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PD Smith

@pdsmith.bsky.social
868 followers 621 following 264 posts

📚City: A Guidebook for the Urban Age, Doomsday Men, Einstein, Metaphor & Materiality. Now writing about cities, detectives and crime. linktr.ee/pd_smith

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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“We appreciate this might be unsettling for some staff.” 😳 Guardian staff allowed to work from home after bedbug infestation www.thetimes.com/article/7491...
thetimes.com
Verifying Device
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
“Never have English people been so happy to see rain.” I know the feeling! Britain’s driest village dances in the rain after 62 days without a drop www.thetimes.com/article/98cc...
thetimes.com
Britain’s driest village dances in the rain after 62 days without a drop
Showers offered brief relief in Wisley, Surrey, but experts warned that occasional downpours would not resolve ongoing water shortages
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Wonderful to hear the sound of falling rain after weeks of dry weather …
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Yes it is a challenge! Most of our garden is dead now which is sad. We persevered with the small veg beds and have done well with French beans and cucumbers too 🙂 But we might rethink for next year as English summers are not what they used to be ☹️
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Ha! It means you can only water your garden with a watering can 🙂💦
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Nice to be able to pick some sweet corn from your own garden, despite the hosepipe ban in Hampshire…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
“But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, … the smell and taste of things remain …” Scientists unravel the mysteries of Proust’s madeleine moment www.thetimes.com/article/5043...
thetimes.com
Scientists unravel the mysteries of Proust’s madeleine moment
Researchers have found the part of the brain that creates memory links to odours after studying mice from the early days of their life
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Cropped some parsley from the garden before the sun becomes too hot. Such a beautiful green…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Fresh blueberries from the garden. Raspberries doing less well in the heat…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
The fleeting beauty of a poppy - here today, gone tomorrow…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The bees are busy in Hampshire today…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/...
nationalgallery.org.uk
Zurbaran | Exhibitions | National Gallery, London
See visions from Baroque Spain in the first major UK exhibition of Francisco de Zurbarán.
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The Zurbaran exhibition at the National Gallery is superb. Definitely worth visiting…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
It’s too hot for me in the garden but the flowers seem to love it…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
My list: peterdsmith.com/archives/202...
peterdsmith.com
The 100 best novels of all time | PD Smith | Kafka’s mouse
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Very much enjoyed coming up with my top 10 for the 100 best novels in today’s Guardian! Link to my list in the reply. 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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Reposted by PD Smith
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12/05/2026
The 100 best novels of all time
theguardian.com
The 100 best novels of all time
A countdown of the greatest literature ever published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Ah thanks! I might have thought a bit harder about what I was saying if I’d known they were going to publish all the comments 😳
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Ah I see the best novels is now online! Sorry I’m a bit out of it at the moment (back issues etc). I didn’t realise they were going to use the comments!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
What have I selected? I recall doing a list some time ago…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
No 1 detective novel? That’s hard! Probably The Maltese Falcon. But I’m tempted to say Kafka’s The Trial. How about you?
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Doomsday is my second name…
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Reposted by PD Smith
PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Great to be asked to review four fascinating books on nuclear history for the current issue of @thetls.bsky.social. www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Great to be asked to review four fascinating books on nuclear history for the current issue of @thetls.bsky.social. www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
“The young spent 18 minutes a day reading for pleasure compared with three hours and one minute looking at a screen. One third of 16 to 19-year-olds read nothing at all.” Book lovers’ cathedral on the brink as Paris turns the page on reading www.thetimes.com/article/1b8a...
thetimes.com
Book lovers’ cathedral on the brink as Paris turns the page on reading
Literary city risks ‘losing its soul’ as rising costs and falling sales put bookshops out of business
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
More photos of my Roman holiday on Flickr... www.flickr.com/photos/pdsmi...
flickr.com
Rome
Explore this photo album by PD Smith on Flickr!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
A few more glimpses of heaven in Rome. Then it’s ciao and back to Blighty…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Thank you!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Wonderful to be back in Rome. Such a beautiful city, full of colour and light, narrow alleys and grand public spaces…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
"You're killing the tree by removing the roots." Higgs boson breakthrough was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Loved Carrie Cracknell’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia @oldvictheatre.bsky.social. Such a wonderfully clever and moving play that weaves together science and literature. Recommended!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Good for you! 🙂
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
“Nothing says ‘I have a great attention span’ like hefting around a 1,000-page book about Beethoven or the Peasants’ Revolt or something.” Buy nonfiction! www.thetimes.com/article/d1be...
thetimes.com
There’s a crisis in non-fiction book sales. What’s to blame?
We’re buying 17 million fewer factual books than six years ago. Is the rise of podcasts to blame? Or publishers’ obsession with celebrities and influencers?
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
“The chests are so integral to our history. They sit at the centre of the cathedral & they are part of our historical DNA & connect us right back to our Anglo-Saxon past.” Fascinating story. Bones of Anglo-Saxon kings return to Winchester cathedral www.thetimes.com/article/712e...
thetimes.com
Bones of Anglo-Saxon kings return to cathedral after DNA ‘jigsaw’
The remains, believed to be of 25 individuals including Emma of Normandy, were jumbled together in mortuary chests at Winchester Cathedral
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Wintry Winchester this morning…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
“There used to be people from all different social classes, but more and more Paris is a city for the rich.” Can a new mayor take Paris back to its glory days? www.thetimes.com/article/b5db...
thetimes.com
Can a new mayor take Paris back to its glory days?
Anne Hidalgo’s opponents say she has undermined retail, waged war on drivers and failed to halt a middle-class exodus. Voters will soon have their say
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Happy Christmas to you all. Have a lovely day! 🎄
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Some great Christmas photos from the Times archive. Memories of Christmas past — in pictures www.thetimes.com/article/5848...
thetimes.com
Memories of Christmas past — in pictures
Delve into the Times archive to explore a century of festive celebrations, from carols at a Second World War bomb site to Santa’s shift at Harrods
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Martin Shaw @thebooksdesk.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Kafka’s grave in Prague today
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
“It turns an almost intractable problem into something that feels within reach — which, to me, is very exciting.” Fascinating! British breakthrough brings nuclear fusion a step closer www.thetimes.com/article/2fee...
thetimes.com
British breakthrough brings nuclear fusion a step closer
Predicting how plasma behaves in a fusion power plant can take days using powerful supercomputers. A new tool backed by Britain can do it in seconds
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I didn't know that - interesting, thanks!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Wonderful! Such a great play too.
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Brilliant talk this evening at Winchester College by @bendorgrosvenor.bsky.social about his new book The Invention of British Art. Fascinating!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
The last rose of the year from the garden…
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
A great year for sweet corn - today’s lunch fresh from the garden. Delicious!
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Here are my two Guardian paperback picks for August! The Green Ages by Annette Kehnel & Ootlin by Jenni Fagan. Links to the reviews below. Enjoy! 🧵 #nonfiction #books📚
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Beautifully written, with flashes of dark humour throughout what is a shocking, heartbreaking memoir, Ootlin tells the story of Fagan’s childhood in care. The winner of the 2025 Gordon Burn prize, this is an astonishing story of survival. www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
theguardian.com
This month’s best paperbacks: Gabriel García Márquez, Craig Brown and more
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some great new paperbacks, from a posthumous novel to an absorbing account of how nationalism shaped a country
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Kehnel’s wonderfully original study will transform your attitude towards the medieval period. She shows how sustainability was central to the medieval approach to life and that they “knew the limits of our planet better than we do now”. @profilebooks.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
theguardian.com
This month’s best paperbacks: Gabriel García Márquez, Craig Brown and more
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some great new paperbacks, from a posthumous novel to an absorbing account of how nationalism shaped a country
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Here are my two Guardian paperback picks for August! The Green Ages by Annette Kehnel & Ootlin by Jenni Fagan. Links to the reviews below. Enjoy! 🧵 #nonfiction #books📚
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PD Smith @pdsmith.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Fresh from the garden this morning
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