I know people have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Maroon 5, but this is such a strong and confident debut album, it’s amazing to look back at it now and think of all those well known songs on the same record. It’s the kind of album that blends into easy listening at this stage in its life (20 years later, how is that possible?) and whilst I wouldn’t seek it out, it’s stacked full of tunes that do often come up in rotation.

Ooh, this was good. It feels like we’ve been waiting a while for this debut album from Griff but it was worth the wait. Fun and funky, good solid pop with echoes of her peers but in a completely individual way. It almost feels a bit too polished in a way, and the depths of the angst is maybe not reached like we have seen in other emotional albums, but it’s a really good listen and worth every minute.

Guy Ritchie films can suffer from style over substance so I’m always a little bit wary going in, but this one has Jason Statham at the helm as a special agent so… I’m here for it. It was really good - a lot of fun. The gang are all oddballs but work together really well (pleasantly surprised by Bugzy Malone!) and I liked the many layers of deception from various groups pitted against each other. It’s not going to win many awards but an excellent way to spend a couple of hours. Also… what is Hugh Grant’s career and where the hell is he going to go next?

The Paris 2024 Olympics got underway yesterday with an Opening Ceremony that will be a talking point, even if it wasn’t quite as successful as the organisers hoped. It was different, which always ruffles feathers, and it was inconsistent and messy but there was a lot to like in there. It’s hard for me not to compare everything to the London 2012 Opening Ceremony which was legendary, but each of them are different beasts.

Third and final of the original books and instead of Rick we now have troublesome cousin Connie come to stay. This reminded me of so many other Enid Blyton books - where a naughty or stubborn character arrives and is quite quickly whipped into shape by the existing characters. I thought the chapters around the roots of the Faraway Tree being under threat were really interesting, a fine example of how we need to treat nature better.

I watched the TV show of this when it came out a few years ago, and it was good with some big cast names attached. Having now listened to the audiobook of the source material, I can see it was pretty faithful. There’s a lot of character development and actually it feels like the book itself is really drawn out and then suddenly once everything ends, we get so much plot in the final few pages. But on the other hand, that feels kind of rewarding, and so overall I liked it.

As a kid I had the trilogy of the faraway books and loved them so much, so I’m on a re-read which doesn’t take much effort because a) they’re easy to read kids books and b) I love them! Something about the idea of different lands popping up every now and then just really appeals - adventures coming to you! This time we have an additional character in Rick, who gets stuck in and causes even extra chaos. Fun!

Love Tina Fey and this is a great memoir, relatively short and rather than the boring chronological timeline of a family, it’s structured like thoughts and anecdotes that occur to the author as she’s going along. It’s funny, obviously, but also humble and honest - although there are clear boundaries that won’t be crossed, only so much that will be shared. I think I enjoyed the stuff about 30 Rock the most, how that came into being, how it tied in with SNL and how it continued. A good fun read.

I love the Faraway Tree stories, they have such a fond place in my heart - Silky and Moon-Face and even the Saucepan Man. There’s something about the idea of the possibility of adventures at the top of a tree that appeals to a kid, right? Climbing trees, making magical friends and visiting strange lands, what’s not to like?

I have been really looking forward to the upcoming Olympics. It’s in a sensible timezone for me, I have managed to wangle some time off work to watch as much as possible and hey, it’s summer of sport fun! I’ve pulled together my spreadsheet of which sports are on when, only for the ones I’m interested in, obviously, and I’m hoping to refine that each day to make sure I’ve got a timetable of the best viewing available.

Accidentally coinciding with the D-Day commemorations in June and going on for several weeks after, I managed to time a viewing of the trilogy of Band of Brothers shows - the original Band of Brothers, which was my second run through; the Pacific, which was the weakest of the three; and then Apple TV+’s latest offering Masters of the Air.

This has been on my list for a while now and eventually it rolled back to the forefront of my mind - love Kaley Cuoco so was interested in her take on a spy thriller. It was really good, kind of unbelievable in places, and you have to think it’s a bit similar to the second series of Flight Attendant. But it’s fun, good action, nice settings, and a sensible ending. Good times!

When I first started listening to this, I thought it was an 80s album and was surprised at how ahead of its time it was. Of course, I quickly realised it was an early 90s record which meant my admiration was slightly misplaced, but that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t fabulous. Great early 90s pop with two very different vocal styles that somehow work really well together. It’s very listenable from start to finish but the only complaint is Stay (clearly the best track on the album) is just stuck in the middle, it doesn’t really go with the rest. It’s a different beast to all the other tracks, but I would still prefer it to be on there!

I love Travis but their last efforts haven’t really done it for me, a bit too upbeat and poppy maybe, compared to their older stuff. This one felt like it trod a nice line between the two - at first it felt really old school, moody and contemplative with Fran’s lovely vocals. There were more upbeat moments too though, and overall they combined to make a really listenable record.

I didn’t really understand this book. The surround of the book, was that real or not? About the writer sending it before committing suicide? And then the story itself - it was very readable, engagingly written, with terrible characters that you sort of love to hate. But it all came to an ending very quickly and it sort of turned out that nothing had happened anyway? All a bit odd.

I didn’t know there was going to be a sequel to My Spy until just before we watched it. The first one had been a surprise hit for me, as I thought it would be a precocious kid kind of film. Loved it but couldn’t remember much about it. This unexpected sequel was also really good. There were plot holes galore and it felt a bit similar to Kindergarten Cop as well as the Spider-Man one where they travel round Europe. But it was fun and cute and was basically a really good time.

I thought it was a while since I’d read a John Grisham so quickly rectified the situation. This was an interesting premise but I’m not sure it really grabbed me in the way others have done. There was no big courtroom showdown or clever tactics this way or that. It felt like an investigation was slowly proceeding, trying to convince people to get involved and ultimately waiting for the next thing to happen that might help the case on. Good writing and characters though.

Not sure about this one, the story takes place in a castle which is always fun, and there are an interesting set of characters (particularly Bill and Bot) but I couldn’t quite get my head round the mirror. Why didn’t Martha and the Doctor turn to glass once they’d been inside? Anyway, an interesting listen, some fun moments, and a satisfying ending, so all good.

Always love a Michael Palin book that ties in with his TV shows, they just tend to be expanded diaries from the travels and giving further insight into the people he meets and the sights he’s seen… and usually quite a lot around what the borders and checkpoints are like. Of course Iraq is a place that has made a lot of headlines for all the wrong reasons, so to see behind that and what the people are like is always enlightening.

Oh how I love Dawn French. I probably wouldn’t have stuck this with if it wasn’t written by lovely Dawn because I’m not so interested in stories around babies and the crime at the heart of this is just unfathomable to me. But stick with it I did and I’m glad, because the characters are so well drawn, the humanity of the situation always at the fore, and the ending an absolutely gutwrenching twist. Brilliantly done.

I dipped back into the world of John Puller, and was surprised to find this time he’s investigating a family matter - feels like there’s been a lot of that going round after I read through the Atlee Pine series in double quick time. But Puller has a lot to get stuck into here and it’s an interesting read circling around who he can trust and who’s telling the truth and the bigger plot at stake. The usual exciting thriller!

The second week of Wimbledon was somehow so much better than the first but also really quite frustrating. The singles action got really interesting and good, but it felt much harder to keep track of everything else. It was a really, really wet fortnight and it’s so impressive that the schedule didn’t slip very much considering there were a few days with basically no play. But the concertina effect did make it hard to find anything outside of the main show courts.

This album kicks off in fabulous style with World and I also know Massachusetts in the middle. The rest of it is new to me, but it all has that earnest BeeGees feel, their incredible and iconic vocals, and it’s just a good listen. Nothing to complain about but I do wonder if there are still greatest hits to come.

This is an okay album from Camila, there’s nothing specifically wrong with it (apart from a bit too much Drake for my tastes), but it sort of feels unfinished. It feels scrapbooky, like it’s a lot of post it notes stuck on a wall and seeing what sticks and what doesn’t. It was fine to listen to but I don’t think I’d specifically seek it out.

The next adventure in the Ryan series and this one is very much about people coping and recovering from what had happened in the last book. They do start to do that, and investigate another murder mystery along the way - one of those that starts at an actual murder mystery party! This one didn’t feel quite as high paced as the previous few reads but when you’re as invested in the characters as I am now, it’s always fun to read.

One of my big complaints when reading these adventure type books is that the person taking on the huge task hasn’t really done the prep. Well, you can’t say that about this one! It took ten years and a lot of planning for our protagonist to make his way to the top of Everest - something which was never on the bucket list but ended up becoming a bit of an obsession. I liked this book, it felt very real and relatable, although pretty sure I’ll never end up 8000m above sea level!

I listened to the audiobook of this which is perfect because Emily obviously has an authoritative and naturally engaging speaking voice. I don’t watch the news particularly because I value my mental health but I did like this for it’s behind the scenes on many important interviews that have taken place over the years. Even if I didn’t really know the person Emily was talking about, the stories were still interesting because it’s never quite as glossy as it seems on TV! And it’s not a proper memoir but the personal elements that are in there just add to the picture. Enjoyed it.

There’s something about this that I did like, it being a bit silly and fun, and the pacing of it was good… and a great cast! But it felt a bit off, like you couldn’t believe any of it anyway so what was the point? If it was a genuine history like Tetris but with comedy, maybe that would work, but this just felt like a fever dream about pop tarts.

The reviews for this movie are really good and Glen Powell is on a tear right now, so I must be missing something but I found it so boring. Didn’t even get to the bit where he met the woman and the rom-com stuff supposedly would have started. Just chatty chatting about nothing and nothing happening. And reverse She’s All That with the glasses irritated me.

I’m not usually a big fan of books that are collections of columns - usually because I don’t realise that’s what they are until I start and it’s never quite what I’m expecting. There’s no sense of cohesion usually, which isn’t ideal. But this is from the genius of David Mitchell and I listened to the audiobook so heard the words from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, and that made it very enjoyable… if a little out of date at this point!

I loved this. Another sequel that nobody was particularly asking for but at last, one done really well. The heart of it is Eddie Murphy, who has lost none of his swagger or gift-of-the-gab, whilst still having to be saved by others on occasion. This time we have his grown up daughter in trouble, and a new cop trying to deal with the chaos - JGL does a great job with this. And the return of Rosewood and Taggart is the icing on the cake. Good stunts, great humour, and a solid story underneath. Top work.

This is the first in a seasonal quartet of books and I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. It’s that stream-of-consciousness writing and at first I wasn’t really sure but it gradually drew me in. I really liked when Elisabeth was going about her business, the more dream-like stuff lost me a little bit. So I enjoyed reading it even though I’m not sure I followed the whole thing… but I don’t think I’ll bother to read the others.

We’ve not had the best run of Netflix movies recently, so took a deep breath going into this but thankfully, it was great! Love the characters, the relationships between the three and how they evolve and develop. Joey King was great as a selfish but relatable character who starts to thaw by the end. Also nice to see an older actress with a younger actor for a change, not that it had any reflection on the plot. The only annoyance was that Christmas popped up in the middle, and if I’d known that, I might have saved it for closer to December. But definitely worth a watch.

I wasn’t 100% convinced about this one. Rock Hudson and Doris Day are both brilliant, and have great chemistry (which is good because they did a few other films together too) but I’m not sure what to make of the plot. I thought it might be two top execs going head to head with wise business moves, but it ended up being a deception-style rom-com with misunderstandings aplenty and then whoop, at the end they’re a happy family? I feel like I missed some steps. Enjoyable but a little confounding.

This was a pretty good sequel, more intriguing puzzles and dangerous circumstances. I think it didn’t quite match up to the first movie simply because the characters are wiser and know what’s coming, whereas them figuring it out was part of the fun of the original. But it stacks up and introduces some new people to worry about. It’s not going to win any awards but a fun way to while away an hour.

Although the UK is suffering from a lack of summer at the moment, the sporting events continue apace. Some are enjoying the football, if enjoying is the right word(?) but for me, it’s all about the tennis. Going into Wimbledon this year, the field seemed wide open and even more so when Sabalenka pulled out of the championships. My focus has been on the women’s side, as always, but it’s hard to avoid seeing what’s been going down on the men’s side of the draw too. But here are some thoughts from the first week, anyway:

It feels like the blockbusters have been on the low side recently, but the next few months have quite a few famous names and faces back on the big screen. We’ve drifted from keeping up with the immediate and more expensive releases, but am really enjoying digging out hidden gems and older classics. However, may have to make an exception for some of these!

I enjoyed pulling together the previous TV roundup of shows I’d watched that didn’t really warrant a full post but where I did have some thoughts to share, so I thought why not make it a regular feature? I’ve not been well recently so my TV watching and book reading has gone up massively, but now the summer of sport has arrived, this may not be the case over the next month or so.

This movie and the sequel popped up on iPlayer, so there was no harm in giving it a quick watch - I had assumed it would be a bit of a silly slasher movie, but actually it was surprisingly good. The escape room stuff was smart, the characters interesting, the fact that they had flashbacks that related to the current situation added to the peril. There were twists and turns but it didn’t drag on, I was pleasantly surprised!

The first half hour or so of this didn’t fill me with a huge amount of hope - it felt like it was setting up to be a cheap, silly, derivative action movie, and took quite a while to get going. But once it kicked into gear, I really started to enjoy it. The dictator that turns out to not be what you think was well written and interesting, the ‘romance’ angle was different to other movies, and ultimately it was a fun ride. It maybe wasn’t as funny as I thought it was going to be, but maybe it wasn’t trying to be a laugh-a-minute ride. Worth a look, anyway.

I find costume and historical dramas very hit and miss, and thankfully this was more a hit than anything else. It’s a pretty tragic story, and once I’d got my head around all the different characters, it played out well. The screen is naturally owned by Ronan and Robbie as Mary and Elizabeth, and the rest pale into comparison. It’s a shame they didn’t get to share more screen time, but ultimately a watchable if not groundbreaking movie.

So Sugababes won Glastonbury for me this year, I loved their set and it just made me realise how many tunes they actually have… and what we could have had if it wasn’t for the missing ten years of fighting and lineup changes. Nevertheless, this album was after the first change, with Heidi new to the group, but that sound so familiar and the harmonies still on point. Great tunes, and a great album all round.

I love Imagine Dragons and this was another good album in their discography. It was all good, solid Dragons-style music, with the iconic voices and sounds we know and love. It didn’t quite have the bangers that I’d hoped for, although Eyes Closed is probably the high point of the album. I thought it was on there twice but it’s the deluxe version that has the additional one with the rap on. Anyway, great, if not perfect.

I bought this at the time it was released, midway through 2020, the heart of the pandemic, of lockdown, of the NHS’s most difficult times, when clapping on the doorsteps was considered the best we could do to support them. I couldn’t read the book at the time, though. I tried, and it all just felt a bit too much. But now I’ve read it and I love the love that’s contained within. More than 100 famous names contribute a varying amount of paragraphs to talk of their experiences with the best health service in the world, and why we should continue to support it. An incredible collection of writers, too, I knew almost all of them!

This was a surprisingly good film. Well, no, let’s be clear, it’s not a good film but it was really fun and cute and Emma Roberts shines off the screen. There are plenty of plot holes and it’s all a bit silly, but if you just forget that and go with it, and if you’re in the mood for something bright and breezy, it’s absolutely perfect.

I was in two minds about this to start with. It seems like such a niche subject, why did I even pick up this book? But gradually, I was drawn in and won over by the passion which Ms Wiltshire discusses her subject. The book is primarily about the little known and seemingly under-resourced subject of forensic investigation around pollens and minute traces in forests etc, but there are chapters looking back at her early life and how she ended up in this line of work - the difficulties and tragedies of a life, but the high points of successful cases as well. It ended up being a really interesting read!

The sequel to How to Build a Girl which I absolutely loved and it lived up to the original. The writing is just as exquisite as the first, drawing you in to Johanna’s world and not letting you go until the final sentence. Jo/Dolly has moved to London but is still dealing with her chaotic family, her sexist workplace, a burgeoning love life, and an unrequited first love. It’s almost difficult to describe how much I loved this, and the moments that take a feminist stance just made me want to shout out loud. I really need to read some of Moran’s non-fiction, because I just want more!

I listened to the audiobook of this next book in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and really enjoyed it. It had the usual formula of a serial criminal (not necessarily murderer) leaving trace evidence that allows our heroes to figure out what and who and why. But throw in bungled court cases, getting fired from the police department, and that stranger who is always suspicious when they appear… a little bit of everything for another sturdy Rhyme thriller.

I knew this wasn’t really going to be my cup of tea, but I’m always interested to listen to an album that on the surface kinda scares me. It wasn’t that bad, actually, but really not the kind of thing I want to listen to. To put on my good grandpa hat, it’s just noise, and the length of some of the tracks was just frustrating.

The last time Gabrielle released an album, it came as a surprise to me as it was absolutely epic - really captivating easy listening. This time, whilst the style is the same and it’s unmistakenly Gabrielle with her lush vocals and smooth beats, it didn’t quite reach the highs of the last one. Absolutely listenable but not really one that I would seek out as I would the previous one.