Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
@spectator lit ed. “Clock-white, still friendly to the earth.” https://bit.ly/TheHauntedWood
Pinned
Sam Leith
@questingvole.bsky.social
· Sep 4
The Haunted Wood | Oneworld
'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMAN Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book? The stories we read as children extend far beyond our childhoods; they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys ...
bit.ly
My book is out in paperback TODAY. All about children’s books, which are the best and most important sort. bit.ly/4pdXMNt
Reposted by Sam Leith
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Reposted by Sam Leith
This is what is happening. It is cynical. It is strategic. It is organised. It is well funded.
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
November 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This is what is happening. It is cynical. It is strategic. It is organised. It is well funded.
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
And we need to pay attention.
The far right - and their cheerleaders, mimics, tribute acts, and handmaidens have identified two presentational frameworks that give them cut-through and traction. 1/7
IKR? If only he’d stuck to writing headlines
November 6, 2025 at 12:01 PM
IKR? If only he’d stuck to writing headlines
(Which reminds me: best thing Boris Johnson ever did was headlining a feature on Philip Larkin “Onan the Librarian”.)
November 6, 2025 at 11:49 AM
(Which reminds me: best thing Boris Johnson ever did was headlining a feature on Philip Larkin “Onan the Librarian”.)
You are a disgrace to your profession, Roberts, and I am entirely here for it
November 6, 2025 at 11:48 AM
You are a disgrace to your profession, Roberts, and I am entirely here for it
Reposted by Sam Leith
lol
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
lol
Excellent and learned thread from George here
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Excellent and learned thread from George here
❤️
November 5, 2025 at 8:27 AM
❤️
Ooh! Congratulations!
November 4, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Ooh! Congratulations!
Reposted by Sam Leith
HERE IT IS!!!!!
H Is For Hawk - Official Trailer
YouTube video by LionsgateFilmsUK
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 6:32 PM
HERE IT IS!!!!!
Reposted by Sam Leith
On the latest Little Atoms podcast, @joannapocock.bsky.social on her wonderful new book Greyhound. Out now from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or here:
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
Little Atoms 975 - Joanna Pocock's Greyhound | Little Atoms
shows.acast.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:15 AM
On the latest Little Atoms podcast, @joannapocock.bsky.social on her wonderful new book Greyhound. Out now from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or here:
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...
Reposted by Sam Leith
Did you happen to leave your @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk purchases on the Metropolitan line yesterday?
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
If anyone lost a bag of books from LRB Bookshop on the Metropolitan Line between Baker St- Watford, I handed it to a cleaner when the train terminated at Watford tube station. And if you have far more followers than me, please share this status. LRB bookshop is not cheap!
November 2, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Did you happen to leave your @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk purchases on the Metropolitan line yesterday?
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Did one of your friends do this and send an anguished message to the group chat?
If so, Darren has just done you a very good turn. 👇
Reposted by Sam Leith
Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo!
I know how hard you worked for this.
I know how hard you worked for this.
![Red Trump-style graphic with images of Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo.
At the top it says, "I'm going to pick [Cuomo]." - Donald Trump, 60 Minutes Interview, 11-2-25
Then beneath it
TRUMP ENDORSES CUOMO](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:j5hrotody26iqi24hcusufxu/bafkreib7wnor7hl45ryvmifde4sov74rrnexa3iecbyu7zxjx6brrslsiy@jpeg)
November 3, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo!
I know how hard you worked for this.
I know how hard you worked for this.
Wrote about how the troll dynamic has come to trump ideology, with a hat tip to @jamesrball.com
Welcome to the age of the troll
Father Mark Rowles, a Catholic priest in Cardiff, admitted to taking on the persona of 'skinheadlad1488' in neo-Nazi chatrooms
www.spectator.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Wrote about how the troll dynamic has come to trump ideology, with a hat tip to @jamesrball.com
Reposted by Sam Leith
The 2026 Carnegies nominations are live! 🎉 Join us in celebrating the exceptional storytelling and illustration recognised this year. 🏆 Get ready for an inspiring awards season! Congrats to all nominees! 📖❤️
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
The 2026 Carnegies nominations are live! 🎉 Join us in celebrating the exceptional storytelling and illustration recognised this year. 🏆 Get ready for an inspiring awards season! Congrats to all nominees! 📖❤️
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
https://carnegies.co.uk/nominations-announced-2026
#Carnegies2026
Paging @sarahchurchwell.bsky.social
THIS MOTHERFUCKER HELD A GREAT GATSBY PARTY WHILE 43 MILLION PEOPLE GO HUNGRY AND HEALTHCARE COSTS KEEP RISING.
November 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Paging @sarahchurchwell.bsky.social
Ngl I preferred it when they were made with 100 per cent potatoes
November 1, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Ngl I preferred it when they were made with 100 per cent potatoes
Reposted by Sam Leith
Anyway, my actual serious thought through take is that "these beings are inherently evil" in fantasy is problematic first and foremost depending on how close they get to resembling actual sapient beings. Otherwise that's just a demon and I'm sorry but it was not racism that invented demons.
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Anyway, my actual serious thought through take is that "these beings are inherently evil" in fantasy is problematic first and foremost depending on how close they get to resembling actual sapient beings. Otherwise that's just a demon and I'm sorry but it was not racism that invented demons.
Very honoured to have you say that. Thank you.
October 31, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Very honoured to have you say that. Thank you.
Reposted by Sam Leith
Very good and relevant episode of the Spectator Book Club by the outstanding Sam Leith @questingvole.bsky.social.
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Luke Kemp: The History and Future of Societal Collapse
Podcastaflevering · The Book Club · 15-10-2025 · 49 min.
podcasts.apple.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Very good and relevant episode of the Spectator Book Club by the outstanding Sam Leith @questingvole.bsky.social.
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Why do civilized societies collapse?
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/l...
Reposted by Sam Leith
I love to see stuff like this because it helps explain to people trapped in tech-sponsored information bubbles the actually obvious fact that universities teach people to know & think things, and AI is a way to produce the effect of knowing & thinking things w/o actually knowing & thinking them.
Opinion | Why Even Basic A.I. Use Is So Bad for Students
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I love to see stuff like this because it helps explain to people trapped in tech-sponsored information bubbles the actually obvious fact that universities teach people to know & think things, and AI is a way to produce the effect of knowing & thinking things w/o actually knowing & thinking them.
That’s the way of these things I believe
October 30, 2025 at 3:54 PM
That’s the way of these things I believe
I am that late-middle-aged Spectator reader I imagined belonging to a wholly different demographic 😔
October 30, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I am that late-middle-aged Spectator reader I imagined belonging to a wholly different demographic 😔