Happy Friday,
Here are five things I thought worth sharing this week.
Stephen Fry is asking for the most un-put-downable book recommendations in support of the UK’s National Year of Reading in 2026.
Andrew Batson’s lists the best books he read in 2025. I’m always surprised when I see a list of recommended history books where I’ve barely heard of any of them.
In 1899, an American wrote a strange “gospel of witches“. Decades later, that book, largely based on Italian folk traditions, ended up becoming the philosophical foundation Wicca.
Scott Sumner on the literary reputation of Robert Louis Stevenson.
The 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth was this week, and while she may not have enjoyed her time in the city of Bath, the city continues to love her.
Currently reading: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Have a creative weekend.
“Night Fireworks no. 77”. Hirayama, Jinta. 1883.
