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veritysalter.bsky.social
veritysalter
@veritysalter.bsky.social
220 followers 280 following 200 posts
Yorkshire, I love reading, travel, home and my dogs
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A beautiful scene in the garden at sunset, as the last rays hit the beech trees. #nature #beech #sunset #yorkshire
A view of the beech trees in the garden at sunset, the leaves that have begun to turn yellow for autumn are glowing in the early evening sun.
September 23, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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On a wet and thundery Thursday I am recovering from gallbladder surgery, reading in bed with the dogs, there snoring is proving to be calming and soporific. I’ve had ‘Nightbitch’ on my TBR for a while now, I’m hoping a bit of female rage will take my mind off my aches and pains #booksky 💙📚#books
Book cover of the UK paperback edition of ‘Nightbitch’ by Rachel Yoder, published by Vintage. Cover depicts the lower portion of a woman’s face, her nose, red painted lips and upper teeth. The title is across the top of the cover and author’s name at the bottom, both is a solid capitalised black font. The quotes are: “I tore through it” by Lisa McInerney and “Feral, unholy… incredible” by Carmen Maria Machdo. The book is resting on my legs, in bed, there is a green waffle blanket, by my feet are my Frenchies Pablo and Dotty, sleeping.
September 4, 2025 at 1:48 PM
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The best message to get. When your child becomes a reader too and asks for recommendations. #booksky #horrorbooks #horrorreading #reading #book 💙📚
A text message conversation between me and my son. Him: I really enjoyed fight club, really good Christmas present even tho I read it months later. Him: What other chuck books do you have? Him: reply to his original message to add “Thank you” Me: I’ve definitely got Haunted as a physical book xx Me: I think I’ve got invisible monsters too, I’ll have a look and pop them in your room. If you want any getting let me know xx Book cover of Chuck Palahniuk ‘Haunted’ - a painted image of a young woman’s face, eyes wide and open mouthed in shock. Book cover of Chuck Palahniuk ‘Invisible Monsters’ - a white background with woman’s eye and eyebrow in the bottom left.
August 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
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The garden is teeming with birds today, I caught this blackbird having a rest after eating his fill from the feeder (the ever vigilant robin must have been occupied elsewhere) #birdsky #yorkshire
A Eurasian Blackbird perches on the twisted stem of a Wisteria, against the backdrop of a limestone wall. To the left are the trailing purple flowers of the wisteria and a brass outdoor light, below is a wicker garden chair with grey cushions, and a bay tree.
May 7, 2025 at 8:26 PM
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A fabulous mystery told in four parts, each involving strange pictures that hide a truth. A very different whodunnit from what I’m used to, but incredibly enjoyable to examine and guess along.i look forward to Uketsu’s next book ‘Strange Houses’. 💙📚 #booksky @pushkinpress.com
Book cover: ‘Strange Pictures’ by Uketsu. This is the UK translated edition. The outer sides of the cover are a bold and bright red, there is a thick black outline of a bento box, beneath the outline, the inner compartments are a lime green. The top rectangle contains the books title in black text, the two compartments below, one contains a piece of sushi, nigiri style, a rectangle of rice with a partial octopus/squid tentacle, held together by a band of nori, the next compartment is the familiar little plastic fish bottle with a red cap containing soy sauce. Red liquid (blood) pools and drips down from this compartment. The next box below, and below that to the right is Japanese writing in Kanji (I have assumed the title and author, but do not know). The final box to the bottom left contains the author’s name Uketsu and adds “the chilling Japanese mystery sensation” and there is a small motif of the publisher Pushkin Vertigo
May 4, 2025 at 8:48 PM
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My first read from @wildhuntbooks.bsky.social The Northern Weird Project. After the loss of their child, Simon and Priya take refuge in a rundown cottage in North Yorkshire, events get progressively stranger as they find it impossible to leave. I loved this novella, hooked immediately. 💙📚 #booksky
Book cover. ‘This House isn’t Haunted But We Are’ by Stephen Howard. The cover of this UK published novella is a striking mid green, with text in a good yellow. The title takes up three quarters of the cover, the last line disappearing in to the roof of a roof of a stone built bungalow cottage. The house is symmetrical, with a central door and a window to either side, and two chimneys, one at each apex of the roof. The windows are brightly lit and within each is a silhouette, one of a man and the other a woman. The foreground is dark landscape, within that is the author’s name. This cover is in a similar style to the other books by the publisher Wild Hunt Books and is part of their six book set that makes up ‘The Northern Weird Project’.
May 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
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Set in the wild and remote landscape of the rural English north, Margot and her Mama live an isolated life, feeding on the strays they find, until one becomes a permanent fixture and changes their lives forever. Themes of abuse and cannibalism, family dynamics. A gripping page turner 💙📚 #booksky
Book cover. ‘The Lamb’ by Lucy Rose. This is the UK hardback edition. The top portion of this cover is ivory, with black writing. At the top are the quotes: “Stunning and surprising” Benjamin Myers and “Deliciously dark and shockingly bold” Kirsty Logan. Below that is the books title title “The” is in italic font. Then there is a cross section of a piece of meat, with the red run through with the marbling of fat, below this is the author’s name. The lower portion of the cover is a painting. The naked back of a brunette, white skinned woman is seated in a bed, her lower half enveloped in a mid blue duvet. She faces woodchip walls and a window, covered by closed gingham curtains. To her left, too dark to see clearly is a painting and perhaps a curtain covering a doorway.
May 4, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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‘Crimson’, also released as ‘Last Night in Nuuk’ tells the intertwined stories of five friends in Greenland’s capital, each story revolves around a single, drunken night that led to consequences, some good, some bad. Themes of queerness and gender identity and modern friendship 5 stars 💙📚 #booksky
Book cover. ‘Crimson’ by Nivaq Korneliussen. This UK paperback translation has a vivid acid yellow cover, central is a square photograph. The photograph shows the partial back view of a woman. Her black hair, the white skin of her neck and her shoulder in a red shirt or dress, in her raised hand, she holds a lit cigarette. The woman appears to be standing by a door frame, from which the nose, mouth and chin of another person can be seen. The top of the cover has the quotes: “A fizzing read about sex and identity set in Greenland” The Economist, “Ferocious, inventive and unlike anything I’ve read” Sophie Mackintosh and “Transports us to a cold homeland where the blood runs hot” Guardian. Below the this is the books title “Crimson” and the author’s name. Below the photograph are more quotes: “Beautifully told” Elle, “Effortlessly Cool” Sharlene Tea, “Strikingly modern” New Yorker
May 4, 2025 at 5:57 PM
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Sloane and Naomi are Best Friends Forever; a long weekend away and an enigmatic group of strangers put their friendship to the test. A vampire novel, interwoven with the trials and tests of female friendship - wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed this one 💙📚 #booksky #vampires @titanbooks.bsky.social
Cover of a book. ‘So Thirsty’ by Rachel Harrison. This UK paperback is predominantly black, the author’s name appears at the top in red text. Below that is a drawing of a crystal goblet/cocktail glass, overflowing with a bright red liquid. A moon and bat cocktail stick protrudes at a jaunty angle, a spill of the red liquid is shown at the base of the stem. Across this image in white text is the title ‘So Thirsty’, the ‘so’ is in italic font. Across the bottom it says “ Harrison’s feminist horror novels some of the most original and entertaining out there” THE NEW YORK TIMES
May 4, 2025 at 5:43 PM
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A pleasant afternoon in Yorkshire, Pablo is lounging in the sun. We have spotted our first swifts of the year. #yorkshire #dogsofbluesky
Pied black and white French Bulldog Pablo lies on the lawn in front of a stone wall and border of plants on a pleasant spring afternoon in Yorkshire, England.
May 3, 2025 at 2:10 PM
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So excited for tonight’s theatre: Gary Oldman performing Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett. Oldman is returning to The Theatre Royal, York, where he made his acting debut in 1979. #theatre #york #krappslasttape
Promotional poster for York Theatre Royal’s performance of Krapp’s Last Tape. A greyscale photograph of a hand holding an unspooling recording tape. The name of the star performer, Gary Oldman, is in an orange/yellow text to the top right, below that the name of the play and that it was written by Samuel Beckett and by arrangement of Douglas Urbanski. The dates Saturday 19 April - Saturday 17 May are in the bottom left corner.
April 19, 2025 at 11:35 AM
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Piglet’s carefully ordered and planned life dissolves in to mania when her finances confesses a betrayal to her thirteen days before their wedding. Beautiful descriptions of food and cooking are abound, but so is disorder eating. Food and friendship vie with greed and untruths 💙📚 #booksky
Photograph of a book - ‘Piglet’ by Lottie Hazell. The black text of the title ‘PIGLET’ is set against a pale pink background, below the title is a stack of five sugared doughnuts on a purple plate; the doughnuts are liberally sprinkled with white sugar and alternate in a pink, purple and yellow dripping glaze. Blows the title in smaller text is “A New York Times, Stylist and Elle ‘Best Book’”. To the right of the picture of doughnuts is the strap line “Her life is so full, so why is she hungry?” A the bottom of the cover is the author’s name and the black, orange and white logo of the publishers Penguin. To the right of the slightly foreshortened cover, the black edge of the proceeding page can be seen, with the comments - “Insightful” by Mail on Sunday “Satisfying” by iNews “Tantalizing” by New York Times
April 17, 2025 at 11:22 AM
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A village in the Silesian Mountains dedicated to the treatment of Tuberculosis; an eclectic group staying at Herr Opitz’s Guesthouse for Gentlemen and an unrelenting sense of doom, not limited to the poor and fragile health of the occupants. A wonderful and tense read 💙📚 #booksky #folkhorror
Photograph of a book. ‘The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story’ by Olga Tokarczuk. The book cover is the cobalt blue of all Fitzcarraldo Edition fiction novels, with the title and author’s name across the middle in white text. We are also told that Olga Tokarczuk is a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Embosses on the bottom of the cover is the emblem of Fitzcarraldo editions, a bell with a central ‘F’ within a circle.
April 17, 2025 at 11:04 AM
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Laughs aplenty at this explicitly funny play, I now understand why they emailed me to say the age rating had been changed to 18! I can imagine there’ll be some awkward conversations after this one. Loved it. #theunicorn #garricktheatre #london #westend #play
Poster for ‘The Unicorn’ at the Garrick Theatre, London. Written by Mike Bartlett and produced by James MacDonald. A vivid yellow background, the actors: Nicola Walker, Erin Doherty and Stephen Mangan, all dressed in black, are seated closely together, their hands joined.
April 5, 2025 at 6:09 AM
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Another trip to London, we’re to see ‘The Unicorn’ at the Garrick Theatre tonight. Starting ‘The Empusium’ by Olga Tokarczuk on my train journey, I very much enjoyed ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’. #fitzcarraldo 💙📚 #booksky #horror #horrorreading
Photograph of a book. ‘The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story’ by Olga Tokarczuk. The book cover is the cobalt blue of all Fitzcarraldo Edition fiction novels, with the title and author’s name across the middle in white text. We are also told that Olga Tokarczuk is a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Embosses on the bottom of the cover is the emblem of Fitzcarraldo editions, a bell with a central ‘F’ within a circle. The book is resting on a table on an LNER train, with a glass of gin and tonic to the side, also there is a miniature of Masons of Yorkshire gin and a Britvic light tonic. In the background my husband reads April 2025 edition of Monocle magazine.
April 4, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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Another 5⭐️ book by Nat Cassidy. ‘When the Wolf Comes Home’ takes complicated familial and social themes and emotions and expresses them through the fantastical; with the help of fairy stories and lots of gore. A true horror for one’s humanity. The afterword is a must. 💙📚 #booksky
Photograph of me holding a book. This is the UK paperback edition of Nat Cassidy’s ‘When the Wolf Comes Home’. The cover is predominantly black; a drawing of a wolf, with glowing red eyes and an open fanged mouth stands within a red box/doorway, below the wolf in grey tones are descending steps, the title in white font is written one word to each step, ending with the authors name in red text. At the top right is a quote from Tananarive Due “Brims with both horror and heart”.
April 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM
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A nice day in the garden in Yorkshire. After moving in almost a year ago, we’re ready to finally start planting.
A limestone wall with a flowerbed beneath, a spade is stuck in the earth, surrounded by plants, some planted, others still in pots.
March 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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A wonderful performance of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ at #grandoperahouseyork last night. The acting is intentionally “hammy”, comedic moments in with the drama. The set design is phenomenal, with the stage truly turned in to the carriages - magical viewing #theatre #york #ATG
Image shows the poster for ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ by Agatha Christie, adapted for stage by Ken Ludwig and directed by Lucy Barley. The image is a head-on view of the famous luxury steam train, in greyscale. The str rising from its funnel is a rich blood read and within the steam the blade of a dagger is visible. Below this image is the title of the play, in capital letters, the text turns from black to the same vivid read in a left to right diagonal .
March 29, 2025 at 8:05 AM
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This arrived yesterday, it took all
my will power not to ditch everything and dive in. Wednesday is done, pyjamas on and in a comfy chair - time to start. 💙📚 #booksky #whenthewolfcomeshome #wtwch #natcassidy #horrorbook #horror
Photograph of me holding a book. This is the UK paperback edition of Nat Cassidy’s ‘When the Wolf Comes Home’. The cover is predominantly black; a drawing of a wolf, with glowing red eyes and an open fanged mouth stands within a red box/doorway, below the wolf in grey tones are descending steps, the title in white font is written one word to each step, ending with the authors name in red text. At the top right is a quote from Tananarive Due “Brims with both horror and heart”.
March 26, 2025 at 7:51 PM
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I don’t know what it is about the #dreamharbour series. I bought the first for that #gilmoregirls nostalgia and now I’m hooked. Book 4 was more of the same, small town misunderstanding and romance (with lots of sex). Perfect escapism for 300+ pages. 💙📚 #booksky #gilmore
Photograph of me holding a book. ‘The Strawberry Patch Pancake House’ by Laurie Gilmore. This UK paperback features the drawn front of a cafe, the walls of the building are timbered, red with white supports. The title of the book is shown as a timber sign, painted cream with scalloped green edges. To the right is a pink flowering tree. The blue door to the cafe is partially open, next to that is a white diamond paned window; below that is a a laid table, with a red gingham tablecloth and two wooden chairs. Below the title is the strap line “Love blossoms in the most unexpected places…”. To the bottom of the cover is the author name ‘Laurie Gilmore’ and ‘The Sunday Times Bestseller”.
March 26, 2025 at 7:44 PM
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Wow. A post climate disaster apocalyptic novel, with no food, water or safety, a young woman seeks shelter within the walls of the Sacred Sisterhood, yearning for Enlightenment & hoping to avoid punishment. This book is brutal & dark. It will stay with me.💙📚 #booksky #theunworthy @pushkinpress.com
Photograph of a book: ‘The Unworthy’ by Augustina Bazterrica. Translated by Sarah Moses and published by Pushkin Press. This UK hardback features a red background with a large blue oval. In the oval is the photograph of a woman, her head, hair and shoulders. The long red-haired woman’s face is covered by a hand, the hand is blue toned, fingers splayed, a cockroach stands below the index finger. Her face is further obscured by a black void. The title is split “THE” and “UNWORTHY” featuring in black text is separate white boxes. The publishers name is featured in small text in the top right corner of the cover. The author name is to the bottom in white text, it also says “author of Tender is the Flesh”.
March 19, 2025 at 9:45 AM
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Dotty having an afternoon of sitting oddly and thinking deep thoughts #dogsofbluesky #blueskydogs
My French Bulldog, Dotty. She had chosen to sit fully on her bottom, with her two back legs stuck out along the wooden floor, she is in an upright position, resting her weight on her front paws. Her face looks as thoughtful as it is possible for a Frenchie to look (slightly melancholic?), her focus is just to the side of the camera. Dotty is a brindle-pied Frenchie, predominantly white, with a brown muzzle, and brown over her eyes and ears.
March 16, 2025 at 9:06 PM
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A slow paced, but exquisite Japanese crime novel from 1958. Two bodies are found on a beach, suicide is presumed, but a young detective from Tokyo is not so sure. This is my second novel from Seichō Matsumoto, his attention to detail and description is sublime. 💙📚 #booksky
Photograph of a book: ‘Tokyo Express’ by Seichō Matsumoto, translated by Jesse Kirkwood and published by Penguin Books. This Penguin Classics paperback is in their tradition pale sage green, with the imprint, authors name and book title in a simple white font. Below is a black and white photograph of a young Japanese woman, seated in a train carriage and looking out of the window, the train tacks are visible through the distorted glass. On the cover leaf, it says that the photograph was taken by Werner Bischof, a Swiss photo journalist.
March 16, 2025 at 8:59 PM
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‘That’ll Teach Her’ by Maz Evans - a lighthearted (!) murder mystery that will have you attempting to solve the crime with the help of the parents’ the group chat. A fun read that will keep you guessing.
Photograph of a book. ‘That’ll Teach Her’ by Maz Evens, published by Headline. This hardback book cover is pale green, the title is across the centre in red font. Below the title is a drawing of a wooden desk, on the desk is a red apple, with a single leaf attached to the stem. Below the desk is a pool of red blood and to the side is the lower half of a presumably dead woman, her feet in high heels and part of a skirt can be seen. The strap line, spaced across the cover is: “One dead Headmistress. Four suspects. Can the parents’ group chat solve the crime?”. There are recommendations “Deliciously funny” by Martina Cole and “pure fun in book form” by C.L. Miller at the top. The book is on my glass coffee table, propped against a large round grey vase, filled with eucalyptus and mistletoe. The background is my sitting room, limestone walls and a cream wood-burning stove, it is out of focus.
March 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
veritysalter.bsky.social
A wonderful nonfiction read. Explores the history of houses in film, literature and real life; how superstition can be attached to architecture and how architecture can affect our lives and perceptions. 💙📚 #booksky
Photograph of a book. ‘Sick Houses: Haunted Homes & the Architecture of Dread’ by Leila Taylor, published by Repeater Books. The cover of this paperback is bright red; it features a black and greyscale drawing of a house in the American Gothic style, with a round windowed turret and covered, balustraded porch. The house is mirrored horizontally. From the top left corner of the house emerges a hand holding a sharp kitchen knife, from the bottom right is a chainsaw, dangling from chain links. The text is printed across the image and is white, the title in capital letters and the subtitle in an uneven, wonky font like that of a typewriter. The author’s name appears in red, covering the bottom (mirrored) part of the house and the publishers logo is in black in the bottom right corner. The book is on my glass coffee table, propped against a large round grey vase, filled with eucalyptus and mistletoe. The background is my sitting room, limestone walls and a cream wood-burning stove, it is out of focus.
March 16, 2025 at 8:32 PM