This was a really good album, lots of good disco and pop fun, with a great mix of different genres along the way. Jessie has a great voice and you can tell she puts a lot of thought and time into producing the best tracks possible. The only complaint, really, is that it’s occasionally a bit too reminiscent of other songs. The Madonna one is a bit too blatant to be just ‘similar music’. But overall a great listen.

The reviews for this movie haven’t been that great, but I was intrigued and the trailer looked good, so why not go for a rom-com spy comedy crossover? I really liked it, actually, it was fun and the actual conspiracy was a pretty good one.

Season three of The Mandalorian wrapped up last month to very mixed reviews, and it’s taken me a while to decide how I feel about it. Overall, I liked it. I don’t think it quite lived up to the hype and quality of previous seasons but there was plenty in there to amuse.

The cover of this, and potentially the title, made me think it was going to be a bit too much of a romance novel for my tastes, but actually I really quite liked it. There are some interesting characters, and most of them having to overcome some kind of challenges or childhood traumas to move on with their lives. I liked it and would actually be interested in the rest of the series.

I really liked the Crimson Petal and the White - both book and TV adaptation - and I guess around about the time I read that, I picked up a couple of other Michel Faber books as well. This one is a book of short stories, his first publication, in fact, and it’s a mixed bag, as you might expect. There are some really good ideas in there, but I have to admit a lot of the stories I found frustrating, as they didn’t really go anywhere. It was more of getting an idea on a page and then moving on. Interesting but ultimately unfulfilling.

We’re all aware that Marvel has been having a shocker recently, a run of really bad films only saved by a run of really good TV shows. I have to admit, the trailer for this one didn’t make me think it was going to be any better but thankfully it was. Marginally. It was mostly pulled back from the brink by the people - Paul Rudd can carry almost anything, Michael Douglas’ obsession with ants was great, and Kathryn Newton was a great, if a little earnest, addition to the family.

I wanted to just practice the feeling of knitting and test out my endurance and patience levels, so decided to go with a superbly basic garter stitch scarf next. I didn’t think this wool was particularly good, it was labelled as craft wool rather than something you might make items of clothing out of, but as it was just practice, I wasn’t bothered. Turns out, the end result is really quite soft and is super stretchy.

I was so happy with the result of the little blue hat in all aspects except the size of it, I immediately had another go making it a bit bigger. This turned out just as well and has the added bonus of fitting on my head, so a big step forward. I made my first tassle to go on top, with a cardboard circle method. It was a bit fiddly and didn’t turn out that well, so I immediately invested in those little gadgety tassle maker things. Haven’t made another one since, but when I need to, I’m ready to go!

After some of the early bits and pieces, I wanted to knit something actually useful so opted for a hat. I wasn’t ready for circular or double pointed needles (still not, if I’m honest), so this fantastic pattern which knits a bobble hat on straight needles was a gem of a find. I dived straight in without thinking about measurements or gauge or anything, so the end result was way too small to fit on any adult-sized head. I didn’t bother to put a bobble on it because I don’t currently have an intended user for it. BUT I was super happy with the results, the way it decreases, the nice stretch of the rib at the bottom, and the way it stitched together. Hooray!

I’ve been knitting a couple of months now and am currently working on a bigger vest project, but realised I haven’t shared evidence of the small early projects I started with. Pics or it didn’t happen, right? The first one was a small bag that came from this book. Whilst I appreciate beginning with a small and super easy project - garter stitch and two separate parts just to join together afterwards - this bag is completely useless. It holds half my phone, so I don’t fully know what the point of it is. However, I don’t want to undo it because it was my first!

I love the two huge Mr Big songs, but I was sort of under the impression they were the heavy rock band that occasionally popped out a ballad for no apparent reason. It turns out they’re a bit more of a mixed bag, if this album is anything to go by. There are some harder rock moments but also other ballads and other genres slipping in at the same time. It’s quite a good album, although it won’t be breaking into my top ten any time soon. To finish off with To Be With You is great though, and now I have that song stuck in my head.

I always liked Florida Georgia Line so it was a bit of a shame to see them disband and go their separate ways. But having said that, Tyler Hubbard has kept a similar style on his debut solo album and it’s a pretty good one. There’s potentially a bit too much religion on there for my tastes, but there are also some great tunes, so it balances out.

Another David Tennant narration and this one was fun. The great thing about Doctor Who is how it can so easily mix up the various settings - alien planets, ancient times, the distant future - but this one was plum in the modern day with a mystery around a sunken Navy ship and a lot of people appearing to jump off bridges. You always know, when a companion gets injured in one of these books, they’ll be okay, but it still doesn’t stop it being slightly heartstopping when it happens. Great stuff.

I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time, as people have raved about it, and I loved the TV series that was adapted from it. I used to listen to Dolly and Pandora in their various podcast guises but have drifted away from that side of things recently. It’s a great book, beautifully written and searingly honest. I like that it’s not just about love and dating but also about love and friendships and how your closest relationships may not be your plus one but the one that was there since the beginning. I wasn’t completely sure if the recipes and lists and things added anything, but still, overall a wonderful read.

I’ve had this in my to read pile for a long time as well, and the problem with books like this is obviously the frame of reference in which it was written has moved on slightly. But given that it mostly covers things from the long distant past, it’s not so bad. As you might expect with a book like this, some of the chapters were more interesting than others. I liked the way it was grouped into relevant sections, like exploration, or invention, or matters of freedom, and the occasional dip into modern or personal anecdote helped to keep it grounded.

I’ve been rewatching some Simpsons episodes recently, and gone beyond when it was good into the wilderness past series ten, and that made me realise I hadn’t seen the film, even though I’ve always meant to watch it. It was available on Disney+ to stream so I gave it a watch and was pleasantly surprised! It’s really good, funny, satirical, a far cry from the letdown of some of the episodes I’ve been watching. Love the Under the Dome references, and that bit with Bart and the hedge - omg! Definitely worth a watch.

I knew a lot of the songs from this but had never pieced them together in context, I’ve not seen this musical before. It’s slightly quirky, helmed by Louis Armstrong who seems to be a sort of musical narrator at times. But of course the stars of the show are inescapably legendary and that carries the whole thing - even if the plot is a bit thin and contrived at times. Lots of fun, though.

This Lifetime movie seemed to be creating a lot of debate, so I figured it was worth a watch as it was available streaming on Paramount+. It was fine, but it does seem completely unnecessary - it doesn’t really do anything other than show the grim details, there’s no look at why, no talk about the aftermath. In fact, it comes to a slightly bizarre contented ending, which can’t possibly be related to real life. Horrifying story, but an easily missable film.

After the sad news of Mark Sheehan’s death, it seemed fitting to listen to another Script album this week, and lucky me, this is one of their best. Every track is great but it kicks off so well with a strong opener, and then the banging Hall of Fame. It tails off a bit towards the end, but they all stand up to repeated listenings, and stand the test of time as well. A fantastic album.

This is a properly good pop album, stacked full of tunes that grab you and, in true Ava Max style, don’t let you go until the end. Each is catchy and distinguishable from the other, and it’s just a bit of a joy to experience, to be honest. It feels unfair to compare to Ellie Goulding, as they are different artists, but where that album was pretty forgettable, this one was more memorable fun. A good job.

I’ve been working through a variety of musicals recently and this one popped into my head and just wouldn’t go away. I was reluctant because although I loved this as a kid, when I was thinking back on it, it took on a sort of screechy and long-winded persona in my mind. I couldn’t have been more wrong, it’s so good. The songs are great, there’s a real earnestness about it that isn’t cheesy or eye-rolling. And it’s a happy ending. I still wonder whether Grace just planned the whole thing to get Warbucks to notice her but never mind, it worked.

This is heralded as such a classic movie musical, one of the greatest of all time, and somehow I’d never seen it before. I knew of many of the songs and obviously aware of classic moments like the actual singing and dancing in the rain but none of it had context. It was good, and I liked the story about the transition from silent movies to talking pictures, but I don’t quite know if I’d count it as the greatest! Still, you can’t fault old school tap dancing routines and Gene Kelly is a legend, even if he’s overshadowed by Cosmo in this movie.

I expected to like one of the latest shows on Apple TV+, Hello Tomorrow! because I’ve grown to love Billy Crudup and he was front and centre of this series. Oh and he’s selling real estate on the moon and we all know how much I love that celestial object. The show is styled as ‘retro-futuristic’ which is a word that makes my head fizz a bit, but I guess that’s the best description of it. It’s like the 50s but with the addition of flying cars and robot waiters and frequent rocket ships to the moon.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book and was pleasantly surprised by a completely insightful story about a woman in a difficult relationship struggling with the fact that her friends are moving along the ‘typical’ life plan of marriage and kids etc, whilst she isn’t. Alongside career stresses and that difficult second book problem. Easy to read but difficult content, I found this relatable and ultimately quite sad.

It’s always nice to go on one of these adventures with Jon Ronson, although nice probably isn’t the right word as they are usually quite stressful and eye-opening all at the same time. This one takes a look at online shaming which continues to be a growing problem. I felt like the journey took a couple of weird and potentially unrelated turns in the middle but otherwise it’s a good book that looks at both sides of the problem and shows how horrible a society can be when behind the safety of a keyboard.

This was a pretty good thriller in the end, it took quite a long time to get going and for the first half of the book, I wasn’t really sure it was actually going anywhere. But gradually the mystery unfolded and I got sucked in and had to find out what was going on anyway, so that’s surely the sign of a reasonably good twist in the tale.

I was quite surprised how often 2 Unlimited popped up on the Top of the Pops 90s reruns we’re working through. Obviously, No Limit is a banger, but they kept coming back with other songs - who knew they had a whole career? Turns out they had four albums which blows my mind. Having listened to the album, the good stuff is good, but it’s all very similar. In fact there’s a song on this album that has the exact same beat as No Limit, it just goes up instead of down. So weird. Not a bad listen but not one I’d repeat - the singles are enough.

I wouldn’t call myself an enormous Ellie fan but I like some of her songs and was curious what direction this new album would take. It was good, pretty standard pop, reminded me quite a lot of Dua Lipa, fun while you’re listening but nothing hugely special or memorable. Maybe a few more listens would help but ultimately, a good album, nice to listen to.

I had heard good things about this but couldn’t get to the end of it! It’s a good cast but was there a joke in there at all? Not sure. ‘Classic comedy’ says the description and I was still waiting for that to start halfway through. Talking of which, for a movie about a race, there’s a lot of talking and not a lot of racing. Boo!

So sad that Mark Sheehan has died. The Script were one of the last shows we went to before the pandemic and had hoped to see them a lot more times in the future.

I’ve had this in my digital library for a really long time, I’m not sure what prompted me to pick it up in the first place. It was a good read, the kind of young adult book that puts teenagers in more adult situations (although the trainee police thing was a believable setup) and then you find they bring their own solutions that the adults would never have been able to do. I also liked the way this was written, Chris Ould has done a lot of TV work, and this felt very scenic - each chapter a snapshot of a scene before moving on to the next.

First of the tenth doctor stories, I listened to the audiobook of this because it was read by the lovely David Tennant. Nothing better than hearing more from my favourite Doctor! The story was good too, I love it when there’s an element of time travel - seeing the stone in the future makes them go back to the past and all the ramifications of that. Plus the idea of the robot genie wish-granter was brilliant, you have to be so careful with what you wish for!

This is a good story but it’s quite drawn out towards the end. At first you wonder how these two are going to intertwine, when the big showdown will be, but then things turn a bit more sentimental, a bit more weepy. I didn’t enjoy the end as much as the start but it’s a well-told emotional tale that wraps up nicely.

Sam Neill’s surprise autobiography, written hurriedly during treatment for cancer, is a breath of fresh air. Upfront, Sam admits to writing this only for himself, so it’s a journey through disjointed memories and moments in time, thoughts about relationships and friends and the acting world and what it means to be human. I really liked it, especially the pragmatic way Sam deals with awkward moments and knowing/meeting cancelled people.

This was an interesting thriller, well written, and the way it dipped back and forth in time kept me hooked and turning the pages to see what happened. The characters didn’t really leap out at me but I kept pushing on towards the big twist at the end. It was a shock, and a good twist, but then I feel like it didn’t play out as best it could. A good read though.

I love this blog post from Duolingo recommending ways to increase your language learning by utilising your television and its various audio/subtitle options. The post runs through the different scenarios you can try to help boost your listening and reading skills, for example, audio in your own language and subtitles in the language you’re trying to learn, or vice versa. Or the pro option, audio and subtitles in the language you’re trying to learn.

After realising last week that I wasn’t listening to the Liz Phair album Mr C had suggested, I had to tune in again making it two Liz weeks in a row. Thankfully, this one was a lot better and I can understand now why it was the chosen album. It’s a lot more accomplished than the first one, perhaps a lot more mainstream which makes it better in my eyes potentially not so for the critics. Liz is not afraid of laying it all on the table, I was surprised at some of the explicit content, but they’re good songs that stand the test of time.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this album so it was a pleasant surprise, pretty good from start to finish, although quite hard to describe. Some fabulous guest vocalists, including the incredible Stevie Nicks! Each song is quite different but it works together as a whole, it’s probably not something I would seek out but I quite enjoyed the process of listening.

This got off to a slow start, but I really started to get into it and loved it by the end. The story is a handful of characters ending up living in a house together and the many misunderstandings and mistaken assumptions that happen as they navigate beginning and ending various relationships - your standard romcom stuff but done very well.

Oh wow, I really loved this book. I listened to the audiobook read by the author, so enjoyed Fern’s amazing accent throughout, but it was the content that really shone. The way Fern describes what she’s faced and been through before and after a late autism diagnosis and her difficulties with her family, and how she interacts with the world… it’s brilliant and funny and moving and startlingly honest and just wonderful.

This is a charming enough movie but it’s just so in the shadow of Mary Poppins, it was intended as a replacement for if that fell through and it feels like an understudy from start to finish. That said, I do remember some of the songs quite fondly and my word, Angela Lansbury carries the whole thing off in style, so I don’t dislike it. I can’t quite believe how little recollection I had with regards to it being about the war… that’s the driving point of the whole plot!

Apple launched a separate music app for Classical music this week, dedicated to the classical music genre, whilst continuing to work with your existing Apple Music subscription. I think this is an interesting idea, and if I hadn’t been taking a pause from monthly challenges then 30 days of classical music could very much have been on the cards.

I love this project Diaries of Note which is reproducing one diary entry from the past for each day of 2023, featuring well known writers such as Beatrix Potter and F. Scott Fitzgerald, people you may not know as writers such as Louis Theroux and Andy Warhol, and then, of course, lots of people you’ve not heard of at all.

A week or so ago, the final episode of the first season of Shrinking was released and it wrapped up what has been an incredible series of television. This show, inevitably linked to Ted Lasso thanks to creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, focused on the life of a therapist who was in the grieving process as his wife had just died… and of course the friends and family that surrounds him.

This is a good twisty thriller, wherein a face from the past comes into Beth & Jay’s life and causes chaos. I like how it was structured, lots of short chapters dipping into the various points of view and gradually moving the story along and leading towards a couple of last minute twists that I didn’t see coming, even though I should have! A good read!

I mentioned in my wrap-up of the March challenge that I’m taking a pause on these monthly endeavours, because there are only so many hours in the day. That’s part of it: I don’t know why I assumed time would just keep expanding to allow me to add hobby after hobby. But there is more to it than that… in having to pause the project, it really proves what a success it has been.

This album was a bit of a mistake, it turns out. I didn’t enjoy listening to it the first time round and when Mr C asked after it, he was surprised that I hadn’t liked it. Then it turns out this wasn’t the specific Liz Phair album he’d wanted me to listen to, so next week I’ll be doing the correct one! On the second listen, this was better, but I’m still not sure I was totally sold. It’s a kind of mix between Alanis and Sheryl Crowe, but not as good as either of them.

First listen through on this, I didn’t like it. I don’t know if it was because I was in a bad mood (I didn’t like either of this week’s albums first time through), or if this is a bit of a grower, but definitely it was the second listen that really started to open it up. It’s a different kind of mood to the Depeche Mode of old, they’ve been through a lot recently! I’ll have to listen a few more times and perhaps report back!