Francesca's Thoughts

31/12/2021

Things from 2021 that I liked and you might like

Happy nearly 2022! I don’t love those look-at-my-great-year posts, so I thought I’d do one talking about some of the lovely things I’ve come across this year: Roman mosaics turned up in Rutland and they’re super duper old and super duper cool The Magnus Archives wrapped up with a truly epic finale Time Team is… Continue reading

Books, brain chat

15/10 Foundation, Frankenstein, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Måneskin, Queenie, reading in 2021, Roman mosaics in Rutland, RSPB, Six of Crows, The Importance of Being Interested, The Magnus Archives, Time Team, We Rate Dogs

30/11/2021

Read, If You Like: a Variety of Greek Mythology Books

I began this post when the Ever Given was still stuck in the Suez, but better late than never (which is the attitude you should take with your Christmas present deliveries, eh). I was hoping to read Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey this year to add it to the list, but then I went… Continue reading

Books, Read If You Like

'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes, 'Pandora's Jar' by Natalie Haynes, 'The Silence of the Girls' by Pat Barker, 'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller, Emily Wilson's translation of 'The Odyssey', Greek mythology, Greek mythology books, Indiferent Ignorance, mythology, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, non fiction about Greek mythology

31/10/2021

Reflections on this blog and where it’s going (with a little bit of tarot, it is Halloween)

A few moments ago I pulled a tarot card for this blog. It’s Halloween, it’s the site’s spiritual birthday, it’s a good way to start a post. I thought about the last twelve years as I shuffled, and I was expecting to feel a little melancholy as I did so. It’s Halloween, after all, which… Continue reading

brain chat, Internet

being a full time creative, blogging, cancel culture, cancelling authors, Halloween, Indifferent Ignorance, My Chemical Romance renunion, tarot card, The Raven’s Prophecy tarot deck by Maggie Stiefvater, Three of Wands, YA book community

22/09/2021

Plant Mum Post #3: Giving the Houseplants a Bath and Adventures with Spiders (no spider photos, merely an anecdote or, um, three)

Happy solstice to everyone who observes it! How are you all? I am relieved that autumn feels like autumn – in Southend at least – after the weirdest summer I can remember for ages. Not sure how I got sunburnt in the last week of July and spent the first week of August wrapped in… Continue reading

Plants, weather

aloe vera plants, autumn equinox, courgette plants, growing plants, house plants, Indifferent Ignorance, late summer roses, late summer snap dragon, late summer spiraea, late summer verbena, plant mum, spiders, summer into autumn