Tavia Allan
@taviaallan.bsky.social
Mother, teacher, writer, lecturer, bookseller.
Going off social media for Lent. May be back.
March 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Going off social media for Lent. May be back.
Lovely book. Reminded me how much I love the Thames, too.
February 21, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Lovely book. Reminded me how much I love the Thames, too.
Saw a woman outside Hammersmith Broadway with a placard saying Make Britain Great Again and Vote Reform. Thought about shouting at her, snatching her placard and jumping on it. But
I gave her a long contemptuous stare as I passed. Disdain stops fascists, right?
I gave her a long contemptuous stare as I passed. Disdain stops fascists, right?
February 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Saw a woman outside Hammersmith Broadway with a placard saying Make Britain Great Again and Vote Reform. Thought about shouting at her, snatching her placard and jumping on it. But
I gave her a long contemptuous stare as I passed. Disdain stops fascists, right?
I gave her a long contemptuous stare as I passed. Disdain stops fascists, right?
Reposted by Tavia Allan
After a hiatus, another episode of Eating the Detectives. What do the Slow Horses eat? (I know they're spooks, not sleuths, strictly speaking, but I'm obsessed. )
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
The Slow Horses
(Magarita pizza with added anchovies, cheesy potato wedges, green salad, apricot and Haribo pastries. London Rules 2018 and Joe Country 2019.) Food is mentioned quite frequently in the Slow Horses …
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com
February 18, 2025 at 7:33 PM
After a hiatus, another episode of Eating the Detectives. What do the Slow Horses eat? (I know they're spooks, not sleuths, strictly speaking, but I'm obsessed. )
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
After a hiatus, another episode of Eating the Detectives. What do the Slow Horses eat? (I know they're spooks, not sleuths, strictly speaking, but I'm obsessed. )
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
The Slow Horses
(Magarita pizza with added anchovies, cheesy potato wedges, green salad, apricot and Haribo pastries. London Rules 2018 and Joe Country 2019.) Food is mentioned quite frequently in the Slow Horses …
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com
February 18, 2025 at 7:33 PM
After a hiatus, another episode of Eating the Detectives. What do the Slow Horses eat? (I know they're spooks, not sleuths, strictly speaking, but I'm obsessed. )
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
eatingthedetectives.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/t...
Looking forward to starting this, which has been on my tbr pile far too long.
February 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Looking forward to starting this, which has been on my tbr pile far too long.
Current reading.
Weird Fiction anthology from Penguin (I've been dipping into this now and again since November!) and about to start Joe Country by Mick Herron. May save it for train journey tomorrow.
Weird Fiction anthology from Penguin (I've been dipping into this now and again since November!) and about to start Joe Country by Mick Herron. May save it for train journey tomorrow.
February 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Current reading.
Weird Fiction anthology from Penguin (I've been dipping into this now and again since November!) and about to start Joe Country by Mick Herron. May save it for train journey tomorrow.
Weird Fiction anthology from Penguin (I've been dipping into this now and again since November!) and about to start Joe Country by Mick Herron. May save it for train journey tomorrow.
Reposted by Tavia Allan
Amongst the acknowledgements at the end of London Rules, Mick Herron crediting John Finnemore for 'Yellow car'. Love it.
January 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Amongst the acknowledgements at the end of London Rules, Mick Herron crediting John Finnemore for 'Yellow car'. Love it.
Wished I'd had London Rules with me when I met a friend for coffee in the Regent's Park. Meeting in a London park in winter always feels quite espionage-y.
January 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Wished I'd had London Rules with me when I met a friend for coffee in the Regent's Park. Meeting in a London park in winter always feels quite espionage-y.
Picked up The Book of Magic on impulse in the Gower Street Waterstones. It's an anthology, published by Penguin, of texts about magic - providing a fascinating historical survey of beliefs about and attitudes to the topic. The editor, Brian Copenhaver, introduces each reading beautifully.
January 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Picked up The Book of Magic on impulse in the Gower Street Waterstones. It's an anthology, published by Penguin, of texts about magic - providing a fascinating historical survey of beliefs about and attitudes to the topic. The editor, Brian Copenhaver, introduces each reading beautifully.
My new reading strategy is alternating between a library book and a book from the TBR pile. It seems to be working. Only borrowing one book at a time from the library helps.
January 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
My new reading strategy is alternating between a library book and a book from the TBR pile. It seems to be working. Only borrowing one book at a time from the library helps.
Finished Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch yesterday. One from my tbr pile I saved up for December - snow, ice, monsters and the FBI. Next from the library: Real Tigers by Mick Herron. Not very wintry, but gripping so far.
December 21, 2024 at 10:01 PM
Finished Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch yesterday. One from my tbr pile I saved up for December - snow, ice, monsters and the FBI. Next from the library: Real Tigers by Mick Herron. Not very wintry, but gripping so far.
A winter tree for Yule/ Yalda
December 21, 2024 at 7:10 AM
A winter tree for Yule/ Yalda
New library book. So good. Laughed out loud several times already.
December 5, 2024 at 5:51 PM
New library book. So good. Laughed out loud several times already.
When a book is also a beautiful object, it is even more of a treat to spend a winter afternoon reading.
November 28, 2024 at 9:08 PM
When a book is also a beautiful object, it is even more of a treat to spend a winter afternoon reading.
Couldn't resist buying this beauty from Holdfast book boat in Leeds.
November 25, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Couldn't resist buying this beauty from Holdfast book boat in Leeds.
Really enjoyed this. Slow Horses by Mick Herron. And there's a whole series. Deserves the comparison with Le Carrè, but funnier, and better female characters.
November 22, 2024 at 8:21 AM
Really enjoyed this. Slow Horses by Mick Herron. And there's a whole series. Deserves the comparison with Le Carrè, but funnier, and better female characters.
Imagine how I felt, continuing to read on my way back from Leeds, and the new setting of Headingley appears. The book is stalking me.
Enjoying my new library book. Travelling from King's Cross after reading the first chapter was a little disturbing, though.
November 17, 2024 at 8:45 PM
Imagine how I felt, continuing to read on my way back from Leeds, and the new setting of Headingley appears. The book is stalking me.
Reposted by Tavia Allan
Enjoying my new library book. Travelling from King's Cross after reading the first chapter was a little disturbing, though.
November 15, 2024 at 6:35 PM
Enjoying my new library book. Travelling from King's Cross after reading the first chapter was a little disturbing, though.
Enjoying my new library book. Travelling from King's Cross after reading the first chapter was a little disturbing, though.
November 15, 2024 at 6:35 PM
Enjoying my new library book. Travelling from King's Cross after reading the first chapter was a little disturbing, though.
Is having 4 books on the go too much?
September 25, 2024 at 9:51 AM
Is having 4 books on the go too much?
Today the sun returned and it was hot enough on my terrace to enjoy my library book - Murder in a Heatwave.
September 13, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Today the sun returned and it was hot enough on my terrace to enjoy my library book - Murder in a Heatwave.
So I've now finished Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I originally categorised this - based on the blurb- as cosy SFF. It's not exactly scifi - the restricted time travel is a clever device for exploring regret and loss - but it is cosy. Loved it.
A charming book. Think my resolution to only read it while drinking coffee ☕ may fail.
September 9, 2024 at 3:06 PM
So I've now finished Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I originally categorised this - based on the blurb- as cosy SFF. It's not exactly scifi - the restricted time travel is a clever device for exploring regret and loss - but it is cosy. Loved it.
A charming book. Think my resolution to only read it while drinking coffee ☕ may fail.
September 3, 2024 at 11:13 AM
A charming book. Think my resolution to only read it while drinking coffee ☕ may fail.