Louise Fairbairn
@scarletrix.bsky.social
...sometimes you wake up. sometimes the fall kills you. and sometimes when you fall you fly...
www.crimebookgirl.com
www.crimebookgirl.com
Those who are very Instagram should follow some of these photographers on the ground in MN right now
I think more of you should be getting your news from photographers. Here’s a thread. Most aren’t here. Sorry, you’ll have to branch out.
Scott Olson, Getty.
Scott Olson, Getty.
Scott Olson on Instagram: "Border patrol agents smash out a man’s car window before taking him into custody for failing to present citizenship documentation while at a gas station in St. Paul, MN. #b...
8,138 likes, 402 comments - olsongetty on January 11, 2026: "Border patrol agents smash out a man’s car window before taking him into custody for failing to present citizenship documentation while at ...
www.instagram.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Those who are very Instagram should follow some of these photographers on the ground in MN right now
How feckin insane is the US right now that the mayor of Minneapolis is posting this thread
After today’s shooting, Minneapolis is filing a declaration to push for an immediate ruling on our temporary restraining order. We need swift action to protect our city.
January 24, 2026 at 11:59 PM
How feckin insane is the US right now that the mayor of Minneapolis is posting this thread
Ordinary people are bearing witness and trying to aid their communities. Their lives should not be in danger in doing this, and yet this is the second murder by federal agents in days, in a city known for its civility and its welcome to people seeking sanctuary and a better life. This is heinous.
Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.
White. Hot. Rage.
White. Hot. Rage.
January 24, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Ordinary people are bearing witness and trying to aid their communities. Their lives should not be in danger in doing this, and yet this is the second murder by federal agents in days, in a city known for its civility and its welcome to people seeking sanctuary and a better life. This is heinous.
Never change, Minnesota, you're feckin awesome
"Oh my gosh, it was so nice to see you! Have a lovely day, fuck ICE!"
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
January 24, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Never change, Minnesota, you're feckin awesome
Don't mess with Minnesota nice...
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 24, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Don't mess with Minnesota nice...
@scotlandchris1.bsky.social @portybelle.bsky.social the easiest it's been this week!
I played squaredle.com 01/24:
43/43 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 20% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 41
I played squaredle.com 01/24:
43/43 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 20% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 41
Squaredle
Squaredle is a daily word building game. Swipe letters in the grid to test your vocabulary every day and rise to the top of the leaderboards!
squaredle.com
January 24, 2026 at 11:19 AM
@scotlandchris1.bsky.social @portybelle.bsky.social the easiest it's been this week!
I played squaredle.com 01/24:
43/43 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 20% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 41
I played squaredle.com 01/24:
43/43 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 20% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 41
I love Grace Dent's books - have snacks to hand while reading for the full effect!
Comfort Eating by Grace Dent | #audiobook #bookreview
I listened to Grace Dent's foodie memoir Hungry last year and loved it so much that I immediately placed a reservation for the audiobook of Comfort Eating. I listened to that over a few days last week and absolutely loved it too. First of all,…
I listened to Grace Dent's foodie memoir Hungry last year and loved it so much that I immediately placed a reservation for the audiobook of Comfort Eating. I listened to that over a few days last week and absolutely loved it too. First of all,…
Comfort Eating by Grace Dent | #audiobook #bookreview
I listened to Grace Dent's foodie memoir Hungry last year and loved it so much that I immediately placed a reservation for the audiobook of Comfort Eating. I listened to that over a few days last week and absolutely loved it too. First of all, I have to say that I think this works brilliantly as an audiobook. I love the author's accent and her down-to-earth way of talking.
portobellobookblog.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:28 AM
I love Grace Dent's books - have snacks to hand while reading for the full effect!
It me. I cannot resist...
Do I have more unread books in my home than I can count? Oh yes. Did I just collect three books (by #ChrisHammer @jdkirk.bsky.social and @dvbishop.com) ordered online in @portybooks.bsky.social January sale? Also yes... 😂
Buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies, remember!
#BookSky
Buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies, remember!
#BookSky
January 23, 2026 at 4:16 PM
It me. I cannot resist...
A Karen Pirie scene, surely - though I picture Mint being the deliverer...
A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain.
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.
The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
January 23, 2026 at 2:29 PM
A Karen Pirie scene, surely - though I picture Mint being the deliverer...
Crime fiction writers and readers are doomed then...
January 23, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Crime fiction writers and readers are doomed then...
Mmm, being the person who tells Val McDermid she's wrong... I'm glad she pushed back: she is not her characters, and she was creating characters of their time, which is v different from now. If current readers cannot understand that, they need to think harder!
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
Val McDermid was assigned ‘sensitivity reader’ to cut offensive language from old books
Author discusses changes made to Lindsay Gordon novels from 80s and 90s to prepare for their rerelease
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Mmm, being the person who tells Val McDermid she's wrong... I'm glad she pushed back: she is not her characters, and she was creating characters of their time, which is v different from now. If current readers cannot understand that, they need to think harder!
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
Reposted by Louise Fairbairn
It's Byron's birthday today but you want to read about the woman he impregnated at 18, who was Mary Shelley's stepsister, who became a governess in Russia, who owned her own apartment in Paris, who was fictionalised by Henry James in The Aspern Papers...
January 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM
It's Byron's birthday today but you want to read about the woman he impregnated at 18, who was Mary Shelley's stepsister, who became a governess in Russia, who owned her own apartment in Paris, who was fictionalised by Henry James in The Aspern Papers...
I know the idea of ignoring a bully, but it doesn't work in the playground and it has no place when this creature is spouting garbage like this. More than 2000 allies were killed and many more injured. Western leaders need to remind the public and the US leadership of this.
Trump on NATO: "I've always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That's really the ultimate test. I'm not sure of that. We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, off the front lines."
January 22, 2026 at 2:39 PM
I know the idea of ignoring a bully, but it doesn't work in the playground and it has no place when this creature is spouting garbage like this. More than 2000 allies were killed and many more injured. Western leaders need to remind the public and the US leadership of this.
I read this book when it came out last January, so yes, the review is late... But if you haven't read The Troubled Deep here's why I think you should (and you can buy the next in the series right now too!)
#BookSky 📚💙
#BookSky 📚💙
New review! The Troubled Deep by @robparkerauthor.bsky.social (pub'd @bloomsburyraven.bsky.social) - "In finding a case worth fighting for, Cam finds something of himself again ... he's a genuinely original protagonist drawn with warmth, empathy and sensitivity"
#BookSky
#BookSky
Review: The Troubled Deep
Rob Parker - The Troubled Deep Published by Raven Books (Bloomsbury), hardback £16.99 paperback £8.99, also available in ebook and audiobook. I bought a copy of the novel new in hardback. You can buy the print and ebooks direct from the publisher here: First, the official blurb: Nobody ever knew what happened to the Brindleys. One summer they were there - flashy, loud and beautiful - and then they were gone.
crimebookgirl.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:34 PM
I read this book when it came out last January, so yes, the review is late... But if you haven't read The Troubled Deep here's why I think you should (and you can buy the next in the series right now too!)
#BookSky 📚💙
#BookSky 📚💙
Fine thread about Minneapolis and what community looks like when your own government is attacking you. I have friends in MN and while I'm scared for them and their friends, I also know they are fighting back in all kinds of ways because MN doesn't take that kind of crap from anyone, inc the govt.
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Fine thread about Minneapolis and what community looks like when your own government is attacking you. I have friends in MN and while I'm scared for them and their friends, I also know they are fighting back in all kinds of ways because MN doesn't take that kind of crap from anyone, inc the govt.
Reposted by Louise Fairbairn
Meanwhile, in utterly shit behaviour by authorities in Scotland regarding arts...
(I assume @brianjaffa.bsky.social is typing madly about this - the more heat generated the better!)
(I assume @brianjaffa.bsky.social is typing madly about this - the more heat generated the better!)
Andrew Eaton-Lewis on the Arts Crisis in the Hebrides bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/01/20/a...
Arts Crisis in the Hebrides
An Lanntair, the largest arts centre in the Outer Hebrides, has warned of an “immediate and profound” impact if plans to axe its local authority funding are followed through. Many other projects wi…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Meanwhile, in utterly shit behaviour by authorities in Scotland regarding arts...
(I assume @brianjaffa.bsky.social is typing madly about this - the more heat generated the better!)
(I assume @brianjaffa.bsky.social is typing madly about this - the more heat generated the better!)
Remember when a blond UK prime minister talked about throwing a dead cat onto the table as a distraction? The orange baby is throwing dead tigers all over the place...
Venezuela is a DIVERSION
Jerome Powell is a DIVERSION
Greenland is a DIVERSION
Board of Peace is a DIVERSION
Minnesota is a DIVERSION
Renee NICOLE Good is a CASUALTY of his DIVERSIONS ...
FROM RELEASING THE FUKKKIN EPSTEIN FILES!!
Jerome Powell is a DIVERSION
Greenland is a DIVERSION
Board of Peace is a DIVERSION
Minnesota is a DIVERSION
Renee NICOLE Good is a CASUALTY of his DIVERSIONS ...
FROM RELEASING THE FUKKKIN EPSTEIN FILES!!
January 20, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Remember when a blond UK prime minister talked about throwing a dead cat onto the table as a distraction? The orange baby is throwing dead tigers all over the place...
Why having escapist and empathetic TV actually does matter
With alt text because screen reader users deserve to have damp eyes too ;)
January 20, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Why having escapist and empathetic TV actually does matter
Reposted by Louise Fairbairn
Faceless was brilliant, so I look forward to getting my eyeballs on this new novel from @vandasymon.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social (want a Faceless review to whet the appetite? Here's mine: crimebookgirl.com/2022/03/08/r...)
#BookSky 📚💙
#BookSky 📚💙
January 20, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Faceless was brilliant, so I look forward to getting my eyeballs on this new novel from @vandasymon.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social (want a Faceless review to whet the appetite? Here's mine: crimebookgirl.com/2022/03/08/r...)
#BookSky 📚💙
#BookSky 📚💙
Reposted by Louise Fairbairn
Get a free ticket for the launch of Winterbourne at Edinburgh Bookshop, Thursday.
'Haunting, ominous and astonishingly dark. A mesmerising triumph.'
'Unnerving and windswept with a wild Gothic heart.'
'Compelling contemporary gothic, skin-creepingly good.'
www.tickettailor.com/events/theed...
'Haunting, ominous and astonishingly dark. A mesmerising triumph.'
'Unnerving and windswept with a wild Gothic heart.'
'Compelling contemporary gothic, skin-creepingly good.'
www.tickettailor.com/events/theed...
January 19, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Get a free ticket for the launch of Winterbourne at Edinburgh Bookshop, Thursday.
'Haunting, ominous and astonishingly dark. A mesmerising triumph.'
'Unnerving and windswept with a wild Gothic heart.'
'Compelling contemporary gothic, skin-creepingly good.'
www.tickettailor.com/events/theed...
'Haunting, ominous and astonishingly dark. A mesmerising triumph.'
'Unnerving and windswept with a wild Gothic heart.'
'Compelling contemporary gothic, skin-creepingly good.'
www.tickettailor.com/events/theed...
Brilliant.
Paging @dougjohnstone.bsky.social and all those who have read The Transcendent Tide (IYKYK)
youtube.com/watch?v=hS0w...
Paging @dougjohnstone.bsky.social and all those who have read The Transcendent Tide (IYKYK)
youtube.com/watch?v=hS0w...
Greenland Defense Front - The Hungry Giant (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by demonflyingfox
youtube.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:27 AM
Brilliant.
Paging @dougjohnstone.bsky.social and all those who have read The Transcendent Tide (IYKYK)
youtube.com/watch?v=hS0w...
Paging @dougjohnstone.bsky.social and all those who have read The Transcendent Tide (IYKYK)
youtube.com/watch?v=hS0w...
@scotlandchris1.bsky.social @portybelle.bsky.social that was a fun one!
I played squaredle.com 01/17:
48/48 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 21% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 34
I played squaredle.com 01/17:
48/48 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 21% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 34
Squaredle
Squaredle is a daily word building game. Swipe letters in the grid to test your vocabulary every day and rise to the top of the leaderboards!
squaredle.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:07 PM
@scotlandchris1.bsky.social @portybelle.bsky.social that was a fun one!
I played squaredle.com 01/17:
48/48 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 21% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 34
I played squaredle.com 01/17:
48/48 words (+6 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 21% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 34
Awesome coolness 😍🐧
January 16, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Awesome coolness 😍🐧
COVER REVEAL! MY NEW BOOK, THE PINNACLE, IS OUT THIS JUNE! IT'S SET IN THE GLAMOROUS WORLD OF BOLLYWOOD AND MUMBAI HIGH SOCIETY AND SO FAR HAS BEEN THE BOOK I'VE MOST ENJOYED WRITING! PRE-ORDER IT FROM WATERSTONES RIGHT NOW!!
www.waterstones.com/book/the-pin...
www.waterstones.com/book/the-pin...
January 15, 2026 at 4:13 PM