Sam Humphreys

Books. No cookie preferences. No cookies. No GDPR. No pop ups. No bots. No floating videos. No AI. No ads. No trackers. No misinformation. No fascist techbros. No distracting animations. No paywalls. No influencers. How good are these things? Books are frickin awesome

A staycation is spending your holiday in your own home and visiting places. A vacation is staying away from home even if it is in the same country. I will die on this hill.

Thank you. X

Thank you. X

Said goodbye to the best boy yesterday.

@silverpebble2.bsky.social for mindfulness, art, calm stuff and beautiful things combined.

Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present at Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath

For anyone in Bath tomorrow (Tues 14th) come along to Topping Books to hear me & @odavies9.bsky.social talk #Folklore www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/bath/...

Argh. Rest — not ready!

Ah, thank you. The best thing (for him!) is that he now gets to wear a travel pillow that means he can ready his heavy head whenever he likes…! X

My favourite grasshopper fact: Grasshoppers first appeared on the planet 250 million years ago.

Grass did not appear on the planet until 40 million years ago

Imagine it: 210 million years, hopping around on any random surface you can find, waiting for the grass that will make you truly yourself.

Also: a lovely lady looks after the #BigDog when we’re away. After his surgery, she lent me the pink collar for him to wear. I googled the manufacturer. The collar apparently works with ‘subtle Life Force Energy fields’ (capitalisation is theirs) to balance your pets’ energy — and costs £77. £77!!

The #BigDog had surgery on Wednesday and is now recovering. Apparently that means he gets most of the sofa…

Black and white detailed pen drawing of a woodland landscape.

Woodland Study IV, 21cm x 14.9cm, pen on paper. Giclée prints available at claireleach.com/shop. Last few remaining. Use code FREESHIPPING and the postage is on me.

The poem's relationship to its ostensible subject is not always straightforward

So, both dogs are wearing a cone of shame (one has a wound on his neck; the other’s had surgery today to remove a lump). Neither are very happy about it but the retriever, exhibiting the stubbornness for which the breed is known, is simply refusing to move until it’s removed.

Yes, I’m not keen on validating Musk if I can help it. But I do miss the level of interaction I used to have on Twitter.

I think the people I’m following just aren’t very active, TBH!

That’s great it’s had such a positive impact. I didn’t see much hatred on there as the publishing/bookish community is (generally) nice… But I am missing the level of interaction I used to get on there.

Egg boxes don't get enough credit. Only a thin bit of cardboard and yet you hardly ever find a broken egg in one. Buy a pen online and it comes in a massive box wrapped in bubblewrap.

(I should say, I’m a fan of BYT Lit. I’m reading IF WE WERE VILLAINS — for my book group — at the moment, and really enjoying it. )

…and where, even if it doesn’t say so on the back cover, you know that by the end of the year (and it is ALWAYS a year!) at least one of the group will be dead and, for the rest, nothing will ever be the same again…

I’ve coined a new term: BYT (pronounced bit) Lit — novels about Bright Young Things who are all beautiful and brilliant and very VERY intense (and prone to brooding silences, dramatic exclamations and/or occasional acts of self sabotage)…

Yeah… I’m really missing the interaction I get on X. And I just feel as though I’m only seeing posts from the same people on here. People I like — but I wouldn’t mind seeing a few others too! Maybe I need to do both for a while, but I’m not very good at that!

I know… But — I feel as though I’m speaking into a void here a lot…

Am thinking of returning to X… Anyone else considered it?

The Big Dog would definitely concur!

The #BigDog still has a heavy head…

The dogs both pretended to be dead earlier…

Gah!

Yesterday, M & I drove 35 miles to pick up a mirror that did not fit in our car. How was your weekend?