Reading & Seeing 30

The Year of Living Danishly
One woman's experience of living in 'sticksville on sea' (a town not far from Legoland headquarters) in Denmark after her husband gets a job with the tiny brick giants. It's an insightful and amusing account as she navigates the Danish way of doing things (work, the school system, childbirth, numerous traditions, pastries and flag poles). The book really made me want to live in Denmark or at the very least, made me think that I could manage somewhere other than London and even the UK!

Homegoing
An incredible look back through history told through the bloodlines of two Ghanaian sisters, torn from their families and forced into the slave trade, in one way or another. The story starts in the 18th Century and spans two hundred years, each chapter focusing on the next generation. Every character faces prejudice and adversity even in the decades after slavery is abolished. Despite only having a chapter with some of the characters, I was very invested in them, which made it harder to have to leave them behind and move further forward in time. I can honestly say this is one of (if not the)  best book I've read this year so far.

All the light we cannot see
Work book club's choice and a good one too. Set during the second world war it follows the experiences of two children: an orphan boy from Germany with a talent for radios; a blind French girl with a very special item in her possession. It's beautifully written and terribly sad, a strong reminder that nobody wins in war.

Acceptance
The third and final book in the Southern Reach Trilogy and I had hoped that it would answer all my (millions of) questions. Some fascinating stuff happens - my tiny mind nearly exploded - but I can't say I'm completely clued up on what actually happened... My sister tells me that a film is the pipe works which I'd be keen to see, perhaps it'll shed some light on things!

I've seen some great films in the last couple of months, starting with Bridget Jones' Baby. My expectations were pretty low but it was very funny. It's a tried and tested formula but it works and Renee Zellwegger is on form! Next, probably my favourite movie of the year so far, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. I don't want to give too much away, but it involves a boy and his foster father being hunted through the New Zealand bush. I really like the humour (see also, What We Do in The Shadows) and the scenery is stunning. In Swiss Army Man, Paul Dano is marooned on an island and is about to kill himself when he finds Daniel Radcliffe (a v.flatulent corpse with other various hidden talents) who inadvertently saves him and brings him back to society. It's weird, very weird, like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm glad I've seen it but I don't need to see it again. Lastly, Doctor Strange. Another Marvel romp and a surprisingly good one! Dr Strange is a highly successful neurosurgeon until a car accident damages the nerves in his hands beyond repair. Reaching the limits of western medicine, he takes a trip to Kathmandu to seek the help of The Ancient One (the fabulous Tilda Swinton). The cast is great, particularly Cumberbatch (arrogant, grumpy, comical - definitely a little sherlock-esque), the story is well-paced and the special effects are rather spectacular. The clip in the end credits reminds you that it's a Marvel production but Doctor Strange is a welcome change to the 'hero' movies of late.

Around the middle of October we saw Aurora perform at the Shepherds Bush Empire. It was great to go to a live gig again and she was awesome, both her voice and her candid chatter between songs. I've never been to a music gig where the artist talked so much! Highlight was probably Conqueror.

Also last month, I saw an interview with Tim Peake (and Tim Kopra) at The Royal Albert Hall. It was a fascinating insight into what it's like to be an astronaut and live on the ISS. All the astronauts seem to be really into photography, spending much of their free time down at the Cupola observation module on the station. The pictures of the earth are breathtaking. Tim Peake comes across as such a lovely, down to earth (excuse the pun) man, which makes a lot of sense, as Tim Kopra said, you have to be smart to be an astronaut but at the end of the day what you really need to be is someone people don't mind spending lots of time with :)

Reading & Seeing 29

I've got a fair amount (for me anyway) of reading done over the last three months, and an interesting mix of books at that, I'll begin with In a Dark Dark Wood. Our protagonist, Nora, a solitary writer living in London, is invited to an old school friends' hen weekend. Against her better judgement, she attends and so ensues the most twisted and bloody hen do I've ever encountered. It's definitely a page turner and Ruth Ware kept my interest all the way to the end. The school girl relationships, bitchiness and heirachy was very relatable, I remember how some girls at my school were much the same as Claire, which is why I didn't quite get why the hell Nora would put herself back in close proximity to that. Also, would she really still be pining after her high school boyfriend? The biggest plot problem for me was the motive behind everything (a lot of effort over something kinda trivial?). Still, an enjoyable read.

I finally got around to reading The Alchemist and, for all its acclaim, I feel I must have missed something. To me the story read like some sort of teaching or parable from the Bible, ie: two dimensional characters, not much in the way of description, a 'message' at the end. *shrugs* I'm not sure what the fuss is about...From alchemy (although the alchemist is barely even in the book) to Authority, the second instalment of the Southern Reach Trilogy. In contrast to the mission based narrative of the first book, Authority is set within the Southern Reach agency and written from the perspective of its newly appointed director. It doesn't have the pace of the first book nor the stripped back cast of characters but it certainly creates more intrigue as we learn more about the mysterious (and expanding!) Area X. I cannot wait to read the last book (I'm actually kind of savouring it), I just hope it answers some of my hundred questions!

Big Magic and My Brilliant Friend were both blook club choices. The former was the perfect example of why joining a book club is a good idea: it forces you to read books you'd never normally pick up. I purchased Big Magic on my kindle but had I bought a physcial copy I would have found it (or not found it) in the self help section. Never have I read a self help book but actually I was pleasantly surprised, perhaps because it didn't really feel like a self help book (or what I imagined one to be like). Certain parts of the book are a little difficult to swallow and there is an emphasis on writing and a feeling that the book is aimed at aspiring writers, but Elizabeth Gilbert has some great stories and anecdotes and I felt very inspired to get on and create stuff once finishing it. My Brilliant Friend (written by the annonymous writer known as Elena Ferrante) follows the story of a friendship between two girls growing up near Naples. I've not seen a bad word said about this book, and I won't start! As a reader you're completely emmersed in the world of the two central characters, the writing is deliciously detailed and rich and you really get a sense of the inner-most thoughts and feelings of the narrator. This is only the first instalment (thank god, the end was a right cliffhanger) and I cannot wait to read book no. 2! 

The last book I read was A Hologram for the King. Having enjoyed Dave Eggers' The Circle, I thought I'd give another one of his a whirl but meh, I can't say it did much for me (I also can't see why they wanted to make a film out of it). Set around the initial construction of a new Dubai-like settlement in the Saudi desert, not a great deal happens, it felt like the reader too is living an empty life waiting and waiting until the King arrives so that Alan, our protagonist can deliver his presentation to demonstrate the hologram technology to be used in the new development. For me the book felt as vacuous as the incomplete city itself, but maybe that was the point?

I also had a bit if a catch up on some recent (and not so recent) marvel movies. X-Men: Apocolypse, although it had some excellent set pieces (anything with Quicksilver; Wolverine's cameo) and brilliant casting (Sophie Taylor as Jean Grey!), overall it was too long and pretty cheesy (Apocolypse "learning" through the TV; Magento shacking up in the woods? Please). A much better 'ensemble' movie, for me, was Captain American: Civil War. Again, excellent casting, script, action sequences and how flipping ace was Spiderman??!!! Which brings me on nicely to Ant-Man. Why I missed it in the cinema, I don't know! Paul Rudd is absolutely perfect and coupled with the fact that Edgar Wright had a hand in the script, it was a winner for me. Lastly, we recently watched Deadpool. I know everyone collectively lost their sh*t over this film, but I gotta say, I didn't get the hype. Yeah it was funny in places (mostly thanks to Man of Steel) but the over the top abnoxious-ness of Deadpool didn't make him likeable, give me Ant-Man any day :)

Reading & Seeing 28

Fatale - Jean-patrick Manchette (1977)
An excellent noir novella which follows the exploits of a killer, Aimee, as she arrives in a small seaside town and ingratiates herself into the inner circle of its corrupted prominent inhabitants. Our central character is, perhaps at the time it was written anyway, shockingly cold and calculating (less so in this day and age what with the likes of Amy Dunne etc around). It's a lean little book, about 90 pages long, and none of those are wasted filler, it's suspenseful, atmospheric and dramatic.  Unsurprisingly, I finished it within a day and if you enjoy a bit crime noir you probably will too.

The Secret Place - Tana French (2014)
Work's (first) book club choice and a fat old read at that. Set in a girls' boarding school a year after a student from the nearby boys' school is found murdered in the grounds, the story is told from multiple perspectives including the rookie cop attempting to solve the murder and the four teenage girls at the centre of the story. This book was incredibly dense - 5 pages to get a across a paragraph of story progression - which some might find enjoyably descriptive, I did not. I found it really hard going, the girls' narratives quite grating and cringey, and it wasn't until the last 100 pages or that the story picked up any kind of pace or suspense. Just not my cup of tea really.

After the Crash - Michel Bussi (2015)
A plane crashes in the French alps, two babies are amongst the passengers on board - one from a wealthy family and one from a significantly less well-off one - everyone on the plane perishes, except for one baby, but which baby is she? The story is largely set 18 years after the crash where both families and a private detective are trying to solve the mystery once and for all. The premise of this book sounded great but the delivery didn't really live up to it - meandering all over the place with fairly long irrelevant sections - and the 'reveal' at the end was pretty predictable (which says a lot, I NEVER figure out whodunit).

The Circle - Dave Eggers (2013)
Everyone wants to work for The Circle, the company is full of bright young minds, desinging and producing innovative ideas that'll change the world. But it's big thing is social media. Employees are encouraged to comment, like, connect with and record everything, and as the power and reach of The Circle expands, the company's actions and values take a sinister turn. It's pretty easy to see the comparison between our own social media obsessed society and the world described in the book (The Circle itself made me think of Google or Facebook).  I thoroughly enjoyed it - the writing style, the tech ideas, the symbolism, even the ending that left a bad taste in my mouth. I do like unsettling SF which makes me think though...

I've not watched a lot of films at the cinema in the last four months, I basically missed the entire Oscars season which I'm gutted about, there was so much I wanted to see! Mitch and I saw Trumbo on my birthday and it was excellent. I knew nothing about the Black List which ruined so many careers not to mention the lives of those who worked in the entertainment industry. Who knew John Wayne was such an asshole! Bryan Cranston was on top form in the lead role and the styling and costumes were perfection. Sticking with a v.similar theme (communism in Hollywood), we went to see Hail Caesar! last month. It's packed full of excellent set pieces (Channing Tatum's sailor routine, Scarlet Johansson's mermaid, ALL the bits with cowboy actor Tobey) but overall the storyline didn't quite bring it together for me. Too much time was spent on George Clooney hanging out with the communists, although Clooney's speech towards the end is ace (along with his amazing 'reaction to the christ' acting).

The best film I've seen at the cinema so far this year? Zootropolis. It's cute, it's hilarious, the animation is beautiful, it honestly couldn't have been better. Fun fact for you: mitch and I have a fancy dress party to go to next month and I whole-heartedly think we should be Judy and Nick... Staying with animation, albeit a v.different type of animation, we recently saw Anomalisa, Charlie Kauffman's stop motion animated film with puppets! I confess I spent quite sometime wondering how they made the film - how big were the puppets, what were they made from etc - but that's largely because it gets off to a pretty slow start. But don't worry it ramps up the drama and there's some rather creepy and unsettling scenes in the second half (and I'm not talking about puppet sex).

Reading & Seeing 27

I hope you all had lovely Christmases, it was a particularly good one here (the cooking went well, we played lots of games and drank eggnog - which equals success in my book)!

This Reading & Seeing has been sitting in my drafts folder for some time so I thought I'd get on with it before we end up in January. It's a bit of a bumper edition, the last few months have been rather cultural it seems...!

Star Wars: the force awakens
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, the hype around this was crazy and, thankfully, it managed to live up to the perfect film I'd wished for. There's an excellent set of new characters (I am crushing hard on Rey especially, but also Finn and don't even get me started on BB8) and the script is ace (none of that 'trade embargoes' yawnathon a la episode 1), dare I say it, it's actually pretty funny. Aaaand, aside from that there's a ton of original Star Wars film references (scene changes, similar-ish set pieces, not to mention some of the original cast). If Star Wars was never your thing, this is a good time to start getting into it. You don't need to have seen the previous 6 films (in the case of episodes 1-3 I wouldn't bother) but of course it does add a bit of depth to the story. Because Mitch and I are little nerds we watched it at the Science Museum as they've got a 70mm film projector. I can happily confirm that my viewing experience wasn't hindered in the slightest by watching it in 2D. How much did I love this film? I neeeed to see it again on the big screen!

Spectre
James Bond just really isn't my cup of tea, so why did I watch it you ask? Well, I actually liked Skyfall but Spectre not so much. The opening scene is the best bit but then it descended into this fairly predictable, clichéd, action romp. Some bits were incredibly cringey (I was squirming in my seat after they fight the big guy on the train) and, in my opinion a big mistake, the revealed the bloody villan in the trailer! What happened to less is more? Good points? Ben Wishaw and he gets more than 5 mins screen time in this one and that can't be a bad thing!

Mockingjay part two
The last of the Hunger Games films and, IMHO the weakest of the lot. It's not bad though it's just that mockingjay is the dullest book. The film was entertaining: the special effects were good, it's pretty true to the book and they handled the last bit (glimpse into the future) v.nicely. A not too shabby send off for Katniss and Co.

The Farm
Daniel's parents retire to an old farm in Sweden, his mother's homeland, a rustic but idyllic setting, or so he thinks... six months after the move, Daniel's father calls to say his mother is having some sort of breakdown. She then unexpectedly arrives in England armed with v.troubling stories on corruption, murder and accusations about their neighbours in Sweden but also Daniel's father. Crime isn't really my thing but I really enjoyed this, it's well paced, clever and suspenseful, most if the time I didn't know who to believe. Most of the action takes place in Sweden, and although it's messed up, it reeeally made we want to go there!

Annihilation
The first book in the Southern Reach trilogy wherein four women (known only by their professions) set out on the 12th expedition to explore the mysterious and hostile environment of Area X. This was exactly my kind of SF. Vivid descriptions, only a handful of characters to deal with and a whole bunch of questions that go unanswered. Also, how lush is that cover? As you can probably guess, I am itching to get my hands in the second book.

Lock In
Set in a future where a proportion of the population suffers from a disorder known as Hadens. Sufferers of the condition exist in a ''locked in'' state - they're minds function as normal but their bodies are completely unresponsive. In order for Hadens to exist within and interact with wider society their consciousness is transferred to human shaped transport units (I imagine them to look a bit like electionic manniquins) known as threeps. And that's just the start of it. The story follows the first week of new FBI agent (and Hadens victim) Daniel as he attempts to discover the truth about a suspicious suicide. Due to the back story of Hadens and the complexity of the disorder A LOT of explaining takes place in this story which slows it down and messes up the pace. I found it really annoying, sort of like 'oh, and another thing about Hadens which we didn't mention earlier', which is a shame because the crime drama at the centre of it is pretty good. There's also A LOT of tech talk about code which was completely lost on me and I found to be quite boring. I stuck it out and it did pick up about two thirds in but meh, I've read a lot of good SF this year (Harry August, Station Eleven, Ready Player One) and Lock In was clunky and dull in comparison.

The Humans
December's book club choice. It's written from the perspective of an alien (of a way more advanced civilisation and from a planet many many light years away) who is sent to earth to carry out a mission: to destroy all evidence that humans (or rather one human - mathematitian, Andrew Martin) has solved the riemann hypothesis. The alien and his species have been told that the humans are primitive, violent beings, unable to handle the repercussions and possibilities of such a discovery. In order to carry out his mission the alien takes a human form and attempts to live among us, learning about us as he goes. The alien's observations are spot on, some are very amusing and some are quite beautifully sad. Reading about human nature from an outsider so to speak, does really make you think about stuff - the good and bad that people do (to the planet, to each other) and it's sad because ultimately we are all the same, we have to live here together on this earth (it's the only home we've got after all). Some members of book club felt that the story was a little lacking, that the plot was just a vehicle for the writer to make his observations about humanity and at certain times in the book I could see their point. However, overall I found it a great easy read, thought-provoking and amusing with a sentimental ending, that on this occasion, I wanted.

Cosmonauts
Currently on at the Science Museum and certainly worth a look if you're interested in space travel. As the name of the exhibition suggests it's all about the Russian Cosmonauts. A lot is made about America's space story so for me it was great to read about the Russian achievements - after all they can claim a lot of acolades: first man in space, first women in space, first space walk as well as being the first to launch space stations. The highlight for me was seeing the actual craft that Valentina Tereshkova landed back on earth on June 19th 1963 (it's tiny and also kinda of crazy to think that people were sent into space in such fragile looking things). The tickets are a little pricey (£14) but seeing as how the actual science museum is free (and you get to see a lot of old and new stuff they use on the ISS) I was happy to pay. Lastly, the shop at the end is freaking awesome. They've got some great poster art plus a cutesy little bar selling Russian food (icecream weirdly enough) and beer in v.cool shaped bottles.

Joanna Newsom
I'd never seen her live before, and I confess I'd not heard any of her new album but I am so so glad I got to hear it for the first time live! She's a fantastic lyricist and so muscially talented, switching between her instruments even during the same song! The icing on the cake was Peach Plum Pear at the end - an oldie but a goodie which brought back lots of happy uni memories :)

Derren Brown
Having watched a good many of his shows I knew the type of thing to expect but damn, it's something else to see him live. The audience is under strict instruction not to say what goes on so all I will say is: if this particular show is televised, watch it. Just how does he do what does???!!!! He is one handsome mysterious man.

Reading & Seeing (& Listening) 26

I'm not sure why but I've ended up reading a lot of rather grim books of late but if you've got any light-hearted/upbeat books to recommend do let me know, I am definitely going to need them after The Road.

Northern Lights
I had nothing to read on the morning of moriarty's death, having finished the last bad man the day before, and I knew that I was going to need one hell of a good book to distract me from sad thoughts during my commute that morning. I instinctively reached for Northern Lights, subconsciously because of all the daemons, but mostly because I love it and I needed something exciting yet familiar. I've lost count how many times I've read it but there'll be many more reads of this in future I'm sure.

After Dark
I picked up this and The Collector whilst Mitch and I were in Brighton (there's a great second hand book stall in the covered market). At the risk of causing outrage, I don't quite get what all the fuss is about with Murakami. I feel I can say that now that I've read a couple of his books. I can't get to grip with (or care about) his characters. After Dark follows a bunch of interconnected characters through the hours small hours of one night. It started out as vaguely intriguing and pretty creepy and then...absolutely nothing happens. I'm probably missing all the metaphors and the deep and profound imagery. Or something. But that's just it, I'm missing it. And while I'm at it, I didn't like the weird third person narrative voice in this either, particularly the way it described everything as if it was reading it from the camera directions on a film script, it just felt kind of lazy.

The Collector was disturbing, and if I'm honest, I had hoped for a less bleak ending. It's about a socially challenged individual, who, having come into a lot of money, decides to abduct Miranda, a very pretty art student that he's been stalking for some time. As I said, it's a bit unsettling but I found it interesting how the two behave towards each other given the circumstances. Miranda isn't the most likeable of characters and it's her narrative that shows her in not so great a light. The duel narrative is a very clever tool. Still grim though.

How to be both
Blook club's pick, although, fortuitously, I was already half way through it when this was decided! Half the book is told from the perspective of a 15th century painter, the other half concerns the thoughts and feelings of a modern day 16 year old girl whose mother has recently died. I don't want to say too much as I'll ruin it but I really liked this - the style of writing, the clever connectedness, the fact that it made me think about the assumptions people make (me as a reader but also in wider society).

God's Own Country
At the centre of this tale is Sam, a socially awkward (seeing a pattern?) farmers son who befriends the teenage daughter of the new family that's moved to the farm next to his. There's a lot of comparisons to be drawn between this and The Collector to be honest but this one wasn't as well conceived. In its defence, it kept me interested and I sped through, mostly because I wanted to make sure the ending wasn't too devastating. (spoiler: it's not, thank god).

The Road
I've not seen the film but plenty of people who had, warned me against reading it. For those not in the know, the story follows a father and son as the travel south along 'the road' amid a backdrop of a ruined world (most probably because of nuclear war). There's little food, sunlight or warmth and as for the other v.few people they encounter it's so grim I cannot repeat what I read. With all the SF I read, particularly when it comes to dystopian futures, I am always fascinated by people and how they 'cope' with disaster. Some truly horrendous scenarios are suggested in this book but despite that there are moments of light - the father-son relationship for a start and the ending is, relatively speaking, not as soul crushing as I'd thought it'd be. The future world is so vividly painted and it often made me think 'what would I do in this situation' as well as wondering whether to buy more canned goods (you know, just in case). Yes it's gruelling but I'm glad I've read it.

The Martian
So matt Damon is the poor old sod that his astronaut buddies leave on Mars because they think he's dead, only he's not! He's figuring out how to stay alive in a tres hostile environment - creating water, digging up radioactive stuff, tinkering with satellites and growing potatoes in his own poo. I read this last year (I think) and, as predicted, this made a waaay better film than a book. For starters all that complicated chat about maths and chemistry is condensed into a delightful montage (complete with uplifting music) also the characters have some life to them (largely thanks to an awesome cast - Sean Bean, Kirstin Wiig, Donald Glover! YES!) and Matt Damon is likeable as Mark Watney (I found him quite irritating in the book), you're certainly rooting for him from the start.  Sure, it's no Interstellar or Gravity (it doesn't really have the weight, pace or suspense) but the special effects are great and, even though I knew everything that was going to happen, it had me gripped. Thanks Ridley Scott you did this tale a favour.

Meanwhile in the Future
I'm a bit behind the times with podcasts, truth be told I was baffled as to when people had the time to listen to them what with watching TV, reading books, writing blogs, making time for hobbies, maintaining friendships and having a job. But I found it, I found the time to listen (just before bed) and Meanwhile in the Future has fast become one of my favourites. Each week someone suggests an idea for a future (one where you have to apply to travel by plane for example, or where women no longer give birth and babies develop in external wombs, or one where the earth has two moons - you get the idea) and then experts discuss what that future would actually be like. It's super interesting and they're normally only about 15 minutes long. Definitely worth a listen if SF is your bag or if you like to over think things :)

Reading & Seeing 24

Jurassic World
FYI Jurassic Park was one of my favourite films as a child (I was really into my dinosaurs) so I confess I was v.sceptical about this, especially as I'd been epically disappointed with The Lost World and Jurassic Park III (what a shit name might I add). Anyway, then I saw the trailer and almost all my doubts fizzled away. Last weekend Mitch and I went to watch it in 3D at the new Picturehouse cinema in the west end (which is lush btw) and...it was brilliant! It's action packed, well scripted with an excellent cast (Chris Pratt - can that man do no wrong!). There's quite a few nods to the original film (including that music!) but it's done well and thankfully there's no hint of the 2nd and 3rd films. Yes there are some v.silly bits (the veloceraptor parts especially) and it's severely lacking main female characters but I can forgive it, I was certainly entertained for all 131 minutes. The park is open, go and get your ticket!

We Need New Names
A sort of coming of age story set in Zimbabwe. At the centre of the novel is Darling a young girl growing up in a shanty town in Zimbabwe who then moves to America to live with her aunty. A friend gave me this about a year and a half ago and I put off reading it because it's really not my thing but I'm glad I relented. It was actually a really interesting, not to mention eye-opening, read - I really have lead a v.sheltered life.

Death and the Penguin
A v.understated story, set in the Ukraine, about Viktor who writes obituaries for a newspaper and owns a pet penguin called Misha. It's written quite matter of factly and although there's some sinister bits (lots of deaths for a start, deaths that coincide with the obituaries that Viktor is commissioned to write), it's rather amusing in places, mostly thanks to the penguin. A short but v.enjoyable read.

The Rabbit Back Literature Society
Ella, a twenty-something aspiring author is invited to join the exclusive and mysterious Rabbit Back Literature Society, set up by acclaimed (if a little strange) children's author, Laura White. A lot of supernatural stuff happens in the Finnish town of Rabbit Back - book plauges, haunted gardens, disappearances - which all are v.intriguing but unfortunately not much is made of them. The blurb and review quotes made the book sound amazing but for me, they set it up to be something it wasn't. Yes the supernatural stuff was cool but it was somewhat sidelined. I'm not saying I need everything explained to me but I can't help feeling that it could've been so much better if the creepy surreal stuff was explored or even connected together in some way. Also, the ending was pretty lame. Anticlimactic is how I'd describe this one.

Station Eleven
This was blookclub's June read and, despite trying to make it last as long as possible, I essentially inhaled it . I do like my 'end of the world'/dystopian future stories and this was a good 'un. The reason for humanity's collapse in this story is thanks to a highly contagious air born flu virus that kills its victims within 48 hours. Unsurprisingly, 99% of the population don't make it. One of the cool things about this book was the focus on the the arts (music, theatre, books) and how these not only survive but provide a common ground between small communities re-building their lives in the aftermath of the pandemic but also between the present and past. I particularly liked the fact the story moved between interlinked characters in the present (20 years after the pandemic started), the recent past (the first few days following the outbreak) and the distant past (when the world was as we know it). Highly recommended :)

Rodriguez @ the Albert Hall
For those of you not familiar with Sixto Rodriguez, focal point of the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, he's a songwriter and musician who made a record in Detroit in the 70s which, despite his songwriting skillz and v.lovely voice, record sales were low. His label dropped him and he went back to his day job (in demolition). Unbeknownst to him, his record was picked up in South Africa where gradually, Rodriguez's music became a HUGE hit. Some years later, two mega fans decided to try and find Rodriguez who, still slogging away in Detroit, had absolutely no idea that he was a massive star in South Africa. It's a really great documentary and we decided to get tickets to see Rodriguez perform off the back of it. He's now 72 (!) and still very much kicking it :) His voice was a little shaky but damn, he was cool - strumming his guitar, cracking jokes with the audience, playing his songs plus a few covers. And to top it all off, it was my first ever visit to the Albert Hall - it really is one hell of a venue *swoon*

Reading & Seeing 23

The Bees
Set (unsurprsingly) in a beehive and told almost entirely from the perspective of one bee, Flora 717. Starting with her birth, into the lowest ranking kin of the hive, the story follows her journey through hive-life and how her courage and extra-ordinariness set her on a path so far removed from the life she was expected to have as a sanitation worker. I thought this book was incredible largely thanks to the vivid descriptions and serious skillz of the author, Laline Paul. I was completely caught up in the lives of the bees – so many times I wondered whether elements were factual and based on bee research (bee research - that's a thing) or whether Paul's amazing imagination was responsible. It's been called a cross between Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Watership Down which, before reading, sounded totally nuts, but I see what the critics are getting at. I was really rooting for Flora right from the start and found the behaviours of the bees fascinating, particularly as it was fairly easy to see links between both the actions and structure of the hive (are they humanised? Maybe that's just what bees do too) and the way in which our religions and society work. This was Blook Club's read for May and I essentially inhaled it within a week. I would highly reccomend it but be warned, you'll never be able to look at a bee in the same way again.



Burial Rites
Iceland 1829, convicted murderess Agnes Magnúsdóttir is sent to live on a farm with the local lawman, his wife and daughters to await her execution. Based on true events – there was a young servant woman named Agnes who was sentenced to death for murdering her ex-lover and master – author, Hannah Kent, has coupled the facts and research with her imagining of what might have happened to Agnes. I really enjoyed this book - the pace, the descriptions, the mix of Agnes' life at the farm intertwined with her account of what happened - which was only enhanced by the fact that I started reading it just before I went to Iceland and completed it a few days after I got back. There is definitely something to be said for reading books set in the place you're about to travel to. Again, I would highly reccomend this, even if you're not off to Iceand soon :)

Elizabeth is Missing
Another impressive debut novel, this time about Maud, an eighty-something year old suffering from severe memory lapses, possibly Alzheimers. The narrative swings between the present day when Maud is increasingly concerned about the whereabouts of her friend Elizabeth, to her post war childhood around the time that her older sister disappears. Emma Healey has created an excellent unreliable narrator, Maud's mixed-up memories and confusion is very well done, so much so that it really made me think about what my nan might have been experiencing before she died - her dementia was quite far gone. Clever and v.readable, definitely another book I'd reccomend.


Agent Carter
If you've seen Captain America (or have read the comics) you'll be familiar with Agent Carter. She's the smart, ass-kicking Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) agent who the Cap had a bit of a crush on (which was v.much reciprocated). In Agent Carter, Peggy isn't only fighting the bad guys, she's also dealing with the shit-loads of sexism and male chauvinism that post-war America is full of. It's only had one season but I'm hoping it returns. Hayley Atwell is ace as the lead and Jarvis, Howard's Stark's butler, makes for an excellent side-kick. Oh yeah, and the costumes are freaking luuuuuush. Deffo worth a watch.

Avengers: Age of Ultron - a fairly decent sequel but nowhere near as good as the first film, gratuitous fighting scenes (particularly between the Hulk and Iron Man) and a running time of 141 mins did it no favours. Death to Smoochy - comedy centred around two kid's TV program presenters Ed Norton (who is hella cute in this) and Robin Williams (who actually plays the 'bad guy' and gets almost all the best lines), it's a little weird but pretty funny. Play It Again Sam - how had I never watched this before??!! I loved it! Woody Allen plays the awkward type who's wife has just left him and is finding it really hard to successfully date new women. To boost his self-confidence he calls upon the advice of an imaginary Humphrey Bogart. As you'd expect with a Woody Allen movie, the script is clever, quick and v.amusing. A great little film that I know I'll want to watch again.

Reading & Seeing (& Listening) 22

Birdman
I don't want to disclose too much information about the plot apart from to say that Michael Keaton plays a former hollywood actor, star of the superhero movies, Birdman, who has jacked it in to adapt, direct and star-in a stage play. Keaton is on top form (as is the rest of the cast), the script is sharp and the set and direction (flipping amazing camera work which makes it all seem like one continuous shot) is superb. Believe the hype. Go see Birdman.

Whiplash
Another film with a lot of (good) noise around it. A simple premise: a young guy is studying drumming at the best music college in the US and gets picked to play in the school's highly prized "studio band" orchestrated by an incredible, and absolutely terrifying, JK Simmons. At only 1 hour and 40 minutes, this film is tightly wound. There's no dead time, no filler scene, it's highly charged and uncomfortable to watch at times. Music drives the two central characters completely and utterly with no regard for people's feelings or well-being. Boundaries and lines are disregarded and crossed but the end result is one awesome film with a killer ending.

Inherent Vice
Joaquin Pheonix plays private investigator, Doc, who attempts to unravel a case involving a kidnapped real-estate big shot which leads on to a string of other mysteries that may or may not be related to the kidnapping. Confused? You better believe it. I thought the trailer for this film looked ace but now I understand why the reviews have been mixed. First off, the good bits. 1. Cinematography. The setting, costumes, props (Doc's mint green phone! I want it!), the entire feel of the film is great. 2. The cast. It's a fabulous line-up and all the players play their parts incredibly well (Pheonix and Josh Brolin stand out for me). 3. The music, which also kind of ties in with the excellent late 60's feel of the film. Now for the not so good bits. 1. The plot is hard to follow. I've read reviews where people describe it as incoherent (much like Doc and lots of the other characters) which is very accurate. I had to really concentrate in order to keep up with everything and even then I'm not sure I got all of it. It's based on a Thomas Pynchon novel and, having read and studied Pynchon before (The Crying of Lot 49), I had an inkling that it wasn't going to be your straighforward narrative. I'm not saying I need everything wrapped up with a nice little bow on top but I could've done with a little more connected-ness. 2. It is long, 2 hours and 20 mins long, which is a particularly long time when you're trying to make sense of all the different story lines. But perhaps that's where I went wrong, I shouldn't have been trying to figure it all out and instead just enjoyed each little set piece for just that, a mini movie in itself. Like as if Inherent Vice was just a series of mini films, where the characters sometimes cross over into each other's stories, and create an over-arching movie...Gah, who knows. It sure gave me a lot to think about, which isn't a bad thing, so many films spoon-feed us these days. However, it also presented me with so many scenarios and characters that I struggled to find answers, not to mention completely forgetting what the questions were in the first place.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
Let me start by saying: I loved this book. Harry is a kalachakra, meaning that he re-lives his life over and over again with all the knowledge of his previous lives. Perhaps this concept sounds familiar, it's true that this reoccurring theme is somewhat reoccuring (apologies) in my own book choices (Life After Life and Replay). But the basic concept (of people re-living their lives) is the only thing they have in common because, thanks to independent thought and all, the authors have completely different stories to tell. ....Harry August is particularly awesome thanks to it's non lineal structure (the narrative moves between his fifteen lives with such ease!) and because it introduces another fascinating idea, that of a whole community of kalachakras, stretching all through the ages, who called themselves the Cronus Club. It's an intriguing concept to get your head around (which thankfully isn't overly "science-y"), kind of like a whole new way of perceiving time itself! Anyhoo, before I put off those of you who aren't partial to SF, it isn't really very SF at all, in the same way that Atkinson's Life After Life isn't. Lastly, this book has one of the most satisfying endings I've read in aaaaages. It was pretty much perfect. You should read it.


The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
Set in Amsterdamn in the late 17th Century, the story follows Nella, 18 years old and newly wedded to one of the city's well respected Merchants. She leaves her family and rural home behind to live with her new husband, his sister and their two servants. Her husband gifts her a magnificent doll's house, decorated to mirror the house she now lives in. Nella employs the skills of a miniaturist to create furniture for the doll's house, and over the course of a few months, receives a collection of un-asked for items and figures identical to those around her. More worryingly the figures seem to be forshadowing the fates of her and her new family. This was Blook Club's Febraury read, it's not something I'd normally pick up as I'm not really into historical fiction. I'd only seen very positive reviews so I thought it would pleasantly surprise me. It didn't. About half way through I briefly thought about giving up - it was moving at an excruciatingly slow pace and the tiny bits about the miniaturist were not enough to sustain me. But then, the episode with Jack and the dog happened and the story gathered momentum. It's true that the second half of the book is waaaaay more interesting than the first but I can't help feeling (and a few people said this at Blook Club too) that there was a better story hiding amongst the pages and pages about the sugar loaves and Johannes, Marin and the rest of them, a story about the miniaturist. Considering she's the book's titular character, the miniaturist was given a pretty rubbish non-exit and a half-arsed "explanation". There was a lot going on in this novel, but I'd rather have read more about the miniaturist, it's a creepy and intriguing concept but it's really not developed substantially. Was she a psychic or was it more sinister, was she in fact deciding their fates rather than predicting them? I think I'd rather have read that story but maybe that's because I'm a SF girl through and through.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Adapted for the stage from Mark Haddon's popular book of the same name. This was an excellent production and, in my opinion, better than the book. I found it hard to get on with Christopher's narration in the book but it lends itself perfectly to a play. The best thing about it was the set. You've all seen pictures of the grid stage set I'm sure, but seeing it in action (it's incredible what you can do with lighting) is freaking amazing.

Serial
I know this post is already v.long indeed but I just had to mention Serial. I'm rather late to the party but omg it's incredible. In case you're even later to the party than me, it's a free podcast which follows a Baltimore newspaper journalist's investigation into the murder of a teenager back in 1999. In the weekly instalments (or 12 episodes which you can now listen back to back) she revisits the evidence and trial against the seventeen year old boy who was convicted of the murder as well as talking to friends, acquaintances and family members of the victim and suspect. It's so addictive, I'm glad we waited for all the episodes to be released as I wouldn't have been able to wait a week between each one. Thankfully there's a second series in the pipeline :)

Reading & Seeing 21

Since my last Reading & Seeing post I've finished three books and seen a bugger load of great films.

Interstellar - visually and conceptually stunning (I had to scoop my jaw off the floor when you first see that black hole). Yes it's very long and overly sentimental (didn't stop me crying a fair few times though) but I felt the human story at the centre gave the film some grounding. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of science talk which was largely lost on me and probably most people but the key thing to remember is: time is relative. It's kind of like a cross between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Sunshine *hard core SF fans might now be cursing me and banging their heads against brick walls*. The performances are solid but TARS (the robot) stole the show from an ever-increasingly-cool Matthew McConaughey. I liked this film because not only does it revolve around the subject of humanity's and earth's demise and the failings and incredible acheivements of individual people, it also provides a solution to a huge question: what will we do when the earth can no longer sustain human life? Is that solution far-fetched? Maybe. But is it imaginative, thrilling and incredibly positive? Hell yes.

Gone Girl - I'd not read the book because the advertising and quotes made it seem like some trashy crime story. And so, I confess, I only went to see the film because practically everyone was saying how good it was. And it is. I hold my hands up. I judged that book (kinda by it's cover, although the posters on the tube did it no favours) and I was so wrong. I think I got more out of the film having not read it, everything was completely unexpected. It's quite understated and almost felt like I could've been watching a 2 part docu-drama, and I mean that in a good way. It's not frilly or full of superfluous special effects (like a lot of crime thrillers can be), the plot is streamlined, and although it keeps you guessing, reveals major twists in a direct and gritty way. As the audience you're not sparred much detail. Good stuff but I'm still not interested in reading it.

Dispicable Me - Fiiiiinally saw it. I bloody loved it and the minions lived up to the hype. We actually watched the sequel not long after and it too is ace.

Secret life of Walter Mitty - for me, another film grossly mis-sold by its poster and, in this case, trailer. I avoided it in the cinema because it was presented as a smaltzy Hollywood comedy. In actuality it's an awesome, indie-film-at-heart (David Bowie interlude bit - omg) which has shy, timid Ben Stiler running around the most beautiful country ever (Iceland), on a quest to find a photographer and learning, along the way, to come out of his shell a bit. Excellent. Oh and the soundtrack is perfect.

The way way back - A look at one kid's summer at his mum's dickhead boyfriend's beach house. Luckily for our guy he meets a v.funny Sam Rockwell, owner of an awesome looking waterpark, and suddenly his summer doesn't seem so shitty. I liked this film a lot, there was something very nostaligic about it. I can remember summer holidays with my parents and their friends' families. Those awkward holidays when you're old enough to want to go and do your own thing but young enough that you wouldn't be allowed. Too bad I didn't meet Sam Rockwell and go work at a waterpark. I definitely reccomend this if you missed it at the cinema.

The Box Trolls - another great example of a kid's film that's also incredibly easy on the ear for adults too. A clever little story (with some pretty gross moments) all brought to you in impressive stop motion animation. 

St Vincent - it's true, the formula of unlikely friendship between young boy and grumpy, kinda lonely, old(ish) man has been done a million times but in St Vincent, Bill Murray is the grumpy man.  He's excellent at playing intially unlikeable characters that you eventually warm to,  and here, he's on top form, as ever.

Maddaddam (2013)
The last in Margaret Atwood's dystopian-future trilogy. It's definitely been my least favourite of the three. However, Maddaddam has rounded the series off quite nicely whilst at the same time leaving the story open ended. The conclusion has an overall positive note with a glimpse into the future of the crakers and how, as the new human-like race, they will prevail.
 
A man called Ove (2014)
This was chosen by Blook Club and, having read the blurb, I fully expected not to like it but that's the beauty of a book group, it'll get you to things you would never normally pick up. Another grumpy, rather unlikable, set-in-his-ways, old(ish) man learning to cope with change, firstly the death of his wife and then the arrival on new neighbours. About a third of the way in I nearly stopped reading - Ove is quite a miserable chap and even hearing his backstory didn't make me sympathise with him. Then, I changed my mind. I can't remember what the catalyst was - perhaps the story of his holiday with his wife - but I finally warmed to it and would reccomend a read. It's amusing, if you can get past Ove's rudeness but it's also quite emotional and uplifting.

Only Ever Yours (2014)
An incredibly bleak look at the future where human women no longer exist. Instead 'females' are "designed" and brought up in schools where, from the ages of 0 - 16, they are taught how to behave - appearance and how thin they are being highly prized - their 16 years culminating in a ceremony which will define their purpose in life. The girls can become one of three things: a companion, a concubine or a chastity. The first are like wives whose main purpose is to produce male children. These are picked by the inheritants, 16 year old boys who live in the protected zones (most of the planet has become a wasteland). The concubines are essentially prostitutes, whilst the chastities are the teachers who instill in the girls terrifying mantras like "I am a good girl" & "no one likes a fat girl". Weight and appearance are basically all that the girls are taught to care about, with daily weigh-ins and mirrored walls and surfaces everywhere. Of course it's all very extreme but it's quite clearly an exaggeration on the today's society's obsession with appearance - looking younger and thinner - particularly in terms of women. The concept was intriguing and I've been thinking about it still (days after finishing it). I'd reccomend it but as a word of warning, it made me feel very claustrophic (much like our protagonist, Frieda) and left a pretty awful taste in my mouth.

recently seen

Kill Me Three Times (2014): One of the showings from the BFI's London Film Festival, my sis and I went off to Hackney Picturehouse to see this Aussie film about a hitman (played by Simon Pegg). It's a black comedy with a fragmented timeline, perfect for getting to grips with the small cast of interconnecting characters and their motives to commit murder. Succinct and funny.

Barefoot in the Park (1967): Jane Fonda and Robert Redford play young newly weds who move into their first rented, rather problematic, appartment in NYC. This film is all kinds of perfect mostly thanks to the cracking script and the fact that Jane Fonda is amazing. This may now be one of my favorite films.

A Star is Born (1954): Judy garland plays a singer who is spotted by drunken rich actor, James Mason. He takes a shine to her and promises that she could be a 'star'. And she does thanks to his connections and her talent. They fall in love and get married. But as her own fame gathers momentum, his drinking takes him on a downward spiral. I'd never seen this classic before and during the first half an hour or so I was wondering what the fuss is about but yes, it's brilliant. Judy Garland is amazing in this, particularly when she performs a reenactment of the film she's making. It's very tragic but also uplifting in a way.

The Descendants (2011): George Clooney's wife is left in a fatal comatose state having been involved in a boat accident. Along with dealing with his two daughters and the sale of some very lucrative family land on a neighbouring Hawaiian island, he finds out that his wife was having an affair. Although the subject matter is tough and v.sad I really enjoyed this film. It looks at the complexities of family, skewed perceptions and the different ways in which people cope and deal with grief, all played out with beautiful Hawaii as the backdrop. It's by the same director who did Sideways (which I also really liked) so it's worth a watch if that was also your cup if tea.

The Heat (2013): Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as mismatched law enforcers kicking ass. Fast paced and hilarious, I loved it. The director, Paul Feig, is tipped to be bringing us a female Ghostbusters movie which sounds cool but I'm a little trepidatious. There's an interesting article about it here.

In A World (2013):  A movie about the competitive world of voiceover work, particularly movie trailer voiceovers. A prominent voiceover guy dies, thus leaving the next big movie trailer contract up for grabs and Lake Bell ,daughter of a well-known voiceover artist (who's also a bit of an arsehole) and voiceover artist in her own right, is going for it. This film is awesome (definitely one of my favorites of the year) mostly thanks to Lake Bell who, is v.funny and endearing (who also wrote and directed it), and the rest of the cast. It's also great to get a little insight into a job that I've never really thought that much about. Cant't recommend this enough.

Reading & Seeing 20

original source - incidentally you can see more awesome fan art posters for Guardians of the Galaxy here. A lot of them are waaaay better than the official poster. 

Guardians of the Galaxy
A mismatched bunch of criminals (but who all have good sides too) are thrown together to stop the world ending, oh yeah and it's set in Space and stars Chris Pratt. Yup, this film easily plonked itself at the top of my favourite films of the year so far. Chris Pratt is perfect as Peter Quill and so watchable, the script is laugh-out-load funny and the soundtrack is spot-on - I wasn't bored for a second and could easily watch this again and again and again.

Last month I also saw Expendables III - packed full of all your action hero regulars, this was incredibly predictable but not as crap as I thought it would be. I actually laughed a fair bit (sometimes with it - it's clearly taking the piss out of itself with those one liners, sometimes at it); Rushmore - an oldie but such a goodie, can't believe I'd never seen it before. It centres around a school boy's crush/love for a teacher at his school and it's just perfectly told and framed - Wes Anderson, can he do no wrong?; and Easy A - I confess I remember seeing the posters and reading the premise when this originally got released and thought it was just another shitty american school "comedy". But I was wrong! It was funny and not shitty at all; I laughed out-loud and Emma Stone is ace.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
I like Neil Gaiman but I did not enjoy this all that much. It was pretty unsettling (standard Gaiman) and showcased some really clever (albeit terrifying) ideas and concepts but, for me, it lacked depth. It scratched the surface of this strange world but that was it. It all came to an abrupt and unenlightenning end just as I was getting into it. I feel like in his other, longer books, he's got more room to explore the backgrounds of the worlds he creates - he weaves a history, creates a foundation for his story to play out on - The Ocean at the End of the Lane was just kinda flat. Also, while I'm ripping into this I'd also like to mention that cover is v.meh and a little safe considering the messed-up stuff that happens in the book.

Saga
Mitch brought this back after his most recent comic book shopping spree. It's the first in a new series about a couple who, despite being from opposite sides of an on-going intergalactic war, have fallen in love and given birth to baby - something that no-one thought would be possible between the two species. Both sides are after them and their child but luckily they're badass and have a zombie ghost child as their nanny. Sounds nuts but it's pretty cool.

We are all Completely Besides Ourselves
I really enjoyed this for a number of reasons: the writing style is right up my street, the subject matter is something I know nothing about so that was intriguing and lastly because you think you're reading one story and then a quarter of the way in you find out that you're reading something completely different. I don't want to say much more as it's better to stumble upon this "twist" (not sure that really describes it accurately) with as little knowledge as possible.

The Casual Vacancy
J K Rowling's forray in adult fiction (not that half the readership of Harry Potter isn't adult). On the whole I liked it. The characters, though almost entirely dislikable save one or two, are meaty and convincing; each with a role to play in driving the story forward. It kinda reminded me of those DK Cross Section books but instead of a building it's like a cross section through a small rural community. In some ways it also made me think of soaps partly because it's quite depressing but mostly because of the way the narrative seamlessly glides around the village bringing specific characters into the spotlight. The writing is clever and J K Rowling has some serious skillz when it comes to really getting into each of the characters' heads. There's a couple of amusing scenes but on the whole (especially the end) it's a pretty tragic read which I'd still recommend nonetheless.

Reading & Seeing 19

How to Train Your Dragon 2
I know, it's for kids, but I'm a child too, especially when it comes to dragons, especially one dragon in particular...Toothless! I bloody loved the first film and this sequel did not disappoint in the slightest. All your favourite characters are back, fives years older and sporting facial hair/more grown up hairstyles, we're introduced to yet more dragons (never a bad thing) and the story is awesome - no dreary re-hash-of-the-original-just-to-make-mega-bucks here. There's plenty of laughs, quite a few tears, the animation is excellent and Toothless is as adorable as ever. I wish he was my dragon. Overall it's pretty light-hearted, v.colourful and lots of fun - perfect escapism for a sunday evening.

The Raid 2
Another sequel but an altogether different affair - martial arts fighting, gang wars, corrupt systems, mass amounts of bloodshed. I v.much enjoyed the first film which had an incredibly simple premise - a police squad were to break into a crumbling tower block and arrest the crime boss who occupied it. The simple set up, of course, meant that the film was essentially a vehicle for some seriously awesome fight sequences, all backed by an ace soundtrack. The sequel however is hampered by a rather lumpy, convoluted, and at times confusing, plot. There's some great fight scenes but I kind've lost track of who was who and what side they were on. It also felt like this film went on forever, nowhere near as gripping or suspense-filled as the first.

Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
Another SF classic which I'd never read before. The concept is pretty excellent and rather thought-provoking: a dystopian future where Firemen no longer put out fires but start them, and what are they burning? Books, works of fiction, anything that's a 'lie'. Messed up huh? As books have become controband, technology has advanced and people no longer have TVs but TV rooms where whole walls project shows (kinda like soaps) which you can join in with. It's an incredibly bleak future but one v.few people in the book seem to oppose, apart from our fireman protagonist of course, who suddenly starts to question the way society is run. Like The Slaughterhouse Five, it's one of those great SF novels that somehow escaped me, glad I finally got around to it though.

The Blind Assassin (2000)
This is actually a re-read and one of my all-time favourite novels. It tells the story of sisters Iris and Laura Chase. Although they were close when they were young growing up between the world wars, they become distanced thanks to Iris', to an extent, arranged marriage to successful businessman Richard Griffen. Their lives are being recalled from the present (1999) by Iris, now in her 80s and so the narrative flits between her life now, her childhood and the novel: The Blind Assassin which in turn tells the story of a young woman engaged in an affair with a man wanted by the authorities. In their meetings (seedy restaurants, grotty hotel rooms, wherever they can without being caught) he tells his lover stories, SF stories which he writes to make a bit of cash: stories about lizard men, women only planets, fantasy kingdoms and the story of The Blind Assassin itself. Yep that's right, it's a story within a story within a story within a story. So many layers - god I love Margaret Atwood. It's a pretty long book (about 600 pages) which might be off-puting for some but it's awesome and definitely worth persevering with. Who could dismiss this for an opening line: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." I'm already looking for my next Atwood fix - possibly Maddaddam as I need to complete the trilogy or maybe Alias Grace as I've heard that's a goody.

What are you reading at the moment? I can always do with suggestions :)

Reading & Seeing 18

X-MEN: Days of Future Past
I've been SUPER excited about this ever since they released the trailers (last year?) and thankfully, it lived up to all of my expectations. Double doses of Prof X and Magneto in the form of the most awesome quartet since the old 80s/90s cartoon of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - check. Healthy bit of time travel/messed up future where the earth is doomed and controlled by machines - check. A mix of the old characters and tonnes of new (to the film franchise) ones - check. 70s costumes - check. It was basically everything I could've wanted from an X-MEN film. The cast is fan-f-ing-tastic (Macavoy, Fassbender, Mckellen, Stewart, Dinklage, Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen Page - I could go on), the action is ace - everyone's talking about Quicksilver's scene and rightly-so (prob the best bit in the entire film) and I barely even noticed that the film was a whopping 131 mins long! Although Wolverine is at the centre of the film he, rather refreshingly, is not the focus - Macavoy, Fassbender and Lawerence are the lynch pins and it's bloody entertaining. Also, it reminded me of an episode of the X-Men cartoons where they have to go back in time to prevent machines destroying the world - I wonder if that's what it's based on... I think if you haven't watched any of the other X-MEN films you probably won't get much out of this but to everyone else: go see go see - definitely worth watching on the big screen too.

Everyday Sexism (2014)
I read this as it was the chosen book for this month's Blook Club. I'm so glad they suggested it as I doubt I'd have read it of my own accord and I tell you, that would have been a mistake. In case you're unaware, the book was born out of the project of the same name to document people's (mainly women's) experiences of sexism, harassment and assault as a means to highlight how bad the sexism problem is even in today's, supposedly more equal, society. The book was written and complied by journalist and project founder, Laura Bates. I cannot recommend this book enough. Yes, many of the experiences mentioned in the book are absolutely horrific but it's important that these stories are brought to light. We should all be aware that these things are happening to women on the street in broad daylight, in night clubs, at school, in the work place, literally everywhere. I started reading the book with the mindset that "sexism can't really be that bad in this day and age" but I was so very wrong. It is. It really really is. After reading the first 20 pages or so, I started to realise that I too had been on the receiving end of sexism within the last week. One of Bates' arguments is that certain comments and situations have become so normal (being heckled at by builders, pervy men saying inappropriate things on public transport) that I'd (we'd) just brushed over the fact that those situations are not OK and not something to ignore. It really has changed the way I think about how differently men and women are treated, particularly by the media. As well as stories of harassment, there's also some great examples of women fighting back - there are some excellent one liners which I will use the next time I'm heckled. I could literally talk about how important this book is forever but I won't. What I will say is this: I've recommended it to all my friends, so I will do the same on here.

The Martian (2014)
The self-published book that was bought up by a publisher and re-released which then was bought by a movie studio who are now making a film of it. This had a lot to live up to and, after a pretty shaky start - I nearly gave up at 11% - it was a pretty enjoyable read. Nothing beautifully written or wonderfully descriptive, I didn't get any real sense of what the Martian landscape was like or how our protagonist, abandoned astronaut, Mark Watney, really felt about anything. It read more like a movie script with much of the narrative taken from Watney's log. There was a lot of 'science speak' - making oxygen, growing plants, removing carbon dioxide - which was lost on me and much of what happens to Watney probably isn't plausible but hey, why ask to many questions when all you want it a bit escapism from the daily commute? Unsurprisingly, this was a v.quick read and though I did ultimately enjoy it, I have a feeling this might be an instance where the film is better than the book...we shall see.

Slaughterhouse Five (1969)
I reached the grand old age of 27 before finally reading this classic by Kurt Vonnegut and I'm not sure why I waited so long! The narrative follows the disjointed life of Billy Pilgrim who time hops, quite randomly, through-out his existence. One minute he might be experiencing his time as an American prisoner of war in Germany 1945, the next, accepting the role of president for the optometrists association in the 1960s and the next in bed with his new bride on his honeymoon. As well as his time travelling capabilities, Billy is also abducted by aliens (the Tralfamadorians) and placed in their 'zoo' to be observed. Despite these fantastical aspects, it's the parts of Billy's life that take place during WWII which are the most haunting, particularly the fates of the American PoWs and the civilians of Dresden. The nonlinear plot, means that you sometimes need a couple of lines of the next time hop to find your bearings. It also gives a sense of what it must feel like for Billy being shunted around and dropped at assorted points on his timeline. Although it has time travel and aliens throughout it didn't feel overtly SF, war and it's affects seemed to play a bigger role. It's one of those books which I would've loved to have studied at school. It's also full of that famous (most tattooed?) quote: so it goes, which almost collects every, seemingly isolated, incident together. Something I'd recommend for sure.