Illusions by Ruth Rehmann
aptly reading a newly-translated piece of German modernism about the horrors and impossibility of life only existing at weekends
Author: scottmanleyhadley
I like to read but little else. I have bad mental health and a dog. And a baby. And no hair. And a blog.
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk
hot flight action in a chassis-busting novel of plane crash desire
Baldwin, Styron, and Me by Mélikah Abdelmoumen
great CNF on three writers of differing levels of internal renown
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
a brilliantly fun giant space opera that filled my sparse down time at the Edinburgh Fringe
The Surviving Cells by Brian Willems
a beautiful, powerful, moving novel about living and dying
it’s my birthday. here’s me doing karaoke
birthday karaoke, once again
reflections on an August trip to Edinburgh
the ways in which I fail myself recur: on performing a micro-run of a self-produced micro-budget solo comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
SCOTT MANLEY HADLEY LIVE: REVIEWED
“a unique exploration of hairlessness and mental health issues”
Twist by Bruce Parkinson Spang
so often what we claim as pragmatism is nothing but repression on a too-grand scale
Confessions of a Professional Conspiracy Theorist by Will Camden
don’t believe everything you read [on TriumphOfTheNow.com]
a pre-Edinburgh Fringe Interview
i had a chat with a comedy blogger about creative process and themes
THE BIG BALD BOOK CLUB EPISODE SIX – The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
a chat about one of the best of all time
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
a lovely haunt; a structural triumph full of richly sketched characters
No Deals, Mr Bond by John Gardner
well this one was shit
Finistère by Fritz Peters
an engaging novel from 1951 about (or of?) the dangers of homophobic repression
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
some hyper violent fun but not much more than that
THE BIG BALD BOOK CLUB EPISODE FIVE – To Kill A Mockingbird
it’s a great novel, but maybe not so great to chat about while trying to keep things light
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
she selly sea Shelley by the sea shore
Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse #2); obituary for Katherine Jane Kaszas
actually an obit for my late mother-in-law, Katherine Jane Kaszas
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang
you could travel back and forth through the whole of time and maybe not find another teenage time travel comic book better than this
THE BIG BALD BOOK CLUB EPISODE FOUR – Under The Hawthorn Tree
a conversation about some heinous historical wrongs
Wildflower Girl by Marita Conlon-McKenna
an exercise in de-escalation
SOLID BALD presents: DINO TEETH SOUNDSCAPE feat. BB WHAMATHAN
a collaborative exercise in music composition; a 90second improvised vocal performance by a toddler
The Eye of the Heron and Other Stories by Ursula K Le Guin and Others (aka Millennial Women, edited by Virginia Kidd)
a 1978 collection of engaging and intriguing SF by boomer women incorrectly called Millennial Women
A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond: as told to Percival Everett & James Kincaid by Percival Everett and James Kincaid
a cracking old school epistolary novel about racism and the publishing industry from Percival Everett and a friend
THE BIG BALD BOOK CLUB EPISODE THREE – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
see androids fighting brad and janet
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk PART TWO
returning to the second half of a recent beastly piece of historical fiction
Re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Rereading The Handmaid’s Tale in 2026, to be honest, feels a lot bleaker than it did the last time IContinue Reading
Ten Words or Fewer: Auz Thompson, author of The Banterbury Tales
meet Auz Thompson, author of The Banterbury Tales
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
re-reading another serious and accessible classic and regretting nothing at all
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
a tiny book with a big fish
Trafalgar by Angélica Gorodischer
a fun but forgettable set of space adventures
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk PART ONE
my thoughts on the first half of an incredible, beautiful, perfect book that was too physically heavy to take on an international flight
Frank Sinatra Has A Cold by Gay Talese
excellent CNF collection spanning several decades and several lives…
THE BIG BALD BOOK CLUB EPISODE ONE – THE GREAT GATSBY
two bald heads are talkier than one
The Dry by Jane Harper
should should should should should should should … reflections on reading more trash forces a reckoning likely to be unreckoned
Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison
never before have i read a whole book anticipating non-existent cannibalism
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
a heady joyful experience, incidentally diagnosing Heathcliff with BPD
SOLID BALD presents: ‘fangs for the folk’
solid bald sings again…
Under The Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna
a harrowing and serious read: this is a book they give to children in Ireland
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. D*ck
spoiler: androids *don’t* dream of electric sheep
TEN WORDS OR FEWER INTERVIEW: Bonar Ash, author of My Heart In Hiding
a short form interview with Bonar Ash, author of My Heart In Hiding
On The Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle
don’t mention groundhog day don’t mention groundhog day don’t mention groundhog day
TEN WORDS OR FEWER INTERVIEW: Will Camden, author of Confessions of a Professional Conspiracy Theorist
a brief interview with Will Camden, author of Confessions of a Professional Conspiracy Theorist
Noah Fang Quicksilver by Barracuda Guarisco
it’s my kind of stuff at length oh yes please
Dhalgren by Samuel R.Delany
800 brilliant unresolved pages that work work work
IMPERSONAL INTERVIEWS: Benjamin Schmitt, author of Satan’s School for Girls and Other Works.
an excellent interview with Benjamin Schmitt, touching on a lot of important ideas
Re-Re-reading The Great Gatsby (once again)
re-re-reading The Great Gatsby. It’s great. The title is a fair review.
The Destruction of Palestine is The Destruction of the Earth by Andreas Malm
some very serious stuff, for once
Triumph Of The Now 