GCSE Macbeth
@gcse-macbeth.bsky.social
Englishy things to model and share and also opinions. Former English HoD, examiner, current edu-adjacent person. Mediocre parent.
Second book I've re-read this year. A brilliant, fantastical, dream-like story and a fascinating allegory for trauma, abusive manipulation, and a mind cut totally adrift. A distant descendant of The Tempest I think.
July 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Second book I've re-read this year. A brilliant, fantastical, dream-like story and a fascinating allegory for trauma, abusive manipulation, and a mind cut totally adrift. A distant descendant of The Tempest I think.
I very rarely re-read books (who has time?!) but this was just as brilliant the second time round. A frontier adventure, a harrowing slice of a bloody historical period, a queer love story, a linguistic feast. 10/10.
April 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I very rarely re-read books (who has time?!) but this was just as brilliant the second time round. A frontier adventure, a harrowing slice of a bloody historical period, a queer love story, a linguistic feast. 10/10.
This actually feels like...quite a big deal?
March 18, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This actually feels like...quite a big deal?
Going to read a few 200-pagers now to pad my stats like Harry Kane taking penalties.
February 28, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Going to read a few 200-pagers now to pad my stats like Harry Kane taking penalties.
5/5 A++ for this enchanting and compelling wonder, NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason. Absolutely loved it.
February 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
5/5 A++ for this enchanting and compelling wonder, NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason. Absolutely loved it.
The strongest of recommendations for two brilliant audiobooks, Huckleberry Finn read by Elijah Wood and James read by Dominic Hoffman. I had such a good time with these.
Pro tip: if your A-Level students are ready to write sensitively about race, these would make a 10/10 comparative coursework:
Pro tip: if your A-Level students are ready to write sensitively about race, these would make a 10/10 comparative coursework:
February 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
The strongest of recommendations for two brilliant audiobooks, Huckleberry Finn read by Elijah Wood and James read by Dominic Hoffman. I had such a good time with these.
Pro tip: if your A-Level students are ready to write sensitively about race, these would make a 10/10 comparative coursework:
Pro tip: if your A-Level students are ready to write sensitively about race, these would make a 10/10 comparative coursework:
About a third of the way through but let me say what a TREAT this has been so far. It traces a single house in the New England woods over centuries. Love stories, ghost stories, poems, riddles, whimsical and gripping all at once. Fabulous.
February 1, 2025 at 9:37 AM
About a third of the way through but let me say what a TREAT this has been so far. It traces a single house in the New England woods over centuries. Love stories, ghost stories, poems, riddles, whimsical and gripping all at once. Fabulous.
Choosing geography be like
January 16, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Choosing geography be like
Very pacy and well-written thriller about the murky side of Hollywood. Excellent bracing start to the reading year.
January 4, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Very pacy and well-written thriller about the murky side of Hollywood. Excellent bracing start to the reading year.
Very auspicious start to the year! If you know you know.
January 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Very auspicious start to the year! If you know you know.
We should be really careful of this type of thinking. The tradition of saying "Kids today don't want to do the work" goes back to ancient times.
December 28, 2024 at 9:09 AM
We should be really careful of this type of thinking. The tradition of saying "Kids today don't want to do the work" goes back to ancient times.
If you've never discovered the podcast The Soundtrack Show then this is a marvellous Christmas treat -- a breakdown of how John Williams's Home Alone score elevates the movie.
All the episodes are good: Jurassic Park is a favourite.
All the episodes are good: Jurassic Park is a favourite.
December 27, 2024 at 8:23 AM
If you've never discovered the podcast The Soundtrack Show then this is a marvellous Christmas treat -- a breakdown of how John Williams's Home Alone score elevates the movie.
All the episodes are good: Jurassic Park is a favourite.
All the episodes are good: Jurassic Park is a favourite.
@clairestoneman.bsky.social do you have a favourite Christmas choral record? This is mine, it's the one we always played every year growing up.
December 21, 2024 at 12:53 PM
@clairestoneman.bsky.social do you have a favourite Christmas choral record? This is mine, it's the one we always played every year growing up.
I don't really re-read books, but I just finished my 4th trip through Wolf Hall, my favourite novel by a mile, and Ben Miles' audiobook is exquisite.
December 4, 2024 at 6:24 PM
I don't really re-read books, but I just finished my 4th trip through Wolf Hall, my favourite novel by a mile, and Ben Miles' audiobook is exquisite.
Amused to discover there's a passage in To Kill A Mockingbird where Scout is quietly scathing about oracy.
October 10, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Amused to discover there's a passage in To Kill A Mockingbird where Scout is quietly scathing about oracy.
October 6, 2024 at 6:24 PM
Not expecting huge engagement here but this is still a great album.
September 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Not expecting huge engagement here but this is still a great album.
My review of Babel by RF Kuang.
I enjoyed this book a lot and it's really interesting. Imagine Philip Pullman, if His Dark Materials was about colonialism rather than organised religion, mixed with Secret History.
Sounds good! Its flaws are also interesting.
1/
I enjoyed this book a lot and it's really interesting. Imagine Philip Pullman, if His Dark Materials was about colonialism rather than organised religion, mixed with Secret History.
Sounds good! Its flaws are also interesting.
1/
September 6, 2024 at 5:33 PM
My review of Babel by RF Kuang.
I enjoyed this book a lot and it's really interesting. Imagine Philip Pullman, if His Dark Materials was about colonialism rather than organised religion, mixed with Secret History.
Sounds good! Its flaws are also interesting.
1/
I enjoyed this book a lot and it's really interesting. Imagine Philip Pullman, if His Dark Materials was about colonialism rather than organised religion, mixed with Secret History.
Sounds good! Its flaws are also interesting.
1/
Dorian Lynskey put this really well in the Guardian last year after the Blur shows.
August 27, 2024 at 9:55 AM
Dorian Lynskey put this really well in the Guardian last year after the Blur shows.