Eva Dolan

The fluid topsoil world.

A world where the noise of the soundbite drowns out the work itself.

A world where everyone knows the quote but almost nobody's read the book it's from.

A world where going viral is somehow seen as more of an achievement than working for years to create a piece of art.

An intriguing door in a very posh but non-smug non-judgemental old wall.

A door in an old wall leading to a garden where you can bet there is a fucking crazy party happening

An old door in an old wall which is so arrogantly great, it’s almost disgusting.

Some dickhead had better not try to paint this great messed up old door in an even older wall or I am going over there with some people I know, and I am not kidding.

This might well become a thread.

I am calling it 'Bloody Hell, Aren't Doors On Old Walls Fucking Brilliant?'

Delightful stuff

This looks amazing!

Molly in the Blackburne Arms, Liverpool, 1972, photo by Tricia Porter.

For any bookish gardening folks who like getting their hands dirty…

Started sorting through seeds ready for February sowing. Planning more cut flowers this year.

And took my fav gardening boots to the cobbler to fix the huge slash in the sole. Now understand why they put the little ledges on new spades!

Sign at a Brussels Airport restaurant advertising "a great tarmac view".

Pitching hard to the brutalist demographic.

The Best Psychological Thrillers of January 2026 New year, new you! Or at least, that’s what we want to think…but these psychological thrillers are here to remind us that no matter where we go, there we are. These stories take us on f…

Manosphere thrillers, cultish killers, fierce rivals, and skewed classics: Molly Odintz @mollsotov.bsky.social rounds up the best psychological thrillers of January 2026! crimereads.com/the-best-psy...

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Chapter 1 - BBC Sounds Jane Austen’s universally acknowledged romance about Elizabeth Bennett’s search for love.

I ran out of time earlier this week, but these recordings might be of interest to #JaneAusten fans with access to BBC Sounds. #BookSky 💙📚

First up, an unabridged reading of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, which has been keeping me company for the past few days:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Are we falling out of love with nonfiction? In the early 2020s, readers flocked to books to explain political turbulence. But is the world now too grim to read about – and are podcasters taking the place of authors?

I have a lot of thoughts on this, but first: why on Earth are you quoting a novelist’s opinion on non-fiction’s supposed travails? You wouldn’t do the inverse.

Enter - New Writing North The Northern Writers’ Awards discover and support writers in the North of England, with a focus on supporting new work-in-progress.

Budding writers: we'll soon be announcing details of how to enter the Finchale Prize for Short Fiction 2026.

It's for anyone living or working in the North of England, and we've got a couple of smashing judges lined up.

£1000 and a rosey glow to the winner.

newwritingnorth.com/northern-wri...

Mary Shelley's Scandalous Sister, Claire Clairmont (Revisited) Podcast Episode · Vulgar History: Regency Era · 2025-12-10 · 1h 27m

Today's Regency Era episode is a crossover with October's Mary Shelley series because of topic is Mary Shelley's stepsister, Claire Clairmont! With special guest @lesleymcdowell.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/v...

Rare mosaic in Rutland reveals forgotten Trojan War tale - BBC News A paper by experts at the University of Leicester has been described as a "fascinating development".

This is such brilliant archaeology. There's a bit of a persistent story that Britain was somehow culturally separate from europe in the Roman empire when it was so intertwined and connected by people and goods travelling.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m a Holiday Gift Guide Writer, and I Really Need You Pricks to Start Playing Backgammon On the whole, I love my job writing holiday gift guides. I get to curate beautiful lists designed to help you, the consumer, bring joy to your love...

"Your pattern of reluctance cannot hold; the dam will break at some point. Every year, you read 'backgammon set' as one of my lovely gift suggestions, and every year you scroll right past it as if you know better than me. Let’s be clear: you don’t."

There should be book clubs for babies. "I enjoyed the crinkliness of this one but I have to say the little mirror at the end was a bit predictable."

Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.

It was an absolute honour to chat with Elif Shafak for the @royalliteraryfund.bsky.social podcast. Full of insight and fun, I hope! @annmorgan.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/3a98...

The Power of Creating Fictional Characters Who Aren’t What They Seem Have you ever met a fictional character who turned out to be very different from what that character first appeared to be? We often refer to them as shapeshifters because of how they can change. Or…

Sheila Roberts explores shapeshifting secret-keepers in Daphne du Maurier, Oscar Wilde, Margaret Mitchell, and more! crimereads.com/the-power-of...

©Vivian Maier
New York, 1953

A great guide to the second worst job after writing a synopsis!

Daggers Speech The following is a lightly edited version of a speech I was asked to give at the 2025 Daggers – the prestigious crime fiction awards administered by the Crime Writer’s Association of the UK.

A few months ago I was asked to give the after-dinner speech at the CWA Daggers. I chose to talk about AI, and the bravery and humanity involved in reading and writing. Afterwards a lot of people asked me to post the speech online, so here it is. I hope you like it ruthware.com/daggers-spee...

Sure I will! xx

‘This habit of hearing only flawless synchronization conditions us to experience other humans as sources of disagreement and delay. The aesthetic normalization of perfect time translates directly into diminished tolerance for the temporal and affective plurality on which democracy depends.’

Green and black book cover advert

It's Halloween and the last day for Love and Other Poisons (no ghosts but it does have a murder!) on the Amazon Kindle deal - grab it now!

Children have an innate sense of which trees are possessed by Wood Sprites. It's a faculty not ever adult loses. Some of us still hear trees whisper with withered bark voices in our minds. Still see their wooden bones as alphabet. We know they watch. – Joanna Vickers #VOH

Front cover of The Bottle Factory outing by Beryl Bainbridge in white and dirty hot pink design. With plaudits from Hilary Mantel, John Banville, Guardian and Telegraph

Lovely surprise in the post today, a gorgeous proof of @dauntbookspub.bsky.social reissue of THE BOTTLE FACTORY OUTING. So great to see Beryl Bainbridge prepped to find a new audience.

Big thanks @marigoldatkey.bsky.social this is right up my alley!

Was the same here. Drought just knocked sowing off kilter and lost lots of seedlings. But a good year for French beans so still pretty happy.

Isabelline Shrike is the new fashion editor at The Telegraph.

Four sheep metatarsals that have been hollowed out to make a spoon

These little tools are apple scoops. They date from the 1800s and are made of sheep bone. They were common in apple-growing districts. The marrow has been hollowed out to allow the user to scrape off pieces of apple if they had few teeth and couldn’t afford dentures.