paumurp
@paumurp.bsky.social
Irish Youth worker. Easily pleased, usually slow to anger. Stick a book in my hand and give me some music to listen to and I'm generally happy. I look for dead people in my spare time (genealogy), I take some photos and I walk the occasional hill.
Through 2025 I posted a little review of each book I read. Don't think I'll do that in 2026. However in these images are my 'favs from books published in 2025', 'alternative 2025 published' list, and a 'favs from books published before 2025' list. Lists in alt description of images #BookSky
January 12, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Through 2025 I posted a little review of each book I read. Don't think I'll do that in 2026. However in these images are my 'favs from books published in 2025', 'alternative 2025 published' list, and a 'favs from books published before 2025' list. Lists in alt description of images #BookSky
Book 107 The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown #BookSky What I'm guessing will be my last completed book of 2025. If you enjoyed The Book of Doors you will enjoy this. Same world, different characters. There's a small secret society looking for and protecting magical objects. It covers
December 29, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Book 107 The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown #BookSky What I'm guessing will be my last completed book of 2025. If you enjoyed The Book of Doors you will enjoy this. Same world, different characters. There's a small secret society looking for and protecting magical objects. It covers
Book 106 A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett #BookSky One of my favourite fantasy genre finds of 2025. Read book 1 in this series earlier in the year. Think Sherlock Holmes (especially the Benedict Cumerbatch version) in a fantasy setting. It's basically a detective story, but an odd one
December 27, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Book 106 A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett #BookSky One of my favourite fantasy genre finds of 2025. Read book 1 in this series earlier in the year. Think Sherlock Holmes (especially the Benedict Cumerbatch version) in a fantasy setting. It's basically a detective story, but an odd one
Book 105 Heartwood by Amity Gaige #BookSky I live near mountains and love a good hike. Would love to do parts of the trail mentioned in this novel about a missing person hiking the full Appalachian Mountain Trail. Told through the POV of the missing person (letters to her mother), and the head of
December 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Book 105 Heartwood by Amity Gaige #BookSky I live near mountains and love a good hike. Would love to do parts of the trail mentioned in this novel about a missing person hiking the full Appalachian Mountain Trail. Told through the POV of the missing person (letters to her mother), and the head of
Book 104 'You Weren't Meant to be Human' by Andrew Joseph White #BookSky One of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time. I didn't enjoy it. I was contemplating a DNF but stuck with it, but it didn't really lift beyond my first impressions. It's a horror book by an author whose books
December 27, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Book 104 'You Weren't Meant to be Human' by Andrew Joseph White #BookSky One of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time. I didn't enjoy it. I was contemplating a DNF but stuck with it, but it didn't really lift beyond my first impressions. It's a horror book by an author whose books
Book 103 - Helm By Sarah Hall #BookSky A really unusual novel in that this is the story of a wind. The eponymous Helm is a localised Foehn wind found in Cumbria in North West England. Hard enough to describe. It's a novel of the wind and it's impact on the area and it's people. It's told from
December 27, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Book 103 - Helm By Sarah Hall #BookSky A really unusual novel in that this is the story of a wind. The eponymous Helm is a localised Foehn wind found in Cumbria in North West England. Hard enough to describe. It's a novel of the wind and it's impact on the area and it's people. It's told from
Book 102 King of Ashes by S A Cosby #BookSky Now I've loved all of Cosby's work so far, but this felt like it wasn't quiet as good as his other novels. I mostly enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Roman is a wealth manager, is called home as his father has had an accident and is in a coma - turns out..
December 17, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Book 102 King of Ashes by S A Cosby #BookSky Now I've loved all of Cosby's work so far, but this felt like it wasn't quiet as good as his other novels. I mostly enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Roman is a wealth manager, is called home as his father has had an accident and is in a coma - turns out..
Book 101 'Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated Eric Ozawa) #BookSky I'm really undecided about the sort of cozy fiction uplifting type genre that is the sort of sub genre that there seems to be a lot of from Japan or Korea. This is one of the better ones, but they all seem
December 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Book 101 'Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated Eric Ozawa) #BookSky I'm really undecided about the sort of cozy fiction uplifting type genre that is the sort of sub genre that there seems to be a lot of from Japan or Korea. This is one of the better ones, but they all seem
Book 100 Seascraper by Benjamin Wood #BookSky 5 star read. Understated, quiet, moving, beautifully written, interesting characters and an interesting story. Tom is a 'shanker' - he lives a hard life with his mother earning from collecting whatever he can catch from the sea using old manual ways.
December 17, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Book 100 Seascraper by Benjamin Wood #BookSky 5 star read. Understated, quiet, moving, beautifully written, interesting characters and an interesting story. Tom is a 'shanker' - he lives a hard life with his mother earning from collecting whatever he can catch from the sea using old manual ways.
Book 99 The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine #BookSky A young woman is sexually assaulted by 3 young men. The story of it's aftermath unfolds through the POV of the mothers of the three young men, the father of the girl, and the girl herself.
Set in Northern Ireland its a story of class, privilege but
Set in Northern Ireland its a story of class, privilege but
December 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Book 99 The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine #BookSky A young woman is sexually assaulted by 3 young men. The story of it's aftermath unfolds through the POV of the mothers of the three young men, the father of the girl, and the girl herself.
Set in Northern Ireland its a story of class, privilege but
Set in Northern Ireland its a story of class, privilege but
Book 98 The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar #BookSky This is a really nice novella - A fairytale about two sisters living near the boundaries between the land of fae and the 'real world'. One (Esther) is pursued by a unwanted suitor, but she is in love with someone from the fae.
December 17, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Book 98 The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar #BookSky This is a really nice novella - A fairytale about two sisters living near the boundaries between the land of fae and the 'real world'. One (Esther) is pursued by a unwanted suitor, but she is in love with someone from the fae.
Book 97 What We Can Know by Ian McEwan #BookSky An interesting novel that I felt I admired rather than loved. Part speculative fiction about a future UK mostly underwater after climate change has writ it's damage. But also a bit of a hunt for a lost poem and a general exploration of how society
December 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Book 97 What We Can Know by Ian McEwan #BookSky An interesting novel that I felt I admired rather than loved. Part speculative fiction about a future UK mostly underwater after climate change has writ it's damage. But also a bit of a hunt for a lost poem and a general exploration of how society
Book 96 Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon #Booksky well this was a ride. My inner reading voice became a Sam Spade type voice. The main character is a PI in 1930s Milwaulkee dipping occasionally into Chicago. He's looking for a missing heiress, but it soon diverts in to odd territory - nazis included
December 6, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Book 96 Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon #Booksky well this was a ride. My inner reading voice became a Sam Spade type voice. The main character is a PI in 1930s Milwaulkee dipping occasionally into Chicago. He's looking for a missing heiress, but it soon diverts in to odd territory - nazis included
Book 95 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy #Booksky This is part an eco novel, part mystery. A woman washes up on a remote island near Antartica. She is saved by a teenage girl who lives on the island with her father and 2 brothers. The father is the caretaker for what was a research station.
December 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Book 95 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy #Booksky This is part an eco novel, part mystery. A woman washes up on a remote island near Antartica. She is saved by a teenage girl who lives on the island with her father and 2 brothers. The father is the caretaker for what was a research station.
Book 94 'We Pretty Pieces of Flesh' by Colwill Brown #Booksky This is a raw but really nice novel about female friendship - it's positives and negatives. It set around 3 friends in Doncaster in England. It is written in the Yorkshire dialect/vernacular, so I can imagine some might struggle with that
December 6, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Book 94 'We Pretty Pieces of Flesh' by Colwill Brown #Booksky This is a raw but really nice novel about female friendship - it's positives and negatives. It set around 3 friends in Doncaster in England. It is written in the Yorkshire dialect/vernacular, so I can imagine some might struggle with that
Book 93 'There is no Antimemtics Division' by Qntm #Booksky Brilliant complicated sci-fi. If you enjoy science fiction that stands out from the crowd, and presents ideas or concepts that might hurt your brain a little this will be one to get. The basic premise is that the world is at war with ideas
December 6, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Book 93 'There is no Antimemtics Division' by Qntm #Booksky Brilliant complicated sci-fi. If you enjoy science fiction that stands out from the crowd, and presents ideas or concepts that might hurt your brain a little this will be one to get. The basic premise is that the world is at war with ideas
Book 92 Water by John Boyne #BookSky First in a quartet of novellas making up 'The Elements'. It focuses on a woman who leaves behind her life with a child abusing husband for anonymity on an Island off West Ireland. A tough subject covered really well.
November 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Book 92 Water by John Boyne #BookSky First in a quartet of novellas making up 'The Elements'. It focuses on a woman who leaves behind her life with a child abusing husband for anonymity on an Island off West Ireland. A tough subject covered really well.
Book 91 Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin #BookSky This was really nice. I was actually thinking it was too short. That it could have been an epic family saga type novel, but it worked nicely as it was. It time jumped now and then to bring the story from start to now, but it was such a nice ending
November 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Book 91 Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin #BookSky This was really nice. I was actually thinking it was too short. That it could have been an epic family saga type novel, but it worked nicely as it was. It time jumped now and then to bring the story from start to now, but it was such a nice ending
Book 90 Up The Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History by Emma Warren #BookSky Yeah, a niche read. I'm a youth worker so this book that's partly a history of youth clubs, but mainly about youth clubs benefit young people, and more specifically how they have been a big cultural influence in the UK
November 14, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Book 90 Up The Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History by Emma Warren #BookSky Yeah, a niche read. I'm a youth worker so this book that's partly a history of youth clubs, but mainly about youth clubs benefit young people, and more specifically how they have been a big cultural influence in the UK
Have purchased these annuals for my mother each Christmas for the last 40 or so years. Each year they seem a little less available, and the year she's not there to receive them creeps closer. She doesn't read books, but always has a magazine, does the puzzles and reads the short stories
November 8, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Have purchased these annuals for my mother each Christmas for the last 40 or so years. Each year they seem a little less available, and the year she's not there to receive them creeps closer. She doesn't read books, but always has a magazine, does the puzzles and reads the short stories
Book 89 The Catch by Yras DaleyWard #BookSky The protagonist is an acclaimed author, she has a twin sister. Their mother left the family home when they were very young leaving them both to be fostered/adopted in different homes & having different upbringings. In their 30s the author twin sees a
November 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Book 89 The Catch by Yras DaleyWard #BookSky The protagonist is an acclaimed author, she has a twin sister. Their mother left the family home when they were very young leaving them both to be fostered/adopted in different homes & having different upbringings. In their 30s the author twin sees a
Book 88 Reign of Terror: The 1st Corgi Book of Great Victorian Horror Stories. Edited by Michael Parry #BookSky A charity shop find that seemed a good read for Halloween week. Alas, they weren't 'great' horro stories. There was one from Charles Dickens and another from Elizabeth Gaskell that were
November 8, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Book 88 Reign of Terror: The 1st Corgi Book of Great Victorian Horror Stories. Edited by Michael Parry #BookSky A charity shop find that seemed a good read for Halloween week. Alas, they weren't 'great' horro stories. There was one from Charles Dickens and another from Elizabeth Gaskell that were
Book 87 The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman #BookSky This what it is. If you've read one and didn't like it chances are you won't like this. Obviously to be on to the 5th one, I like them. They're light easy reading, lightly humerous and all round enjoyable. The crew have to crack a code
November 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Book 87 The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman #BookSky This what it is. If you've read one and didn't like it chances are you won't like this. Obviously to be on to the 5th one, I like them. They're light easy reading, lightly humerous and all round enjoyable. The crew have to crack a code
Book 86 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb #BookSky I think I put my expectations too high for this. And as I'm probably a bit of a wierdo, I didn't think it was grim enough - it feels like Lamb pulled his punches a little. Apart from one jail scene, it was the opening and the endings sections
November 8, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Book 86 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb #BookSky I think I put my expectations too high for this. And as I'm probably a bit of a wierdo, I didn't think it was grim enough - it feels like Lamb pulled his punches a little. Apart from one jail scene, it was the opening and the endings sections