; the perfect accompaniment to that new film, which I did enjoy. 💙📚

The Odyssey
By Homer
Translated by Emily Wilson

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Experienced nurse Valerie goes missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Game Warden Lt. Bev is in charge of the search; Lena investigates online from her retirement community. A gripping story about how we care for one another, with strong, competent female characters doing their best. 💙📚⚡️

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Bookish Scifi & Fantasy @bookishsff.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

So, have you seen Nolan's The Odyssey yet? And did you think "wow, there are loads of interesting and badass women in this tale but I wish we knew their stories"? We got you... #SFF #GreekMythology #Odyssey

The movie poster for the odyssey, featuring Odysseus yelling while a big wooden horse burns in the background

A pile of books all inspired and exploring the women of the Iliad and Odyssey:
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood;
The silence of the girls by pat barker;
A thousand ships by natalie haynes;
Circe by Madeline miller;
Clytemnestra by costanza casati;
Clytemnestra's bind by Susan c Wilson; last song of Penelope and House of odysseus by claire north;
Divine might by Natalie haynes;
Mythica by emily hauser;
Vile lady villains by Danai christopoulou

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I really liked this thought-provoking book about the reality of AI in society by @doctorow.pluralistic.net and will be recommending it to lots of people (starting with my 20-yr-old nephew). As much about economics and power as tech; not didactic, actually changed my mind on, eg, copyright. 💙📚💡

The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI:
How to Think About Artificial Intelligence Before It’s Too Late
By Cory Doctorow

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

A tragedy has struck the eldest daughter of the Sharaf family. Gradually we build a picture of what may have happened, by hearing from other members of the Afghan community in the US, and others. Riveting thriller-like exploration of racism, Islamophobia & gender expectations. Recommend. 💙📚🖋️

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Interesting and accessible introduction to UK law. Author visits various courts (Magistrates, County, Tribunals etc) and reports what she sees. I liked the real and engaging cases used to illustrate how the courts work. Good, reliable explanations from a seasoned expert & great communicator. 💙📚💡

With The Law on Our Side:
How the Law Works and How We Can Make It Work Better for Everyone
By Lady Hale

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I loved getting absorbed in this grand, sweeping, family epic, centred on the mapping of an Irish peninsula in the 2nd half of the C19th. The nature & character descriptions are great; my favourite part was the plot, which is compelling and informative about history. Another triumph for her. 💙📚🖋️

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Jack Shoulder @jackshoulder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Do you like books? Do you like queer history? Do you like bookshops? If the answer to any of those questions was YES, and you're anywhere near Bristol on 3/8, come along to this event with me and the incomparable @ajwestauthor.bsky.social at @bookhaus.bsky.social Booking link in bio!

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Here’s a lovely little book of Frida Kahlo’s art and words from her diaries and letters. If you’re not a Frida Kahlo fan (I am!), then you’ve surely got a friend who is. This would make an ideal gift. Pocket-sized, the pictures are good quality for the size and price. 💙📚💡

Frida Kahlo:
Wings to Fly:
On Creativity and Endurance

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