Rachael Scotson

@rachaelscotson

Making it up as I go. MAWYP @BathSpaUni. @bathnovelaward.co.uk and The Bedford Competition longlistee. Book reviewer, librocubicularist, wobbly pot thrower and owner of “officially” the prettiest dog.

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Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· 25d

Pause what you’re doing and read this. It’s bloody awesome!

Q: So what triggers perimenopause?
Perimenopause is triggered when your ovaries—or “pelvis chickens”—quit dependably laying eggs each month. Maybe some months they lay eggs, but other months they just sit on the couch, drinking a nice Malbec, eating corn nuts, and watching Better Call Saul while they halfheartedly fold half a laundry basket of clean towels.

During this time of increased ovarian laziness, your ovaries will also quit producing Vladimir and Estragon, the two hormones famously depicted by Samuel Beckett in his iconic play about the anxiety of waiting for a period that either never comes or comes unexpectedly while you are wearing white shorts and making your opening arguments before the United States Supreme Court (not before the current court of course, before a more legitimate one).

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· 25d

I’ve read this story before and it was a pleasure to read it again. Here is my entire hagstone “collection”, possibly the smallest in the world.

A small sandstone with a hole through the middle of it being held between finger and thumb in front of a purple bush.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· 25d

I’m reading The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by @markhodderauthor.bsky.social after The Bookshop Band sang about it at @mrbsemporium.bsky.social’s 20th birthday party. I’m listening to @www.joditaylorbooks.com’s Just One Damned Thing After Another after many recommendations.

Mark Hodder's Burton and Swinburne novel The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack

The audiobook cover of Jodi Taylor's Just One Damned Thing After Another Vol 1: The Chronicles of St Mary's.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· 28d

If we’re talking favourite fictional cats then mine would be Mogget in @garthnix.bsky.social’s Sabriel. Though, technically he’s not a cat, but I’m overlooking that.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jul 13

I’ve been looking forward to this week. I’m listening to @ronanhession.bsky.social’s Leonard and Hungry Paul then watching the TV adaptation on BBC iPlayer. I’m half an hour into the audiobook and adoring the titular characters’ friendship. John Hopkins’ narration is wonderful.

The audiobook cover of Rónán Hession’s Leonard and Hungry Paul, read by John Hopkins. Cover art is a mustard yellow background with a monotone sunfish under the title.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jul 7

“Organizing, editing, and brainstorming are part of writing-while-human. They can be hard, even scary, but that doesn’t mean they could or should be done by machines.” An excellent argument for not using genAI by Dr Surekha Davies. Well worth a read.

Whatever the cause, the effect is the same: the planet gets hotter; people's brains become worse (as if that will help them come up with climate-crisis solutions!); human knowledge is poisoned with the verbal equivalent of cat vomit (would you pick through that for the "good" bits?). And all this is built on intellectual property theft, exploited and traumatized data workers, and surveillance systems that enable the worldwide descent into fascism.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jul 5

Ernest hemming web

A packet of Korbond. At the top, just above where it says hemming web, Ernest has been written in biro.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jul 1

Loving Jasper Fforde’s 5th novel in the Thursday Next series: First Among Sequels. I’m well on my way to completing the series before the 8th & final book comes out in October; & @jasperfforde.bsky.social is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Clever yet accessible writing is what I aspire to

Jasper Fforde’s novel First Among Sequels. Cover art is a yellow jetbus driven by Sherlock Holmes, with Fictional Tours written on the front, flying over green fields under a clear blue sky.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 25

And today I’m reading Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer, described by Sarah Winman as ‘absolute joy’ and Kate Atkinson as ‘such a sunny book’. My copy is now extra special because it smells of rosemary and lavender ☺️

Andrew Sean Greer’s new hardback novel Villa Coco lying in a herb garden, framed by rosemary and lavender in purple bloom.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 25

I’d like to take my winter holiday now, please, @newscientist.com

A picture of a snowy pine forest under the northern lights. The text says: Now's the time to start making winter travel plans
NewScientist Discovery Tours
Start planning your winter escape

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 25

“Dan’s never known such a long, hot summer. As the heat drains the village reservoir dry, something weird is revealed in the leftover murk. What, or who, has been lying there all these years?” The boy, kicking back in the hammock, reading an apt @fleurhitchcock.bsky.social novel.

A boy with brown hair reading Waiting for Murder by Fleur Hitchcock in a stripey hammock.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 24

Finished this today. It’s delightful. Kate DiCamillo is the queen of clean and crisp, seemingly effortless prose.

Kate DiCamillo’s book Ferris. Beautiful cover illustration by David Litchfield: a girl with auburn pixie hair wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt in a garden filled with flowers. In the garden a little girl does a handstand next to a dog. Behind them a two story house with a veranda and silhouettes of people in the windows. And in the background is a ferris wheel against a starry sky.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 23

That’s my summer audiobook listening sorted. Courtesy of Borrow Box and @www.joditaylorbooks.com @ronanhession.bsky.social @aptshadow.bsky.social and T J Klune.

A list of audiobooks on reserve, available in July and August: Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor, Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 23

"The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism."
Hannah Arendt
German-born American, historian, philosopher, political theorist and social critic
(1906 — 1975)

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 18

Scrummy book post with signatures, spredges and cute endpapers. Turn the volume up loud if you get ASMR from the sound of pages being turned and dust jackets on desks!

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 16

“Evil is not what we should fear. Creatures with power acting in their own interest, that is what should make us shudder.” Shehan Karunatilaka.

The audiobook cover of Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 15

I’m listening to Trespasses by Louise Kennedy: a story of love, life and survival set in 1970’s Belfast against the backdrop of The Troubles. I’ll be watching the four part adaptation on 4OD when I finish the book.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 8

It’s Monday again and this week I’m reading Let’s Split Up by @billwood.bsky.social and listening to Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. What are you reading this week? #AmReading

The book Let’s Split Up by Bill Wood. Cover art is a black background with the title written in blood, and bloody footprints leading off the cover.

The audiobook cover of Suzanne Collins’s Gregor the Overlander. Cover art is a city with strange spires and a church dome, all lit up in the dark.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 5

Both of these @mattfoxwriter.bsky.social books are stunning. The sky Over Rebecca cover art by Ben Mantle and The Lovely Dark cover art by Izzy Burton. I love how they look like they belong together despite being by different artists.

Two books by Matthew Fox: The Sky Over Rebecca (a girl stands on the bank of a lake looking towards a small island in the middle with a boy sitting under trees, a ghostly girl skates on the lake, a city on the far bank, war planes fly overhead); and The Lovely Dark (a girl walks in a pink and purple wood, behind and tethered to her is an orange ghost of herself).

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 5

I love the original artwork for @garthnix.bsky.social’s Sabriel series by Leo and Diane Dillon. I own this later copy (not an early paperback unfortunately) but it’s still delicious. The details and sinister background of this cover hook me in, just like the story held within.

Garth Nix’s novel Sabriel. Cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon: Sabriel, with long black hair wears a blue tunic or kirtle covered in silver keys. She carries a leather strap with bells attached across her body, a leather belt and a sword. Behind her, lurking in the shadows is a black and sinister creature with talons and red eyes.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Jun 1

This week I’m reading a couple of books recommended by @lsmonster.bsky.social when he spoke to us at Bath Spa Uni. Logicomix is a story-within-story style graphic novel about Logician Bertrand Russell. My Friend Mr Leakey is a whimsical children’s book written by scientist J.B.S Haldane in the 1930s

Two books on a desk. The first is Logicomix an epic search for truth written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H Papadimitriou and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna. The second is My Friend Mr Leakey written by J.B.S.
Haldane and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· May 25

I’m continuing with my Thursday Next binge and will be listening to books three and four in @jasperfforde.bsky.social’s magical series this week.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· May 25

I’ve just finished listening to this and I thought it was fantastic. I devoured it! Really clever how the story unfolds.

The audiobook of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Cover art is the bottom half of a white woman’s face. She has brown hair and red lipstick. The top of the cover is an old fashioned painting of a woman in pioneer clothing milking a cow in a field with other cows around.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· May 18

Good morning! Happy Monday, Gabby. This week, on a friend’s recommendation, I’m listening to the first two books in Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. Book 8, the final in the series, is coming out in October, so I’m planning on getting up to speed then reading the final one in real time.

The audiobook of Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair. Cover art is the front of a green, red and blue psychedelic car “ripping through” the front of a book with green fields, trees and a river on the cover.

The audiobook of Jasper Fforde’s Lost in a Good Book. Cover art is a “Neanderthal” man with a spear driving an old black car through a library.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· May 11

It has arrived! And it looks, feels & smells wonderful. Thank you, @applecott.bsky.social for your generosity, and thank you, @biggreenbooks.bsky.social for organising #BuyAStrangerABook. When I’ve submitted this essay, I’ll be celebrating by passing the kindness on & buying another stranger a book.

The hardback book Lifeboat at the End of the World A Volunteer’s Story by Dominic Gregory. Cover art is an orange lifeboat in choppy waves near a dark, industrial port, under a stormy sky.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· May 11

Big Bearded Bookseller’s Monday book chat was my weekly BlueSky highlight. I’m missing seeing what you’re all reading. This week I’m listening to Spiderlight written and narrated by @aptshadow.bsky.social and I’ve just got to the bit where Nth becomes Enth 🕷️🫣 What are you reading this week?

The audiobook, Spiderlight, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Cover art is a round metal shield, with a large spider in the middle. Flames burn around the shield, licking into a solid black background.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Apr 27

Good morning. Another uni deadline looms closer, so I’m doing a lot of writing this week. To stay sane I’m reading Everything Will Swallow You by @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. My dog suggests more walks!

Tom Cox’s hardback novel Everything Will Swallow You and a printed bookmark with an owl flying over a tree.

A paperback copy of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber.

A dog rests its head in the groove between two blanketed knees, looks lovingly at the camera. An open book in the foreground.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Apr 23

It’s here and it’s beautiful! Thank you, @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social and thank you to your mum for the bookmark. I agree with Stephen Fry, your words are enchanting and hilarious, so I couldn’t resist starting this book immediately.

Tom Cox’s hardback book Everything Will Swallow You plus a bookmark printed by his mum. Artwork on book is a white cottage nestled under a sheer cliff above a beach. Artwork on bookmark is an owl flying over a spindly tree.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Apr 20

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read (and listened to) of yours. Your humour is unique and refreshing. I’d love to add a signed copy of Everything Will Swallow You and one of your mum’s gorgeous bookmarks to my little collection.

A close-up of a bookshelf displaying Tom Cox’s books: Ring the Hill, Villager, 1983.

Rachael Scotson@rachaelscotson· Apr 20

Good morning BBB! This week I’m reading The Kingdom Under the Sea by Joan Aiken as recommended by @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social recently. Jan Pienkowski’s illustrations are delightful. I’m also reading A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong, and I’m listening to Katabasis by R. F. Kuang.