Chris Fosten
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alphaood.bsky.social
Chris Fosten
@alphaood.bsky.social
95 followers 140 following 210 posts
Reader, poet, writer, listener | 1/3 of The Ood Cast (http://theoodcast.com/)
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alphaood.bsky.social
New read: a slightly more trusted source for a festive read - hopefully Mrs Bradley will be just the tonic!
#newread #deathcomesatchristmas #gladysmitchell #mrsbradleymysteries #festivereads
A paperback book - "Death Comes at Christmas" by Gladys Mitchell - the cover of which shows an English village street in thick snow.
December 14, 2025 at 5:40 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
For years I've been listening to a ragged, 10th-hand recording of The Killing Season by R.D.Wingfield every Dec. I've tidied up my copy, never imagining it would be repeated from deep in the archives. But what a great surprise amongst the listings in the festive Radio Times!
December 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: another festive adventure that I hadn't read before and had high hopes for because the premise is great, but... sigh. Maybe it's because I wasn't familiar with their other books or their style, but I was not a fan. Mercifully, it was both cheery and quite short.
#newread #festiveread
A small green paperback book - "The Christmas Thief" by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. The cover shows a close-up of the branches of a Christmas tree with a bauble decorated with an image of a man in a red jumper dragging away a Christmas tree in the snow.
December 12, 2025 at 7:28 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: A festive tale I'd never heard of, by a writer I've never read anything by... but rather enjoyed. Enjoyably just as romantic towards the train itself as the storyline between the main characters.
#newread #festiveread #thechristmastrain #davidbaldacci
The cover of a paperback books - "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci - which shows a snowglobe with a steam engine inside.
December 9, 2025 at 7:16 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: starting the festive reading with something short but warm and the friendly side of grim...
#newread #festivereads #ahighlandchristmas #mcbeaton #hamishmacbeth
A light purple paperback book - "A Highland Christmas" by M.C. Beaton. The cover is dominated by the title, but also features a Christmas tree with presents round the base and a fireplace.
December 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New reads: two Target novelisations found in a charity shop - one of those rare times when I've found some I didnt already have in the wild!
#newread #doctorwho #targetnovelisations #destinyofthedaleks #fourtodoomsday #terrancedicks
Two small paperbacks next to each other, both Doctor Who Target novelisations by Terrance Dicks: "The Destiny of the Daleks," which shows a man with a mop of curly hair and a scarf looking thoughtful surrounded by daleks; and "Four to Doomsday" which shows a man in edwardian cricketing garbage in front of an alien humanoid creature sitting on a throne-like chair.
November 30, 2025 at 7:25 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: before I move on to other things for a while, a few more - lighter - ghostly tales, this time from a writer I remember well from childhood and used to seek out in the school library (when I wasn't looking for Tintin or cricket books!)
#newread #whosafraidandotherstories #philippapearce
A slightly battered old paperback book - "Who's Afraid? and other strange stories" by Philippa Pearce. The cover show several images related to the stories within: a startled boy, a dog, a teddy bear with stern-looking eyes and a gentleman playing a violin.
November 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: An excellent new anthology of ghost stories from the British Library's Tales of the Weird series. Plenty were new to me, with some old familiars thrown in too - fun!
#newread #thehauntedlibrary #britishlibrary #talesoftheweird #spookyreads #tanyakirk
The cover of a paperback book - "The Haunted Library: Tales of cursed books and forbidden shelves" edited by Tanya Kirk. The cover shows an illustration of a woman in a hat entering a library holding a candle to see some ghoulish figures in front of the shelves.
November 27, 2025 at 9:50 AM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: a Susan Hill ghost story I knew nothing about until I stumbled across it in the local library, but it sounds both comforting and unsettling at once. #newread #thesmallhand #susanhill #ghoststory
A small hardback book - "The Small Hand" by Susan Hill - the cover of which shows a flowery carved pattern with the shadow of a small boy in the centre.
November 17, 2025 at 5:58 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
What perfect album came out the year you were 16?
November 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: the next stop on my slow chronological readthrough of one of my favourite writers - this is one I never came across as a kid. A little less on the ghostly side, but a gentle joy, nonetheless.
#newread #penelopelively #thehouseinnorhamgardens
The cover of a small 1980s paperback - "The House in Norham Gardens" by Penelope Lively, which shows a teenage girl holding a ceremonial tribal shield standing in front of a victorian house.
November 17, 2025 at 8:17 AM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: I remember watching two Robert Westall TV adaptations as a child - The Machine Gunners and The Watch House, moments from both have stuck with me ever since. And this was a novel I saw more than once in the visiting book stalls at school and shops and wanted to read.
The cover of a small 1980s paperback - "The Watch House" by Robert Westell, which shows a skill on a dusty floor.
November 6, 2025 at 7:07 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: catching up a little with some spookier reads as the weather has made a turn for the colder... This one I picked up at a second-hand stall at Petts Wood May Day Fair when I was about 9, so has travelled quite a distance with me! I've read it several times, but fun to return to.
A small blue paperback book - "Haunted Houses" by Aidan Chambers. The cover shows a large, apparently abandoned, old house, with gate falling from its hinges and smashed windows, but with lights in windows of the top floor and a couple of bats flying in the foreground.
November 6, 2025 at 12:35 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: a book I've had on my list for several years, and was a birthday gift from my brother this year - thanks Paul! Really enjoyable black comedy thriller which I whipped through in a couple of days.
#newread #themanwhodied #anttituomainen #thriller
The cover of "The Man Who Died" by Antti Tuomainen, which shows the title interweaved through a picture of a human body's nervous system.
November 5, 2025 at 12:24 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: there was one last dramatic read before heading back home yesterday - a classic.
#newread #samuelbeckett #waitingforgodot #halftermreads
An old copy of "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett, which shows a man with a whip holding a rope around another, stooped man, a tree and two men watching, surrounded by a geometric frame of yellow, green, olive and white.
November 3, 2025 at 8:08 AM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: ended Halloween with Hamlet, as it starts with a pretty strong ghost game. I've chosen to read along with a great BBC Radio version too.
#newread #williamshakespeare #hamlet #bbcradio
An old paperback copy of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", which features a bird standing on top of a skull The cover artwork for the BBC Radio production of Hamlet, which is made up of a collage of cast names and the title.
November 1, 2025 at 12:34 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: forgot entirely to bring any ghost stories on our half term break, so popped into a local indie book shop yesterday to see what I could find. This was appropriately the closest I got, given that we're in Cornwall.
#newread #thebirdsandotherstories #daphnedumaurier #spookyreads #cornwall
A paperback book, "The Birds and Other Stories" by Daphne du Maurier, on a granite worktop. The cover shows a number of bird shapes, with five of them making the shapes of the word 'Birds'
October 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: a really good half term adventure. I would have raced through it but for a few days when sleep was rather elusive, but I couldnt resist a story combining time travel and ancient Egypt.
#newread #huntforthegoldenscarab #timekeys #mgleonard
A blue paperback book on a kitchen worktop. The book is "Hunt for the Golden Scarab" by M.G. Leonard, and the cover shows two children standing in the doorway of an ancient Egyptian temple with magical music flowing around them.
October 30, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Chris Fosten
drrjwarren.bsky.social
This - in spades.
thehistoryguy.bsky.social Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · Oct 24
Nationalism is a shibboleth. The challenges we face are daunting. But we are not going to overcome them by hunkering down behind of imaginary lines scrawled on a map by medieval warlords. Our problems are transnational, and the solutions are too.
October 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New reads: starting some spookier reads for Halloween on a trip up to London with a lost classic and an enjoyable retelling of Beowulf. Both enjoyable in rather different ways.
#newread #theloststradivarius #jmeadefalkner #beowulfdragonslayer #rosemarysutcliff #spookyreads
A paperback book standing upright on a table in a train carriage. The book - "The Lost Stradivarius" by J. Meade Falkner - is back with an abstract orange pattern featuring the shape of a violin and things that could be seen as faces. A paperback book - "Beowulf: Dragon Slayer" by Rosemary Sutcliff - the cover of which shows a warrior wearing a Saxon helmet. Behind him is a shoreline and a longship making its way across the water with a dragon flying overhead.
October 23, 2025 at 4:22 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: having enjoyed the last book a little less than hoped because it cut a bit too close to the bone at the moment (racism in small towns/villages), I went for this interesting little one as a bit of a firebreak.
#newread #doctorwho #wearefallingthroughspace #jdavidreed
A yellow paperback book on a stripey rug. The book is "We're Falling Through Space: Doctor Who and celebrating the mundane" by J. David Reed, and the cover features a white mug covered in blue Police boxes at varying angles.
October 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
I had put a cheery little Lego set aside for a day that I found difficult. That day arrived recently - and now I have a couple of little desk buddies to keep me company. Feels like a win...
#selfcare #lego
October 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: facing some chillier weather with some cosy crime to start off with...
#newread #simonbrett #thefetheringmysteries #thekillingatthecafe #guiltatthegarage
Two paperback books on a bookshelf. One, "The Killing at the Cafe" by Simon Brett, has a white cover showing a china cup and saucer and a half-eaten biscuit next to some bullet casings and blood. The other, "Guilt at the Garage" by Simon Brett, is light green and shows car-related images around he title, as well as a fountain pen and a poison symbol.
October 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
Finally got round to watching Rye Lane. I know, I'm a couple of years behind, but it's fantastic: funny, moving, charming and sharp, authentic in all the right ways and satisfying as they come.
It's under 90 minutes but it feels effortless and like it has all the time in the world.
#ryelane
October 14, 2025 at 3:24 PM
alphaood.bsky.social
New read: Another battered old Holmes Puffin Classics collection, but lovely to revisit some favourites through it.
#newread #theextraordinarycasesofsherlockholmes #sirarthurconandoyle #puffinclassics
The cover of a 1990s Puffin Classics edition of "The Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which shows a close up image of a deerstalker hat, a tobacco pipe and a magnifying glass on top of a newspaper.
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM