Chris Lovegrove 💙📚
@calmgrove.bsky.social
🇪🇺 📚 🎹 🏛️ Woke European, book review blogger, piano accompanist, culture vulture. https://CalmgroveBooks.wordpress.com
My review of 'Fledgling' by Octavia E Butler for #RIPxxi and BlackHistoryMonth wp.me/pezD85-1Eq
Transgression: #RIPxxi
Daniel Olivier, Pexels.com Fledgling by Octavia E Butler. Headline, 2022 (2005). ‘I awoke to darkness. I was hungry—starving!—and I was in pain. There was nothing in my world but hunger and p…
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The freedom to read: a discussion for #BannedBooksWeek. wp.me/sezD85-ban
The freedom to read: #BannedBooksWeek
“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” This oft-quoted statement by Mary Jo Godwin is a fitting concept to highlight one of the aims of Banned Books Week w…
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So lovely to be mentioned in the same post as the unforgettable Anthea Bell. Of course, I'm a mere baby translator compared to that...
Chris Lovegrove 💙📚@calmgrove.bsky.social · 3w agoAn acknowledgement of the work of translators: @marinasofia.bsky.social
My 2023 review of 'Babel' by #RebeccaFKuang, to mark International Translation Day. #ITD2026 wp.me/s2oNj1-babel
Confound their language
Vintage GWR LMS poster of Christ Church, Oxford Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by Rebecca F Kuang. Harper Voyager, 2022. And they said,…
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💡 The theme of #ITD2026 is '#Linguistic diversity and #language rights: the power of being understood.’ 👉 The operative word here is understanding. 🔑 Our work doesn't end when words are #translated. It ends when the message is understood. 🎉 Happy #InternationalTranslationDay2026!
Jerome's successors: International Translation Day. #ITD2026 #Booksky wp.me/sezD85-itd
Jerome’s successors: #ITD2026
Albrecht Dürer: ‘Der heilige Hieronymus im Gehäus’ (1514); St Jerome in His Study. As a monoglot reader with limited fluency in French and even less in Italian and Welsh there’s a…
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My review of #graphicnovel 'Hilda and the Bird Parade' (2012) by #LukePearson. #Booksky wp.me/sezD85-hbp
Warmhearted and curious
Stylised raven from the Sutton Hoo shield. Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson. Flying Eye Books / Nobrow Ltd, 2016 (2012). The appeal that graphic novels can have for me is generally the com…
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Surveyor or survivor? My review of 'The Castle' by Franz Kafka ('Das Schloß', 1926) which was posthumously published one hundred years ago. #RIPxxi #Booksky #ReadersImbibingPeril wp.me/sezD85-schl
Surveyor or survivor? #RIPxxi
Orava Castle, Slovakia, engraving by G A Troitzsch after Ferdinand Laufberger. The Castle by Franz Kafka. Das Schloß (1926) translated by Anthea Bell, introduction and notes by Ritchie Robertson. O…
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@bookjotter.bsky.social In case you haven't seen this for #ToveTrove and #WUTW! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Previously unseen drawings by Moomins author Tove Jansson to go on show in London
Exclusive: Exhibition focussing on Finnish writer and artist’s illustrations will include original art from her first Moomins book
theguardian.com
#Gulliver300th with @calmgrove.bsky.social inspired me to pick up an old favorite. It's going to be fun to explore with you over the next few months.
A Voyage to Lilliput – #Gulliver300th
This reread of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, first published 300 years ago in 1726, was inspired by Chris of Calmgrove Books – see his initial post here. He’s doing a…
enterenchantedblog.wordpress.com
Shivers or Sniggers? 'Classic Horror: An Anthology' from Penguin Horror (2025) reviewed for #RIPxxi and #ShortStorySeptember. wp.me/sezD85-hor
Shivers or sniggers? #RIPxxi
Genuine authenticated fake AI photo of an extended Victorian family (credit: unknown). Classic Horror: An Anthology. Penguin Horror, Penguin Books, 2025. Cursory research into the various subgenres…
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It's a start at least: #BBCNews "Police launch criminal investigation into Reform UK donations following a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Police launch criminal investigation into Reform UK donations
The investigation, which follows a broadcast by Channel 4 News, is being folded into the inquiry that has been underway into other donations.
bbc.co.uk
Reading the cards: my review of 'Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted' by #BenOkri for #RIPxxi #ReadersImbibingPeril. wp.me/sezD85-sos
Reading the cards: #RIPxxi
The Lovers, from the Rider–Waite Tarot. Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted by Ben Okri. Head of Zeus, 2026 (2025). ‘The festival would have to be somewhere fabulous. The…
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My thoughts on 'Black Venus’ (1980) and ‘The Cabinet of Edgar Allan Poe’ (1982), in "Black Venus" by #AngelaCarter for #ShortStorySeptember. #BookSky wp.me/pezD85-1A5
Orbits and obits: #ShortStorySeptember
1860 photograph by Nadar, believed to be Jeanne Duval (Florine Prosper), Baudelaire’s ‘Black Venus’. ‘Black Venus’ (1980) and ‘The Cabinet of Edgar Allan PoeR…
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I'm enjoying the episodes so far of #Bookish but having learnt a new word (clairailience) from this handbill I'm curious as to why the word "nonpareil" has been misspelled. Is it deliberate, or a cock-up from props? Do let us know, Mr Book!
My review of 'Biggles and Co.' by Captain W E Johns (1936: No 10 in the #Biggles series). #RIPxxi #ReadersImbibingPeril wp.me/sezD85-big
Peril in the air: #RIPxxi
“Le Drapeau noir” by René Magritte (1937). Biggles and Co. by Captain W E Johns. No 10 in the Biggles series. Red Fox, 2004 (1936). Biggles shook his head sorrowfully. ‘We may be airmen, but …
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Well done #BBCNews, you've got what you wanted, a decent if not perfect PM resigning and out of UK politics, so you can get your teeth into his less than perfect replacement. "Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP." But good luck to #SKS for the future. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP
The former prime minister said he would now turn his focus to international affairs.
bbc.co.uk
calmgrovebooks.wordpress.com/2026/09/01/lg1/ #Gulliver300th #Books @calmgrove.bsky.social
‘We set sail’: #Gulliver300th
The port of Bristol in the 1700s: Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. I accepted an advantageous offer from Captain William Prichard, master of the ‘Antelope’, who was making a voyage to th…
calmgrovebooks.wordpress.com
An overview of 'The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories' edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang (2022). #WITMonth #WomenInTranslationMonth #Booksky wp.me/sezD85-wsa
Paths of discovery: #WITMonth2026
Painting of begonias in traditional Chinese style. The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang. Tordotcom Publishing, Tom Doherty Associates, 2022. Fifteen auth…
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Changing Westminster’s #voting system shouldn't be left to the politicians. An independent commission could get the public and experts together in one room to examine the evidence and build consensus for reform. Add your name today: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
Petition: Set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform to review the electoral system
I ask the Government to set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform, as advocated by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections. It should be an independent, time limited, expert led re...
petition.parliament.uk
My review of 'The Wolf Princess' by Cathryn Constable, No 20 of my 20 Books of Summer #20BOS26. #Booksky wp.me/sezD85-volk
The last Volkonsky: #20BOS26
© C A Lovegrove. The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable. Chicken House, 2015 (2012). It was winter. It was snowing. There was a girl lost in the woods. And — Sophie felt her chest tighten with fear…
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'Girl reading a book': a gallery of images because who doesn't imagine themselves absorbed in reading matter? #Booksky wp.me/p2oNj1-7sb
Girl reading a book
Photo: Puffin Books For the bookish-minded there is often a tingle of recognition when an individual is spotted so engrossed in a book that they’re almost unaware of their surroundings. They …
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Happy Book Birthday to @octavia-cade.bsky.social !!! Another excellent study joins the world. Explore the power of Fanfiction! #Fanfiction #Narnia #academicsky Cover art by Shauna McDonnell. 💙 @booksfromscotland.bsky.social
Nylons, Lipstick, and Narnia: Rewriting Susan Pevensie in Fanfiction | Luna Press Publishing
Release Day 18 August 2026.The eBook version is availble for pre-order through all the usual ebook retailers.You can also buy the print format thrugh all the usual stores and online retailers.Cover Ar...
lunapresspublishing.com
Review of 'My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women', introduced by #LyseDoucet. #WITMonth #Booksky wp.me/sezD85-pen
Scapegoats: #WITMonth2026
William Holman Hunt, ‘The Scapegoat’ (1856). My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women, introduced by Lyse Doucet, with an afterword by Lucy Hannah. MacLehose Press, 202…
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BBC News: "Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI?" Me: "Well, duh." 😠 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI?
Booksellers are reporting mysterious bulk orders. It's thought the books are being used to train AI - and ending up pulped.
bbc.co.uk
#paraprosdokian Against expectations: #logophile @calmgrove.bsky.social calmgrovebooks.wordpress.com/2026/08/12/p...
Against expectations: #logophile
A trompe-l’œil floor tile design. “There are three kinds of people in the world – those who can count, and those who can’t.” Coined in the late 19th century from Ancient Greek παρ…
calmgrovebooks.wordpress.com
