Have you checked your PayPal recently to see what you might have signed up to when you're not fully alert and awake?

Shout out to Paul Lynch, whose fifth novel Prophet Song — on the Booker shortlist — showcases an Irish dystopia set in a future so ordinary and relatable it could be happening the week after next. 

"Halloween is perfect — short, fun, non-prescriptive, and catering to that one aspect strangled by the performative perfectionism of Christmas and weddings — campy weirdness and anti-beauty."

'The dehumanisation of Palestinian civilians is happening in front of our eyes, and those who call it out — voices like Jeremy Corbyn, Miriam Margolyes — are viewed as extremists by the mainstream'

"Turns out organising a funeral remotely is greatly complicated by the fact that nobody has a spare suitcase of cash down the back of the sofa."

"Why? Because for all our céad míle fáilte, for all our international reputation for warm-heartedly putting the kettle on, I didn’t trust Ireland."

Expressing hatred for women remains tolerated and normalised.

You only have to look at those who have come out in Brand’s support to see where he has positioned himself politically

"Even when you adore your kids and live in peace, love and harmony with them — as most of us do, most of the time — there’s nothing quite like that deep exhalation when the door finally shuts behind them."

It can’t be fun for Róisín Murphy being piled upon, just as it can’t be fun for trans kids struggling with who they are versus what we expect them to be.