The World That We Knew - Alice Hoffman

From the first page I knew that I loved this book.  Telling the story of two young women in the Holocaust, it is weaved and laced with a magical touch.  Lea whose mother Hanni senses the coming clouds and sends her away, Ettie who escapes with her sister and Ava who is sent to look after the young Lea.   Such a touching and moving book about love and grief which are bound together, and such a unique original story telling style.

I found myself relieved to read such a beautiful book on the last day of the year as it gives me hope for more fiction in 2020. 5/5

The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes

In 1937 a young Englishwoman Alice marries a wealthy handsome American Bennett, and goes to live with him in rural Kentucky.  The marriage is not what she expects, and in order to fill in her time, she takes a job with the rural packhorse library service.   Joining a remarkable group of women, she travels the country trails and roads  distributing books and magazines to women and children, many of whom have little contact with outsiders and little to no education.

I was just waiting for a touch of magic from this book, and I was a bit umoved and even bored by it.  I am sure it will make a great ensemble movie, I can picture it easily easily being adapted.  3/5

Who Am I, Again? - Lenny Henry

I kept smiling while I read this book by Lenny Henry about his youth and entrance into the world of comedy.  Growing up in a large family, he was able to escape by starting his career at the age of 16.   I could picture the author the whole time I read this book, and imagine the audible version would be awesome. 4/5

Midnight In Chernobyl - Adam Higginbotham

I was a teenager when the explosion in reactor four at Chernobyl happened, and watching the news was not often a priority for me, so reading this as a grown up was a bit eye opening.  A lot of the technical explanations and physics were a bit over my head, but the personal stories made it a fascinating and horrifying read.  The amount of corner cutting and incompetent mismanagement of building and servicing a nuclear reactor were astonishing to read and it is a wonder that more people did not die as a result.  Scary stuff. 4/5

A Mild Touch Of The Cancer - David Downs

David Downs is a New Zealand comedian/businessman who thought he was just having a bout of the manflu but was diagnosed with non Hodgkins Lymphoma two years ago.  He kept us entertained by writing about his experiences on his blog and in the newspaper.  Bringing together all of his stories about his treatment in this book, it was a good read full of optimism and hope and the power of family and good friends.  4/5

Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker

Summer seems to have skipped us at the moment, and it was a windy overcast day and by early evening it had started spitting.  So a winter jacket was grabbed and I headed to the cinema to see the final Star Wars Movie - The Rise of Skywalker.  Friends had tickets for a special opening day event so it was nice to join them.  I won't give away the plot, if you've seen other movies in the series you know what you are in for anyway, lots of running, looking serious, good vs evil, a few guns, a couple of light sabres, a few slugs and lots and lots of CGI.  I also often thought that this new movie making has introduced a lot of politically correct characters, and that the white male is now portrayed as the bad guys in this movie.  How far we have almost come.

It was ok, I wasn't particularly moved and it all was a bit flat for me.  The story was pretty simple to follow this time, and it did circle back to encompass earlier movies which was nice.  I think for me the best part was that I got to see the movie in the same cinema that  I saw the first film in 1977 as a 9 year old with my parents.  3/5

The First Breath - Olivia Gordon

This is a book about the authors experience of being a mother to a small baby and their Neo Natal experience.  As well as telling us her own story she also interviews other parents and looks into how this special branch of medicine has evolved, with newer procedures developed every year.   Olivia also meets up with parents and children several years after their time in the unit, and it is nice to hear stories about these children as they grown bigger and stronger.  4/5

The Collaborator - Diane Armstrong

I have enjoyed many of Diane Armstrongs earlier books, and she writes fiction and non fiction that seems centered on the World War II experience.  This one fell a little flat for me.  I did enjoy the parts based  on young  Australian journalist Annika and her search for what happened to her family in Budapest in the War.  So much of it however seemed focused on a trial that occurred after the war and I struggled to read it,  particularly with the second half of the book dragging for me. 3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Ophelia

Again the weather has turned grey and windy and it was a night for settling down on the couch.  I meant to see this one at the cinema, but many dramas seem to be only shown for a week or two as they are pushed out by superheroes and car chases, things I am not interested in at all.  Anyway as you may guess from the title, this is the story of Ophelia of Hamlet fame.  The movie was certainly beautiful, the castles and the dresses and even the men looked good without being stuck in skin tight leggings.  I was somewhat distracted by Clive Owen in a crappy hairpiece. 

Daisy Ridley played the title role well, the story just came across a little muddled without a lot of focus.  I wanted to say I understood it all, but it felt like it was a long time since I read Hamlet.  We studied it at school which is now over 30 years ago, and in the mid nineties I saw Ralph Fiennes play the title role in London.   Seeing the beautiful Victorian paintings of Ophelia in London made me love the character even more.   So 4/5 for this one.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - A Dog's Way Home

Grey and windy seems to be the way of the weather at the moment when we want some summer sunshine.  So after a few of the chores were done it was time to sit on the couch to watch a movie before getting ready for work.  I love my pets, so I always knew this one was going to be ok, but am always ready for this type of story to bring a tear to my eyes.

We meet Bella - a puppy who has a bit of a rough start, but finds a home with Lucas and his mother.  Of course she gets lost and has to find her way back home, as that is the title of the movie.  Lots of feel good and sad moments in the story, and a bit of awkward looking CGI effects sprinkled throughout.

Still I'll give it a 4/5 as it is certainly watchable and I might see it again if it comes on the tv for free.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Mary Queen of Scots

I gathered up my corset to sit on the couch on this windy and wet night to sit and watch Mary Queen of Scots.  Saoirse Ronan glows in the role of the Queen who has to fight just to survive.  There is a lot of beauty in the film, the spectacular scenery of Scotland, the wonderfully Elizabethan palaces, gorgeous costumes and elaborate hairstyles.  The character fulled faces of a mostly British group of actors and actresses in the supporting roles,  who are unafraid to show their wrinkles and grey hair makes the movie more interesting.

Like many modern films it traded  a little more style than substance and could have done with more time spent in the writers room.  It just all felt a little flat, with  little build up in the story and not  quite enough spark to make it either magical or memorable.  I guess it is hard within a two hour period to tell what is quite a complicated story about her life , but I walked away thinking that while I was happy to have seen this once, I will remember it more for Soirses performance than anything else.  3/5