Books finished in 2026, early March edition

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 22:12:32 GMT

Bit late in posting my first version of this for 2026. I'm not reading as many books as a year ago. But I have now finished a fair number.

The Hobbit: Graphic Novel by JRR Tolkien, illustrated by David Wenzel
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Stone & Sky (Rivers of London) by Ben Aaronovitch
A Venetian Bestiary by Jan Morris
Doctor Who: 1001 Nights in Time and Space by Steve Cole and Paul Magrs
Everything Will Swallow You by Tom Cox
Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity by Robin Ince

Of these books The Hobbit graphic novel, Hamnet and A Venetian Bestiary were all 5-star reads.

The graphic novel version of The Hobbit was quite enchanting and engrossing in its approach, though it took me a few pages to get used to how the characters were depicted visually. Bilbo in particular had an extremely pudding bowl haircut!

Hamnet is one of the most astonishing novels I have read for a long time. I wrote a fuller review of it here a few weeks ago.

And A Venetian Bestiary was a gift for any lover of Venice, myth and legend, and animals and more fantastical creatures.

The Tom Cox novel was a 4-star read for me. A strange book to describe, a mix of life story and magical realism, set in the West Country. A lot felt autobiographical, knowing the author's life, e.g. the setting and frequent references to old vinyl records. Also the travails of living a peripatetic renters life, and difficulties finding a place to rent with pets. But it's also remarkably imaginative, and moving too. And very, very strange, while still being refreshing in its approach. Recommended.

The Rivers of London book, the Doctor Who collection and the Robin Ince book were all 3-star reads for me.

The Rivers of London book had an original Scottish setting for a change, in Aberdeenshire, but felt rather scrappy in its plotting and storytelling, and the relocation of Peter and so very many of the other core "cast" to from London to Scotland also felt forced and unrealistic. I also found some of the storytelling too predictable, especially nearer the end of the book.

The Doctor Who book is presented as a storyteller telling folk tales, but is more retellings of Doctor Who adventures from the past. Many of these retellings were fresh in their approach, but not nearly enough of them. And it didn't work so well for me if I didn't recognise which TV story it was retelling, especially when I struggled to visualise some of the creatures described.

And the Robin Ince was an interesting read about neurodiversity, but not general enough for me. Though I appreciated a lot of the insights into ADHD (which Martin clearly has) and anxiety (which I have - generalised anxiety disorder) particularly. It was just too tied to the author's own life story, and framed through that, in a way that wasn't generally applicable enough for me.

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Moshulu

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 16:27:16 GMT

Been having some extra foot problems, so decided I needed to get some better softer slippers. Treated myself to a couple of pairs of Moshulu ballerina slippers, different colours. They arrived in the post a little while ago, and wearing them is like wearing cushions all around, front and behind. I think this will really help. Delighted. Moshulu is a Devon-based company, and has more physical shops in the West Country than anywhere else. The nearest to Martin's Somerset home village is in Sherborne, Dorset. Here in Scotland there's just one Moshulu outlet, inside Stirling Dobbies. But mail order works well. And the sizing is good, though note their shoes are sized a little bit wider than normal, which works well for me.

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vivdunstan

Books finished in 2026, early March edition

Moshulu