I can't be the only one stuck in this loop... Oh god, do I want off the internet. The list of things I need a phone to do is so small that I am seriously considering going back to a 2013 Blackberry. My ability and desire to read, write, and communicate have been improved by... Continue Reading →
Library Fashion
Or, If I'm Staring At You It's Because I Want To Be Friends Did anybody tell you, when you were young, that 'it's not a fashion parade'? I see you. I see you and your meticulous eye for detail, your desire to live the fantasy version of yourself. Because yes - yes it is a... Continue Reading →
“What Are My Words Worth”: the role of academia’s ivory tower in cultural transmission
my talk given at the Creative Industries Festival 2026 “What is left, what is remembered and what is still fit for use in the heritage of classical bourgeois culture?” It is with these words that Eric Hobsbawm opens his 2012 essay ‘Heritage’. Hobsbawm, a historian in his 95th year when this was written, is concerned... Continue Reading →
How to be an It Girl
What, like it's hard? Everyone glamorous is pretending. For sure. It's easy to look good if everyone wants you to: when the designer fits the dress to you, when somebody is paid to make sure your shoes match your look, when the photographs of you will sell, then it becomes an industry to get you... Continue Reading →
Girl Dinner with Late Romantic
A recipe that isn't a recipe. It’s the moments we are alone that we truly decide who we are. When my husband went away this week, I found myself living just as quietly as I do when he’s here: I listened to music, I cooked my favourite lazy food, and I went to bed early.... Continue Reading →
The Books I’m Reading in 2026
10 books on my TBR
I don’t care about canon.
Or: Fanfic in opposition to auteurship.
My Personal Canon
ie the books you should read to understand me, with film and music pairings
The Librarian’s Gift Guide
for panicking givers.
10k Hours as a Value System
According to (perhaps a misunderstanding of) K. Anders Ericsson[1], it takes 10000 hours to become a master at something. 10,000 hours is a long time: 5 years at 40 hours per week (the average workload), or over a year without a break or rest of any kind. That takes tenacity, it takes commitment… but it... Continue Reading →
Late Romantic 