Robin Bird
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robinxbird.bsky.social
Robin Bird
@robinxbird.bsky.social
1.1K followers 340 following 1.8K posts
Pronouns em/em/eir (they're singular, nice and easy)
Trainee counsellor, attempting to write eir dead father's memoir, bookish, lefty, nerdy, disabled and British.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/skeletonrobin
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robinxbird.bsky.social
I'm just starting Death in the Arctic by Tom Hiddle and honestly I'm a little giddy with excitement because this is the sort of premise i adore.

It's for our community book club so i need to finish it by Sunday and have just had the group's signed paperback passed to me
A paperback held open to show the signed title page of Death in the Artic by Tom Hiddle. The author name and title are in a bold art deco style font. Sound the title in bold black pen is the hand written note "to Chaco, happy reading!" And the author signature. The book lays open on a lap covered in a yellow knitted blanket and a very cheeky black and white fluffy cat is attempting to stand on the pages. He must take centre stage!
November 10, 2025 at 7:50 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Boycotts and demos work.
Make support for Israel untenable.
'It has become untenable for us to continue'- Premier Tech terminate Israel- Premier Tech sponsorship despite name change
November 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
When your client cancels last minute so you sneak in some extra reading

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Obituary of the graphic novel "the thrilling adventures of lovelace and babbage" in black on a dark red background with a comic illustration of the two titular characters. The full text reads: THE THRILLING ADVENTURES S OF LOVELACE AND BABBAGE THE (MOSTLY) TRUE STORY OF THE FIRST COMPUTER UCELEBRATED ANd DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS INSTRUCTIVE AND AMUSING SCENES; AS PERFORMED WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE REMARKABLE DIFFERENCE ENGINE EMBELLISHED WITH PORTRAITS AND SCIENTIFICK DIAGRAMS THE PERFORMANCE TO CONCL WITH THE LIVELY FARCE W
November 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Far fewer books finished this month but it's not a competition. Glad to have finally finished The Waves after starting in the spring. It is actually very good i just had to be in the right headspace for it, which i frequently wasnt.
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Collage if book covers from Storygraph titoed October 2025 reads, showing: Blood on her Tongue; A Skinful of Shadows; Warlords of the Wyrdwood: The Waves; Before your memory fades.
November 1, 2025 at 8:50 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
What concerns you Ollie?
A photograph looking down on a fluffy bosh and white cat. He is sitting with his front paws together and looking up towards the camera, possibly more judgemental than concerned. His little pink nose is a touch of whimsy compared to his otherwise dignified monochomatic look.
October 30, 2025 at 10:07 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
This mug has actually been intrinsic to my mental health the past few years.
On a dark wood desk sits, two small tea pots, one modern and grey, the other round with a matching nesting cup and blue floral design, and a small white porcelain mug. The mug has simple lower case lettering that reads "i like myself just the way i am". There is also a watch on the desk, a massive stack of CDs, a black and white framed photograph of a man and a small plastic figurine of a nun. The wall behind is a bright acid yellow.
October 28, 2025 at 11:11 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Small joy is cycling home with a leek stick or if my pannier. Whimsy in the mundane, the minor incongruance.
(And possibly some smug satisfaction of being the sort of person who cycles home with groceries. I can live with this)
An aubergine coloured flat bar bike is left against a railing and stairs on a paved patio. On the back of the bike is an overstuffed black pannier bag with a bright green leek top poking out of one corner.
October 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
I've been creating again after a hiatus. In feels really good and i like how it's turning out.
A painting on an easel with bright cloudy swirly background in shades of magenta, cyan and yellow. There are several dark drips trailing down the canvas running the colours together. The focus of the painting is a grey heron, stood tall and facing to the right, shared of blue grey and white with a bright yellow eye and beak. Very faintly around the heron are charcoal sketches of alder and willow.
October 26, 2025 at 6:20 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
My cats are being very clingy with the changing seasons which makes reading - especially if i want to annotate - tricksy.

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A black cat sat on a blanket covered lap leaning on a book. The cat is faced away from the camera, and is a silhouette of velvety softness, a round fluffy head with peaked ears. She is snuggled into a knitted yellow blanket the folds bunched up around her and you can only assume there is a human under there. Book is open, face down, blue and white paperback being gently shoved to one side by the big soft head. In the background is another book, a pile of cushions, and a bright yellow wall. This is the cosy reading, and cat, space.
October 23, 2025 at 9:08 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
I both love train/bike (the freedom! The destinations! The sportines) and hate train/ bike (what is this joke of a bike space? Lugging the bike up station steps)
An actually quite small frame hybrid bike in a lovely shade of aubergine, sporting a black and yellow pannier is awkwardly wedged into the designated cycle space on a train, the rear while sticks out into the isle. It looks like it could wobble over at any point. There a single sad strap hanging forlornly from the wall that doesn't have any hope of actually restraining the bike. This, is a good cycle space.
October 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Realised i have just the cosy book I'm looking for in my TBR. So I'm happy to be starting that this evening.

The TBR provides.

#booksky
A copy of Before your memory fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi lies open, face down on a bed. The cover is half white and half a strong blue tone with a simple illustration of a chair, three windows and a black cat. Each window shows a different seasonal landscape. The book congrats with the dark floral and skull print bedding. The lighting is low. This is cosy evening reading.
October 19, 2025 at 8:24 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
I made a tiny bit of progress. This is good. (I added the eye and more texture on the wings)
An in progress painting of a grey heron, stood tall and facing to the left. It has a blue grey wing and a bright yellow beak with a black stripe around the eye. It looks somewhere between regal and confused. The background is clouds and drifts of pale yellow, cyan and magenta. There are some drops trailing down the canvas.
October 18, 2025 at 7:23 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
I'd gotten my tbr down to 4 books. I also had destashed and given 10 books to community shelves. Unfortunately i also bought 3 new books and picked up 5 from the shelves. So the tbr is back to double digits.

Hmm this is gonna be a thread.

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Stack of books on a shelf. Top to bottom: William S Borough, Queer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, chronicle of a death foretold Octavia Butler, Fledgling Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Tales from the cafe & Before Your Memory Fades Percival Everett, James Nguyên Phan Qué Mai, The Mountains Sing Jennifer Saint, Elektra Sándor Márai, The Rebels Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon Rebecca F Kuang, Yellowface Fly on the wall peess, Modern Gothic There are more books behind. The shelf is bare wood, the wall bright yellow. It's a bit chaotic in a bookish way.
October 11, 2025 at 11:47 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Do you have SAD (seasonal affective disorder? Time to get the SAD lamp out. Studies in support of light therapy suggest at least 10000 lux so you need a proper lamp not just a phone app. But for me it's totally worth it.
An extremely bright glowing lamp casting the rest of the picture into darkness. The rectangular lamp switched off so you can seen it sat on my desk next to a laptop with a stack of books behind
October 11, 2025 at 8:53 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Dropping off books at a community bookshelf at a local queer cafe. Going to have a rummage and see if there's anything to take home.

I'm a big believer in passing on books and that i don't need to keep them all, even the 4 star reads!

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Big stack of books on a shelf including Devils Breath, A Botanical Daughter, My Life in Sea Creatures and, All Fours. A wider view of the bookshelf packed full of books with faux flowers and fairy lights.
October 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
I have a new friend! Find in my broccoli so must have been living in the fridge for at least a week. I gave it a few drops of water on the leaf and it uncurled and stretched out. I'll probably let it rest there overnight then put it out in the garden: it's still fairly warm in the day.
A small plastic pot containing a couple of broccoli leaves. On one stem is a small caterpillar about 2cm long Close up of the green caterpillar in which you can see the tiny fine hairs.
October 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Find myself in a bookshop today. Oh no. How terrible.

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Stack of three books on a dark floral throw. Top to bottom: William S. Burroughs - Queer Gabrial Garcua Marquez - chronicle of a death foretold Octavia Butler - Fledgling
October 5, 2025 at 7:51 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Amazing how much i can read in a month when i can't access social media for half of it.
#storygraph

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Collage of covers for my "September Reads" from Storygraph. Top to bottom, left to right: A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik Sorceress Comes to Call - T Kingfisher Gideon the Ninth- Tamsyn Muir This Book Could Save Your Life - Ben West The Gods of Tango - Carolina de Robertis Temeraire - Naomi Novik All Fours - Miranda July Now She is Witch - Kirsty Logan The Appeal - Janice Hallett The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik The Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik
October 1, 2025 at 8:29 AM
robinxbird.bsky.social
From the intro to Games People Play by Eric Berne.
Just seems relevant.
(See alt text for plain text)

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Excerpt of a printed page: Indeed, solitary confinement is one of the punishments most dreaded even by prisoners hardened to physical brutality, and is now a notorious procedure for inducing political compliance. (Conversely, the best of the known weapons against political compliance is social organization.)
September 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
If you see this picture post a random image from your device
A small tortoise walking up a ramp next to steps in a garden.
September 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Finished The Appeal today after starting last night. Not without faults but clearly a compelling read! I was a bit apprehensive about the epistolary format, but Hallett did a great job of establishing character and moving the plot even with those constraints.

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#thriller
The cover of "The Appeal" by Janice Hallet on a knitted yellow blanket. The cover features the title and author name in a red serif iralic font, the tag line "one murder, fifteen suspects, can you uncover the truth?" And black line drawing of a village partially covered by a red splatter. It has very "British detective drama" vibes to it.
September 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
20p books in the charity shop? Yes please!

The Appeal by Janice Hallett and The Rebels by Sándor Márai

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The two used books stacked in a red cushion
September 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Photo of a cat lying on a person's lap. The lap is covered in a yellow blanket and the cat is velvety black. The picture is taken looking down on the cats back and her chin is pressed flat abs her little legs reach around the person's leg. It's like a full body hug
September 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
This is my current TBR pile and I'm not sure I'm in the mood for any of them. I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for next. Any suggestions? (Just finished Gideon the Ninth but don't yet have Harrow in paperback).

Currently listening to Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen on audiobook

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Stack of 3 books on a bookshelf. Top to bottom: Toni Morrisom Song of Solomon; Rebecca F Kuang Yellowface; Modern Gothic short story collection by fly on the wall press. Thees numerous other nonfiction books behind this short stack and an inclusive pride flag to the side.
September 25, 2025 at 8:08 PM
robinxbird.bsky.social
Seeing Jeanmarrie's lines in print is an absolute delight. They work in audio really well, but the formatting in print is perfection.
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Excerpt from a book which reads "Conversations were happening around her, not to her: A bit plaintively: "I'm not quite that out of form, am R- ("Magnus! Maaaaagnus. Three moves, Magnus. ") -Am I getting old? Should Abigail and I divorce?- " The line "Magnus! Maaaaagnus. Three moves, Magnus. " is in a smaller typeface than the rest and has been highlighted in the photo. It conveys teen angst superbly.
September 16, 2025 at 10:19 PM