I’ve had this in my list to read for such a long time that I didn’t remember too much about it when I started reading. It was an interesting mix of romance novel and action thriller, very frothy and very easy to read. The twists and turns were fun along the way, never quite sure who to trust, although I have to admit the cliffhanger style ending was more frustrating than tantalising.

P!nk recently appeared on the Graham Norton Show on the BBC to sing her latest release TRUSTFALL and promote her new album of the same name. It was an incredible live performance. You can rely on P!nk to add a bit of gymnastics or circus skills to her sets and this time it was all about the trampoline. P!nk was focused on vocals rather than bouncing off the mat, but it’s all the better for it.

Such a good reference book this one. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have written over 100 essays to cover the stories fo so many women both in history and in the present from a variety of disciplines. From local campaigners to global ambassadors, those that changed the world in medicine, history, law, in the world of romance, rights and respect, and in many other areas. On the one hand this book is incredibly inspiring, on the other hand it gave me moments of deep rage that these things have even had to happen. But ultimately we’ve come a long way and we’ve still got a long way to go, so women will keep on needing to be gutsy.

This was a really interesting science-fiction novel, a really gentle dystopian fiction that was no less horrifying for its slow and steady pace. The world is starting to turn more slowly and we gradually see the impact of that, on the wider global scale but also on very personal levels. Through the eyes of a pre-teen girl, there are still friendship and boy dramas alongside the huge worldwide problems and discoveries.

I was in two minds about watching the second series of Clarkson’s Farm. Some of the recent comments by the eponymous presenter are no good at all and he never really seems to show any motivation to think about what he’s said or change his ways. However, this show is one of the only ones out there that’s really managing to highlight how difficult farming is at the moment, in a way that is accessible to people who don’t know the first thing about life in the country.

I’ve not really had a huge amount of interest in this in the past, but listened to the audiobook read by Hugh Bonneville and actually it was quite a lot of fun. A very approachable insight into the early (perhaps slightly embellished) childhood of the naturalist and writer when his mother upped sticks and moved to Greece. It made me want to watch some of the TV adaptations of his stories and see how they have been portrayed.

I recently listened to the audiobook of Phil Wang’s sort-of-memoir Sidesplitter, where the comedian talks about many areas of his life particularly where cultures intersect - food, family, comedy, and more global topics like the British Empire past, present and future, and how race and racism affects people every single day. They’re heavy topics in places but the book is really well done, with wit and humour but also a great deal of insight and thought-provoking ideas. The section on cultural appropriation has really stuck with me, so I thought I would share some quotes here for future reference.

Dina Carroll keeps popping up on the Top of the Pops 93/94 replays that we’ve been watching on the BBC… I was surprised at how many songs she actually has, as I only knew a couple of the big power ballads. It felt like a good time to check out a full album and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course the ballads are on there, but there were some more uptempo pop songs as well, and Dina’s incredible voice carried the whole thing very well.

I loved Paramore’s last album and it’s been five or six years since they released that, so my expectations were high going into this one! Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint although I’ll admit there were no real bangers on the album. But I liked all the tracks and it was a great listen - bit short, but I prefer that to outstaying its welcome. Get in, get poptacular, get out!

We had two non-starters going into this film so it was really just a relief to find something that sustained our attention and was watchable to the end. It’s a nice family comedy, with a great trio of Ben, Allison and Kristen, all being slightly messy adults that have stuff to work through. It’s not hugely funny but has its moments, it’s not totally moving but there are definitely heartwarming scenes… it’s just a sort of middle-of-the-road decent watch, no strong opinions one way or the other.

I really wanted to like this, I’ve been looking forward to it since seeing the trailer but I think, as always, the promo material was kinda misleading. There’s such a great cast here, and the setting and visuals are gorgeous, plus it’s a fun idea, but it just didn’t work. Maybe you need a bit more patience to get on the right wavelength of the comedy, but I just felt disappointed.

This one was so boring, and the reviews I’ve seen following it all suggest the amount of chemistry between the leads doesn’t grow at all during the movie, so I don’t think we missed much. A shame, because Reese is good people.

This is a useful little reference book, covering all of human history (the main areas, anyway, there’s only so much you can cover in an accessible book like this). It splits into various sections, early history, ancient lands, more recent revolutions, and right up to date with the space race and the internet taking over the globe. What I think this book does well is split up history like that, so that if you’re reading through, you can see which areas jump out at you that you might want to investigate further and read more about. It’s a great jumping off point to start learning more.

A lovely collection of the fantastic messages that appear on London Tube message boards - something that started as a bit of fun from a couple TFL employees and became a bit of a phenomenon. These boards are shared all over social media and help to lift people’s spirits and sometimes touch someone’s soul. Topics range from celebrations, commiserations, reflections, moments to share pain, moments to realise we’re all in it together, dealing with mental health and other illnesses, or just trying to get through another Monday. A great reference book to have on hand if you’re not in London, or not going on the tube anytime soon.

This book doesn’t seem to exist in the Kindle store anymore, so goodness knows how long I’ve had it in my ‘to read’ pile. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I did on this one, thinking it was going to be a cheesy trying-too-hard comedy romance novel. Actually, it was really good - funny, well written, believable if still absurd situations, a bit of a parody on the world of television production, with some great characters and a story you want to know more about.

I only really know of Phil Wang from Taskmaster (this is true of so many comedians these days!) but he was funny on that so I thought it would be interesting to hear what he has to say. This has elements of memoir in it but is actually more a perspective on life as someone who straddles two worlds, two countries, two cultures. It’s a really refreshing, honest, and, naturally, a very funny book with a sensible approach to life, race, and the many forms of hatred that people can heap upon each other. The chapter talking of cultural appropriation has particularly stuck in my mind. A great read.

This started out so well, I was absolutely gripped to the story at the start - a quiet young woman falling for her teacher in a questionable but not creepy way. The writing was really easy to read and it felt like we were bedding in for a really interesting life story. Unfortunately for me, it drifted a bit once the kids arrived and the neighbours moved in and everything that happened with Andrew.

There was so much confusion trying to find the right album to listen to here - firstly, this was called Whitesnake in the US and 1987 in the UK, and there are so many versions on Apple Music. Remastered this, re-released that, remastered again there. Eventually I found one I could work with, although I’m still not convinced the tracks are in the right order. Once I got to the music, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a little bit cheesy in places, and solidly 80s rock and of its time, but it’s not bad to listen to at all. Here I Go Again is an absolute tune but the rest don’t necessarily let the side down. I’d listen again!

Woah. This film. I watched it because it’s such a bizarre concept - this guy who was SO good at making Irish dancing a global phenomenon decided he wanted to write, produce, direct and star in a spy movie. The film is a bit of a laughing stock in the industry and I knew going into it that it was going to be bad.

Yay Shania! Can’t describe how much I love this woman, and so excited for another album. It’s great, tunes from start to finish, although I don’t think I liked it quite as much as I did Now. She’s a bit more angry this time, and taking a bit more of a stand (Shania swears, gasp!) and spends some time talking about not being underestimated just because she’s a woman. All good messages, set to great pop country as per usual.

This is such a great concept for a book and well executed as well - focusing in on names and faces from history that you may have heard of but also those that have absolutely been overlooked. I really liked how engaging the book was but must admit some of the layouts were a bit tricky to read on a digital device. Otherwise, definitely recommended.

I was expecting this to be your traditional cheesy rom-com wedding movie but it turned out to be a proper comedy that was a lot more enjoyable than I’d anticipated. Jennifer Lopez is great, and I loved the chemistry between her and Duhamel, which seemed to grow and evolve with the movie just as it should have done.

A fun read this one. For once, I thought I might have liked it better via audiobook because it was such a monologue style and so strongly Irish, I feel like being told the story would have been better than reading it. However, read it I did and I zipped through it. The style reminded me quite a lot of Bridget Jones, that sort of informal, thoughts-on-a-page thing. But I liked that it wasn’t just a rom-com, it was really a woman trying to figure out where she is and where she’s going next, whilst dealing with some family drama along the way. And I really liked the calm ending, not all wrapped up neatly but with some promise for the future.

I love, love, loved the first series of Little America - an anthology show on Apple TV that focuses in on true stories of immigrants finding their way in the US, although ultimately it’s simply stories about being human. Sometimes that’s a drama in a family, sometimes it is someone doing something brave and heroic, sometimes it’s an unexpected person absolutely smashing it out of the park and inspiring us all to do better. That’s what’s great about this show, the mixture of people and the uplifting feel of each story, even if they are somewhat heartbreaking underneath.

This is such a good read. It’s gentle and methodical whilst being full of tension and worry. It follows the exploits of a handful of characters, mostly women, as they do their bit for the war effort in the UK and in Denmark - field agents, codebreakers and those trying to improve the situation for those on the ground and those risking their lives every day. Whilst it doesn’t show the full horrific action-packed impact of war like other fiction does, it shows the real heart of what war does: tearing families apart, making everyone suspicious of everyone and ultimately having innocent people die for no good reason. Beautifully written and achingly sad, but worth every moment.

Sometimes when I watch something really good and think about doing a post about it, I worry if it’s an old show that it’s not really relevant. But in this day and age when you can stream pretty much anything at your convenience, there’s no such thing as a late review. Heck, if people are still coming to Friends for the first time, then I’m good to write about something that was on TV in November.

Last year, in preparation for the new series of Trying, I started rewatching the show from the beginning and loved it so much that I had to start pulling out the best quotes from each episode to refer back to. I only got a couple of episodes done last year but I’m picking up the thread again now with some more absolute gems.

If you’re looking for good 90s guitar pop alternative then this is exactly the album for you. The genre is alternative but really it should be Dawson’s Creek. The first ten minutes or so are just so painfully Dawson’s it made me want to rewatch the show from the beginning all over again. It’s a good album, of it’s time but without sounding dated. The only weird thing is the final track where the band just suddenly go really country for no apparent reason. An odd choice to end on but otherwise a great listen.

I really loved this album, Elle has a great voice and belts out some good tunes - right from the opening moments of Ohio, you’re drawn in to her world. There are a couple of great singles on there, with Dierks and Miranda (although that Miranda one was a single so long ago that it felt a bit odd popping up on a brand new album), but Elle holds her own without the guests too. Definitely worth a listen or two.

This is a fun Doctor Who read, featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose head back in time to investigate a mystery surrounding Neanderthal Man. It’s got great action sequences in there, but also some thoughts about humanity, what it means and what we can do better. I’m not sure the underlying motives of the ‘villain’ were well explained but it didn’t detract too much from the story.

Hmm, bit of a disappointment this one. The tribute to Chadwick Boseman was great and I appreciate the characters needed room to grieve, but the film was far too long for the story it had to tell. There’s a good movie in there, it just got swallowed up by negative points like the length, the fact that it’s trying to be Avatar, that the awesome science kid isn’t really given much to do.

In a further effort to reach out and communicate with fans and players of The Sims 4, the team behind the game started the first of a series of streams called Behind the Sims where they shared lots of sneak peaks and updates about what’s happening and what’s coming soon. I didn’t watch the video myself but have seen plenty of the news that’s been reported on since, and some of it is very exciting.

In my recent round up of movies to look forward to, I didn’t notice or consider 80 for Brady, which is a film about a group of older friends travelling together to see their idol Tom Brady do what he does best on the football field. It’s got a great cast and is bound to be one of those charming movies where a handful of brilliant female actresses gel together and have a bit of a riot.

I really enjoyed this Poirot story as the action kicked off straight away - our favourite detective is summoned to France but by the time he gets there the person who wrote him the letter has been murdered, and thus the investigation begins! There are many, many twists and turns in this story, not just because there are the usual cast of characters who full under the finger of suspicion by turn, but also in revelations. Just when you think it’s sorted, something else happens and the whole thing is turned on its head.

It feels like forever since there has been any news of Lara Croft and her tomb raiding business, so I was very happy to hear about a new TV show potentially in development for Amazon Prime. The names attached look good, particularly Phoebe Waller-Bridge who would be able to bring a great level of drama and humour that would fit very well with the character.

I’ve read this before, of course I have. There’s no way I would have gone through the whole series before and just stopped at book eight of nine. I remember eagerly awaiting seeing how everything panned out. So I’ve definitely read it but why I failed to review it, I have no clue. And having discovered that recently, I couldn’t remember enough about it to do a catch up review… I had to read it again.

February has arrived, and that means a fresh challenge, another chance to try something new. Actually, this isn’t something new to me but something I’ve tried my hand at a long time ago and since mostly forgotten: knitting! A lot of my previous experience was based on knitting rows and rows of just plain stitches, marvelling as the length of knitted material grew, then frogging the sort-of scarf I made and starting over again. Pretty basic.

Wired writer Amelia Tait published an article this weekend about the fact that recent cinema releases have focused on a new kind of villain - the tech giant gone rogue. The new Knives Out movie is heavily focused on a tech billionaire, the surprisingly good Santa Clauses TV show had an Amazon style delivery company at heart, and further back the animations Ron’s Gone Wrong and Mitchells vs the Machines are all about modern technology being misused.

I battle my way through the TV adaptation of this - certainly not enjoying it but somehow invested in the story and curious about what comes next. The book is such a modern classic but it’s taken me a long time to get round to reading it, I wish I had read it earlier. It’s only the early events of the TV show but the way it’s written is perfection. Short, sharp, to the point, but also somehow woolly, dreamlike, because you need to dream to survive that life, and your memory will start to wobble.

I’ve only been on Mastodon for just a couple of days but already been very curious about the discussion over ‘quote tweeting’. On Twitter, the quote tweet is a much-used feature that allows you to embed a previous tweet in your own and add thoughts. It was brought in to help users share other posts without eating too much into your own character count. This hasn’t been a feature on Mastodon (helped by the fact the character count is higher anyway!) but now more people are flooding to the service, it’s become a highly requested addition.

It’s not the best start for a new year of 30-day-or-thereabouts challenges to have given up halfway through the month, is it? Actually, it wasn’t so much giving up as realising it wasn’t working. Therefore I’m refraining from using the word fail because even though I didn’t do a full month like I hoped, I learnt a lot along the way.

This album inevitably came from the Carpool Karaoke episode featuring Wilco, a band I had never heard of but instantly took a liking too. They were very funny in the episode and the music was some nice middle of the road guitar stuff worth listening to. This is a long album, but it’s never boring, although I don’t know there were any huge stand-out songs either. It’s a good record that will be worth listening to again in the future.

I’ve not really been a fan of First Aid Kit in the past, mostly seeing them pop up on festival streams and usually switching over to another stage. But I figured it was time I gave them a proper go and a new album is always a good opportunity. It was actually pretty good - nice songs, good vocals, a sort of weird country-alternative hybrid. I can’t say it completely won me over but maybe next time they appear on a festival stage, I’ll give them more of a chance before reaching for the remote.

It took me a little while to get up the courage to watch the TV show Willow, based on the film of the same name. We’ve only just recently watched the movie - something we’d both seen before and yet could remember almost nothing about. So the world was fresh in my mind, but even so, I couldn’t see how a TV show would add anything to what is a beloved (although not really by me) universe.

Ah this was good. I’ve enjoyed Ben Elton’s writing in the past but that has usually been a satiric take on something more modern. This was a crime mystery fully focused on the first world war - in which a conscientous objector of sorts ends up on the front line. The characters were really well formed, the situations so well described it was like being there, and I thought the story was cleverly put together and executed. Loved it.

I mostly read this because of the title - it’s a great pun and why not learn a bit about music and science along the way? It’s long been understood that music is inextricably tied in with maths, but here we see how it also fits in with music. Using the analogy of a universe-long piano, we learn about frequencies from low to high and everything in between, how they have helped and hindered, aided scientific discoveries and made beautiful music. It’s well written and although I can’t admit I took everything on board, it was approachable and readable at every stage.

Wahey, I’m on Mastodon! You can find me here and I hope to be using it as a full on Twitter replacement and actually engaging with it rather than falling into the on-again-off-again pattern that I had with the bird one. My path to Mastodon has essentially been: Oh, something’s up with Twitter, it’ll probably be alright though, continue as usual All anyone talks about on Twitter now is the demise of Twitter. Check less often Third party apps have been switched off. You want me to use the website? Mm, no, that’s Twitter fully gone for me I know everyone’s talking about Mastodon but it sounds complicated and no one is really there and do I even need a Twitter replacement? Hmm, I am missing the discovery part of social networking - the news, the memes, the rabbit holes of film trivia, the jokes, the fascinating facts Ooh, Ivory (terrible name for it but great app!) is out which makes Mastodon as easy to use as Tweetbot was for Twitter! Okay, well, there may not be everyone here yet but if I don’t move, I can’t be sad no one else is moving across either. Let’s all move! And so, here we are. I wrote previously that I’d be blogging more because some of the little things I would previously just have tweeted now had nowhere to go. I’m still going to try and keep that mentality, because my blog is my castle, but I do think there’s a lot of benefit in having a functioning social space like Twitter was. Hopefully Mastodon can seamlessly fill the gap, but we shall see!

This is a lovely heartfelt memoir from Grace, detailing her life from childhood through family secrets to early career success and stumblings to a more comfortable but still difficult current situation. Everything is described brilliantly and as the memoir is grounded in the food that decorates each moment - from early spaghetti meals with the family to high art crafted meals in posh restaurants. It’s a really good read.

When Netflix announced they were making a documentary series about tennis, similar to their work focused on Formula One in Drive to Survive, I was intrigued. I didn’t watch the motorsport one, having spent too much of my time already watching that sport, but people seemed to think it did a good job telling the stories behind the races, and even non-F1 fans were raving about it.

Variety published a story yesterday detailing a walkout by the jury at the Sundance film festival from a film where closed captioning wasn’t available. They’ve been striving for greater accessability anyway, but in this instance it was a specific problem for the jury, which includes wonderful actress Marlee Matlin. The article suggests it was a dramatic walkout after a captioning device didn’t work, whilst the statement from the Sundance organisers was more muted, that the jury just decided to watch the film at a later date so they could do so together. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.