Alex Johnson
@shedworking.bsky.social
Writer of non-fiction books. Latest: When Books Go Bad. Online editor at Fine Books magazine, columnist at the Idler. Coined term "shedworking". Half-decent snooker player. https://thewritinghut.substack.com/
Reposted by Alex Johnson
“On a willow twig a kingfisher perches. It watches the eels with interest, but these are well-grown and too big for him to catch”
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
November 16, 2025 at 8:17 AM
“On a willow twig a kingfisher perches. It watches the eels with interest, but these are well-grown and too big for him to catch”
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
Reposted by Alex Johnson
The weather is now well and truly wintery...which is perfect reading weather!
Why not curl up with @shedworking.bsky.social's wonderful book about books 'My Year of Reading Welshly: Discovering Wales in 52 Books' and find some inspiration for your next read too!
www.uwp.co.uk/book/my-year...
Why not curl up with @shedworking.bsky.social's wonderful book about books 'My Year of Reading Welshly: Discovering Wales in 52 Books' and find some inspiration for your next read too!
www.uwp.co.uk/book/my-year...
November 14, 2025 at 12:11 PM
The weather is now well and truly wintery...which is perfect reading weather!
Why not curl up with @shedworking.bsky.social's wonderful book about books 'My Year of Reading Welshly: Discovering Wales in 52 Books' and find some inspiration for your next read too!
www.uwp.co.uk/book/my-year...
Why not curl up with @shedworking.bsky.social's wonderful book about books 'My Year of Reading Welshly: Discovering Wales in 52 Books' and find some inspiration for your next read too!
www.uwp.co.uk/book/my-year...
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Letter Written on Prison-Issue Toilet Roll in Women's Suffrage Auction
www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...
www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...
Letter Written on Prison-Issue Toilet Roll in Women's Suffrage Auction
The Bonhams Deeds Not Words: A Women's Suffrage Collection online auction running November 10 – 20 features a single owner collection of rare suffragette memorabilia.The sale includes letters, photogr...
www.finebooksmagazine.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Letter Written on Prison-Issue Toilet Roll in Women's Suffrage Auction
www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...
www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Happy Friday!
‘Gallant Old Engine’ (1962)
(Ladybird Artist John Kenney also illustrated for Rev. W. Awdry’s Railway Series)
‘Gallant Old Engine’ (1962)
(Ladybird Artist John Kenney also illustrated for Rev. W. Awdry’s Railway Series)
November 14, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Happy Friday!
‘Gallant Old Engine’ (1962)
(Ladybird Artist John Kenney also illustrated for Rev. W. Awdry’s Railway Series)
‘Gallant Old Engine’ (1962)
(Ladybird Artist John Kenney also illustrated for Rev. W. Awdry’s Railway Series)
New specs. Be honest.
November 12, 2025 at 11:59 AM
New specs. Be honest.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Other work by the Ladybird artists
‘November’ (1958)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt
‘November’ (1958)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt
November 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Other work by the Ladybird artists
‘November’ (1958)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt
‘November’ (1958)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt
"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world." Declaration of Friends to Charles II, 1660, better known nowadays as The Quaker Peace Testimony.
November 11, 2025 at 10:45 AM
"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world." Declaration of Friends to Charles II, 1660, better known nowadays as The Quaker Peace Testimony.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
The only Szalay I've read is Turbulence. Not many laughs.
November 11, 2025 at 9:39 AM
The only Szalay I've read is Turbulence. Not many laughs.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
The Idler Christmas Special is out now (making it perhaps the only magazine that comes out 7 times a year) with piece by me on famous shedworkers' New Year's Resolutions, and the enduring appeal of Catalan caganers in festive cribs.
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 AM
The Idler Christmas Special is out now (making it perhaps the only magazine that comes out 7 times a year) with piece by me on famous shedworkers' New Year's Resolutions, and the enduring appeal of Catalan caganers in festive cribs.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Plug - take a look at my newsletter, Book History Bite - subscribe if you like, etc. Next edition will be out this month, so make sure your inbox is ready :)
bookhistorybite.substack.com
bookhistorybite.substack.com
Book History Bite | Book History Bite by Maria V. | Substack
My name is Maria Vassilopoulos. I work in the book trade and hold a PhD in its cultural history. This newsletter is my way of sharing my work, new archive finds, and reviews of all things bookish. Cli...
bookhistorybite.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Plug - take a look at my newsletter, Book History Bite - subscribe if you like, etc. Next edition will be out this month, so make sure your inbox is ready :)
bookhistorybite.substack.com
bookhistorybite.substack.com
Nice to see my latest When Books Go Bad published by @blpublishing.bsky.social at the front of the newly revamped @waterstones.bsky.social in St Albans.
November 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Nice to see my latest When Books Go Bad published by @blpublishing.bsky.social at the front of the newly revamped @waterstones.bsky.social in St Albans.
Went to the Royal Festival Hall last night to see eldest boy sing in John Adam's Harmonium, but before that James Ehnes was the soloist in the Beethoven Violin Concerto. He was *incredible*, certainly the finest violinist I've ever heard live. If you get the chance to see him, do take it.
November 9, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Went to the Royal Festival Hall last night to see eldest boy sing in John Adam's Harmonium, but before that James Ehnes was the soloist in the Beethoven Violin Concerto. He was *incredible*, certainly the finest violinist I've ever heard live. If you get the chance to see him, do take it.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
The latest @folkloresociety.bsky.social newsletter FLS News is out today, and contains a CFP from me and @magicnotwitches.bsky.social inviting proposals for our new @universitypress.cambridge.org series 'Elements in Folklore':
November 5, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The latest @folkloresociety.bsky.social newsletter FLS News is out today, and contains a CFP from me and @magicnotwitches.bsky.social inviting proposals for our new @universitypress.cambridge.org series 'Elements in Folklore':
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Tell me your well loved book tales! I’m collecting options for our reader comments in the winter issue.
What is a well-worn book in your collection that may not be in the best condition but that you prize, and why?
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Tell me your well loved book tales! I’m collecting options for our reader comments in the winter issue.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Heartbroken to share the news that recruitment to Undergraduate Music courses at the University of Nottingham has been suspended.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
November 6, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Heartbroken to share the news that recruitment to Undergraduate Music courses at the University of Nottingham has been suspended.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
What is a well-worn book in your collection that may not be in the best condition but that you prize, and why?
November 7, 2025 at 11:29 AM
What is a well-worn book in your collection that may not be in the best condition but that you prize, and why?
The Idler Christmas Special is out now (making it perhaps the only magazine that comes out 7 times a year) with piece by me on famous shedworkers' New Year's Resolutions, and the enduring appeal of Catalan caganers in festive cribs.
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 AM
The Idler Christmas Special is out now (making it perhaps the only magazine that comes out 7 times a year) with piece by me on famous shedworkers' New Year's Resolutions, and the enduring appeal of Catalan caganers in festive cribs.
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Hey if you enjoyed watching big characters getting murdered one at a time, in a big house in the middle of nowhere on #CelebrityTraitors, we have some books you will enjoy.
shop.bl.uk/products/bri...
shop.bl.uk/products/bri...
Crime Classics Subscription – Vintage Mystery Reads
Love classic crime? The Crime Classics subscription delivers hidden gems and vintage mysteries monthly – perfect for fans of Golden Age detective fiction.
shop.bl.uk
November 7, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Hey if you enjoyed watching big characters getting murdered one at a time, in a big house in the middle of nowhere on #CelebrityTraitors, we have some books you will enjoy.
shop.bl.uk/products/bri...
shop.bl.uk/products/bri...
Reposted by Alex Johnson
I like my #WilliamMorris notebook but am persistently troubled by the floorplan implied in the logo (on every page). What does William keep at home in the tiny windowless room without a door? Is the large space without an entrance useful / beautiful? This distracts me a lot in meetings.
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I like my #WilliamMorris notebook but am persistently troubled by the floorplan implied in the logo (on every page). What does William keep at home in the tiny windowless room without a door? Is the large space without an entrance useful / beautiful? This distracts me a lot in meetings.
Proper book cover
Christian Hesse Auktionen (Hamburg), Kataloge für den 22. November online (hier zwecks Illustration: Kästner, Emil und die Detektive, Schätzpreis 3.000 Euro; Nr. 113) hesse-auktionen.de/auktionen/ #Antiquariat
November 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Proper book cover
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Other work by the Ladybird artists
‘November Farm Work’
Farm Crops in Britain - Puffin Picture Book, 1955
Artist: SR Badmin
‘November Farm Work’
Farm Crops in Britain - Puffin Picture Book, 1955
Artist: SR Badmin
November 6, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Other work by the Ladybird artists
‘November Farm Work’
Farm Crops in Britain - Puffin Picture Book, 1955
Artist: SR Badmin
‘November Farm Work’
Farm Crops in Britain - Puffin Picture Book, 1955
Artist: SR Badmin
I donate to this every year, the Book Trust's Christmas appeal to send books for the festive season to children in families where money is tight. Please do take a look. donate.booktrust.org.uk/Xmas3/~my-do...
Donate to BookTrust
Support us by making a donation
donate.booktrust.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I donate to this every year, the Book Trust's Christmas appeal to send books for the festive season to children in families where money is tight. Please do take a look. donate.booktrust.org.uk/Xmas3/~my-do...
Reposted by Alex Johnson
Because I am an idiot I decided to photograph all the (visible from the street) Georgian doorways of Liverpool's Rodney Street with a 60 year-old Olympus FT camera. Turns out the half frame format of the camera goes well with the shape of the doors. #believeinfilm #shootfilmbenice
November 5, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Because I am an idiot I decided to photograph all the (visible from the street) Georgian doorways of Liverpool's Rodney Street with a 60 year-old Olympus FT camera. Turns out the half frame format of the camera goes well with the shape of the doors. #believeinfilm #shootfilmbenice
Reposted by Alex Johnson
“A tawny owl is looking down from its high vantage point at the great bonfire”
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson
November 5, 2025 at 8:25 PM
“A tawny owl is looking down from its high vantage point at the great bonfire”
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson