Marcus Hobson
@marcushobson.bsky.social
Writer and book lover. Poet, reviewer and story writer. Obsessed by history, myth and good art. Lives in New Zealand and occasionally Sweden.
Fantastic news about Pip Adam’s Audition. Love this book. Here was my comment from the ‘other place’ back in late 2024.
Ursula K. Le Guin@ursulakleguin.com · 6d agoPip Adam's novel Audition is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. Here, Pip (@pipadam.bsky.social) introduces the book, then reads from the novel's opening pages. More about this year's shortlist: www.ursulakleguin.com/prize26
Book no38 of 2026. Salt Quilt by Airini Beautrais. Great selection of New Zealand poetry in which the poet looks back at multiple episodes in her life. She makes great use of forms such as pantoum and villanelle. Asks what has poetry has given her & how has it saved her. Very self-aware. #booksky
Book no37 of 2026. The End of Everything by M. John Harrison. In a world where no one is quite sure if the apocalypse happened, or what it really was, one man rescues something from off the coast of Britain. The whole book is built around uncertainty. Perfect novel for our times. #booksky
Book no36 of 2026. Watching Television in the Love Motel by Haro Lee. Unexpected, untraditional and surprisingly moving. Structured like a TV day; daytime, primetime, late night and graveyard slot. The poems take in South Korea, New Zealand and the USA. At times nostalgic and also gritty. #booksky
It’s @thebookerprizes.com time again. Surprisingly I’ve read four of the longlist already this year. I love “The End of Everything” for being so believably weird and “The Palm House” for reminding me of riverside London pubs and office gossip. Great selection Booker people. #booksky
The latest Mark Bowles has reached the furthest corners of the earth…or New Zealand as we call it. Love the postcards Joseph Wright of Derby and the Jay in a vacuum. Stunning chiaroscuro. @galleybeggars.bsky.social
Book no35 of 2026. Galatea by Madeline Miller. A 36 page short story about Galatea, the statue that came to life after its sculptor, Pygmalion, fell it love with her. She is a virtual prisoner, since every man that sees her falls in love with her. A love story poisoned by male jealousy. #booksky
Book no34 of 2026. The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. Written in 1963 this Norwegian tale of two schoolgirls is very unsettling. Brilliantly written, realistic and timeless, it captures a sudden friendship and the new girl’s subsequent disappearance and its impact on the small community. #booksky
Book no33 of 2026. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. New characters and a new setting for Strout. We watch Artie, a popular schoolteacher unravel in the face of revelations about his wife and as the Trump election looms. Great story telling and characterisation as always. #booksky
Book no32 of 2026. The Way to Colonos by Kay Cicellis. First published in 1961 but as fresh today as they were then. Three retelling of plays by Sophocles. The characters don’t always keep their original names. They retain the drama of the originals and retell in modern settings. #booksky
Farewell David Hockney - love those colours of the year…
Not exactly reading this; just marvelling at the pictures!
Book no31 of 2026. The old Fire by Elisa Shua Dusapin. Her forth novel (love them all) for the first time set in her native France. Two sisters return to their childhood home to clear their dead father’s possessions. Thoughtful and poetic, with the constriction of one character being mute. #booksky
A great selection of short stories.
Jonathan Gibbs@jonathangibbs.bsky.social · 2mo agoAnd off it goes, Gregory Norminton’s Personal Anthology, thinking of its dark red slippers, which matched its dressing gown, rampant under the spur of loneliness, tramping the linen clean, having lunched lightly in the graveyard... apersonalanthology.substack.com/p/a-personal...
Book no30 of 2026. Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth. A writer thinks back to herself at 16 and the deceit of her parents as she finds excuses to drink alcohol and meet boys. Yet again this family feels very like the author’s own and the controversy with her earlier book Will & Testament. #booksky
OK #booksky lots of books have piled up over the past few months while I’ve been busy with other projects. Thoughts on which I should read next?
May’s reading pile. Unusually weighted with non-fiction for me, but loving the classical themes. Two are hard emotional memoirs, made possible by brilliant writing (Erin Vincent & Siobhan Harvey). #booksky
Book no29 of 2026. Talking Classics by Mary Beard. A book length discussion of why classics matters, and why Beard, one of the UK’s leading authorities, has made it her life-time study. Love one observation- “it teaches you to read difficult things”. Very engaging. #booksky
Book no28 of 2026. 14 Ways of Looking by Erin Vincent. At the age of 14 Vincent lost both her parents in a car crash. This short book is a series of facts & literary coincidences about the number 14, the date, the page, etc. Interspersed with her own memories. Incredible. Honest and moving. #booksky
Book no27 of 2026. What we Remember, What we Forget by Siobhan Harvey. Not an easy read. Childhood cruelty is brilliantly handled, but the difficulty of raising her own neurodiverse child is even more confronting. Moving and compulsive non-fiction leaves you asking why this had to happen. #booksky
Book no26 of 2026. Transcription by Ben Lerner. A writer travels to his college town to interview his old mentor. He drops his phone in the sink & cannot record the meeting. This did not hit the spot for me, even if the cover is excellent. Too difficult to intuit the meaning or relevance. #booksky
Book no25 of 2026. The Palm House by Gwendoline’s Riley. Laura and Edmund discuss the job he has lost after decades at a London magazine. Laura talks about her childhood. Not much happens but there are great characters and dialogue. Plenty of humour. Laura & her mum echo Riley’s last book. #bluesky
Bookno24 of 2026. The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Jess Venner. The story of the last hours of Pompeii told by seven quite different people, all of whom existed. A slave, a politician, a businesswoman, a priest of Isis, etc. Each brings their story to life, what they did, how they lived. #booksky
20 day book challenge Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 28/20 - I’ll stop there! #booksky #20books20days #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
20 day book challenge Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 27/20 (going beyond the boundary) #booksky #20books20days #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
20 day book challenge Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 26/20 (going beyond the boundary) #booksky #20books20days #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
20 day book challenge Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 25/20 (going beyond the boundary) #booksky #20books20days #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
