El Hugh
@elhugh.bsky.social
Waffle about books, music football and films. Probably.
A day after finishing it I'm still not sure whether, now I'm read 4 of his books, I've given him up as not for me or been persuaded of his genius. Either I'm convinced I'm too thick to fully get his books first time around. #wasreading #booksky
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 PM
A day after finishing it I'm still not sure whether, now I'm read 4 of his books, I've given him up as not for me or been persuaded of his genius. Either I'm convinced I'm too thick to fully get his books first time around. #wasreading #booksky
Absolutely breezed through this. I'd still call it a novel rather than shorts but regardless I was very taken by the way it builds its very long view of the future & got a real kick when I realised what the final chapter (story?) does. #wasreading #booksky
November 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Absolutely breezed through this. I'd still call it a novel rather than shorts but regardless I was very taken by the way it builds its very long view of the future & got a real kick when I realised what the final chapter (story?) does. #wasreading #booksky
Add me to the long list of people who think 'Rakesfall' is very good indeed despite not understanding big chunks of it. #wasreading #booksky
November 10, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Add me to the long list of people who think 'Rakesfall' is very good indeed despite not understanding big chunks of it. #wasreading #booksky
Loved the premise of people trapped in a sinister author's novel; jumping from book to book to make their escape. Wasn't taken by the execution though it does have interesting things to say about the nature of fictional worlds. #wasreading #booksky
October 29, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Loved the premise of people trapped in a sinister author's novel; jumping from book to book to make their escape. Wasn't taken by the execution though it does have interesting things to say about the nature of fictional worlds. #wasreading #booksky
It was Talty's debut in the States but here it serves as follow up to the magnificent 'Fire Exit' and further proof that he's the real deal. #wasreading #booksky
October 16, 2025 at 7:27 PM
It was Talty's debut in the States but here it serves as follow up to the magnificent 'Fire Exit' and further proof that he's the real deal. #wasreading #booksky
More of the same from Enríquez. Enjoyable but a slight feeling of diminishing returns compared to the ambition of 'Our Share of Night'. #wasreading #booksky
October 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
More of the same from Enríquez. Enjoyable but a slight feeling of diminishing returns compared to the ambition of 'Our Share of Night'. #wasreading #booksky
A tale of the power of music, friendship, love & grief not to mention opioids. Fair to say it goes exactly where you expect but plot twists aren't what it's about. I'm still unlikely to go for a dip in the North Sea though. #wasreading #booksky
October 1, 2025 at 8:54 PM
A tale of the power of music, friendship, love & grief not to mention opioids. Fair to say it goes exactly where you expect but plot twists aren't what it's about. I'm still unlikely to go for a dip in the North Sea though. #wasreading #booksky
Wasn't as taken by this as I expected to be but it's decent enough fun. Found the dense prose a distraction from the story rather than adding to it. #wasreading #booksky
September 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Wasn't as taken by this as I expected to be but it's decent enough fun. Found the dense prose a distraction from the story rather than adding to it. #wasreading #booksky
Insight into what makes a non-league club and its fans tick with plenty of amusement on the way. Having seen a fair bit of season in question I'm entirely unbiased. #wasreading #booksky
September 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Insight into what makes a non-league club and its fans tick with plenty of amusement on the way. Having seen a fair bit of season in question I'm entirely unbiased. #wasreading #booksky
Wonderful stuff. Arnott writes brilliantly about Tasmanian terrain and its denizens, both human and animal. Human nature is under the microscope as well as land ownership in this quietly political novel. #wasreading #booksky
September 1, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Wonderful stuff. Arnott writes brilliantly about Tasmanian terrain and its denizens, both human and animal. Human nature is under the microscope as well as land ownership in this quietly political novel. #wasreading #booksky
I didn't get on with this at all. The canal was fine but I wasn't interested in the dreams at all. The book gets less interesting the more violent it gets. You'd also think that even back in the 80s Banks might have thought better of making Japanese accent 'jokes'. #wasreading #booksky
August 31, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I didn't get on with this at all. The canal was fine but I wasn't interested in the dreams at all. The book gets less interesting the more violent it gets. You'd also think that even back in the 80s Banks might have thought better of making Japanese accent 'jokes'. #wasreading #booksky
Urine sample or the most insipid pint of pale ale in history?
August 30, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Urine sample or the most insipid pint of pale ale in history?
After Barker had made noises about not writing any more novels I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard about this. This is short and to the point and lots of fun. #booksky #wasreading
August 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
After Barker had made noises about not writing any more novels I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard about this. This is short and to the point and lots of fun. #booksky #wasreading
Well, this was as fun as I'd expected it to be. Damn the eyes of the 2 star Goodreads reviewers who seem to panic when presented with something that is not entirely generic. #booksky #wasreading
August 22, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Well, this was as fun as I'd expected it to be. Damn the eyes of the 2 star Goodreads reviewers who seem to panic when presented with something that is not entirely generic. #booksky #wasreading
Around a century old the original Latin American dictator novel has lost none of its power. The Dictat-Ur novel, if you will. #wasreading #booksky
August 15, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Around a century old the original Latin American dictator novel has lost none of its power. The Dictat-Ur novel, if you will. #wasreading #booksky
My first dip into Boyd. Enjoyed the chimp half more than the academic/relationship flashback half and not sure it's aged particularly gracefully but enjoyable enough. #wasreading #booksky
August 5, 2025 at 6:52 AM
My first dip into Boyd. Enjoyed the chimp half more than the academic/relationship flashback half and not sure it's aged particularly gracefully but enjoyable enough. #wasreading #booksky
Hit and miss 30 year old collection of Latin American women writers. I think a new one would feel very different and I'm not sure too many of these stories would make the cut. #wasreading #booksky
August 4, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Hit and miss 30 year old collection of Latin American women writers. I think a new one would feel very different and I'm not sure too many of these stories would make the cut. #wasreading #booksky
My first dip into self-published Mills. This (slim) almost novella is hugely reminiscent of The Restraint of Beasts and is a hugely enjoyable shaggy dog story with 2 stings in the tail. #booksky #wasreading
July 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
My first dip into self-published Mills. This (slim) almost novella is hugely reminiscent of The Restraint of Beasts and is a hugely enjoyable shaggy dog story with 2 stings in the tail. #booksky #wasreading
Well written, well meaning and, well, a bit problematic. Wrapping your book about the evils of empire & church around a barbaric act by black Africans might have worked 25 years ago but feels very clunky (at best) now. #booksky #wasreading
July 21, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Well written, well meaning and, well, a bit problematic. Wrapping your book about the evils of empire & church around a barbaric act by black Africans might have worked 25 years ago but feels very clunky (at best) now. #booksky #wasreading