Received my pre-ordered Spanish edition of @kerstinhall.bsky.social's Asunder, my fave book of 2024. A friend tells me the translation is very well done - my own Spanish comprehension extends to reading menus, a vocab in which Asunder is sadly lacking. Buying all the Asunders until I get my sequel.

Hey publishers, please bring me a sequel to @kerstinhall.bsky.social's ASUNDER. In the meantime I prettied up my new French edition. Bhatuma vs. Ephrite. My French "Nuliere edition", green like the sea. My English "Sabaster edition", red like blood.

Oh, hello! My @litpinsandco.bsky.social special edition of @emilytesh.net's The Incandescent has arrived. Ordered it last year when it was announced so I'd totally forgotten about it, but it's lovely, the artwork is fabulous. Still a great read too.

Goddammit @scottlynch78.bsky.social you know I’m weak, you were supposed to keep my credit card locked behind the bar. It’s a lovely thing tho…

I'm ridiculously fond of ASUNDER. It made @kerstinhall.bsky.social an instant pre-order for me for whatever she writes next. Thanks @solarisbooks.bsky.social for bringing out a UK paperback edition, hope many more people pick up this book which was so deserving of its Nebula and Locus nominations.

My two favourite novels of 2025: WORKS OF VERMIN by @hironennes.bsky.social and STARVING SAINTS by @caitlinstarling.com These were the kind of books I wanted to slow down reading so I could enjoy them longer.

@hironennes.bsky.social's Works of Vermin is easily one of the best books I've read in 2025. Weird, dark, artful, and rich with drippingly gorgeous prose. Felt like the first time I read Perdido Street Station - simply transported and enveloped.

My copy of @thomasha.bsky.social’s Uncertain Sons arrived in the UK and it’s every bit as good as Premee said.

Made sourdough bagels. Left the levain starter overnight. Mixed a little seeded flour into the dough for extra flavour. Boiled 30 seconds per side, then seeded (poppy and sesame) and baked 12 minutes. Pretty good chew, excellent flavour. #baking #breadsky

This turned out great. Kibbled malted wheat and malted barley flours diluted in plain strong white flour. Sprayed with water and applied poppy seeds. Baked with water in tray for extra steam and firmer crust. #baking #breadsky

Saw the Royal Shakespeare Company production of My Neighbour Totoro last night and it was so good. People just straight up gasped at how good some of the set design and puppetry was.

Not enough apples for crumble, so made apple cinnamon rolls. Matchsticked pink lady apple into the cinnamon. Glazed with apricot jam after baking. Made cream cheese icing with half the usual sugar to keep it runny. Cut a comically large hole in a plastic bag to pipe the icing. #baking #breadsky

My signed edition of @caitlinstarling.com's Starving Saints has arrived in the UK, along with the book launch enamel pin by @missdaisydee.bsky.social and I'm in the best mood. Can't stop smiling. I really loved this book. Also, every book should come with a pin.

Happy 1st book anniversary to @kerstinhall.bsky.social’s ASUNDER. This book sunk its teeth in me one year ago and hasn’t entirely let go. Of all the dangling narrative threads, I think I love Rasko most. Untied threads can be better than a finished edge. A mystery can be better than an answer.

Baked muffins and bread and it’s not even 10:30 💪 Sunflour, poppy and chia seed in malted wheat and barley flours, about 80% strong white flour. Poppy seeds on top. I actually like the slight jelly bean shape. #baking #breadsky

Made a quiche. Shortbread dough rolled and blind baked. Quiche recipe is from Chef John but I subbed a light aged cheddar for Gruyère because it’s what I had on hand. #baking

Pre-ordered a copy of @ldlewiswrites.com’s Year of the Mer as a gift to my future self

Really happy with this one. Three malt grain flours cut with plain strong white to lighten it. Toasted sunflower seeds on top with an egg wash. The nuttiness of the sunflower with the slight sweetness of the malt is a great balance. Dough rose well and was easy to shape. #breadsky #baking

Kind of embarrassed with this one, lame wasn’t sharp and the top is not so much scored as butchered. Poppy seed on crust, Wessex Mill six seed flour. Tastes better than it looks. #breadsky #baking

Made bagels. Boiled 30 seconds per side. Ran out of sesame seeds so ended up with three quarters poppy seed, no bad thing. This batch turned out really well. #breadsky #baking

Hey @kerstinhall.bsky.social‬, I look forward to your newsletters. They're interesting, informative, open, and enjoyable (even when sometimes the subject is not uplifting). Enjoying that at least with its current audience you feel free to be less guarded, long may it continue. The best one I receive

On the hottest day of this heatwave I baked bear-shaped bread. Why? Because it’s bear-shaped bread! #breadsky #baking

How is it that The Witch Roads is the first book I've read by @kateelliottsff.bsky.social‬? Better late than never I guess. Absolutely tore through this, and happily the follow-up is coming quick on its heels. Just a pleasure from cover to cover.

Nigella Lawson’s Guinness chocolate cake recipe is the closest to perfect I’ve ever tasted. Rich, moist, light, deep chocolate with a perfect mouth feel - if consumed on the day of baking. #baking

Made another oval loaf today, took the time to shape it better. Shipton Mill three malt flour, topped it with sunflower seeds which toasted up nicely, and a light egg wash over the crust in part to help keep the seeds in place. #baking #BreadSky

Baked a large loaf - Wessex Mill Cobber flour, dusted with poppy seed, light egg wash on the crust. Hot day so I couldn’t be bothered spending any time on better shaping only for it to start sagging by the time it went in the oven. #baking #BreadSky

This was my favourite fantasy novel of 2024, and definitely in want of a sequel. The best things about it are subtle, like the cultural and political dynamics created by "gods" that are merely manifest representatives of their source power, and inconsistently involved. Couldn't love this book more.

Kerstin Hall@kerstinhall.bsky.social · last yr.

Buy Asunder! some people thought it was good! i want to write the sequel!

Made an apple pie and a quiche. Not the most attractive cosmetically (I slightly underestimated the quantity of dough to reserve for the lattice and had to roll it too thin, and butchered the crimping in the process) but delicious. #baking

Love my Sabriel print by @tommyarnoldart.com, the print on cotton paper is gorgeous in a way I just can't capture with a photo - something in the texture. Seeing the process for creating this image described at www.muddycolors.com/2022/03/illu... only makes it more special ❤️

Hi @aimeeogdenwrites.com, not sure if this is a question for you or Psychopomp but if I pre-order Starstruck in the UK will the paperback be print-on-demand? I hate that this is rarely made clear, but understand that's on publishers not authors. If it's going to be POD I would just get the ebook.