@stephenjdilley.bsky.social
English teacher & HoD, bookworm, UKLA Book Awards team, Just Imagine reviewer, primary school governor and very amateur musician. All views my own.
231. What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
A supremely clever, surprising and satisfying read - one of the most enjoyable and thought-provoking novels by McEwan I have read, with some moving reflections on love, relationships, memory, art, nature and the environment.
The Crossan is a great shout. In every adult book club I've been in, I always try to smuggle in at least one children's or YA book - these have all gone down well!
05.12.2025 07:59 β π 9 π 0 π¬ 3 π 1
230. We Came By Sea: Stories of a Greater Britain by @horatioclare.bsky.social
Both sobering and hopeful, this book offers a different (and welcome) perspective on the small boats crisis, particularly through the stories of the volunteers who choose to help those seeking asylum in the UK.
229. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
A dark and gripping dystopia set in an alternative version of 1970s Britain which asks complex ethical questions about scientific progress and what sacrifices can be justified for the greater good.
228. Advent by Gunnar Gunnarsson
New translation of a timeless Icelandic classic - a beautiful novella about selflessness through the story of a good shepherd who ventures into the mountains every December to rescue lost sheep. Perfect seasonal reading.
227. This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story by @hayleygullen.com
I really enjoyed and appreciated this graphic memoir - a funny, moving and above all honest account of navigating the realities of cancer treatment at the age of 37.
226. Every Valley: The Story of Handel's Messiah by Charles King
A fascinating read which weaves together the lives of Handel, Charles Jennens, Jonathan Swift, Susannah Cibber and Ayuba Diallo, placing this "musical monument to hope" in the wider context of 17th Century history and thought.
A beautiful rainbow over Salisbury Cathedral Close this afternoon!
23.11.2025 21:58 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
225. Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood
I really am not at all sure what I've just read but I mostly enjoyed it thanks to the author's trademark zany and deadpan sense of humour.
This was terrific - every English teacher and everyone involved in education policy should listen!
22.11.2025 21:21 β π 1 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
224. The Book of Dust: The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
A final farewell to Lyra and Pantalaimon - this exciting conclusion to this trilogy offers a passionate defence of imagination and human connection.
223. Escape from Amritsar by Bali Rai
A gripping, heart-in-mouth middle-grade read set during the Amritsar Massacre, shining an important light on a horrendous chapter in Indian and British history that should never be forgotten.
222. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
A very different but equally intriguing read from the author's Booker-shortlisted Flashlight: this is a complex, tricksy and unsettling exploration of power, relationships and consent set in a suburban American performing arts college.
#UKLALucky13Β Discover #WildJourneyΒ by A.M. Dassu, a gorgeous, linked collection of contemporary adventure stories, set across the world and inspired by the migratory flight of starlings. Stunningly illustrated in π§Β & β¬οΈΒ by Joe Lillington. RT to win a signed copy!
13.11.2025 06:58 β π 9 π 7 π¬ 0 π 0
221. The Book of Dust Volume Two: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
Re-read in preparation for The Rose Field. A thrilling, epic, imaginative adventure - I can't wait to move on to the final part of the trilogy.
If you know any English/Drama teachers who are looking for a job from January onwards then do share this advert with them - a great opportunity to work in a wonderful, happy school in Reading within two friendly and supportive departments!
www.kendrick.reading.sch.uk/page/?title=...
220. Floating Home: Lessons From a Life Less Ordinary by Adam Lind
A lovely, uplifting read in full of wisdom the author has gathered through his life on a narrowboat.
219. Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance by Joe Dunthorne
An extraordinary memoir and family history in which the author investigates his Jewish great-grandfather's work developing chemical weapons in Nazi Germany and then in Turkey. One of my favourite reads of 2025.
218. Reek by @alastairc.com
Terrific dystopian thriller from @barringtonstoke.bsky.social with such sophisticated exploration politics, economics and the environment as part of a gripping narrative.
Read my review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social here: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
217. In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillett
A brilliant and profoundly personal exploration of a novel I love teaching - this will be such an invaluable resource.
Here are some of my favourites from last year's UKLA Book Awards Information category...
07.11.2025 09:13 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 1
216: The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound by Raymond Antrobus
A powerful memoir about deafness, identity and belonging from an award-winning poet.
215. Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Another brilliant study of criminal psychology and violence from the author of His Bloody Project, based on a real-life series of murders in the Outer Hebrides in 1857.
If you know any English/Drama teachers who are looking for a job from January onwards then do share this advert with them - a great opportunity to work in a wonderful, happy school in Reading within two friendly and supportive departments!
www.kendrick.reading.sch.uk/page/?title=...
214. One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson
Passionate and wide-ranging reflections on the power of stories inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
213. The Silver Book by Olivia Laing
A fascinating, illuminating novel which transports us to the world of 1970s Italian cinema as we follow a young British art student who becomes the lover of legendary designer Danilo Donati and ends up working on Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's SalΓ².
212. The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
This month's book club read - an ingenious futuristic sci-fi thriller/romance exploring interesting ideas around gender, culture and refugees.
In increasing order of scariness...
31.10.2025 08:13 β π 7 π 0 π¬ 1 π 1
211. Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt
An engaging, entertaining and surprisingly moving novel about an unlikely friendship and business partnership - The Big Short meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Once Iβd checked the indicator I got it quickly, but the definition is quite left-field and not something Iβd have worked out on its own.
30.10.2025 13:41 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
