Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings
@kaggsy59.bsky.social
Loves books and arts and culture and vegan food, and sharing thoughts about them! Blogs at https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/
A heads up for anyone who loves the Brontes/Margaret Drabble - this little gem will be on the iPlayer soon. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Two - The Brontës Lived Here: Writers' Houses
Margaret Drabble explores Haworth Parsonage, home of the famous Brontë family.
bbc.co.uk
"...we're observing it from a safe distance..." #MusicLessons #20BOS26 Book 22 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/08/05/w...
“…we’re observing it from a safe distance…” #MusicLessons #20BOS26 Book 22
Back in 2018 I was lucky enough to cover a marvellous book from Notting Hill Editions, “How Shostakovich Changed My Life” by Stephen Johnson. A powerful and personal book, it touched on…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
"...all of us...are primarily interested in murder and love-making." #gkchesterton ~20BOS26 Book 21 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/08/03/a...
“…all of us…are primarily interested in murder and love-making.” #gkchesterton ~20BOS26 Book 21
I’ve always been fond of a good essay, and a search through the archives of the Ramblings would no doubt reveal a number of essay collections I’ve covered. Some of these would have been…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
A month of chunksters! #July #20BOS2026 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/31/a...
A month of chunksters! #July #20BOS2026
For some reason, July ended up being a month in which I read a number of chunky books (which I hadn’t necessarily planned…) and so although the total of books read was less than usual, …
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
Classic crime round up – part 2! #20BOS26 Books 19 + 20 #GalileoPublishing kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/c...
Classic crime round up – part 2! #20BOS26 Books 19 + 20 #GalileoPublishing
As I mentioned in last week’s post about a pair of British Library Crime Classics, I have been very spoiled by publishers recently, and the second press to send some GA crime over has been Ga…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
Oh ffs! How about taxing Starbucks* instead? * other obscenely rich companies who pay virtually no tax here and drain our economy are available.
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · last wk.I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Twisty tales and guilty secrets - over at #ShinyNewBooks! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/28/t...
Twisty tales and guilty secrets – over at #ShinyNewBooks!
When it comes to mystery books, I tend as a rule to stick to Golden Age Crime which is a huge favourite of mine. However, I was recently offered the chance to review a new collection of modern shor…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
For the afternoon crowd, on the blog today another stunning new release from the wonderful @twistedspoon.bsky.social 📚💙
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings@kaggsy59.bsky.social · last wk."...a bewildering tapestry of myth and lore..." #twistedspoonpress #20BOS26 Book 18 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/27/a...
"...a bewildering tapestry of myth and lore..." #twistedspoonpress #20BOS26 Book 18 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/27/a...
“…a bewildering tapestry of myth and lore…” #twistedspoonpress #20BOS26 Book 18
Back in 2017 I discovered the German-Czech author, Johannes Urzidil, when a collection of his short Bohemian fables was published by Pushkin Press. I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, so when the P…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
For the afternoon crowd - my thoughts on a powerful new collection of Vasily Grossman's war journalism from MacLehose Press - an unforgettable book, translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler.
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings@kaggsy59.bsky.social · 2w ago"Every brave man is brave in his own way." #vasilygrossman #fromthefrontline #20BOS26 Book 17 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/24/e...
@j-lbrbsblogs.bsky.social Thanks for all the shares today - much appreciated!! 😊
"Every brave man is brave in his own way." #vasilygrossman #fromthefrontline #20BOS26 Book 17 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/24/e...
“Every brave man is brave in his own way.” #vasilygrossman #fromthefrontline #20BOS26 Book 17
Back in 2013 I read my first Vasily Grossman book, “An Armenian Sketchbook”, translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, and was bowled over by his writing. I commented at the time tha…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
www.stuckinabook.com/a-memoir-of-sitting-for-a-lucian-freud-portrait/ @stuckinabook.bsky.social
A memoir of sitting for a Lucian Freud portrait
I don’t remember where I first heard about Man with a Blue Scarf (2010) by Martin Gayford, but it had been on my mental tbr list for a good while before I stumbled across a copy in Hay-on-Wye…
stuckinabook.com
On my blog today, Scorpius Books - an indie publisher of dyslexic friendly titles for adults - annabookbel.net/two-from-sco...
Two from Scorpius Books – a UK indie publisher of dyslexic friendly editions
A while ago, I was contacted by Jacqui Kibby, founder and publisher of UK indie Scorpius Books based in Colchester. Scorpius was the first UK publisher to create dyslexic friendly editions especial…
annabookbel.net
Today at Shiny, we talk to Jacqui Kibby, publishing director of Scorpius Books - indie publisher of dyslexic friendly titles for adults. shinynewbooks.co.uk/spotlight-on...
Spotlight on Publishers: Scorpius Books
Annabel talks to Jacqui Kibby Jacqui Kibby is founder and Publishing Director of Scorpius Books, a UK indie book publisher based in Colchester and a member of the Indie Press Network. Scorpius
shinynewbooks.co.uk
DESK SET (Walter Lang, 1957). An enjoyable office-based rom-com starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy & Joan Blondell. It takes a little while to get going, but Hepburn’s sharpness wins through as she battles to demonstrate superiority over Tracy’s humungous computer (not a euphemism)! #FilmSky
Classic crime round up - part 1! #20BOS26 Books 15 + 16 #BLCC kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/22/c...
Classic crime round up – part 1! #20BOS26 Books 15 + 16 #BLCC
Lovely publishers have been kind enough to send me some GA crime reprints recently, which turned out to be the perfect reading at the end of the school term – I really needed some distraction…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
A review of a lovely book of short fiction and poetry by a J-Lit giant - my take on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's 'Hell of Solitude' (translated by Ryan Choi, courtesy of Prototype Publishings): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/h...
"Living is a horizontal fall." #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 13 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/l...
“Living is a horizontal fall.” #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 13
As I hinted in my end of June post and my review of “Women of Iron and Velvet”, I’ve been off down a number of rabbit holes recently, particularly with French authors. Jean Coctea…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
"...her form of liberation..." #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 12 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/h...
“…her form of liberation…” #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26 Book 12
July is a month with a lovely event, hosted by Emma at Words and Peace: “Paris in July”, where we read books about all things pertaining to France and its capital. Now I have all manne…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
"...lost in the muddied waters of memory..." @SarabandBooks #20BOS26 Book 11 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/07/15/l...
“…lost in the muddied waters of memory…” @SarabandBooks #20BOS26 Book 11
Back in 2024, I stumbled across a random book find in my local Oxfam, which turned out to be a marvellous read – “Writing Landscape” by Linda Cracknell, published by the lovely in…
kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com
