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Category: Blog

October 2021 reading round-up

October 31, 2021November 6, 2021

Oh dear, I only finished two books this month and neither was very big. I did have a really bad cold that meant I spent a week mostly watching The Mindy Project and failing to read anything at all. I am currently halfway through three books and gave up on another that I was struggling with. But I was still surprised when I checked Goodreads and saw my October stats.

I did watch the usual quota of films, my top picks being Moxie and Summer of Soul.

Anyway, I’m over the cold and currently away in Devon for a long weekend with Tim, Beckett and our good friend Tushna, so I think things are looking up. Hopefully.

Continue reading “October 2021 reading round-up”

Kate Gardner Blog

September 2021 reading round-up

September 30, 2021October 2, 2021

Beckett and Tim in the woods

This has been a good month. The weather’s been beautiful, I read a lot, and today I got my third COVID shot so I am safer for the winter months to come.

My favourite read this month was The Street by Ann Petry, which was a staff recommendation at Stanford’s bookshop in Bristol. This is one of the many reasons why bookshops rule.

As always I’ve watched lots of films this month – including both Kate and Beckett, which are recently released thrillers on Netflix. Kate is the better film, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an assassin in Tokyo. We’re hoping they release a thriller called Tim soon! I also really enjoyed Sylvie’s Love (a 1960s-set romance starring Tessa Thompson) and Sound of Metal (Riz Ahmed as a drummer who loses his hearing).

And having learned from our holiday in August that Beckett is up to walking for a couple of hours now that she’s all grown up, we’ve done a few longer walks lately. It’s nice to explore a little further afield and not just go to our three local parks every day. Though with winter weather and shorter hours of daylight coming soon, we might not have that choice for long. For now we’ll enjoy the autumn colours.

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Kate Gardner Blog

August 2021 reading round-up

August 31, 2021September 1, 2021

Beckett at our holiday home in Wales

I read a lot this month! Holidays rock. We spent a week in Snowdonia with friends, chilling in the most awesome holiday house. There were two hammocks in the big garden, a balcony around the entire first floor and access to the roof. Plus it had a copy of Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, so I read about a quarter of that. Maybe one day I’ll buy/borrow a copy to read the rest. He’s a good writer, unsurprisingly.

As August is Women in Translation Month, I read three and a half books by women in translation from my TBR (I’m halfway through an Isabel Allende right now). I’ll write another post about them soon.

As always, I also watched a lot of films. The top ones were Rocketman, Late Night and Tune in for Love.

Continue reading “August 2021 reading round-up”

Kate Gardner Blog

July 2021 reading round-up

July 31, 2021August 3, 2021

I am currently in the middle of three different books and I’m on holiday next week so hopefully next month’s “books read” list will be much longer. We’ll see.

This month we went from heatwave to weeks of rain storms, so outings have been sporadic. We ended the month with a trip to Brean Down in Somerset, which was a fantastic afternoon out. And Beckett graduated from doggy obedience classes, so she is now officially a Good Dog.

My top films this month were Black Widow and The Dead Don’t Die, which are both very entertaining. I also watched the first season of Rita, a Danish comedy about a school teacher who initially appears to not care about anything or what anyone else thinks, but it gradually becomes clear that this is a facade. It’s wryly funny and has been left in a very interesting place for season 2.

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Kate Gardner Blog

June 2021 reading round-up

June 30, 2021

We had a mini heatwave this month, but it’s mostly been just right for a sun-avoider like me. We’re starting to take Beckett on some longer walks and train journeys, preparing for our holiday later this summer. She’s also started obedience classes, mostly to learn to follow instructions when there are other dogs around. Other dogs are so very exciting.

This month’s reading, not hugely unusually for me, has been distinctly feminist and/or queer. Every single book has been great, as is the one I’m still in the middle of: Fire, the third volume of Anais Nin’s diaries. It’s a big oversized hardback, so I’ll be dipping in and out of it for a while to come.

I had a big sort-out of my books last week and weeded out a bunch from my TBR that had been there for too long and just didn’t excite me. The charity box is getting heavy. And besides gaining a little shelf space, it had the added benefit of reminding me about lots of titles on my TBR that I am excited about, hence picking up Fire several years after buying it.

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Kate Gardner Blog

May 2021 reading round-up

June 1, 2021June 13, 2021

Oh look, another month in which I read loads but failed to write any reviews. And I really do want to write about some of this month’s reads, especially The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie, which is packed with ideas and references.

Top films watch this month include One Night in Miami, Rocks and Liar’s Dice. We also watched Army of the Dead, which is silly action fun with lots of zombies and explosions.

A week ago I got my second COVID jab. It was a less emotional moment than the first one for me, but it’s still a big step toward moving on from all this.

Happy June!

Continue reading “May 2021 reading round-up”

Kate Gardner Blog

April 2021 reading round-up

April 30, 2021May 3, 2021
Beckett at the beach
We took Beckett to the beach!

The world opened up a little bit this month and the weather wasn’t terrible. Which meant I spent more time outdoors and less time reading. I’m definitely happy to start seeing friends and family again, though I do feel we still need to be cautious, as most people our age are only just starting to be vaccinated and our younger friends are still waiting.

My top film watches this month were Call Me By Your Name, Palm Springs and Easy Rider. I also started a project of watching all four versions of A Star is Born – two down, two to go. And I watched another terrible-in-a-good-way K-drama called I Am Not a Robot.

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Kate Gardner Blog

March 2021 reading round-up

March 31, 2021April 1, 2021
Beckett enjoys the sunshine
Beckett enjoying the mini heatwave in our local park.

Well ending a month with a mini heatwave is one way to feel better about it. But I’m feeling more positive about the month ahead. Better weather plus the first steps of lockdown easing should make April a wonderful antidote to that horrible winter. Here’s hoping.

I read a decent amount this month and wrote two whole reviews! Excellent films watched include The Vast of the Night and Roma. And TV-wise I decided better-late-than-never and inhaled the first season of Line of Duty. I’m trying to give myself a week or two off before I start season two.

Better weather, lighter evenings, plus a dog who has decided she likes being carried in her doggy backpack again, mean we can start going for walks that are a bit longer/further from our house. I just have to be careful not to try to do too much too suddenly, or I’ll trigger a lupus flare. Gently does it.

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Kate Gardner Blog

February 2021 reading round-up

February 28, 2021March 1, 2021

Beckett and a book

It finally feels like spring is here. I have more energy with each week that passes. And it’s way easier keeping a dog with very long fur clean when it’s dry weather for a few days in a row.

This month’s reading was pretty good. Five books, of which I loved two. I watched some pretty trashy films but for a genuinely good watch, I highly recommend The Handmaiden.

Here’s to a March of walks, bike rides and more good books.

Continue reading “February 2021 reading round-up”

Kate Gardner Blog

January 2021 reading round-up

February 7, 2021

Beckett and a book

This post is delayed because my laptop once again almost died. Tim saved my sanity and my wallet by fixing it, but I suspect I will need to budget for a replacement in the next year or so.

I read six books in January, which isn’t bad at all for someone who was constantly sleep-deprived. My favourites were Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and Arabella by Georgette Heyer, which I guess were also written in the most straightforward style, so maybe I shouldn’t be attempting anything too experimental at the moment.

In other book-related cultural stuff, I watched the TV series Bridgerton (as apparently did half the planet), which is delightful frothy fun, and The Luminaries, which I enjoyed more than the book. I am also really enjoying Pose (currently on season one so no spoilers in the comments please!).

Top films I saw last month have to be Do The Right Thing (yes, I have only just watched it for the first time; I am trying to plug some of the gaps in my film education) and Good Vibrations, which is a wonderful celebration of the power of music.

Continue reading “January 2021 reading round-up”

Kate Gardner Blog

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