iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Due to @andrewhickey.500songs.com I am now entering my Bee Gees period, after 40ish years of stubbornly resisting…

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It’s all about Perfect World! I’m riding on an incline!

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All have their merits, and I genuinely think this is a brilliantly eclectic and accessible year to get on the Booker train. Happy days.

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Don't read if... all joking aside, the sex and violence in this is really not for everyone.

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THE DISSAPPEARERES by MARLON JAMES - Do read if... its 1994, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs seem like the most important films ever, music is awesome and you like a bit of reggae, and crucially you're not going to be put off by a 600+ page novel and want to be dazzled by the audacity of it.

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Don't read if... you only go to National Trust properties for the scones.

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MAY WE FEED THE KING by REBECCA PERRY - Do read if... this is the one to pick up if you're a bit wary of literary fiction. It's short, smart, has some lovely language, is structurally clear yet interesting, and is exploring ideas that seem worth considering.

Don't read if... "ooooh I do like a good story I do..."

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THE END OF EVERYTHING by M. JOHN HARRISON - Do read if... you're a free-trade, coconut latte sipping, mainstream eschewing, as likely to laud Murakami as the Mr. Men hipster who isn't scared of a willfully confusing sci-fi dystopia thing that's probably a massive metaphor for something terrifying.

Don't read if... you can't get past silly and absurd, because the brilliance of this sits behind a curtain of daftness.

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BLACK BAG by LUKE KENNARD - Do read if... you remember how Hitchhikers Guide made you laugh, and Catcher in the Rye made you think , and you want something funny and clever and messy and buzzing.

Don't read if... well, it's pure-Strout so if she's not your bag this won't change your mind. Also, I've heard people take exception to some of the politics of the novel - I don't get that, but I can imagine if I were a different person in a different place I could well feel that way.

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THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY by ELIZABETH STROUT - Do read if... you've never read Strout, you're despairing at the state of the world and you need something to soothe and steel you. And you'd like to meet your new favourite character Archie Dam (and need a reminder of how awesome teachers are...)

Don't read if... honestly, this is the one that everyone ought to read, it should do big business when it comes out in paperback.

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JOHN OF JOHN by DOUGLAS STUART - Do read if... you like a proper novel that tells a proper story without all that messing about, and you'd quite like to read the book before what ought to be the inevitable BBC Scotland Sunday evening 6 part adaptation

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

THE 2026 @thebookerprizes.com PRIZE SHORTLIST! Fancy dipping your toes in the edifying waters of the six best books of the year but not sure where to start? Welcome to my helpful and heartfelt guide...

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“Making”… but marking is a more poetic so let’s go with it anyway.

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Fair play! I think you’ve encapsulated something that I’ve not been able to express beforehand though and now it’s boggling me. This low-level but laser-directed act of marking people uncomfortable is so weird. Men are so peculiar sometimes.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This is one of the oddest impulses that men have. I’m obviously not saying I’ve never done it, but as I’ve got older I’m increasingly flabbergasted at how many blokes treat partners/friends/family members this way, and how weird and unpleasant it is. Where does this urge come from?

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

There were some lovely moments in The Shadow of the Object, but for the most part I just found it pretty average. A shame, as the good bits were evocative and magical. Oh well… @thebookerprizes.com

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I’ve really enjoyed this - the sentences sparkle, it’s seamless and engaging and the characters sing from the page. I just don’t quite know what it’s for, and I feel a bit dim for saying so… @thebookerprizes.com

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Took ages for this to win me over, but by the end I had found it a very satisfying coherent work. Surprised myself with how much I’ve enjoyed it really. @thebookerprizes.com

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I feel this book is going to continue to grow within me even after finishing it. Gorgeously constructed, so finely balanced, a quiet yet fizzing ball of emotion. Quite something. Kenan Orhan is a real talent, and The Renovation is very deserved of shortlisting, you hear me @thebookerprizes.com?!

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Brilliant book! Really enjoyed it!

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Oh @thebookerprizes.com, this one just didn’t hit for me. Delighted that something sci-fi-ish made the list, but didn’t care enough about the characters, and felt the threat was too vague. Have I missed a metaphor here? My bad maybe, oh well…

My dog and the book The End of Everything by M. John Harrison

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

No picture of my dog with Black Bag though, as she’s asleep on my bed and I’m buzzing in living room having just finished it. Oh I’m so happy right now!

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Right just finished Black Bag by @lukekennard.bsky.social and I’m overwhelmed with how insightful and smart and kind and genuinely funny it is. Everytime I thought I’d sussed it out it’d shift and move upwards. Utterly joyous. @thebookerprizes.com, I think it needs shortlisting. Wonderful.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Oh Elizabeth Strout, what have you just done to me. Quietly devastating. So insightful, to an almost painful extent. Completely snuck up on me toward the end. A wonderful novel. Artie Dam will live long within me. A fabulous @thebookerprizes.com inclusion.

My dog with a copy of Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Said

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Thank goodness @thebookerprizes.com, back on track. What an intriguing, enigmatic book. @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social just keep churning out bangers. I’m delightfully bamboozled, and will be pondering it for weeks to come. Makenna Goodman clearly has the literary chops. Shortlister…?

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman, and my lazy dog in the background.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

So I try to be positive in all things, but this has just left me furious. Maybe that’s the point, but All Them Dogs makes no sense as a Booker pick. It’s a good thriller, has some smart turns of phrase, but isn’t literary enough, and is bleak for the sake of it. Very frustrating.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Right, so it’s @thebookerprizes.com season again, let’s do this. John of John I’ve already read and it’s utter class. A proper, proper novel. Would be an absolutely worthy winner.

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Oh no! Genuinely gutted. Most important punch in history. X

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Still the greatest podcast around. Exemplary work.

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I made the time to listen to this today, and it dawned on me quite why 500 Songs is my favourite podcast. I’ve read so much about music history that I broadly know many of the stories, but Andrew makes me see them and feel them differently. I enjoy being challenged - magnificent stuff.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Why Geopolitics is so Exhausting - a tale of two podcasts

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Part of my Y7 lesson intro this week involved talking about a poster that was at Tamworth children’s library when I had a Saturday job. I hated that poster. Couldn’t find it online so had to mock it up. Think I nailed it. Feel free to share obvs.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Greatest World Snooker Championship ever. Utterly wonderful. Wuuuuuuuuu!!!

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Total respect to your agent, but I’m already buying one copy for my son and at least three for my library on that description alone. Not enough for a bestseller yet, but it’s a start…

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Oh my goodness Kurt Vonnegut for kids sounds amazing!

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Finished Secrets of the Henna Girl by Sufia Ahmed… blimey. Intense and moving, fabulously well plotted and thought provoking, superb YA fiction that’s actually for everybody. I have met the author a couple of times - hope I do so again so I can thank her for this book!

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Whether I’m burnt or buried I’m insisting they stick a copy of Ulysses in with me. Should keep me busy for eternity.

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Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Angel of Redemption is brilliant.

Petros Pisco @petrospisco.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro today. What a novel. Suspected it’d be great, but it utterly blindsided me, and I ended up broken, then had to take a Y7 lesson and pretend I was anything other than a soggy mess! A simply sublime book. So highly recommended.