Jillian Robinson
@jillianrobinson.bsky.social
Pocket reckons about books and life Toitū te tiriti She/her
The Summer Book by #ToveJansson (translated by Thomas Teal) is a story to treasure. In the slow pace of childhood & old age Jansson reveals the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother during a summer together on an isolated island in the Gulf of Finland. #pukapuka #booksky 1/2
More than a week after finishing Death of the Heart by #ElizabethBowen, I’m still mulling it over. It wasn’t an easy read, tbh. Mostly because the writing style of the 1930s (long, complex sentences, paragraphs, and chapters) was a bit of a challenge. #pukapuka #books #literaryfiction 1/2
“All her lives, nine stories” by Ingrid Horrocks. What a triumph! Every story pulses with life. Each character seems familiar yet is fully themselves. Unusually, for short stories, I read it quickly. I expect it will thoroughly reward a re-reading. #pukapuka #ockham2026 #NewZealandFiction
Taranaki after autumn snowfall from Ōākura beach. Not in the photo but there all the same, the smell of drying kelp at low tide, the hush of waves on iron sand. #Aotearoa #Autumn #kikorangi
Humour to shout about #booksky #pukapuka
Bodleian Libraries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 4mo agoNEW: Introducing the Bodleian Whispering Service. Too busy to read? Our expert librarians can now quietly narrate books, articles, and selected manuscripts directly to you in our reading rooms. Please note: whispering remains subject to standard library noise regulations.
COVID Deaths in NZ / UK by year. End of 2020: 25 / 69,299 End of 2021: 51 / 67,350 The UK had a 2.88% fatality rate. NZ had a 0.15% fatality rate.
We know a minerals deal would be terrible for the land and sea of Aotearoa. 🦅 For more information on the critical deal with the USA, and connecting the dots between military, economy, mining and the moana of Aotearoa: www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/sto...
Sherryl Jordan: “Write only what is true to your heart.” #DescendingFire #SherrylJordan #WritingAdvice #pukapuka #booksky
Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.
As a child, I read LORD OF THE FLIES: never doubting that it reflected actual human nature. Turns out it actually didn't. www.theguardian.com/books/2020/m...
The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months
When a group of schoolboys were marooned on an island in 1965, it turned out very differently to William Golding’s bestseller, writes Rutger Bregman
theguardian.com
This evening’s visitor to our backyard. Hope it’s been feasting on all the bugs and beetles that have been feasting on my vegetable garden #kikorangi #gardening
On a downtown street in Minneapolis, as people stream out from the massive march, Mary Tyler Moore says “fuck ice.”
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
I’ve got the bereft yet satisfied feeling that comes with the last sentence on the last page of the best of storytelling. #BookSky #pukapuka #KiranDesai #BookerShortlist
Ah, the joy of a book about the love of books which is full of recommendations. Ah, the somehow sweet frustration that the enticing ‘What did you eat?’ - surely a book for someone just like me - is yet to be translated to English. #TheBookshopWoman #NanakoHanada #CatAnderson #BookSky #Pukapuka
Yep! Thought (okay, maybe hoped) as much theconversation.com/writing-buil...
Writing builds resilience by changing your brain, helping you face everyday challenges
Resilience is often presented as feats of bravery and endurance. But everyday practices like journaling, drafting a text or even writing a to-do list are manifestations of a capacity to adapt.
theconversation.com
Reckon the short lists are worth plumbing as well #booksky #pukapuka lithub.com/here-are-all...
Here Are All the Award-Winning Novels of 2025!
Percival Everett won the Pulitzer and Rabih Alameddine took home the National Book Award, but who else added a shiny new trophy to their mantle this year? From the Booker to the Giller, the Kirkus …
lithub.com
Eek. There‘s been quite the spike in the wastewater surveillance. And anecdata also suggests an increase in Covid cases in the Wellington region. My neighbours have just all had it, and one of the leads in my daughter’s ballet show had to pull out because she got sick.
Curious marginalia all through the library copy of Bruce Mason’s End of the Golden Weather. Such faint little marks, as if their creator imagined others might not notice, might not be distracted. But I do! And I am! #pukapuka
Use people with human skills for goodness sakes! Book design matters. When it’s poorly done - include AI in that - it’s an irritant that intrudes on the whole of the reading experience. Good on the Ockhams for holding the position. #pukapuka #booksky newsroom.co.nz/2025/11/17/o...
Ockhams dump books from awards over AI covers
A new ruling on AI means the Ockhams are in the strange position of judging a book by its cover
newsroom.co.nz
Sometimes it’s the little things: From the ‘60s : my Dad’s decimal reckoner - which I don’t use - and his Collins English Gem dictionary which, of all the dictionaries I own and of all those on line, is my go to, every single day #pukapuka #booksky #dictionaries
