This was so good, I really enjoyed it. The story is detailed and intricate but covers a huge period of time. It’s mostly set in the 90s and has that late 90s atmosphere perfectly. More than anything, though, it does a great job of explaining how tennis works (not an easy or sensible scoring system) and getting into the mental side of the game, when it’s going well and when it isn’t. I’m not sure it got everything 100% right but it was so well done, I really loved it.

Way back when, I watched the first few episodes of WandaVision and really enjoyed the pastiche of early sitcoms. The black and white cuteness, canned laughter, and surprisingly funny moments. I was curious to know whether it was just Wanda’s take on the genre that I liked or if the genuine article was just as good, so I sought out the first series of The Dick Van Dyke Show - available on Amazon Prime/FreeVee in the UK.

I loved the atmosphere of this book, the 1930s upper crust feel with lots of wealthy socialites romping around and annoying each other. A trip to the seaside goes very wrong when one of the party is murdered and our protagonist starts investigating alongside the police (not sure that the Inspector would have gone along with it but it was a different time so who knows?). The middle of the book did drag a bit for me, but as more incidents kept occurring and the whodunit drew to its twisting conclusion, I mostly enjoyed it.

I know this book wasn’t aimed at me - it’s another in a long line of young adult dystopian fantasy fiction series - but I couldn’t quite get it to work for me. The premise is intriguing, all the adults disappearing, and how the remaining kids deal with it. The threat of disappearing as soon as you reach a certain age, also intriguing. But none of the characters really came to life for me, and then you throw in super powers and gangs and talking coyotes and it’s just a few too many layers for my tastes. I finished it but I won’t look into any more of the series.

Okay, this doesn’t quite fit into the 90s category precisely, but it’s close enough. I wanted to listen to some S Club and have already done the first album so quickly moved on to this second one. It’s stacked with that great cheesy over-produced pop and I love it! The first couple of tracks are stand-out, Reach is clearly a belter, but the whole thing works for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. You think of the Rolling Stones as an old school rock band and although this isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with up to date beats, it’s a really good album that doesn’t sound dated at all. It feels like it probably fits in around the 90s, but is just a very enjoyable listen from start to finish.

I really love these books, and this time Anthony (the character) is in a whole heap of trouble. Rather than just following his detective friend around and writing about what happens, he’s right in the middle of the puzzle, accused of murder. I really liked the twists and turns and how there was a ticking clock in the background to keep the pace up. Finding out more about Hawthorne only whets the appetite for the next book, too!

I loved this film but it’s really important to note that it’s actually not a very good movie. The story is barely there and derivative at every turn, and the entire thing is driven on nostalgia - Paul Rudd literally says the words to the theme tune. But if you can forgive these things, go with the flow, and lean in to the nostalgia - they literally show an actual ad for an original toy! - then it’s a really enjoyable couple of hours.

The 90s repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC Four have had a bit of a break recently (Proms and the Olympics will do that to your channels) but came back with a bang with this amazing episode. It kicked off with the Backstreet Boys which was such a surprise to me that I almost choked on my drink, and aside from the next song, continued to astound and surprise.

Another entry in the DCI Ryan series and what I really appreciated about this one was how the threads of the long-running storylines were ebbing and flowing. Ryan’s new boss, introduced in the last story, started to get her teeth into things in this book, but clearly has a lot more in store. Meanwhile, a cold case mystery coincided with a current murder and there was plenty to investigate to figure out whodunit.

I’ll admit from the start, this one didn’t grab me as much as the last few Baldacci books have - although I stuck with it and was rewarded with a good mystery. At first it was a bit of a slog, lots of characters and not a real clear understanding of why our hero and anti-hero were actually in the positions they were. Gradually it started to come together and even though our characters figured out the mystery about half way through, it still had some twists to go before the end. A medium good read.

There were a couple of times in this book where I thought about giving up, the story was good and the humour was really well done - not over the top and in your face, but occasionally laugh out loud funny. But it felt like it took a while to get going and occasionally felt a bit directionless. However, I stuck with it and it was worth it. The flipping a coin thing isn’t new at this point but I like that it influences the story in both good and bad ways here.

I guess just power on through it and keep going as if nothing happened? It feels a bit odd that this year’s batch of contestants have been revealed over the past week or so, at the same time that the accusations of mistreatment from former guest dancers continues unabated. It’s an unexpected situation we find ourselves in, one that leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, but at least there are some safeguards in place for this year’s willing participants. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed by the names announced (Sarah Hadland excepted, OBVIOUSLY) and sort of wonder if there have been more people declining the opportunity due to the ongoing furore.

I had planned to write about the closing ceremony but in the end, it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped. It seemed to pick up pace after Tom Cruise threw himself into the mix, quite literally, but I was already asleep by then, and it sort of feels not worth watching on replay. Although clips and pictures I’ve seen do make me excited for LA’s hosting stint when it begins.

It won’t be news to learn that I love a good quiz, and what’s even better than general quizzing? Music quizzes! I love The Hit List when it comes round but a new contender to the quiz throne has arrived in the form of Popmaster TV. Turning a beloved ten minute radio quiz into a successful hour long TV show isn’t an easy task but they’ve done a fantastic job.

We’re getting to the good 90s pop music on the Top of the Pops replays now, and so it’s no surprise that I’ve been dipping into those albums as well. Supergrass are a band where I really only know that one amazing track, so it was interesting to listen to the rest of the album - it’s just more of the same, great open guitar rock from the 90s with catchy vocals and a slightly rebellious teenage vibe.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this album. I used to love All Saints, obviously, but this is a completely different thing. I wasn’t sure on the first listen through, but actually second time round it started to grow on me a bit. The first track is a bit odd but it gradually builds into some good music, and I suspect it has lots of layers and production details that are very carefully placed. Some good guest vocalists and ultimately a satisfying listen.

I listened to the audiobook of this, read by the author herself, and it’s just a really good story of a family that worked hard and were eventually rewarded with success, and actually managed to deal with it pretty well! It’s amazing to hear the early days of Judy’s career, how she played and loved tennis, coached and loved tennis, but really didn’t have the support that is just starting to appear today. And I thought the story of Andy and Jamie’s careers was well told, respectful considering it’s their stories. Love it.

So look, it turns out, watching two weeks of non-stop sport pretty much all day, every day can be a bit much. I’m a gibbering wreck. But I’m also still loving it and don’t want it to end tomorrow. It’s hard to reconcile the two positions but I’m powering through to enjoy every minute before the main Olympics disappears for another four years and we can turn our attention to the Paralympics.

The intro to this by Crichton’s widow says she is glad that these books are now available to read widely under his original name, as they put Michael through medical school and set him on the path to the accomplished thriller writer that we know and love. That’s not to say he was proud of these books necessarily, they’re self-confessed pulp fiction, airport adventure books, but I loved this one. It’s just straight to the action, no real character development, but even with that you somehow love all the good guys regardless. A quick, fun read!

A pretty standard ‘finding yourself’ rom-com, wherein a stressed and busy workaholic suddenly finds herself with a lot of time on her hands, and two nieces to look after. A fairy godmother (not quite literally), a park run project to organise, a wayward sister to track down, and a love/hate relationship to navigate all add up to a very good read. Not groundbreaking but a very comfortable and comforting book to indulge in.

The second book in a row that I thought was going to be one thing but turned quickly into something else. It started with a glimpse of some characters during the First World War, but then quickly moved into the modern day and was your basic love story… until it wasn’t! Suddenly, it was a court case about the provenance of a painting and highlighting the issue of restitution. Unexpected but very interesting, and a good effort at debating two sides of the situation.

I thought this was going to be a regular love story, the way it started, but it turned into something quite different and much more interesting. There are three people in this relationship, effectively, and there’s a lot of soul-searching from all sides - is there more to this story than we know, is there a bigger motive than just mischief? It’s an interesting deep-dive into managing grief, as well as an eye-opening look at what hypnotism can and can’t do. A good read!

In the last Olympics post, I mentioned that I’ve been watching the surfing which is new to me (and relatively new to the Olympics) and that’s one of the joys of this competition as a viewer - finding those odd sports that you’ve never heard of before and that absolutely captivate you.

I was keen to read this after absolutely loving the TV series (and it’s follow up series’ as well), and quite enjoyed reading the source material that sparked such an intense and well produced show. It’s hard to tell if I would have enjoyed the book so much if I didn’t have the characters already in my mind, and sometimes I wondered if the TV show had done a better job at bringing to life the horror of those days. But ultimately it doesn’t matter because I had seen it already, I did have the characters in my mind, and I did enjoy reading… if enjoy is the right word for a book covering such events!

This is an interesting Oasis album, it’s got a bit of a different feel to some of their other work and is certainly not stacked full of tunes as other albums. I read that Noel Gallagher has disregarded this album and said it should never have been written but I don’t think it’s that bad! It’s spreading the band’s wings a bit from more than just guitars and I thought it worked quite well, but let’s be honest, if you were going to put on an Oasis record, it probably wouldn’t be this one.

I was a bit nervous about listening to this one because, whilst respecting what she does, I’ve not enjoyed a lot of Charli’s music in the past. But this album does seem to have captured the world somewhat and if even presidential candidates are getting in on it, I probably should give it a go. I actually didn’t mind it, it’s not the kind of music I would seek out but if I was in a dance music mood, you could do worse!

Still loving these meta books by Anthony Horowitz, where the author is also a character in the stories, helping the main detective solve a murder mystery. This one was a lot of fun, too, as it took our characters away from their home comforts onto the island of Alderney and gave us a glimpse of some back story without giving it all away. I just really enjoy these books and can’t wait to read the next one.

You know that thing where certain things seemed different and nicer and more magical when you were a kid, and then when you view them through adult eyes, you sort of wonder what on earth it was all about? Well, I experienced that recently on re-reading the trilogy of Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton.

So far, I’m loving everything I’ve seen of the 2024 Olympics. Obviously, I’ve not been able to cover off everything that was on my spreadsheet schedule, even with as many screens open as possible. There’s an overwhelming amount of sport - and this is just for the events I’m hugely interested in, never mind the ones that could get my attention if I caught a glimpse.

The second book in the Hawthorne & Horowitz series, and I loved it just as much, if not more than, the first one. This time it felt like we were getting even more of an insight into our author’s life - him trying to get a TV show filmed whilst also dealing with an unexpected murder and second book earlier than expected. I like how determined he was to figure it out first, and of course, how much he failed at that. And I love how it has thriller elements but done really wryly - the chase scene and the final stabbing, all done but really subdued. Brilliant.

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.