Category: weeknotes

Hi. It’s Friday. Sorry I’ve missed a couple of weeks (checks notes – nearly a month? crikey).

Life’s been a bit hectic, innit. Did you miss me?

I’m Dave Graham (aka @dakegra on the socials). I’m a shameless book tempter, blogger and am generally fascinated by stuff. Do you like stuff? I love stuff.

---

I’ve been to a couple of bookish events since last we spoke. First off was Crime Central over at Manchester Central Library. I’ve been meaning to go for ages, but finally booked an afternoon off, trained it over to Piccadilly, had a lovely mooch around the shops as it got dark, then settled in to listen to the one and only Rob Parker chat with Lisa Hall and Lisa Nicholas (sadly Caimh McDonnell wasn’t feeling well). Great fun was had by all, the two Lisas were on top form and Rob did an admirable job of asking the right questions to the right Lisa.

Then we decamped to the pub and talked books for an hour or two before a brisk march back to the train station for the journey home.

The following night I found myself in Leeds for another book event. This time it was CL Clark, Tasha Suri and VL Bovalino chatting about their various fantasy books. Enormously entertaining. And I got to catch up with my lovely Orbit publicist friend Nazia who I’ve not seen FOREVER, got a hug and got to chat about books briefly before she had to go and herd the authors and I had to nip off to take my daughter food shopping.

Finally I was supposed to go and see Jay Kristoff in Manchester on Tuesday night talk about the third book in his vampire trilogy, Empire of the Dawn. But sadly the lurgy caught me and I didn’t really want to spread my germs to one of my favourite authors as I’m not sure he would have forgiven me. I was hoping to ask him to sign my ‘rarest of the rare’ (as described by Jay himself) proof copy of Nevernight (seriously, there was like a handful of these which went out at the time), but I’ll have to save that for another day.

---

Reading

November’s been a busy month for reading so far.

I finished Alessandra Ranelli’s fabulous Murder At The Hotel Orient, which was gorgeously fabulous and decadent and gorgeous. It’s out next year. You should read it.

Finally picked up Slow Gods, by Claire North (Orbit Books, out now), which is a lovely big epic sci-fi of the sort that Iain M. Banks used to delight us with, but being Claire North is utterly packed with character and is both a small, focused tale and an epic galaxy-spanning, erm, epic, featuring someone who can’t die, gods who sit and watch, a world-ending supernova and stuff. It’s epic.

For a change of pace I blitzed through The Nancys by RWR McDonald (Orenda Books) which was utterly delightful. Young Tippy Chan, her santa-like Uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon (of the yellow budgie smugglers) investigate the case of the missing necklace (and murdered schoolteacher). Full of wit and life and fabulousness, Tippy, Pike and Devon make a wonderful crime solving trio. Hugely recommended.

On audiobook this month I listened to The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman, the fifth book in his Thursday Murder Club series. More fun with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim investigating a missing fortune, dealing with exploding cars and troublesome relatives. I love these books, especially on audio.

Last, but by no means least, I read The Wife Swap by Lisa Hall, which is out next year. I’d requested it on NetGalley and got the fastest rejection I’ve ever seen (sub 15 minutes). Luckily having the author as your mate really helps and an advance PDF turned up in my email inbox. I downed tools and raced through it. It’s fantastic, neighbours getting a little too friendly and hijinks (as they should) ensue. Kept me up until past my bedtime reading.

I also bought a couple of books:

The President’s Hat, by Antoine Laurain

Quantum of Menace, by Vaseem Khan, special indie bookshop edition, signed

The Witching Hour (various short stories) from Goldsboro Books, signed

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Photos

Went for a run a while back, and when I got to Newmillerdam I had to stop and get a photo. Spectacular morning.

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling. See you next Friday.

Smooches

D x

Hi. It’s Friday.

I remain Dave Graham (aka @dakegra on the socials). I’m a shameless book tempter, blogger and am generally fascinated by stuff. Especially sumo.

---

Regular readers (bless you) may recall that I bought myself a ticket to the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall. Well, the time finally arrived last Saturday to head down to London to go see a bunch of half-naked burly Japanese (and Mongolian and Ukranian) chaps wrestle each other.

I used to watch sumo on TV back when I was a kid with my dad. Channel 4 (I think, it was some time ago) showed highlights and we got really into it. I’d always wanted to go to a proper tournament but figured I’d have to go to Japan to do it. That’s still on the bucket list, but London is a lot closer and cheaper to get to.

It was fantastic. Everything I’d hoped for. Whilst some people grumbled it wasn’t a fully-fledged tournament and more of an exhibition (true), it was still an incredible experience. The Royal Albert Hall was sold out for all five days.

They showed all five days in full on the BBC iPlayer, and you can find highlights on YouTube. I absolutely loved it, and now really really want to go to Japan to see a ‘proper’ tournament!

---

Reading

On the way to London I decided that a Japanese author felt appropriate, so started Murder At The Black Cat Cafe, by Seishi Yokomizo

I read the first half on the train on the way down. It’s two stories in one book, so I’ll read the other half at some point soon.

I’m also reading an advance copy of Alessandra Ranelli’s Murder at the Hotel Orient on my kindle at the moment (yes, there’s a bit of a murder theme in my reading)

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Watching

Season three of The Diplomat has arrived on Netflix, so I’m powering through that at the moment. Love it.

Slow Horses season 5 continues to be enormously entertaining, though this season has felt slightly more… slapstick? than previous. Still good fun.

I’ve also just started watching The Blacklist, which I recall seeing a trailer for ages ago, so fired it up on Amazon to discover that there are ten seasons of it. That trailer was longer ago than I thought. It’s entertaining, James Spader is fabulous, and I’m intrigued to see where it goes.

---

Listening

I’ve had the new Biffy Clyro album Futique pretty much on repeat since discovering it was out last weekend. I’ve not heard a huge amount of their stuff but have seen them on telly at Glastonbury and other places and really like what I’ve heard.

---

Eating

I had a cracking portion of chips down in London at Poppies Fish & Chips on Hanbury Street near Spitalfields Market whilst on the hunt for a sumo mural which turned out to have been painted over some years ago. The chips were great, no photos as I devoured them quickly.

I’ve also become addicted to Blank Street Coffee’s hot banana bread matcha. Yum.

---

Photos

Also went to see the Rams v Jags NFL game at Wembley with my brother and his mates. Great game of football (unless you’re a Jags fan), lots of beer, lots of chat and a great day out.

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling. See you next Friday.

Smooches

D x

Hi. It’s Friday.

I remain Dave Graham (aka @dakegra on the socials). I’m a shameless book tempter, blogger and am generally fascinated by stuff.

---

Quiet week. I’m sure I had something I wanted to talk about, but it escapes me. I really need to start writing these things down.

Oh, ok. Speaking of writing things down, let’s talk about other newsletters that I enjoy.

First off, a Friday isn’t a Friday without Documentally‘s latest missive arriving in my inbox. His newsletter is the inspiration for this one, though he’s been doing it for much longer and is far better at it. There’s a mix of musings, music, photography, fascinating links, writing and a bunch of other stuff. One of the newsletters that I pay for, and (to me at least) it’s worth every penny. We’ve chatted over the years and at one point I got him a load of cassette tapes from an auction he’d won, but that’s a story for another day…

Austin Kleon’s newsletter has been landing in my inbox for more years than I care to remember. Each week he comes up with 10 things he thought was worth sharing. Always interesting, always different.

Cafe Anne, by Anne Kadet is another fantastic slice of life. It’s “a weekly newsletter devoted to all things innovative and delightful, with a NYC focus.” I love it.

Feasts and Fables, run by Barrie and Jojo from their little farm in France covers a range of gorgeous things, from sumptuous interiors to adventure photography, filled with pithy thoughts and musings. Well worth your time.

Rob Walker’s The Art Of Noticing has long been on my list. Encouraging people to slow down and, well, notice things…

I’m also greatly enjoying D.V. Bishop’s excellent author newsletter, as well as his fabulous Cesare Aldo books set in Renaissance Italy. I really enjoy these little peeks behind the curtain of an author’s life.

Speaking of authors, Michael Marshall Smith (one of my favourites) also has a Substack, So Here’s a Thing. In his words: it’s “stuff about writing itself, and the world, and the weird and fascinating things in it. Sharing some art too, and music, even a recipe from time to time. A bit like sitting next to me in a pub but without the inevitable hangover and/or short stay in a correctional facility.”

Right, that should keep you busy. Got any recommendations for newsletters or blogs that you enjoy?

---

Reading

Having finished Joe Hill’s epic King Sorrow last week, I’ve moved onto my pile of advance proofs. I jumped at the chance to get my virtual paws on a copy of Alessandra Rannelli’s Murder at the Hotel Orient, out next year from Baskerville.

You may recall seeing a photo of yours truly sporting a fetching red t-shirt at Harrogate earlier this year.

Well, that was to help promote Alessandra’s book! There were loads of us wearing the same outfit wandering around, handing out samplers (I was a little over-keen and handed out ALL of mine, forgetting to keep one for myself).

So it was great to actually get to read the book early. I’m about a third of the way in and it’s great fun. Keep your eyes peeled for it next year.

I’ve also started listening to the latest Thursday Murder Club outing by Richard Osman, The Impossible Fortune. I love these books, have listened to them all on Audible. It’s great to see the gang back together.

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Eating

Went out for a couple of meals this week. First one was at Fino in Wakefield, with some friends I’ve not seen for entirely too long. We had a fantastic meal (my pizza was delicious) and eventually noticed that we were the only ones left in the restaurant. The staff were lovely and didn’t actually kick us out, but we paid up and decamped to the pub.

Then on Wednesday I took the daughter out for some food, impoverished student that she is. We ended up at Man’s Market in Leeds for tea.

She went for chicken and pepper in black bean sauce, which was delicious, and salt & pepper chips. I had pulled bbq chicken loaded fries, which were ok (chips were a bit mid) and some excellent gyoza. Mmm, I love gyoza. The dipping sauce was utterly sublime and I ended up dipping my chips in it too. Worth the trip for just that.

One thing I noticed was that when the waitress asked us if we’d eaten there before, she launched into the standard spiel of how to order, which was delivered at a rate of knots honed over months/years of practice which was pretty much exactly conducive to absolutely none of it going in.

I had a similar thing the first time I went to Subway and ordered a sandwich, to be met with a mumbled ‘whatbreaddoyouwant?’, a question which I had to ask the poor server to repeat twice, not realising that you had to actually choose what sort of bread you wanted your sandwich on. This was repeated at every stop on the sandwich journey, the server’s questions worn smooth at the edges from countless askings.

Anyway, the food at Man’s was decent. Glad we went, probably won’t go again.

---

Photos

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling. See you next Friday.

Smooches

D x

Hello my little internet buddies. It’s Friday, again. It’s becoming a habit.

I’m Dave Graham (aka @dakegra on the socials). I’m a shameless book tempter.

---

Last weekend I took my daughter to her first NFL game at Tottenham. My beloved Minnesota Vikings were playing the Cleveland Browns, so I had to make a trip. Technically it was a Browns ‘home’ game (internationals are weird, yo), but I reckon a good 75% of the crowd were rocking the Vikings purple jerseys.

Including yours truly, of course.

We had… interesting (cheap) seats. Not that cheap either, tbh.

Sat behind one of the giant screens. That said, it had a screen on it, which made watching replays and stuff really easy. The crowd was great, the stadium was great, the match was good. Though we missed the final, game-winning touchdown as we’d left a tiny bit early to avoid the crowds on the trains.

Look, they scored in the last 30 seconds of the game. They do have form in this regard, but not much had happened and it was a toss-up between queueing for hours for a tube, or getting out early and not.

Ah well, we had a Big Day Out (as daughter calls them), had a great time, and I’m off down to Wembley in a week’s time to see the Jags/Rams game with my brother and his mate.

I’m also off to the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall, but that’s a story for another day.

---

Reading

This week has pretty much entirely been taken up by reading this behemoth of a book. Joe Hill’s King Sorrow, about a group of friends who accidentally summon a dragon who will helpfully kill whoever they want. Or one of them, if they don’t choose someone else.

It’s huuuuuuge, clocking in at a shade under 900 pages. But it doesn’t feel like 900 pages when you’re reading it. I mean, there’s a lot going on, but Hill’s writing just pulls you along through the book and before you know it, you’re done. Not saying much more because spoilers, but I really really enjoyed this book. Do you like sarcastic killer dragons and ancient curses and people out of their depth and stuff? This book might be for you.

On a somewhat different note, I also picked up a copy of Do Maintain, by Gareth Heaton.

As it says on the front, it’s all about how to sharpen knives, scissors and garden tools. A couple of years ago I bought myself some whetstones to have a go, failed miserably and put them back in the garage. Keen to give it another go. Gareth runs Community Cutlery up in Ilkley, which looks like a fabulous shop and it’s sort of just up the road, so I really must visit.

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Whisky

You may recall from last week that I had stumbled across The Malt Library recently on Instagram whilst on my Dave Tries Whisky account (see, I told you I had a lot of blogs/socials). Well, friday night is whisky night as they say (they don’t say), so my whisky buddy and I cracked open the 6yo Caol Ila from 2014 Black Corbie.

Hooyah I bloody love a Caol Ila. This one is an absolute corker. Bottled at 61.6% it’s a filthy, chewy, beast of a dram. Lemon peel, smoke, nuts and just gorgeous, ooomph, in your face deliciousness.

Eight quid for a 30ml sample? Bite their hands off. If I could lay my hands on a bottle I’d be a very happy chap.

Yum.

---

Photos

spotted on a dog walk the other night

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Hello internet chums. How the devil are you?

It’s cold and wet here in Yorkshire. I hope it’s warmer where you are, or that you’re nice and cosy somewhere with a delicious beverage of your choice.

I’m Dave Graham (aka @dakegra on the socials). I’m a shameless book tempter.

---

I’ve been pondering a lot this week about social media and blogs (of which I have/have had many).

I was thinking back to the happier early days of Twitter, when everyone (ok, most people) was excited to be there and posting a lot and genuine conversations were happening. Book people found each other and we geeked out about books, chatted to our favourite authors who had emerged online and generally it was lovely.

Then *waves hands* stuff happened and now we have Twitter (no, I’m not calling it X), Threads and Bluesky. I started cross-posting things. Some people had moved, some people were all OMG YOU’RE STILL ON [platform] HOW VERY DARE YOU.

Recently I thought I’ve not had much interaction online these days. And realised it was because I was losing hours scrolling through each of them, and not actually posting anywhere near as much as I once did.

Now, not posting nearly as much is probably a good thing. But the whole doomscrolling thing? Less good.

Same with blogs – I used to post on my blog about books, and on Substack about random other things.

I’ve spent years building up my social presence and my book blog (espressococo turned 16 this year). Years of talking about books to anyone who’d listen. Those years have turned into lots of lovely opportunities to read books early, or to meet lovely authors and bloggers and PR people and publishers at events and for some of them to even go ‘oh, I recognise you!’ And even for some of them to become friends.

I was listening to a fellow bookblogger (Kevin, from The First Eleven Minutes on Instagram) on a podcast talking with the host about the lack of male book bloggers/bookstagrammers. We are out there, but we are few and far between.

Bookstagram (what a name) has really taken off, but it’s one area of the socials that I’ve not really got involved in much. My own IG is more photos of cats, concerts, beaches, general stuff that I’ve taken photos of in my day-to-day wanderings.

It’s not really a bookish account, so should I set up another one for books? Is it worth it? Is there room for another middle-aged white bloke to ramble on about books?

Don’t get me started on TikTok. I’ve got a face for radio, as they say…

---

Reading

This week I finished The Smart Girl’s Guide To Revenge by Jessica May Harper on Audible (free if you have an account!) and really enjoyed it. Lots of scams and double-crossing and hijinks – think Ocean’s 11 but Danny Ocean is by himself and also a woman scorned out for revenge. Read by the fabulous Kaya Scodelario. Highly recommended.

On the physical book front I ploughed through Kate Rhodes’ Deadman’s Pool from the lovely Karen at Orenda Books.

It’s the 8th book in the series, but can easily be read as a standalone. Set on the Isles of Scilly, it’s a taut mystery about a body found on a beach, a missing girl and a bunch of islanders who all look pretty shady. Oh, and a dog called Shadow. Really enjoyed that one.

Also had some book post this week from Orbit Books. Ably modelled here by LunaCat (maybe I need a cats&books instagram, eh?)

This is Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, by Heather Fawcett, out in February next year.

Agnes Aubert is very fond of making lists. These lists kept her afloat when she lost her husband two years ago. And now, as the founder of a cat rescue charity, her meticulous organization skills feel like the only thing standing between her beloved cats – His Majesty, Banshee and sweet elderly Thoreau, to name a few – and utter disaster.

But when Agnes is forced to move the charity, she soon discovers that her new shop is being used as a front; right under her feet is the lair of the decidedly disorganised – not to mention self-absorbed and infuriatingly handsome – Havelock Renard.

Havelock is everything Agnes doesn’t want in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue, perhaps even romance. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . .

Sounds like fun. I’ll report back.

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Whisky

I stumbled across The Malt Library recently on Instagram whilst on my Dave Tries Whisky account (see, I told you I had a lot of blogs/socials). It’s an intriguing idea. Alex and Chris have a load of old/rare bottles of whisky from some really interesting distilleries, including some closed, lost or ghost distilleries. They split them up into 30ml samples for the shop and away we go.

I couldn’t resist, so order a 17yo Laphroaig (1993) and a 6yo Caol Ila from 2014 (I love a Caol Ila) Black Corbie. They threw in the 8yo Glenallachie Koval Rye cask finish and a 2023 Wolfburn Mey Games to try.

Yum.

---

Photos

Went to see Belly in Sheffield last saturday. It was supposed to be at the Leadmill, but that’s closed down so it was at Network 2, and had sold out. Fantastic gig, had a cracking view. I wasn’t that familiar with all the songs but a lot of the crowd were, and there was some very energetic bouncing going on.

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Eyup (as they say in these parts) It’s Friday.

I’m Dave Graham, serial and shameless book tempter on the socials as @dakegra. This weekly missive dives into the weird and wonderful, with a side order of books.

---

This week I’ve been away up in North Yorkshire with the family. It’s nice to get away for a bit, and the Yorkshire coast is a lovely spot. Lots of dog walks, beach walks, nice food, the occasional glass of whisky of an evening…

But I had to nip home on Tuesday as I had a theatre thing to get to. The theatre thing in question:

Yep, I had a ticket for Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet. And a glorious thing it was too – a one person show where Eddie played all of the characters. There were swordfights, there was intrigue, there were Rosencrantz & Guildenstern as hand puppets. A masterpiece.

Though I probably would have benefitted from reading the play (or watching one of the many many film adaptations) beforehand, as whilst I could follow the story, Eddie was sometimes a little quick in delivery. Good fun though, but the seats in the City Varieties theatre were possibly the most uncomfortable I’ve ever sat on.

---

Reading

It’s been a great week for reading. The journey here started with The Smart Girl’s Guide to Revenge, by Jessica May Harper (aka Steph Broadribb), read by Kaya Scodelario. Enormous fun.

I packed a stash of proofs to read too. I picked these up (or was given them) at Harrogate in the summer.

Starting off with Vivian Dies Again by C.E. Hulse, this is an interesting time loop murder mystery, where Vivian has to figure out who keeps killing her over and over (and over) again, aided only by a sleep deprived waiter who is also caught in the same loop. It’s a fun premise, though none of the characters are particularly likeable. Out in January from Viper Books.

Next up was A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by M.K. Oliver. Another fun one, in which the main character has to juggle murder, getting her daughter into a prestigious school, a spot of blackmail, and her husband’s relucatance to make something of himself at work. I really enjoyed this one a lot. Out in February from Hemlock Press.

I’d also got a copy of Sarah Hilary’s The Drowning Place (Harvill, April 2026) at Harrogate. I’d heard a LOT of good things about this one, and boy did it deliver. A detective with a harrowing past, a little local (too local?) village in the Peak District and a plot that is more twisty that those little single lane roads you find yourself on in the countryside. Fabulous stuff.

On a roll, I dived straight into Antti Tuomainen’s The Winter Job (thanks to Karen Sullivan at Orenda for pressing a copy into my hands)

I’m a HUGE fan of Antti’s books, and happy to report that this one is also fabulous. A tale of a man who has to deliver a sofa to the far north of Finland in order to pay for a piano for his daughter’s christmas present. Hijinks ensue. It’s delightfully odd, and reminded me a lot of Fargo. There’s more to the sofa than meets the eye, of course, but I shall leave it to you to find out more. Highly recomended. Out in October.

I’ve just started the next book, but I’ll save that for next week. And I’ve got Richard Osman’s next Thursday Murder Club book queued up on Audible.

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Watching

Alien: Earth is done. It’s been a bit erratic at times, and the final episode will be a little divisive. Overall, I quite enjoyed it, and hope they get a second season, if only to see Eyeball Monster get more screen time.

Season 5 of Slow Horses is finally here, though only one episode a week (sob). Great to see the gang back, though not sure why River has turned into a bit of a dick. Hopefully he pulls his finger out.

---

Photos

Two happy beach doggos on holiday.

Also called into the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery as it’s about five minutes from here. Their flagship whisky was buy one get one half price, so it seemed rude not to. I’ll report back on how it tastes next week

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Hello! It’s Friday (again).

You should know by now that I’m Dave Graham, serial and shameless book tempter on the socials as @dakegra. This weekly missive dives into the weird and wonderful, with a side order of books.

---

Let’s start this week with a little puzzle for you.

If it’s never full price, how can it be half price?

One more. Once you get past the sheer wrongness of this, what colour is green white hot chocolate?

---

Reading

Having rushed to get a copy of Clown Town last week, I finally finished it this week. It was good, Herron is on top form with Lamb’s dialogue, and is very naughty indeed later in the book. I’m not saying any more because spoilers are bad, but chances are if you’ve read the other books, you’re going to read this book no matter what I say. And if you haven’t read the others books, for [insert deity of choice here]’s sake don’t start with this one as you’ll spoil the others.

Overall a solid 8/10.

I finished listening to Craig Mod‘s Things Become Other Things on audiobook (yes, I realise it has to be an audiobook if I’ve listened to it, it’s been a long week, ok?). I’ve got a copy in hardback but it’s currently under a ton of other books and I just wanted to listen to it.

Read by the author, it’s a fantastic ramble through the Japanese countryside whilst musing on a range of other things. Well worth picking up/listening to.

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Watching

Alien: Earth has reached its penultimate episode and boy I can’t wait for the finale next week. It’s been a slow burn at times, and people have criticised how it ties in (or doesn’t) with the wider Alien universe, but I’m really enjoying it.

More Only Murders In The Building too. After the gore of Alien: Earth, it’s a like a warm hug of a show.

I’ve just finished season three four of my re-watch of Slow Horses, so I’m up to date for season five later this month.

---

Listening

Off to see Belly in Sheffield next weekend, so have been listening to some of their stuff. Really looking forward to the gig.

---

Photos

I mentioned earlier that my TBR pile was looming. I took this for a competition on Instagram (no, it wasn’t the messiest desk comp, shush). You can see the books starting to loom. And that’s only a tiny fraction, the bookshelves next to it are full and have similar mounds of books on top. And that’s just within arm’s reach of where I’m sat…

Where’s your reading/writing spot? I’d love to see it in the comments!

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Friday again. And you know that that means – it’s weeknote time, baby!

I’m Dave Graham, book tempter on the socials as @dakegra. I chatter on about books, life, movies and stuff here, there and everywhere. If you see me around, do say hi. I’m not as grumpy as I look. I might bite though.

---

Are you enjoying these (mostly) weekly posts? Anything in here you particularly like/dislike/are bored senseless of? Please do let me know.

I’m gearing up for a return to the world of ‘proper’ book reviews, having looked at my NetGalley stats and piles of books that I’ve read and not posted up about. But I also quite enjoy doing these weekly catchups, if only for myself and the three other people who read them. Have I mentioned how fabulous you look today?

---

Reading

I had a pretty good week for reading, starting off with an advance copy of Rob Parker’s next book, Forbidden Waters (out in January from Raven Books). This is the second in his Norfolk Mysteries, featuring salvage diver Cam Killick. I loved the first book and was thrilled to get my grubby paws on an early proof ebook. TBR pile mercilessly shoved to one side (sorry books), I dove straight in (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Delighted to report that it’s even better than the first one. Lovely gruesome murders on the Norfolk Broads, splendidly tense and fast-paced. Loved it. Keep your eyes peeled for this one in January (it’ll be here before you know it).

I delved into the piles of books I picked up at Harrogate in the summer for my next read, and chose The Storm by Gemma Denham.

I really enjoyed this one too. A locked-hotel mystery set in the Lake District where a violent storm means that no-one can leave. And then the bodies start piling up, and it’s up to author Lizzie to get to the bottom of what’s going on. I read this in pretty much one sitting, fabulous stuff. I thought I was super clever in spotting one of the twists early on, but it turned out I’m not that clever and Gemma had managed to outfox me! Looking forward to her next book already.

And finally, yesterday saw the release of book 9 in Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series, Clown Town.

A quick zip over to the bookshop at lunchtime had me clutching a signed copy and looking at the time to see if I could squeeze a chapter in before I had to start work again. (I did). I love these books, and this one starts with a particularly grisly murder. Can’t wait to read more…

What are you reading at the moment?

---

Watching

Alien: Earth continues to be interesting, with some very daft decisions made by some characters this week. Standard really. Little Eyeball Dude continues to be awesome. And I’m slightly very surprised at myself for getting six episodes in before realising that Atom Eins is played by the fabulous Ade Edmondson.

Absolutely delighted to see that season five of Only Murders In The Building is back! Everyone’s favourite podcast gang is investigating yet another murder in the building. Well, the courtyard. Only three episodes released so far, and I tried (not very hard, or successfully) to try and eke them out but ended up smashing through them in a single go. Ooops.

I’ve just finished season three of my re-watch of Slow Horses, in time for season five later this month. It’s worth getting Apple TV just for this alone.

---

Listening

This Bohemian Rhapsody flashmob video has been cropping up everywhere on the socials, so I’m sure most of you will have already seen it, but here’s the full YouTube video in all its glory. It really is worth a watch.

I’ve also fallen into a bit of a Yungblud rabbit hole, having seen him perform at the Ozzy Osbourne tribute.

Just look at the swagger on that lad. He goes up with the legendary Aerosmith frontman Steven f*cking Tyler and absolutely holds his own on that stage. Phenomenal.

I also called into Wah Wah Records in Wakefield last weekend and picked up Jack White’s Lazaretto on CD for the princely sum of three quid. Bargain.

---

Photos

Not really been out and about much to take photos, so here’s one of me and both cats – rare to see them together like this!

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Friday again. This is becoming a habit. And it’s September. Where does the time go?

I’m Dave Graham, book tempter on the socials as @dakegra. I chatter on about books, life, movies and stuff here, there and everywhere. If you see me around, do say hi. I’m not as grumpy as I look. I might bite though.

---

Saturday night saw me at a gig at the fabulous Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. I’ve been there a few times this year, firstly to see Lauren Mayberry (of Chvrches fame), then to see the fabulous Throwing Muses.

This gig was a little different. Bryan Adams (yes, that one) was throwing an album launch party for his latest offering, Roll With The Punches. I’d heard some of the tracks when I went to see him at the First Direct Arena earlier this year, and was amazed to discover he was going to play one of my favourite venues, and one which holds about 400 people.

A ticket was purchased, yours truly hitting refresh on the browser as they went on sale and managed to snag one. As it was an album launch, you could get the CD and ticket for a very reasonable price – I think I paid just shy of thirty quid for a double CD and ticket. I paid twice that to see him at the arena!

One condition on the ticket was strictly no mobile phones or recording equipment. Phones had to go into a sealed pouch for the duration, only unlocked when you came out of the venue. It was an interesting experience – no-one was trying to record anything and people were actually talking to each other.

The gig lasted about an hour – he played all the tracks off his new album, interspersed with a questions from the audience. One guy asked if this was his idea, the no phones thing.

“Yeah. I just wanted us all to have this shared moment together, here tonight.”

Other than not knowing what time it was (my Garmin was deemed a smartwatch and had to go in the pouch with my phone), it was a fantastic gig. Everyone in the moment, enjoying the music, laughing at the jokes, and just being there.

Look, I know I’ve taken photos at gigs before, but usually try and limit it to a couple of pictures as a memory. Did I miss having my phone? A bit, to start with. But I enjoyed the experience more.

Here’s a photo of Bryan and Keith Scott at the Arena anyway.

What do you think of this? I’ve had differing opinions – the crowd at the gig seemed happy enough and there was a big cheer when Bryan said it was his idea. But I’ve also spoken to others who were horrified at the idea.

---

Reading

Well, I finished Project Hail Mary on audiobook. As I said last week, the narrator was fabulous. The story was ok, I really liked the ending but there were bits which just required a bit too much suspension of disbelief. It sold by the bucketload and there’s a film coming out starring Ryan Gosling, so what do I know?

I also read Jackson Ford’s The Bone Raiders, which I absolutely loved. I’ve been following his work since the very start and I think this is up there with his best work. And I loved his other books. But did they have a Brooklyn 99 AND a Skyrim reference in them? I think they did not. Anyway, The Bone Raiders is out now, you should buy a copy. I ended up with two, so keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway soon.

I’m also working my way through the audiobooks of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series (again) in preparation for the new book out soon. I’m currently on the 4th installment, The Last Devil To Die. I love these books, great characters, great twisty plots, and this one has brought a tear to my eye already.

---

Watching

Speaking of The Thursday Murder Club, I watched the Netflix adaptation the other night. It was good fun, though I think I’m not alone in saying that Pierce Brosnan is not quite how I imagined Ron. And I really like Pierce Brosnan, with his excellent beard, though with his slightly wandering accent. And not a West Ham top in sight.

Also miscast (imho, ymmv etc) is Henry Lloyd-Hughes. The actor is great, but I’d pictured someone more like Tomi May as the giant, tattooed, gently-spoken Polish builder/odd-job man Bogdan.

There were also some interesting choices when it came to the story, which if they decided to make a follow-up will be… interesting!

Still watching Alien: Earth. Episode 5, “In Space, No One…” is absolutely fantastic and one of the best Alien things to happen for a long time. Still loving the little eyeball tentacle dude. And Babou Ceesay is utterly fantastic as Morrow.

---

Photos

No photos this week. Must take my camera out this weekend.

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling for another week.

Smooches

D x

Well, it’s Friday again. I know I’ve missed a couple of weeks, but I’ve been a busy little bee. More of that later.

I’m Dave Graham, book tempter on the socials as @dakegra. I chatter on about books, life, movies and stuff here, there and everywhere. If you see me around, do say hi. I’m not as grumpy as I look.

---

So what have I been up to?

Well, the weekend before last my friend and I went for our annual camp up to Borrowdale in the Lake District. We’d camped there a few times before and had spent many evenings looking at this route up towards Glaramara, and this time we went up it.

It’s a long slog up to the top of Glaramara, but every time we turned around, we were rewarded with some stunning views.

Got to the top, only another 12km to go. Luckily it was mostly downhill.

Made it to Angle Tarn, which we fully intended to swim in, but the sun went in and a breeze picked up. I got in for a paddle and couldn’t feel my feet, so decided to skip it.

Loki went for a paddle/swim in every bit of water we passed.

Great day out. Nearly 19km walked, celebrated with a well-earned beer. Or two.

We also visited Keswick for the day (more beer, an excellent packet of chips and a very expensive Patagonia fleece purchase), then on the Sunday we did a hike up Catbells.

More stunning views.

Made it down to Derwent Water for our sandwiches, only to realised that we’d left swimming stuff back at camp. Foolish!

I was greatly amused to see a spaniel swimming around in the water, then taking off after a quartet of ducks. “REGGIE, LEAVE IT,” shouted his owner.

Reggie did not leave it. Reggie had ducks in his sights. The ducks just swam in lazy circles, just out of reach.

“REGGIE, FOR…. SAKE,” continued the owner, now swimming after the dog swimming after the ducks, who continued to be entirely unfazed by a small brown dog with ducklust in his eyes.

Reggie did not get a duck, you’ll be glad to hear.

We did, however, get a swim in the river later on. It was glorious.

As was the pint of Ullswater Blonder afterwards

Facebook reminded me the other day about a post I made just after a good friend passed away. It ended with this:

Life, it turns out, is short. Make the most of it. Seize the day whenever you can. Climb the mountains, swim in the rivers, try new things and most importantly, give your friends and family a hug.

This weekend I climbed the mountains, swam in the rivers and tried new things. Well, new beers. It counts. Hugs are always available.

Anyway, that’s enough of my holiday photos, though I have saved one extra-special one for later, just to keep you reading. Speaking of which…

---

Reading

As you may recall, whilst at Harrogate I was delighted to bump into my friend Victoria Goldman, author of the brilliant Shanna Regan mysteries (The Redeemer and The Associate). She’s got a new book coming out next month. It’s called Little Secrets, set in a hotel that has been converted from a prison. I polished it off over a couple of days and absolutely loved it. Add it to your lists now, friends.

MW Craven’s latest Poe & Tilly book, The Final Vow is out now. I’d read pretty much anything Mike writes and that counts doubly so for Poe/Tilly stories. This one is book 7 in the series and whilst you could read them pretty much as standalones (though why you’d want to is another matter), you definitely need to have read book 6 first as a character pops up from there that you need to have met. Brilliant stuff, absolutely inhaled it in one sitting.

I also read Vaseem Khan’s upcoming James Bond (ish) novel, Quantum of Menace, featuring everyone’s favourite armourer, Q. Really enjoyed this one too – Vaseem has given us a fresh take on Q’s life outside the Service and it’s a cracking read.

Currently reading Jackson Ford’s upcoming book The Bone Raiders, which is fabulous so far, and I know he’s ace at sticking the landing on these things. It’s out now – I’ve got a special edition on the way from Broken Binding which should arrive at any moment. I might do a giveaway for this copy.

I’ve also been listening to the audiobook of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, which a lot of people raved about.

I’m having mixed thoughts. I adored The Martian, Artemis fell a bit… flat for me. PHM falls into the latter trap – Ryland Grace basically is Mark Watney from the Martian, but in space. Yes, I know Watney was also in space, but Grace is more in space. And there’s so much science infodumping. And I love science stuff.

Hard to say more without massive spoilers for the story (something the movie trailer doesn’t seem to care much about, absolutely DO NOT WATCH unless you’ve read the book), but there were a lot of bits which left me going ‘huh?’ and quite annoyed at several turns of events.

That said, the audiobook narrator is fantastic.

---

Watching

The other night I watched The Amateur (Prime). Trailer looked interesting – Rami Malek plays a CIA crypto analyst who is great with computers, wife goes to London, gets shot, he decides to enact revenge on her killers by becoming a super spy, trained up by Morpheus from the Matrix, despite being very much a geek.

The writing is lazy (fridging the wife in the first act? Really?), the plotting even more wafer-thin than a post-meal After-Eight, and the whole thing comes across as a B-grade version of Taken, where Malek’s ‘particular set of skills’ appears to be getting entirely out of his depth and blowing stuff up.

That said, it has quite a reasonable ending and I enjoyed most of it, though the one twist I was really hoping for didn’t come off, and would have made it a much better story, imho.

Current series watch is Alien: Earth. Which is an interesting take on the Alien world. Is it entirely successful? Not really. But I’m intrigued where it’s going, and want to find out more about the cute little eyeball/tentacle alien whose sole, gory trick appears to be looking at people from a different body. It’s adorable.

---

Photos

Told you I was saving something special, so here it is. I’ve never seen the Milky Way before, but with a bit of tinkering with my phone propped up on the table resulted in this.

Stunning, innit?

---

Right, that’s enough of my rambling (and photos) for another week.

September next week! Where does the time go?

Smooches

D x