Mike Matthews
@mikejohnmatthews.bsky.social
Architecture, books, culture and a love of places. Lives in Newport, South Wales; which contradicts all of the above.
Best read of 2026 so far. @willhodgkinson.bsky.social
An antidote to those ‘celebrities’ that really aren’t.
‘If Lawrence really did achieve the goal he had been announcing to anyone who would listen… what would he become? Just another famous person, and who needs another one of them?’
An antidote to those ‘celebrities’ that really aren’t.
‘If Lawrence really did achieve the goal he had been announcing to anyone who would listen… what would he become? Just another famous person, and who needs another one of them?’
January 20, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Best read of 2026 so far. @willhodgkinson.bsky.social
An antidote to those ‘celebrities’ that really aren’t.
‘If Lawrence really did achieve the goal he had been announcing to anyone who would listen… what would he become? Just another famous person, and who needs another one of them?’
An antidote to those ‘celebrities’ that really aren’t.
‘If Lawrence really did achieve the goal he had been announcing to anyone who would listen… what would he become? Just another famous person, and who needs another one of them?’
Elizabeth Taylor’s debut novel: the green-liveried Virago I most sought and recently found.
I still lament the passing of these covers…
‘Brookhouse Avenue’ by Jenny Cook.
I still lament the passing of these covers…
‘Brookhouse Avenue’ by Jenny Cook.
January 16, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Elizabeth Taylor’s debut novel: the green-liveried Virago I most sought and recently found.
I still lament the passing of these covers…
‘Brookhouse Avenue’ by Jenny Cook.
I still lament the passing of these covers…
‘Brookhouse Avenue’ by Jenny Cook.
He could’ve written another Ulysses, but Joyce did a very unselfish thing.
Do you have a used/battered copy of Finnegans Wake that you will not use ever again? At the James Joyce Centre we are happy to collect these copies to help an artist build a sculpture made of them.
Contact [email protected] if you would like to donate your copy.
Contact [email protected] if you would like to donate your copy.
August 6, 2025 at 12:25 PM
He could’ve written another Ulysses, but Joyce did a very unselfish thing.
All eggs in the basket of voice…
A brilliant debut and a weekend well spent.
#MarkBowles #AllMyPreciousMadness
A brilliant debut and a weekend well spent.
#MarkBowles #AllMyPreciousMadness
March 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
All eggs in the basket of voice…
A brilliant debut and a weekend well spent.
#MarkBowles #AllMyPreciousMadness
A brilliant debut and a weekend well spent.
#MarkBowles #AllMyPreciousMadness
March 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
March 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM
February 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
February 15, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Meades is back! 😎
The 20 year wait is finally over. #EmptyWigs is here...
Jonathan Meades' compendium of tales is told through frames within frames, mazes within mazes, colliding narratives and quick changing moods.
https://buff.ly/3WXyjv7
#books #JonathanMeades
Jonathan Meades' compendium of tales is told through frames within frames, mazes within mazes, colliding narratives and quick changing moods.
https://buff.ly/3WXyjv7
#books #JonathanMeades
February 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Meades is back! 😎
Reposted by Mike Matthews
Fantastic.
There’s a Turkish phrase about the upside of hitting rock bottom being that things can’t get any worse. It goes göte giren şemsiye açılmaz and it means “an umbrella up one’s ass cannot be opened”
February 10, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Fantastic.
Reposted by Mike Matthews
Word of the Day is ‘bayard’ (16th century): one who has the supreme self-confidence of ignorance.
February 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Word of the Day is ‘bayard’ (16th century): one who has the supreme self-confidence of ignorance.
Reposted by Mike Matthews
Can you imagine the Tate posting on social media that they're closed as of now?
GIVE STAFF THE MONEY TO RUN PLACES PROPERLY
CULTURE IN CARDIFF IS DYING
Museum, St David's Hall, Coal Exchange, School of Music... Why would anyone come here as a tourist?!
GIVE STAFF THE MONEY TO RUN PLACES PROPERLY
CULTURE IN CARDIFF IS DYING
Museum, St David's Hall, Coal Exchange, School of Music... Why would anyone come here as a tourist?!
February 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Can you imagine the Tate posting on social media that they're closed as of now?
GIVE STAFF THE MONEY TO RUN PLACES PROPERLY
CULTURE IN CARDIFF IS DYING
Museum, St David's Hall, Coal Exchange, School of Music... Why would anyone come here as a tourist?!
GIVE STAFF THE MONEY TO RUN PLACES PROPERLY
CULTURE IN CARDIFF IS DYING
Museum, St David's Hall, Coal Exchange, School of Music... Why would anyone come here as a tourist?!
Reposted by Mike Matthews
Back in stock in store only!
Signed copies of Steph McNicholas’ “When Ponty Rocked: Tales from a Town’s Musical Past” are back in. An exploration of some of the great music and artists to come out of Pontypridd!
Signed copies of Steph McNicholas’ “When Ponty Rocked: Tales from a Town’s Musical Past” are back in. An exploration of some of the great music and artists to come out of Pontypridd!
January 31, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Back in stock in store only!
Signed copies of Steph McNicholas’ “When Ponty Rocked: Tales from a Town’s Musical Past” are back in. An exploration of some of the great music and artists to come out of Pontypridd!
Signed copies of Steph McNicholas’ “When Ponty Rocked: Tales from a Town’s Musical Past” are back in. An exploration of some of the great music and artists to come out of Pontypridd!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
This superb series by #SimonSchama should be on every school curriculum in the land.
#BBC2 #StoryofUs
This superb series by #SimonSchama should be on every school curriculum in the land.
#BBC2 #StoryofUs
BBC Two - Simon Schama’s Story of Us, Series 1, Our Contested Land
Simon looks at the work of three writers who changed people's view of the landscape.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
This superb series by #SimonSchama should be on every school curriculum in the land.
#BBC2 #StoryofUs
This superb series by #SimonSchama should be on every school curriculum in the land.
#BBC2 #StoryofUs
Just when I promised myself to read more #MurielSpark, a fortuitous find amongst the throw-away books in a local Tesco. Sylphlike and tactile.
#Penguin #Paperbacks
#Penguin #Paperbacks
January 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Just when I promised myself to read more #MurielSpark, a fortuitous find amongst the throw-away books in a local Tesco. Sylphlike and tactile.
#Penguin #Paperbacks
#Penguin #Paperbacks
December 13, 2024 at 8:00 PM
In particular the Nabokov / Holger Czukay nugget.
The interconnectedness of all things.
@iammilliam.bsky.social 👏👏👏
New episode up now. The Moon’s a Balloon by David Niven, with guest Rupert Everett in conversation with Andy Miller @iammilliam.bsky.social and John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/227....
227. The Moon’s a Balloon - David Niven — Backlisted
Rupert Everett joins us to discuss David Niven's memoir The Moon’s A Balloon . This show represents the fulfilment of a long cherished ambition: to dedicate a whole Backlisted to a book ...
www.backlisted.fm
November 28, 2024 at 9:00 PM
In particular the Nabokov / Holger Czukay nugget.
The interconnectedness of all things.
@iammilliam.bsky.social 👏👏👏
Almost entirely structured around the punctuality of Japanese trains. Borderline sci-fi in the UK.
#Reading #Matsumoto #TokyoExpress
#Reading #Matsumoto #TokyoExpress
November 28, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Almost entirely structured around the punctuality of Japanese trains. Borderline sci-fi in the UK.
#Reading #Matsumoto #TokyoExpress
#Reading #Matsumoto #TokyoExpress
Reposted by Mike Matthews
⚠️ Pontypridd has been hit by devastating floods and our wonderful independent bookshop, Storyville Books, has seen much of its stock destroyed.
If you’re able to buy a book from them, this would go such a long way to help support them rebuild in the aftermath.
👉 uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyvi...
If you’re able to buy a book from them, this would go such a long way to help support them rebuild in the aftermath.
👉 uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyvi...
Storyville Books Bookshop UK
Nestled in the rolling hills of the South Wales valleys, we are the only independent bookshop in Pontypridd, selling new books and more.
uk.bookshop.org
November 24, 2024 at 6:41 PM
⚠️ Pontypridd has been hit by devastating floods and our wonderful independent bookshop, Storyville Books, has seen much of its stock destroyed.
If you’re able to buy a book from them, this would go such a long way to help support them rebuild in the aftermath.
👉 uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyvi...
If you’re able to buy a book from them, this would go such a long way to help support them rebuild in the aftermath.
👉 uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyvi...