Well, August was a bit full. I’ve done some long bike rides, hung out with friends, eaten good food. Plus Tim and I celebrated 20 years together. Twenty years!

August was Women in Translation Month and I read 3.5 books by women in translation. In fact, I’m currently halfway through three different books.

My top films this month were The French Dispatch (the latest Wes Andersen), and Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) – a sweet Australian teen romance.

Continue reading “August 2022 reading round-up”

Well, July was a bit full. We went on holiday to South Wales with my whole family. We had a record-breaking heatwave that’s an ominous sign of things to come. Beckett nearly had to have surgery but then didn’t. I took myself on lots of solo bike rides for the fun of cycling.

I’ve been taking advantage of the (non-extreme) good weather by taking myself into the garden after work most days with a blanket, a book and the dog. Sometimes there is also wine.

Just over a week ago I went to theatre for the first time since 2019, to see Les Miserables with my Mum. I loved it, just as I did the first time I watched it on stage when I was 18. And Mum loved it just as much as when she last saw it at least a decade before that even. As I expected, it made me cry, but not just because it’s such a moving storyline with music and lyrics designed to give the tear ducts a workout. The first couple of big rousing numbers made me cry from the sheer weight of the experience of being in a theatre filled with a couple of thousand people listening to incredible singers. I suspect I’d have a similar reaction if I went to a gig right now.

Mum reminded me that after she first saw Les Mis, Dad bought her the book – in two volumes because it’s so long – and she ploughed her way through it increasingly slowly. I can’t say her lukewarm reaction to it is very enticing, but on the other hand she did stick with it, so maybe I should give it a go sometime?

What I did read this month was six novels, a couple of which were not what I expected. The Glass Hotel is by Emily St John Mandel, who previously wrote the excellent sci-fi Station Eleven. Even though I knew when I bought it that The Glass Hotel isn’t sci-fi, part of me kept expecting a sci-fi twist and I think that stopped me from appreciating it for what it was. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, on the other hand, I expected to be more biting on the matter of racism in small-town America. That was part of it, but it was much more about different approaches to motherhood, and how our circumstances are so much of who we are.

Continue reading “July 2022 reading round-up”

Summer arrived! And then left again? I’ve done some lovely walks and bike rides but this week has been a washout.

Three of this month’s books were memoirs, including my favourite read One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake. I was genuinely inspired by it.

This month’s films haven’t been top tier but there’s still so much great TV to make up for that. We watched the third and final season of Derry Girls, which was of course amazing (and has the best soundtrack). We’ve also been watching What They Do in the Shadows and have just started Only Murders in the Building. And my list of TV shows to watch just keeps getting longer.

Continue reading “June 2022 reading round-up”

I would say May has overall been a positive month. The weather has been largely good, we’ve spent more time with friends than we had for two years, we had two long weekends away (including one without the dog – shock!). I finished six books, all of them good.

I’ve started a new K-drama, so look out for my review of that soon. And I’ve rediscovered the Indian TV show Little Things, which is a gorgeous look at the minutiae of one Mumbai couple’s relationship. Film-wise, my top hits were Turning Red and Definition Please, though I also very much enjoyed finally watching Johnny Mnemonic.

Here’s to an equally excellent June. Happy reading!

Continue reading “May 2022 reading round-up”