The lovely Don Mancini (director & writer of Child’s Play) shared this pic today of his Chucky doll with my book 😍

Selfie Sunday x

Really enjoyed the interview with @Angel_Devil982 . Wonderful words on Morrissey and the bias of a failing media. And how Morrissey remains true to himself and remains defiant when many have tried to bring him down. Congrats to all.

I discuss Morrissey's music and dive into the problematic mainstream media on this fabulous podcast with @AzzaGoodboy Clip below but full link here: youtu.be/yXLtMtSmdyU?is=YcCM…

**BOOK REVIEW** Chasing Aliens: Faith & Conspiracy in the UFO Heartlands by @DaniLavelle There are many ways to look for aliens. You can scan the skies with expensive equipment, interview government whistleblowers, stare meaningfully at declassified Pentagon footage, or, as Daniel Lavelle brilliantly does in Chasing Aliens, head deep into America’s UFO heartlands & politely ask the strangest people in the room what on Earth, or indeed not on Earth, what the bloody hell is going on. The result is part road trip, part investigation, part existential wobble, and part “did that man just say space beads?” travel diary. It is funny, thoughtful, odd, humane, and occasionally so American it practically comes with a side order of fries & a man in the desert insisting the truth is definitely out there, pointing you in a certain direction, to walk about 500 yards and then take a left after you’ve passed the gift shop. Daniel never treats the UFO world as one big punchline. He is sardonic without being cruel, curious without being gullible, and sceptical without turning into the sort of bloke who folds his arms at a séance and ruins everyone’s evening [there are people out there like that]. Across sky watches, abductee stories, government whispers, alien believers, Starseeds, crystals, Harvard astrophysicists and the ever-hovering possibility that the Pentagon knows more than it is letting on, Chasing Aliens becomes less about whether aliens exist and more about why we so desperately want them to. Are we searching for evidence, salvation, meaning, community, or just someone else to blame for the state of the planet? Let’s be honest here, if aliens have been monitoring us recently, they’ve probably locked the doors, hidden behind their sofas and pretended not to be in. There’s a small spattering of Louis Theroux here, with Daniel wandering into strange spaces and allowing people enough room to reveal themselves, their beliefs and, occasionally, their full interdimensional admin. But underneath the humour is something sadder & more human. This is a book about loneliness, faith, uncertainty and the deep, strange ache of being alive on a small rock, looking up at a massive sky, wondering whether anyone is waving back. It is also extremely entertaining. There are moments when I felt like I was in a pub conversation with my mates when one of them asks, “Do you reckon aliens are real?” and then fast forward to 1.40 am and I have a kebab in my hand while my mate Andy is trying to explain that Oumuamua might be a probe, my mate Jason is telling me that the government is hiding spacecraft, and that my mate Simon declares that he once saw a cigar-shaped object in the sky. It’s clever that Daniel doesn’t offer easy answers here; I often wonder if there will ever be any. Instead, he gives us people: believers, seekers, insiders, outsiders, dreamers, grifters, mystics and the beautifully bewildered. And I won’t sugarcoat this; whilst some are quietly convincing, some are slightly concerning. There are many fantastic UFO books out there. Chasing Aliens is a sharp, warm & wonderfully strange journey through the modern UFO landscape. It understands that the flying saucer has never just been about the flying saucer. It is about fear, hope, belief, distrust, wonder and the eternal human need to point at something weird in the sky and say, “What the frick is that?” Funny, fascinating and quietly haunting, this is a book for anyone who has ever looked up and wondered whether we are alone, whether the government knows, and whether the aliens, if they are out there, have any plans to help us sort out the mess we are making of our planet. In short: a brilliant, bizarre and beautifully written trip into the UFO underworld. Come for the aliens. Stay for the humans, who are probably, actually, possibly stranger. I had the great fortune to pick up Daniel’s book in a charity shop, but I would imagine it is available anywhere you can buy books. Please support the good and great indie bookshops out there if you can. Please feel free to share this review #bookpublishing #bookreviews #booksworthreading #UFO #Aliens #bookrecommendation #booktwitter

Feeling summery! 🌞

Damn.

Treated myself to new Bench crocs 🌟

Repost if you know the name of this film; bonus points if you know the name of the lead actor &/or the name of the dummy.

I discuss the Michael Jackson biopic and how the press have been bias from the outset with all things regarding MJ... Huge thanks to @AzzaGoodboy Full episode here: youtu.be/JlPkHNtbQlw?si=ggjw…

Lol

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Fiona, it was really lovely to talk to you and thank you for turning me onto the wonderful Mae Martin and their superb album. I’m still bopping along to it. 💫

I was a guest on the AZ Archive podcast, where I talked about @TheMaeMartin's album I'M A TV Huge thanks to @AzzaGoodboy for having me on 💿 🎤 LINK youtu.be/lsbDYrrUg40?si=-aBZ…

Found a proper little gem on @BBCSounds: The story of Dr William Jackson Crawford, who carried out a series of bizarre experiments with a teenage medium & her family before his mysterious death on the shores of Belfast Lough in 1920. ⬇️LISTEN HERE⬇️ bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vww…

I now have some more signed copies available of my #paranormal book, A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls. The last lot sold fast so if you're interested in a creepy read (signed by me) feel free to DM/comment and we can sort your copy ❤️ 👻

My article on the superb Michael biopic. The Public Have The Final Say — And Why The Press Hate It LINK - fionadodwell.medium.com/mich… @tajjackson3 #michaeljackson @michaeljackson @JuliaBerkowitz1 @tjjackson @AzzaGoodboy @Matt_Thomas85

True

BOOK REVIEW: Self-Help from the Middle Ages by Peter Jones *OUT NOW* “A delightfully strange reminder that humans have always been tired, guilty, and a bit ridiculous.” This book is the book you didn’t know you needed until a 12th-century monk appears out of nowhere, squints at your burnout, and basically says, “Have you tried not being consumed by envy, despair and spiritual chaos?” It turns out the medieval world was less “mud, plague and turnips” and more “full-scale emotional crisis, but in Latin.” And it also turns out that medieval people were just as unhinged as we are, only in robes and sandals. This book is wonderfully odd in the best possible way. Peter Jones takes confession, sin and the Seven Deadly Sins and turns them into something like the original self-help manual. Medieval therapy, it seems, involved a lot of guilt and a saint or two. The real triumph here is that Peter Jones makes medieval thinkers feel alarmingly modern. These were people dealing with temptation, anxiety, self-loathing and existential dread long before anyone invented wellness influencers, ice baths, or podcasts about “protecting your energy.” The monks were basically saying, “You are trapped in a spiral of pride and despair,” and modern readers will nod and say to themselves, “Ah, so it’s not just me”. Peter Jones writes with so much charm and intelligence that even the dustiest archive starts to feel like a backstage gossip room for history’s most intense overthinkers. You get mystics, scholars, saints, sinners and enough emotional turmoil to fill several group chats. One minute you’re admiring the beauty of a manuscript, the next you’re realising a dead Italian from 700 years ago has diagnosed your personality flaws with troubling accuracy. It is funny, fascinating and strangely comforting. Self-Help from the Middle Ages reveals that people in the Middle Ages were not just wandering around in pointy shoes, waiting for the Black Death. They were overanalysing themselves, battling intrusive thoughts, and trying to become better people, just like us, only with more incense and fewer matcha oat milk lattes. A brilliant book for anyone who likes history, human nature, or the humbling discovery that the road to self-improvement has always been crowded with exhausted weirdos. Available from bookshops, bookstores, & book sellers. Please support the good indie ones if you can. #BookReview #BooksWorthReading #BookRecommedations

Meeee