Raven Books

Tomorrow!!⤵️

Love this new book from Matt Sewell

"A beautiful old phrase from northern England"

Two scientists walk through a cluttered old-fashioned science laboratory. The female scientist says “Analogue instruments! Paper records! Chalk boards! I thought you'd agreed to modernise the laboratory?” The male scientist replies “That's what i'm so excited about: we have moved to cloud-based storage for our data!” They step out onto a balcony. She says: “Please tell me you haven't built a library zeppelin” This is exactly what he has done. It floats across the sky and he adds “It's got a fax machine!”

My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com

February sunlight on old Penguins

Generally it's just a silly billy time, and you are a majestic raven.

Need this, I already have the perfect bookmarks!

Tomorrow!!⤵️

"A beautiful old phrase from northern England"

Love this new book from Matt Sewell

Customer buying a leabhar gaeilge, drily: I think this is the only book you have that doesn't have an introduction by Colm Tóibín

Paving going in flush to the bookshop, marks for the next phase of works, Nordic Elements frontage upgrade sending paint fumes our way (better than Friday's sawdust?)
#Monday

Lastest in this excellent DK series is The Science of Baking

A window in support of paying and crediting real artists and designers

If, and only if, it was done to the standard of his Lockwood books adaptation, l would love to see Jonathan Stroud's superb Scarlett & Browne trilogy on the big screen. Given the scope of the altered landscape (it's futuristic) animation might work best.
#KidsBooksFriday #KidLit

If you enjoyed the Lockwood books, though Scarlett & Browne are different in many ways I'd still bet good money you'll like them. The apocalyptic event is in the distant past, the landscape altered by climate, the surviving towns ruled by The Faith House, strange beasts and Tainted roam the wilds.

Both Scarlett McCain and Albert Browne are fantastic characters, and are aided by a strong support cast plus some excellent baddies. The pair's development over the three books is deeply satisfying, the heists keep the story taut, and the signature Stroud humour balances the serious, dark themes.

"Shvydkoi declared that culture is above politics." I visited a culture centre bombed by Russia, walked through the destroyed theatre, saw the missile burns still on the neighbouring football pitch. Russia should not be given a stage to promote its art while it's killing artists, poets, musicians.

The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood Born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, Lady Caroline Blackwood was, for many years, largely known as a socialite and muse. Her marriages to the artist Lucian Freud, the pianist Israel Citkow…

New on the blog today, I've written about THE STEPDAUGHTER by Caroline Blackwood.

A short, sharp shock of a novel where the reader bears witness to a stepmother’s unravelling and the impact of this nightmare on those who are under her care. #BookSky 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/t...

Enjoy reading about Biscuit 🧡

Ladies of Grace - such a mix of stories in the collection, definitely worth going back to

"Shvydkoi declared that culture is above politics." I visited a culture centre bombed by Russia, walked through the destroyed theatre, saw the missile burns still on the neighbouring football pitch. Russia should not be given a stage to promote its art while it's killing artists, poets, musicians.

High Court trial in London against Gerry Adams set to begin Adams denies that he had any role in the IRA and is opposing the claim.

A civil trial between three men injured in IRA bombings and Gerry Adams is set to begin at the High Court in London later.

The trio are seeking just £1 in damages and claim Adams “acted together with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland”.
jrnl.ie/6979072

Oh lads, I’ve got something in my eye.

Captain Aaron and FO Tanil, and Holly and Issy from BA 838, gave me a letter to my little fellow Liam - knowing how much he loves aeroplanes. And they included a printout from the flight control computer as we flew over Dublin - and a drawing of the radar.

If you want to make your own kokedama (it's fun!), this book goes through different kinds of moss, what you'll need, step-by-step how to, ideas for single or a combination of plants, care and maintenance tips

Springtime kokedama

A *completely* random selection of books I've enjoyed for #InternationalWomensDay

Exactly my reaction!

Kyiv.
He was playing in a mall today.
And I imagine him playing for all the women in the world.

Úna-Minh and her Mom, they are both wearing blue. Úna-Minh wears a suit and her mom wears a blue dress.

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! Here's the woman who has had the most impact on my life. My Mom!

As a single woman in small town rural Ireland, it was seen as strange to do anything out of the ordinary. But yet she did and travelled to Vietnam in 1991 to adopt meeeeeeeeeeee!

I love her immensely.