Louise
@selkies.bsky.social
Illustrator & melt of Dublin, now in Brussels.
Please assume I am not talking about the US.
selkiesstudio.com
Please assume I am not talking about the US.
selkiesstudio.com
I really enjoyed this - some of the meta textual experiments worked better than others but I like the feeling of not knowing where things are going (an awareness that the author is deciding as you're reading even?)
Especially delighted that I nearly spent €24 on it then found it in the library hehe
Especially delighted that I nearly spent €24 on it then found it in the library hehe
February 7, 2026 at 4:46 PM
I really enjoyed this - some of the meta textual experiments worked better than others but I like the feeling of not knowing where things are going (an awareness that the author is deciding as you're reading even?)
Especially delighted that I nearly spent €24 on it then found it in the library hehe
Especially delighted that I nearly spent €24 on it then found it in the library hehe
Did my bit for cross-border cohesion with a view to stabilising Irish reunification (made fifteens)
February 7, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Did my bit for cross-border cohesion with a view to stabilising Irish reunification (made fifteens)
I loved the concept but:
I think you can't do second person narration and depend on vague memories, it loses the immediacy.
I also think it tries too hard to be profound and abstract when the strongest parts are plainly written. Enough for a short story, shouldn't have been thinned into a novella.
I think you can't do second person narration and depend on vague memories, it loses the immediacy.
I also think it tries too hard to be profound and abstract when the strongest parts are plainly written. Enough for a short story, shouldn't have been thinned into a novella.
February 6, 2026 at 4:38 PM
I loved the concept but:
I think you can't do second person narration and depend on vague memories, it loses the immediacy.
I also think it tries too hard to be profound and abstract when the strongest parts are plainly written. Enough for a short story, shouldn't have been thinned into a novella.
I think you can't do second person narration and depend on vague memories, it loses the immediacy.
I also think it tries too hard to be profound and abstract when the strongest parts are plainly written. Enough for a short story, shouldn't have been thinned into a novella.
Shocked SHOCKED to see this in the sale section
February 4, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Shocked SHOCKED to see this in the sale section
I really like Blakemore's prose, she makes some very interesting and unexpected choices that keep you on your toes, but to be honest I can't say I enjoyed a narrative that leapt at every opportunity to include animal abuse, it put me off picking the thing up after a certain point
February 2, 2026 at 10:51 AM
I really like Blakemore's prose, she makes some very interesting and unexpected choices that keep you on your toes, but to be honest I can't say I enjoyed a narrative that leapt at every opportunity to include animal abuse, it put me off picking the thing up after a certain point
Beannachtaí na féile Bríde! Happy Spring! Big Imbolc!
February 1, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Beannachtaí na féile Bríde! Happy Spring! Big Imbolc!
Generate podcast??? Why the fuck is Adobe even giving me this option?? The document I have open is a receipt from the printers
January 27, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Generate podcast??? Why the fuck is Adobe even giving me this option?? The document I have open is a receipt from the printers
I was very glad to have this Belgian banger lined up next let me tell you.
Really dug this, reminds me of The Wall by Marlen Huashofer in a few ways. The hype is warranted.
Honestly no notes except THE TRANSLATOR CREDIT GOES ON THE COVER IT IS 2026 LADS
Really dug this, reminds me of The Wall by Marlen Huashofer in a few ways. The hype is warranted.
Honestly no notes except THE TRANSLATOR CREDIT GOES ON THE COVER IT IS 2026 LADS
January 24, 2026 at 9:50 AM
I was very glad to have this Belgian banger lined up next let me tell you.
Really dug this, reminds me of The Wall by Marlen Huashofer in a few ways. The hype is warranted.
Honestly no notes except THE TRANSLATOR CREDIT GOES ON THE COVER IT IS 2026 LADS
Really dug this, reminds me of The Wall by Marlen Huashofer in a few ways. The hype is warranted.
Honestly no notes except THE TRANSLATOR CREDIT GOES ON THE COVER IT IS 2026 LADS
I found this one very disappointing! For all the rave reviews calling it poetic, I found the writing repetitive and unambitious, and the plot inconsistencies become grating. Possibly most importantly (to me) this is not folk horror! Straight in to gore & child abuse from page one is not folk horror!
January 23, 2026 at 5:42 PM
I found this one very disappointing! For all the rave reviews calling it poetic, I found the writing repetitive and unambitious, and the plot inconsistencies become grating. Possibly most importantly (to me) this is not folk horror! Straight in to gore & child abuse from page one is not folk horror!
I think Dr Kelson is the poshest a person can be without it being annoying, do you know what I mean. Any posher than this and it falls apart.
January 21, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I think Dr Kelson is the poshest a person can be without it being annoying, do you know what I mean. Any posher than this and it falls apart.
So what do we think, is Sir Jimmy Crystal a rare adult blonde or are they scavenging Clairol Nice'N Easy for him (I do not think this is meant to be a wig)
January 21, 2026 at 1:47 PM
So what do we think, is Sir Jimmy Crystal a rare adult blonde or are they scavenging Clairol Nice'N Easy for him (I do not think this is meant to be a wig)
There was a brief period when I was a teenager where both my parents were doing courses on a Saturday and my little sister and I would go to The Epicurean Food Hall until they were finished.
She'd get the italian buffet and I'd get something riskier/more exotic and we slowly checked off every stall.
She'd get the italian buffet and I'd get something riskier/more exotic and we slowly checked off every stall.
January 19, 2026 at 12:46 PM
There was a brief period when I was a teenager where both my parents were doing courses on a Saturday and my little sister and I would go to The Epicurean Food Hall until they were finished.
She'd get the italian buffet and I'd get something riskier/more exotic and we slowly checked off every stall.
She'd get the italian buffet and I'd get something riskier/more exotic and we slowly checked off every stall.
We've a load of apples from my friend's dad's garden on their last legs and a load of soft blueberries (swindled by Aldi) to use up so you know what that means! Big Compote of a Sunday
January 18, 2026 at 10:26 AM
We've a load of apples from my friend's dad's garden on their last legs and a load of soft blueberries (swindled by Aldi) to use up so you know what that means! Big Compote of a Sunday
I was put off this because of the amount of praise it got on release (& I used to work in translation so was a bit sceptical) but it was v entertaining
This is what adults who can't wean themselves off Harry Potter should read - the good bits you remember from HP but also hates the British Empire
This is what adults who can't wean themselves off Harry Potter should read - the good bits you remember from HP but also hates the British Empire
January 17, 2026 at 2:43 PM
I was put off this because of the amount of praise it got on release (& I used to work in translation so was a bit sceptical) but it was v entertaining
This is what adults who can't wean themselves off Harry Potter should read - the good bits you remember from HP but also hates the British Empire
This is what adults who can't wean themselves off Harry Potter should read - the good bits you remember from HP but also hates the British Empire
BTW gang I would especially like to do more editorial/print stuff this year (I'm good at it and all)
More examples on selkiesstudio.com
More examples on selkiesstudio.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:25 AM
BTW gang I would especially like to do more editorial/print stuff this year (I'm good at it and all)
More examples on selkiesstudio.com
More examples on selkiesstudio.com
This is my favourite type of novella - ambitious but written tight as a drum, and doesn't feel the need to lay its cards out too much.
This copy is secondhand and from the previous owner's notes in the margins they were very lost which actually really added to the experience
This copy is secondhand and from the previous owner's notes in the margins they were very lost which actually really added to the experience
January 10, 2026 at 11:01 AM
This is my favourite type of novella - ambitious but written tight as a drum, and doesn't feel the need to lay its cards out too much.
This copy is secondhand and from the previous owner's notes in the margins they were very lost which actually really added to the experience
This copy is secondhand and from the previous owner's notes in the margins they were very lost which actually really added to the experience
BETTER!!
THE FOOD OF THE DUBS
THE FOOD OF THE DUBS
January 9, 2026 at 7:05 PM
BETTER!!
THE FOOD OF THE DUBS
THE FOOD OF THE DUBS
There's a gas thing that happens over email where people see my little beir bua and they give me a le gach deá ghuí back, and then we're a chara this and le cúnamh dé that to test the waters and then gan aon dul as the email thread is fully in Irish
January 9, 2026 at 3:19 PM
There's a gas thing that happens over email where people see my little beir bua and they give me a le gach deá ghuí back, and then we're a chara this and le cúnamh dé that to test the waters and then gan aon dul as the email thread is fully in Irish
Do youse want to hear something absolutely devastating. We got a big voucher for a bookshop in Brussels as a wedding present (delightful) and I just braved Storm Goretti to go there only to be told the voucher can only be used in the UK
January 9, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Do youse want to hear something absolutely devastating. We got a big voucher for a bookshop in Brussels as a wedding present (delightful) and I just braved Storm Goretti to go there only to be told the voucher can only be used in the UK
This wasn't really my thing: most of it was too abstract to really get into, and I think some of the poetry felt like it was thrown in for the pagecount.
I think the initial scene-setting goes on for fqr too long but last third is by far the strongest so I am glad I finished it.
I think the initial scene-setting goes on for fqr too long but last third is by far the strongest so I am glad I finished it.
January 8, 2026 at 4:40 PM
This wasn't really my thing: most of it was too abstract to really get into, and I think some of the poetry felt like it was thrown in for the pagecount.
I think the initial scene-setting goes on for fqr too long but last third is by far the strongest so I am glad I finished it.
I think the initial scene-setting goes on for fqr too long but last third is by far the strongest so I am glad I finished it.