Also I am laughing at myself for popping back on BlueSky purely to talk about a list of books again. Honestly, I'm awful.

Well this looks highly intriguing 👀📚 I am extremely lucky to have a few of them already and welcome any excuse to crack open an Elizabeth Strout 😊

The Booker Prizes@thebookerprizes.com · last mo.

‘We are confident that our longlist of books has something for everyone’ We are delighted to reveal the Booker Prize 2026 longlist. Huge congratulations to the authors who make up this year's Booker Dozen. ➡️ Discover the full list: thebookerprizes.com/bp2026

I've not read The Finest Hotel yet but very happy with the fiction prize winner. A truly lovely read! Congratulations to everyone involved in both winners 👏🎉💖

Women's Prize@womensprize.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Together in all their glory, the 2026 winners: The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet and The Correspondent by Virginia Evans🏆 Thanks to our 2026 sponsors Audible, Baileys and @findmypast.bsky.social.

The amount of times this book has been recommended to me over the last few years is insane but I am finally reading it! 200 pages in and it is GOOD. Very similar vibe to Lost Lambs, so looks like I'm in my something brewing, fracturing family era. Absolutely delicious stuff 😋🐝📖 #booksky

Here are my thoughts on some recently released YA books that I think are worth your time 😊📚 #substack #booksky

Three YA books for May

I will never care that I’m an adult who still loves YA books.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

Have you recently watched The Devil Wears Prada and want to continue the workplace drama theme? I've got a freshly released book rec for you...📖 #substack #booksky

A workplace drama to read after watching The Devil Wears Prada

As a former journalist and people pleasing young woman, I relate to Andy Sachs in several ways and although I didn’t actually watch The Devil Wears Prada till just a few years ago (no idea how I misse...

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

May is bringing me some of my favourite authors, well-known comedians and plenty of weird. What is it bringing you? 😊📚 #substack #booksky

Anticipated Books for May 2026

Well, May is certainly full of some buzzy books!

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

Having never been interested in it before, something has just possessed me to get the first Boys of Tommen book for 99p. Has the dawn of my chunky, probably overly long, romance era finally arrived? #booksky

Well, would you look at this?! I have read 4 of them and currently reading the other 2. DELIGHTED for The Mercy Step -a real hidden gem that I'm so pleased has been excavated. Disappointed not to see Wild Dark Shore but I guess it has already won many things and you can't win 'em all... 🎉📚 #booksky

Women's Prize@womensprize.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We are thrilled to reveal the 2026 #WomensPrize for Fiction shortlist – six extraordinary novels that interrogate the roles women play in society and the power they hold, and explore themes of agency, human connection, and the joy of literature. Discover the shortlist here: youtu.be/B_QLQoH6yk4

Another update on my @womensprize.bsky.social reading. Not long now till the shortlist! 😬📚 #substack #booksky

Women's Prize reading update part 2

As the title may suggest, this is the second update on how my reading of the Women’s Prize longlists is going.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

I'll bet there are plenty of pangolin wives who would disagree.

Jenny Hamilton@readingtheend.bsky.social · 5mo ago

fun fact: no pangolin has ever done a single thing wrong in the entire history of the world

Fun fact, these daffodils opened up less than an hour after this photo was taken 😊🌷 #substack #booksky

Books that sing 'spring'

The delicate scent of wildflowers carried by a soft breeze on a bright early morning alongside a quiet cup of tea and a light, absorbing book on my decking sounds like the perfect spring weekend to me...

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

In the spirit of the season, here are some books with some rabbity type things in them 🐰📖 #substack #booksky

'Bunny' books

You know the whole Easter/bunny/rabbit/rabbit-esque creature connection with this time of year?

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

What are we looking forward to getting our bookish hands on this month? 😊📚 #substack #booksky

Anticipated Books for April 2026

I don’t think April is typically a big publishing month but there appear to be a lot of very exciting books that will be gracing new releases tables everywhere soon.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

Last night I sat down and had a think about the year so far. This is what came out. For your peace of mind, there is nothing heavy mentioned really. #substack #booksky

Quarter 1 2026 reflections

And just like that, I’ve been here three months…

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

I had booked to attend a zoom chat about the Brontes tonight and it has been postponed due to speaker illness. The organisers of the event have emailed me about this postponement FIVE times... How much do you wanna bet some people still show up for it? 🙃

Eeeepp! I have not read any of these so far so does anyone who has want to tell me whether we're happy? Also, which should I prioritise? 😅 #womensprize #booksky

Women's Prize@womensprize.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Introducing the 2026 #WomensPrize for Non-Fiction shortlist – six exceptional books, each a testament to how vital women’s writing is to our understanding of the world, and our imagining of tomorrow. Discover the shortlist here: youtu.be/v0O74n1r780 #WomensPrizeforNonFiction

We were literally just discussing at work how insane it is that one man thousands of miles away from us has essentially caused this.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 6mo ago

Household energy bills in Great Britain ‘could rise to almost £2,000 a year’ amid Iran war shock

My thoughts on what I've read of the Women's Prize longlisted books so far 😊📚 #womensprize #substack #booksky wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com/p/womens-pri...

Women's Prize reading update

This year’s Women’s Prize longlists are currently making up the bulk of my reading and I am not in the smallest bit mad about it.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

What do we think of the @carnegiemedals.bsky.social shortlists? They're looking pretty beautiful from over here! 🥰 #substack #booksky

The Carnegies 2026 shortlist

This year’s Carnegies shortlists have been announced!

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

For Women’s History Month 2026, I’m going to tell you about 20 books featuring amazing women that I’ve read and 26 books featuring amazing women that I’d like to read. Cause why the hell not? 😉📚 #substack #booksky

20 books about amazing women I've read and 26 I'd like to read

I think the idea for this post came in the early hours of a morning when I was struggling to drift off to sleep.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

We saw Wuthering Heights last night and hmm... The cinematography is truly breathtaking and I believe my praise ends there.

Some dang good looking books coming out this month... 😍📚 #substack #booksky

Anticipated Books for March 2026

Cue the standard ‘I can’t believe we’re already in March’ introduction to this post but honestly?

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

It's everything I read in February 📚 #substack #booksky

February 2026 Wrap Up

As I sit down to write this, I realise that I’ve actually talked about almost all of these books in other February posts and in fact, there are only two left to talk about!

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com

Hope you're all having a lovely #WorldBookDay. I can't wait to tuck into The Correspondent later. What are you all reading? 😊📚 #booksky

Woo, I finally published something! #substack #booksky

Alex Recommends #2: February Books

No one is more aware of how ‘late’ this is than me.

substack.com

SUPER exciting! I have read a grand total of 0 so far 🎉

Women's Prize@womensprize.bsky.social · 6mo ago

We are thrilled to reveal the 2026 #WomensPrize for Fiction longlist. 16 titles that showcase the profound force, resonance and scale of fiction writing: from tackling turbulent global issues to examining the intensely intimate. Discover the longlist here: youtu.be/fyPfDaHddLg

Little stack of books from the @womensprize.bsky.social for non-fiction longlist. Almost finished Death of an Ordinary Man and UGH it's devastating but so well written and mesmerising 🥹📚 #womensprize #booksky

NetGalley access to the new Joanna Cannon has made my quite dreary Friday SO much better 😃 #booksky

Translated literary fiction fan? Today is a good day for you! 💖📚 #InternationalBooker #substack #booksky

The International Booker Prize 2026 longlist

I don’t usually pay close attention to the Booker Prizes.

wordsandwhimsy12.substack.com