2026 Reading List - Book 12: Every empire wanted Alexandria. Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, French, British — all left their mark on a city that kept reinventing itself across millennia. Issa writes about it like someone who grew up in its streets. Scholarly, personal, and quietly dazzling. #booksky 📚
Alexandria: The City that Changed the World: 'Monumental' – Daily Telegraph
The City that Changed the World: 'Monumental' – Daily Telegraph
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 11: Brexit didn't end with the vote. "Fall Out" picks up in the wreckage — May's Downing Street, a party at war with itself, and a snap election nobody saw coming. Shipman's access remains remarkable. Compulsive, infuriating, utterly compelling in equal measure. #booksky 📚
Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem
A Year of Political Mayhem
uk.bookshop.org
@alastaircampbell2.bsky.social Just to put into perspective the size of the planned Data Centre near Authertool next to the already-built, longrunning, and occasional flaring, Mossmoran Petrochemical Plant consisting of the Shell Natural Gas Liquids Plant and the ExxonMobil Fife Ethylene Plant.
2026 Reading List - Book 10: Tim Shipman's "All Out War" drops you into the chaos & infighting that tore Britain apart over Brexit. Briefings, betrayals & a deeply divided political class unravelling in real time — told with rare insider access. A jaw-dropping account of how it happened. #booksky📚
All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class
The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 9: Ray Bradbury's "Farewell Summer" closes the door on childhood with quiet, aching grace. Time, loss & the last golden days before the world turns serious — spun into luminous prose. If wonder, nostalgia & beautiful endings are your thing, this is for you. #booksky 📚
Farewell Summer
Check out Farewell Summer - <p>A poignant and brilliant sequel to Dandelion Wine from the author of Fahrenheit 451</p> <p>In Green Town Illinois, Douglas Spaulding is in the midst of a small...
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 8: "The Revenge of Power" by @moisesnaim.bsky.social charts the alarming comeback of autocrats, strongmen & those who rewrite the rules to keep winning. A sharp, unsettling map of how democracy is being dismantled — and why it's harder to stop than you'd think. #booksky 📚
The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century
How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 7: Moisés Naím's "The End of Power" reframes everything you thought you knew about who really rules. Decay, disruption & the slow unravelling of authority — from boardrooms to battlefields. Essential if politics, power & the world's unruly present fascinate you. #booksky 📚
The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn't What It Used to Be
From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn't What It Used to Be
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 6: Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine" distils a single summer into something hauntingly close to magic. Memory, mortality & the ache of being alive — wrapped in the warmth of small-town 1920s America. Essential if wonder, nostalgia & beautiful prose are your thing. #booksky 📚
Dandelion Wine
Check out Dandelion Wine - <p>An endearing classic of childhood memories of an idyllic midwestern summer from the celebrated author of ‘Farenheit 451’.</p> <p>"He stood at the open window in...
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book 5: Kenneth R. Rosen's "Polar War" puts you inside a hidden world of Arctic espionage & superpower rivalry. Melting ice and murky power struggle are the basis for the new Cold War in a gripping narrative. A must if geopolitics, adventure & climate collide for you #booksky 📚
Polar War: Submarines, Spies and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Submarines, Spies and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book #4: 'The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet' by @arthurturrell.bsky.social He uses accessible analogies to unpack plasmas, magnetic confinement, inertial confinement, and the immense engineering challenges in reaching net-energy gain. #booksky 📚
Arthur Turrell — The Star Builders
Arthur Turrell is an economic data scientist.
aeturrell.com
2026 Reading List - Book #3: 'Justinian' by Peter Sarris Smart, readable, and bold. I loved how Sarris rethinks Justinian into a compelling study of power. With its sharp arguments, I'd recommend it to anyone bored by safe history and who wants emperors without the myth. #booksky 📚
Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint
Emperor, Soldier, Saint
uk.bookshop.org
2026 Reading List - Book #2: 'Autocracy, Inc.' by Anne Applebaum www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302/. A clear, compelling look at how modern autocracies work together—and why understanding them matters. #booksky 📚 @anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
uk.bookshop.org
This year I’ll be sharing all the books I read — numbered as I go — and building a full list of “Top Reads” for anyone who wants to follow along. Top Reads Book #1: 'Proto' by Laura Spinney uk.bookshop.org/p/books/moth... A fascinating read to start the year. #booksky 📚 @laurainparis.bsky.social
Bookshop.org UK
uk.bookshop.org
Over the past year I’ve read Globalists, Crack-Up Capitalism, and now Hayek’s Bastards: The Nioliberal Roots of the Populist Right by @quinnslobodian.com. I've loved the evolution of his views across these books and I’m excited to see where he goes next. Already pre-ordered Muskism in anticipation:
Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
A Guide for the Perplexed
bookshop.org
Just finished a week devouring "The Looting Machine", "Kleptopia" & "Cuckooland". The sheer risk alone that @tomburgis.bsky.social has put himself through to write these is worth any reader's time. The eyeopening and gobsmacking unveiling of global corruption makes all these books hard to put down.
A truly wonderful read by @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social One of my top books of the year so far. Beautifully written and very easy to read with plenty of witty anecdotes. A real eye opener and simply-put explainer for anyone living, working, retiring or considering moving to Britain. #booksky
This piece by @quinnslobodian.com is the best analysis of DOGE out there. Quinn is spot on that what we are seeing with Trump/Musk/DOGE right now is "the convergence of three strains of politics that have never simultaneously been this proximate to power." www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Speed Up the Breakdown | Quinn Slobodian
For the last month, the US opinion-making class has stared agog as Elon Musk and his minions have stormed the engine room of the federal government. Young
nybooks.com
Crack-Up Capitalism by @quinnslobodian.com is a fascinating exposé on economic libertarianism's global impact. It uncovers how the wealthy dodge taxes via private firms and economic zones, pushing for a libertarian world where countries compete on tax rates to attract businesses and individuals.
Bill Gates calls Elon Musk’s embrace of far-right politicians abroad ‘insane shit’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Bill Gates calls Elon Musk’s embrace of far-right politicians abroad ‘insane shit’
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist calls fellow tech titan ‘super-smart’ but guilty of ‘overreach’
search.app
Inspirational. Changed the way soap operas were created and helped bridge the gap between television and cinema. Created beautiful art on screen. A true visionary. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ja... #TwinPeaks #DavidLynch
David Lynch, Twin Peaks and Muholland Drive director, dies aged 78
Film-maker who specialised in surreal, noir style mysteries made a string of influential, critically acclaimed works including Wild at Heart and Eraserhead
theguardian.com
Another great night in @valhallayork.bsky.social with @lanahorta.bsky.social! Great atmosphere, vibe, and mead for the ages!
This visualisation shows the breakdown of annual plastic waste by recycling method. Only 9% of plastic gets recycled globally. The recycling process is complicated and it's easy to misunderstand how the process works. www.voronoiapp.com/sustainabili... #Reclycing #GreenSky
How much plastic waste actually gets recycled globally
This visualization shows the breakdown of annual plastic waste by disposal method. Only 9% of plastic gets recycled globally. Recycling is certainly the mos…
voronoiapp.com
Coffee drinkers reap health boost – but only if they do it in the morning Pre-lunch brewers enjoy lower risk of death, analysis finds, but benefit vanishes among all-day drinkers www.theguardian.com/food/2025/ja... #coffeesky #coffee
Coffee drinkers reap health boost – but only if they do it in the morning
Pre-lunch brewers enjoy lower risk of death, analysis finds, but benefit vanishes among all-day drinkers
theguardian.com
Richard Brody on why DVD owners shouldn’t throw out their collections just yet.
What We Lose When Streaming Companies Choose What We Watch
Maybe don’t throw away all your DVDs just yet.
newyorker.com
Good news to start 2025 with and a goal to beat this coming year www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/02/uk-electricity-cleanest-ever-in-2024-with-record-58-from-low-carbon-sources #greensky
UK electricity cleanest ever in 2024, with record 58% from low-carbon sources
UK has more than halved amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels but gas still had largest share at 28%
theguardian.com
@jessicaelgot.bsky.social is this a credible argument for #Musk being even more of a danger for world politics over the coming years than #Trump? BBC News - Nigel Farage meets Elon Musk at Trump's retreat www.bbc.com/news/article...
Nigel Farage meets Elon Musk at Donald Trump's Florida retreat
Reform UK says its leader met the US billionaire for an hour on Monday, alongside its new treasurer.
bbc.com
Would just like to congratulate @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social on his incredible levels of self-restraint and self-composure while listening to and replying to this audience member on Question Time. Someone even Farage couldn't fully agree with and someone Brown would probably call a "bigoted woman"
Great article by @iansample.bsky.social. Deepmind has been groundbreaking and revolutionary in the field of AI since day one. This is another leap forward in our application and ability to accurately predict and mitigate potential real-world catastrophes www.theguardian.com/science/2024...
Google DeepMind predicts weather more accurately than leading system
AI program GenCast performed better than ENS forecast at predicting day-to-day weather and paths of hurricanes and cyclones
theguardian.com
“If they could, 50% of men aged 18 - 35 in UK would vote Trump” & battle will be between those equipped with “stories, myths & cunning” & others convinced all will be well once “relevant numbers align” - brilliant & terrifying from @johnharris1969.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Labour’s big relaunch won’t solve its biggest problem: this government doesn’t speak human | John Harris
Farage and Trump are winning because they understand the politics of emotion, while Labour is lost in numbers and statistics, says Guardian columnist John Harris
theguardian.com
Humayun, the second Mughal emperor who succeeded to Babur's kingdom, had a large carpet with astrological symbols & planetary positions that he used to order his court. The carpet was called the basalt-i nishat, which translates to "carpet of mirth."
