Today is National Book Lovers Day, that curious unofficial holiday designed to encourage bibliophiles to celebrate reading and literature, or perhaps to nudge the non‑readers gently toward the nearest bookshelf.

I’ll be honest: this particular holiday has always baffled me. I was under the apparently incorrect impression that every day was Book Lovers Day. Who knew we were meant to restrict our devotion to the printed page to a single date on the calendar?

Still, if the world insists on giving us a dedicated day, let’s honour it properly.

So find a good book, settle into a comfortable corner, raise a glass to the quiet magic of stories, and begin reading. After all, the best journeys often start with the simple act of turning a page.

The newest book by Robert Lomas has just landed on my doorstep, delivered with all the solemn ceremony the postman could muster, and that means my holiday reading is officially sorted. There is something wonderful about that moment when a long awaited book arrives (especially when it is a free book). It feels like a small blessing, a quiet invitation to step out of the noise of the world and into a space shaped by ideas, stories, and the steady voice of someone who has spent a lifetime exploring the mysteries that fascinate us.

This volume is a collection of the lectures Robert has given at the Daniel Owens Festival, a gathering that has become a kind of spiritual home for those of us who love the dance between history, and the living tradition of learning. To see those lectures gathered together feels like holding a lantern made from many flames, each one illuminating a different aspect of Daniel’s Life.

I was honoured to write the foreword for this collection. Truly honoured. Writing that foreword felt like standing at the threshold of a great hall, opening the door, and inviting readers to step inside. It was a chance to speak about the festival, about the legacy of Daniel Owens, and about the way Robert’s lectures weave together insight, humour, and the kind of wisdom that arrives only after years of patient study.

So yes, the holiday is sorted. A good book, a quiet corner, a fresh coffee, and the chance to revisit the festival through the words of a man who has been one of Daniel Owen’s brightest voices. I could not ask for better company.

My poor old Kindle is about to be exiled to the wilds by Amazon, banished like some elderly hermit who has dared to outlive the fashions of the age. No more buying, no more downloading, no more anything. After years of loyal service, the little thing is being marched off into digital retirement and straight toward a landfill. And for what? Because it has a keyboard. A keyboard. The sheer audacity of functioning buttons in the year twenty twenty six. The horror.

And as if that were not enough to make a grown man sigh into his tea, my other Kindle, the Paperwhite, is also on the chopping block. Two perfectly good, perfectly functional devices, still holding charge, still doing their job every single day, being nudged toward the great electronic graveyard because someone in a boardroom has decided they are too old. Electronic wastage dressed up as progress, like putting a fancy hat on a donkey and insisting it is a racehorse.

All because it is apparently too expensive to update the software on older Kindles to handle the new book format Amazon is pushing in the name of stronger digital rights management. Stronger for whom, exactly? Certainly not for the reader. Do you not long for the days when buying a book meant the book actually belonged to you, rather than being rented from a distant corporate overlord who can revoke it at will?

I mean honestly, Amazon, if you are going to force me into an upgrade, can I at least stack the twenty percent discount from both devices and stroll off with a smug forty percent? It seems only fair at this point. 😄

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 30. – Book you couldn’t put down.

I have read many books that I simply could not put down, the sort that keep you awake long past any sensible bedtime. You know the feeling. You tell yourself, just one more chapter and then I will sleep. Only you never do. The next thing you know it is three in the morning and you are still turning pages with the determination of someone who has abandoned all thoughts of rest.

So which one of these unforgettable reads do I choose.

My pick is Outside The Gates of Eden: A Tale of 1970s Life During The Cold War by Julius Harlande.

It is a gripping story set in the early years of the Cold War, filled with atmosphere, tension, and a sense of possibility that feels entirely real. The world Harlande creates is so grounded in actual places, genuine science, and the mood of the era that you can almost believe you are reading a true account rather than a novel. Every chapter pulls you deeper in, and before you know it you are completely lost in that world.

It was one of those rare books where I genuinely could not stop reading. It held me from the first page to the last, and even after I finished it, the story stayed with me for days.

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 29. – A book you hated.

My choice for this one is “To Be A Mason: Embracing the Illuminated Path of Brotherhood” by Wayne Devlin.

To be fair, hate is far too strong a word. It is more a case of deep and persistent dislike. The book reads as if someone wrote a long list of chapter descriptions and then forgot to include the actual chapters. I reached the end and realised that I had somehow read an entire book without learning anything at all. It was like eating a meal made entirely of menu descriptions.

What makes it more frustrating is that it could have been an interesting book. The ideas hinted at in the chapter summaries had real potential, but none of that promise ever appears on the page. It is all outline and no substance, all introduction and no delivery.

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 28. – Favourite quote from a book.

There is a line in The Hunger by Whitley Strieber that I first read many years ago, sometime in the late eighties, and it struck such a deep chord with me that it has followed me ever since. I liked it so much that I used it on my website back in the early nineties, long before social media was even a thought. It has been on my Facebook header, my desktop wallpaper, and anywhere else I could reasonably place it without looking completely unhinged.

The quote is this:

It is not easy being an egomaniac with an inferiority complex

There is something wonderfully honest in that line, a perfect blend of humour, self reflection, and a little bit of theatrical flair. It captures the human condition in a single sentence, especially for those of us who stride forward with confidence while quietly wondering if we have any idea what we are doing.

Since I have been carrying this quote around for the better part of thirty years, it has to be my favourite. It has become part of my personal mythology, a small truth wrapped in a grin, and it still makes me smile every time I see it.

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 27. – Book that has been on your “to read” list the longest.

This is very similar to “Day 12 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t”. So I will use the same answer.

The film Hackers has always been one of my comfort watches, that perfect blend of neon‑soaked aesthetics, thumping soundtrack, chaotic charm, and, of course, Acid Burn being effortlessly iconic. It’s pure, unashamed entertainment, and it hits the spot every single time.

Because I adore the film, I’ve long been curious about the book it was based on. Everyone says it goes deeper into the story, and let’s be honest, books behind films are almost always richer, stranger, and better. So it’s been sitting on my “must read one day” list for ages, like a little digital gremlin reminding me of my own procrastination.

The problem? I could never actually find a copy. It became one of those mythical items: always talked about, never spotted in the wild.

Hack the Planet!

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 26. – Book that makes you laugh out loud.

I am going back a bit with this one, all the way to 1973, but I am choosing Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison. It is gloriously ridiculous in all the right ways.

The story begins with two college students, Chuck van Chider and his loyal partner in chaos Jerry Courtenay, who accidentally invent a device capable of hurling them across the cosmos. The engine of this marvel is a substance called Cheddite, created by irradiating cheddar cheese. Yes, cheese becomes both fuel and super weapon, and the book never once apologises for it.

Chuck, Jerry, their shared love interest Sally Goodfellow, and their janitor who turns out to be a KGB spy named Old John are promptly flung to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. There they encounter the Titanians, who are every bit as strange as you would hope. Before long, through a chain of events so bizarre it feels like the author was daring himself to go further, the group is launched into the far reaches of the galaxy and straight into an interstellar war.

The villains of this cosmic conflict are tiny telepathic turtles that people keep in the handles of their guns. Not because they want to, but because the turtles make them. Space turtles with mind control. Of course they do. At this point you simply surrender to the madness and enjoy the ride.

The whole book is comedy gold. It is a loving parody of classic space opera, written with a wink, a grin, and a complete disregard for restraint. If you want a story that makes you laugh out loud and reminds you that science fiction can be both clever and utterly daft, this is the one.

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 25. – The most surprising plot twist or ending.

I am going to choose a plot twist rather than an ending, and my pick is Stephen King’s IT.

I first read IT after watching the 1990 miniseries, so I thought I had a decent grasp of the story. I had seen the film, I knew the shape of the plot, and I assumed the book would simply fill in a few gaps. Well, I had the basics, but I was missing an entire universe worth of detail.

If you have only ever watched the miniseries or the later films, you would be genuinely shocked to discover that one of the most important characters in the entire story is Maturin the Space Turtle. Think of the great A’Tuin, only without the elephants and without the discworld balanced on top. Yes, you read that correctly. There is a cosmic turtle in IT who guides the Losers Club, grants them insight, and plays a vital role in the battle against Pennywise. And to be fair, a space turtle is not that strange when you remember that Pennywise is essentially a space spider. I suspect there were many substances involved in the creative process.

But the biggest surprise in reading IT is the moment that every reader remembers. Those who have read it already know exactly what I am about to mention. The scene. The infamous scene. The Losers Gang Bang.

You read that correctly. In the book, when the Losers Club are children trapped in the sewers, lost and terrified with Pennywise hunting them, they cannot find their way out. This is the point where Beverly, the only girl in the group, decides that the solution is to have sex with each of the six boys, one after the other, in order to bring the group back together and help them escape. And the moment she finishes, one of the boys suddenly remembers the correct path, and they all make it out alive.

It makes no sense in the plot. It adds nothing to the story. It is not needed in any way. Yet there it is, sitting in the middle of the book like a fever dream that somehow made it past every editor. It remains, to this day, the most surprising plot twist I have ever encountered in any novel.

Nothing else even comes close.

The idea is delightfully simple: for 30 days, you post once a day in response to a book-themed question. That’s it. No essays, no footnotes, no need to summon the ghost of Shakespeare, just honest answers, curious reflections, and maybe a few cheeky confessions about your reading habits. I have decided to take part this year, and since I picked a month with 31 days (I know it would have made more sense to use a 30 day one) I am using March 1st to explain what I am doing.

Each day brings a new prompt: favourite characters, memorable endings, guilty pleasures, and the books that made you weep, rage, or fall in love with the written word. It’s a gentle nudge to celebrate your literary life, one post at a time.

So why not give it a go? Dust off your bookshelf, sharpen your wit, and join the challenge. Thirty days. Thirty questions. One slightly eccentric bookworm’s journey through the pages.

DAY 24. – Book you’re most embarrassed to say you like/liked..

A book I am embarrassed to say I liked?

You do realise on Day: 7 I admitted to being part of the Vaginal Fantasy book club back in the day, there is not a lot that I am embarrassed about book wise. but if I had to pick something…

Nope, I tried… I really did, but I was unable to come up with anything. I am just a reader, I will read anything and if I like it, I like it. I will never be embarrassed about that. We do not kink shame on this site!