\n\n… who subscribe to a set of authoritarian ideas and plans for the future based on half-baked theories and an incomplete understanding of how the world works.
\n
Laura Miller in Slate, reviewing Gil Durán. Surely any “understanding of how the world works” is necessarily incomplete?
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/18/who-subscribe-to-a-set.html","date_published":"2026-08-18T11:42:52+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"11:42","date_timestamp":1787053372,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mte5donluo2g"]}},{"id":"95908956","content_html":"Today I couldn’t get my dinky little toy HP wireless printer (which I tend to use at least once most years) to connect to the wireless router and I discovered the previously unsuspected fact that I can connect to it straight from the Mac without going through a router. What’ll they think of next?
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/17/today-i-couldnt-get-my.html","date_published":"2026-08-17T11:44:08+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-17 11:44","date_timestamp":1786967048,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mtbmsv43q72j"]}},{"id":"95809737","content_html":"@JohnPhilpin You’re right, it’s definitely London: references to “the underground” and even the “tube” make that clear. (That’s a relief.) As far as I remember, I heard that the song was based on Pete Townshend’s personal experiences when I watched a tv interview with him maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I’m pretty sure the interviewer mentioned that it had all happened in New York, but perhaps he was making an assumption, based on the two ambiguous syllables. I’m glad to have mentally relocated the song where it belongs.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/95809737","date_published":"2026-08-15T09:40:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-15 09:40","date_timestamp":1786786815,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95788096","content_html":"@JohnPhilpin Because it’s Daltry singing, I assumed for a long time without thinking too deeply that he rather than Townshend was the one “throwing punches around”. Silly, really: I should have checked the writing credit. Also a bit disappointed to learn that the doorway was in SoHo rather than Soho W1.
\nThe Who is probably the band my opinion of whom has changed most over the last 50-odd years. I loved them in my youth; watched a concert on tv a few years ago and thought they looked (and sounded) like a group of bank managers.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/95788096","date_published":"2026-08-14T22:14:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-14 22:14","date_timestamp":1786745657,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95690336","content_html":"\n\nthe hard left will always pair a conceivably popular economic programme with a provably hated cultural one. The mystery is why.
\n
Janan Ganesh, FT No mystery. They’re terrified of having to implement the (conceivably popular) economic programme. Capitalism is how they get paid.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/13/the-hard-left-will-always.html","date_published":"2026-08-13T09:07:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-13 09:07","date_timestamp":1786612073,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3msxcbh53io2r"]}},{"id":"95472067","content_html":"I like to remind myself every so often that Leopold Bloom was the same age (38) on 16 June 1904 as Cleopatra was in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/09/i-like-to-remind-myself.html","date_published":"2026-08-09T21:31:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-09 21:31","date_timestamp":1786311074,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3msojvbuvyh2v"]}},{"id":"95465477","content_html":"“A small disturbance, quickly ironed out”: Helen Dunmore, Burning Bright: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"In Helen Dunmore’s second novel, Burning Bright, the lives of two women, two generations apart, are intertwined with those of two pimps and a powerful politician, but not in the expected ways.","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/09/a-small-disturbance-quickly-ironed.html","date_published":"2026-08-09T19:19:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-09 19:19","date_timestamp":1786303144,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3msocjnxjyt2i"]}},{"id":"95378698","content_html":"According to this Guardian headline, Sam Neill filmed role in Legend of Zelda film adaptation before his death. A “dog bites man” story if ever I heard one. How often does an actor film a role after his/her death?
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/08/according-to-this-guardian-headline.html","date_published":"2026-08-07T23:26:22+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-07 23:26","date_timestamp":1786145182,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3msjpid2ntn2u"]}},{"id":"95113064","content_html":"@rogerscrafford I’m a bit relieved to hear that it might not just be me.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/95113064","date_published":"2026-08-03T10:15:25+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-03 10:15","date_timestamp":1785752125,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95113028","content_html":"@mjkaul I hadn’t heard of Stemeseder before. Very glad to have “discovered” him. I find Richard Williams’s blog excellent.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/95113028","date_published":"2026-08-03T10:14:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-03 10:14","date_timestamp":1785752044,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95031987","content_html":"I’ve finally finished reading At Swim-Two-Birds. I first attempted it at least 56 years ago and didn’t return to it till earlier this year. I kind of hate it: it’s bleak and depressing, the humour sour when not merely silly. Heavy going for a mere 228 pages. I’ll reread soon in case I’m wrong 📚
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/08/01/ive-finally-finished-reading-at.html","date_published":"2026-08-01T15:03:20+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-01 15:03","date_timestamp":1785596600,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mrzqidnqla2t"]}},{"id":"94924528","content_html":"For several years now, I’ve preferred to buy albums on CD. Elias Stemeseder and Thomas Morgan, Io Pur Respiro is available only as a download or on vinyl so I bought the download. Here’s Richard Williams’s review 🎶 🎹
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/30/for-several-years-now-ive.html","date_published":"2026-07-30T17:26:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-30 17:26","date_timestamp":1785432389,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mruxlgebek24"]}},{"id":"94916045","content_html":"@manton I believe something like that too but also that, whatever happens, our predictions will turn out to be wrong (as they usually have in the past).
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/94916045","date_published":"2026-07-30T14:52:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-30 14:52","date_timestamp":1785423138,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94729916","content_html":"Human subjects: Mick Herron, Down Cemetery Road and Smoke and Whispers: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Slow Horses author Mick Herron began is writing career with a series of crime novels featuring Oxford-based private detective, Zoë Boehm. The protagonist of first and last books in the four-book series is Zoë’s friend Sarah Tucker.","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/27/human-subjects-mick-herron-down.html","date_published":"2026-07-27T11:32:11+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-27 11:32","date_timestamp":1785151931,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mrmseymq7a2k"]}},{"id":"94639201","content_html":"@manton @devilgate It might make sense to allow in replies a limited set of HTML tags (such as <cite>) which don’t have Markdown equivalents.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/94639201","date_published":"2026-07-25T13:05:11+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-25 13:05","date_timestamp":1784984711,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93884822","content_html":"An ever-increasing gloom: Susie Steiner’s Manon Bradshaw series: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Susie Steiner’s three Manon Bradshaw novels were published between 2016 and 2020, the last of them appearing just two years before Steiner’s death.","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/12/an-everincreasing-gloom-susie-steiners.html","date_published":"2026-07-12T17:14:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-12 17:14","date_timestamp":1783876484,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mqhojyndw42m"]}},{"id":"93701175","content_html":"Farrago doesn’t “find comedy funny”. That’s all you need to know — though in fact we all know plenty more than that about him by now.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/09/farrago-doesnt-find-comedy-funny.html","date_published":"2026-07-09T10:52:07+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-09 10:52","date_timestamp":1783594327,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mq7hpss3bi2m"]}},{"id":"93364816","content_html":"@adders Not convinced. I never made a lot of noise on LinkedIn but don’t think I could honestly claim to have been doing much good, useful or productive work instead 🤷🏻♂️ It’s probably true that if you’re making a lot of noise on LinkedIn, then you’re not doing anything useful but the converse doesn’t necessarily follow.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/93364816","date_published":"2026-07-03T10:58:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 10:58","date_timestamp":1783076312,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93364170","content_html":"It’s been 14 years since I’ve been in London (or any part of the UK), so obviously I don’t keep up with what’s on in the theatre. When I wrote about Stoppard’s Arcadia a month ago, I didn’t know the play was about to be revived in the West End. My uncharacteristic timeliness was sheer accident 🎭
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/03/its-been-years-since-ive.html","date_published":"2026-07-03T10:41:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 10:41","date_timestamp":1783075316,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mpqeexpnba26"]}},{"id":"93302605","content_html":"\n\nRecommended Wynn Williams’s book [Careless People] to a friend, who bought it. A little poke in the eye for Facebook.
\n
So comments Charles Arthur, The Overspill
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/07/02/recommended-wynn-williamss-book-careless.html","date_published":"2026-07-02T10:26:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-02 10:26","date_timestamp":1782988013,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mpnt2br4us2m"]}},{"id":"93065417","content_html":"“Live long enough and you’ll see everything”: Scott Turow, The Last Trial and Presumed Guilty: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Two of Scott Turow’s three most recent novels feature the final criminal trials of two characters who appeared in his first novel, Presumed Innocent, nearly 40 years ago.","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/28/live-long-enough-and-youll.html","date_published":"2026-06-28T10:50:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-28 10:50","date_timestamp":1782643857,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mpdskye7aj2x"]}},{"id":"93011300","content_html":"I answered without stopping to think. I used to believe that pedestrians were the big menace. They often don’t look around them. I’ve been knocked off my bike twice by wayward pedestrians (and once by a driver suddenly throwing open the door of her parked car). But no, drivers are worse.
\n![\"An](\"https://eu.uploads.micro.blog/5102/2026/road-menace-poll.png\")
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/27/i-answered-without-stopping-to.html","date_published":"2026-06-27T09:51:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-27 09:51","date_timestamp":1782553890,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mpb732gpnw2c"]}},{"id":"92654551","content_html":"@JohnPhilpin In fairness, I should warn you that the books are long and dense. The second one, The Likeness, is almost 700 pages. I reread it a few weeks ago: it’s brilliant, but exhausting.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/92654551","date_published":"2026-06-22T11:36:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-22 11:36","date_timestamp":1782128179,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92598279","content_html":"@iamjonjackson.bsky.social I see that What We Can Know is now out in paperback, so I must read that soon.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/92598279","date_published":"2026-06-21T11:34:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-21 11:34","date_timestamp":1782041641,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92598230","content_html":"@JohnPhilpin The books are immeasurably better, for my money.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/92598230","date_published":"2026-06-21T11:32:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-21 11:32","date_timestamp":1782041539,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92591627","content_html":"@lmika @miraz I’ve been under the impression for years that the purpose of these buttons is not to make sharing easier but to allow Facebook to track and profile you even if you’re not signed up for Facebook.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/92591627","date_published":"2026-06-21T08:21:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-21 08:21","date_timestamp":1782030104,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92119751","content_html":"“It’s a catastrophe. Relax!”: Ian McEwan, Solar: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Ian McEwan’s novel, Solar (2010), is a savagely comic satire that touches on questions of renewable energy and the climate catastrophe. This has been seen as a departure for him, though his grotesque antihero, Professor Michael Beard, has something in common with the protagonists of three of his ear...","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/13/its-a-catastrophe-relax-ian.html","date_published":"2026-06-13T18:21:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-13 18:21","date_timestamp":1781374877,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mo6upymtbw22"]}},{"id":"91841596","content_html":"Someone on the train has the Z Cars theme as his (I’m assuming) ringtone!
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/09/someone-on-the-train-has.html","date_published":"2026-06-09T16:21:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-09 16:21","date_timestamp":1781022086,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mnum665fsi2q"]}},{"id":"91743579","content_html":"Until a few months ago it hadn’t occurred to me that Anthony Head and Murray Head could be brothers. They seemed to belong to different worlds: 1) Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Centrepoint, “Say it ain’t so, Joe”; and 2) freeze-dried instant coffee ads, Slayer-watching 🤷♂️
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/08/until-a-few-months-ago.html","date_published":"2026-06-08T08:41:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 08:41","date_timestamp":1780908097,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mnrbxymdan2d"]}},{"id":"91642223","content_html":"None of these options quite reflects my view. I’d say that till recently a degree has been essential, though not necessarily in economic terms. But its nature is changing (decidedly for the worse), largely because of the increased role and influence of administrators.
\n![\"FT](\"https://eu.uploads.micro.blog/5102/2026/ft-poll-university-degree.png\")
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/06/none-of-these-options-quite.html","date_published":"2026-06-06T11:03:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-06 11:03","date_timestamp":1780743806,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mnmiyciyis2l"]}},{"id":"91316644","content_html":"Robert Reich was born 10 days later than Donald Trump. His reference to “ending his seventh decade and beginning his eighth” must be a deliberate error illustrating his point about reduced sharpness: someone about to turn 80 will be ending their eighth decade and immediately beginning their ninth.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/06/01/robert-reich-was-born-days.html","date_published":"2026-06-01T10:42:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 10:42","date_timestamp":1780310548,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mn7vjcsr422x"]}},{"id":"91232895","content_html":"An order things can’t happen in: Tom Stoppard, Arcadia: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play, Arcadia, covers a lot of ground: garden design and history, science, sex and literature, maths and physics, determinism. I suggest its main theme is entropy.","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/05/30/an-order-things-cant-happen.html","date_published":"2026-05-30T21:14:47+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-30 21:14","date_timestamp":1780175687,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mn3xvfb3et2u"]}},{"id":"90355928","content_html":"@chipotle … whether the people behind it realize that or not.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/90355928","date_published":"2026-05-17T15:11:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-17 15:11","date_timestamp":1779030694,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90292382","content_html":"Look back in bemused wonder: Anthony Cronin, Dead As Doornails: letter.talkaboutbooks.net
","summary":"Anthony Cronin’s memoir of literary and artistic figures in 1950s Dublin and London’s Soho has been reissued. Those guys could drink!","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/05/16/look-back-in-bemused-wonder.html","date_published":"2026-05-16T13:02:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-16 13:02","date_timestamp":1778936579,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mlxvwtu3fu2t"]}},{"id":"90071013","content_html":"@ffmike Surely there’s a way to do this without letting Hegseth keep his job?
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/90071013","date_published":"2026-05-13T09:28:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-13 09:28","date_timestamp":1778664535,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"89990207","content_html":"Today I learned, thanks to Adam Mastroianni’s Experimental History, that Lenin was a mushroom. That explains a great deal that has puzzled me for decades. I wish I’d known it much earlier.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/05/12/today-i-learned-thanks-to.html","date_published":"2026-05-12T14:49:07+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-12 14:49","date_timestamp":1778597347,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mlnzywdnkq26"]}},{"id":"89784395","content_html":"On my way to the coffee shop today, I realized I’d forgotten my book so I looked in the Oxfam shop, not expecting much, and found a copy of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont which I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. Loving it so far 📖
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/05/07/on-my-way-to-the.html","date_published":"2026-05-07T22:32:31+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-07 22:32","date_timestamp":1778193151,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mlcbky5wcl2u"]}},{"id":"89761221","content_html":"I somehow missed the fact that Jack Shepherd died back in November. I first noticed him on tv in Bill Brand, then almost failed to recognize him as Baxter Dawes in Griffiths’s adaptation of Lawrence. Also have fond memories of Blind Justice. And then jazz piano: The play that changed my life
\n","summary":"","url":"https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2026/05/07/i-somehow-missed-the-fact.html","date_published":"2026-05-07T12:11:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-07 12:11","date_timestamp":1778155892,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":["https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rliaknrkcvekkizv7rjkk6mb/post/3mlb6skul4e2v"]}},{"id":"88364023","content_html":"@pip That reminds me of Toulouse.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/88364023","date_published":"2026-04-16T10:16:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-16 10:16","date_timestamp":1776334594,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86031107","content_html":"@JohnPhilpin We’re far enough into the present century not to need to hold the idea at bay. We’ve partly overcome our fear of it.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/86031107","date_published":"2026-03-12T08:03:33+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-12 08:03","date_timestamp":1773302613,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85964182","content_html":"@manton I’m awfully tempted to get one although I know I’d just be creating unnecessary dilemmas for myself: why am I using the Neo for this task rather than the MacBook Air? and vice versa.
\nIt’s more or less the iPad I’ve been longing for: no touchscreen and an integrated keyboard!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/85964182","date_published":"2026-03-11T10:49:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-11 10:49","date_timestamp":1773226172,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85911690","content_html":"@adders If you’ve got to have a venture capitalist as CEO, it’s best to make him as interim as possible. But some interim CEOs can be quite long-lived.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/85911690","date_published":"2026-03-10T16:46:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-10 16:46","date_timestamp":1773161162,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85283594","content_html":"@agilelisa I read it sometime before 2006, when most of us knew a lot less about autism than we do now and several years before my nephew was diagnosed, and I thought it was OK, though I haven’t been tempted to read it again since. It made me wonder whether I might have Asperger’s (to use the then current terminology). It turns out that I don’t, but I’m glad I looked into the possibility. Haddon never claimed to be an expert on the subject, or anything other than a writer of fiction, but came in for a lot of (as it seemed to me) unfair criticism as if he had held himself out as some kind of authority.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/85283594","date_published":"2026-03-01T17:10:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-01 17:10","date_timestamp":1772385034,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85282096","content_html":"@ayjay I wouldn’t have The Verge or TechCrunch in my feed reader anyway. For sites that post frequently or on a predictable schedule, I just visit the website. I use NNW primarily for feeds that are updated irregularly.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/85282096","date_published":"2026-03-01T16:49:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-01 16:49","date_timestamp":1772383742,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"84842601","content_html":"@ner3y I haven’t seen Lucky Luke for so long that I didn’t realize that the roll-up had been replaced by a blade of grass!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/84842601","date_published":"2026-02-23T10:59:47+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-23 10:59","date_timestamp":1771844387,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"84790810","content_html":"@bitdepth I love this. I’ll even admit to liking the remake (which I saw first).
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/84790810","date_published":"2026-02-22T14:51:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-22 14:51","date_timestamp":1771771881,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"83469050","content_html":"@cdevroe Will they be changing the name to Skynet?
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/83469050","date_published":"2026-02-03T07:26:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-03 07:26","date_timestamp":1770103564,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"82399848","content_html":"@isaacgreene I might need to get into the habit of thinking a bit more before I “like”. I tend to like a post as a message to the individual poster (“Well done for writing that, and putting it so well”) rather than to the system (“I want to see a lot more like this”).
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/82399848","date_published":"2026-01-19T17:24:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-01-19 17:24","date_timestamp":1768843456,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"82330649","content_html":"@johnjohnston I see what you mean about ads between the stanzas of the poem! They ought to be able to do a bit better than that. In many ways, I’d prefer to have a printed paper than the online edition but then there’s the hassle of recycling it. The recycling bin for this apartment block is always overstuffed anyway.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/82330649","date_published":"2026-01-18T16:53:12+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-01-18 16:53","date_timestamp":1768755192,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"82312414","content_html":"@johnjohnston I have a month’s trial online subscription to The Observer but I’ve cancelled the automatic renewal. Instead I’ll buy the print one, though not every week. Since Rachel Cooke’s death it doesn’t seem essential reading any more.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/artkavanagh/82312414","date_published":"2026-01-18T10:23:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Art Kavanagh","url":"https://www.artkavanagh.ie","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fartkavanagh%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"artkavanagh"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-01-18 10:23","date_timestamp":1768731786,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}