Music Monday - Sunshine on Leith - The Proclaimers

I was lucky and got to see the Proclaimers play at a festival in London in the mid nineties.  You can't help but sing along to their songs, even if their accents can be a bit hard to understand at times.  Anyway I have heard they are playing here next year, and I have got my friends organized to join me in seeing them.   I'm excited.

The Love That I Have - James Moloney

This book is the first I have read by this Australian author, who usually writes childrens novels.   Although this one is aimed at adults, it felt like a young adults novel.  It centers around  Margot Baumann, who leaves school to take up her sisters job in the mailroom at a prison in the second world war.  As she collects the letters and reads some of them she realizes that the prisoners are real people with dreams and feelings of love, and one in particular touches her and she seeks out his letters as they are posted.

It was certainly a book written from an original perspective, and Margots story was interesting but I felt at times that it was a little unbelievable.  That she was so naive and unaware of what was going on around her got a little annoying to me.  3/5

A Spark of Light - Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoy most of her books.  This one tackles the subject of abortion and tries to discuss both sides of the argument in a fictional setting, making it a bit of an emotive read.  There are lots of stories presented, from the anti abortion protesters, the clinic doctor, the nurses, patients and police, primarily it is a story about Wren, 15 year old high school student who goes to the clinic with her Aunty Bex to discuss contraception as it is the one clinic in the state that will provide education and support.

All of the stories were compelling, and like most of her books it was easy to get lost in the characters lives.  I struggled though with the structure of the book, as it was written chronologically backwards, which as a tool I could see that it worked by unraveling more of the story as it was told.  I just found it all a bit confusing and this book took me much longer to read than I expected.  3/5

The Mercy

This is a bit of an odd little movie.  It is based on the true story of a weekend sailor Donald Crowhurst who enters a competition in 1968 to win a race to be the first sailor to sail around the world without any stops.  He gets assistance to build an untested boat, and has never sailed out on the ocean before.  After several difficulties early in the race, he stops and records vague readings on his position so that it looks like he is still busy competing.  Then his boat is found abandoned.

I always like Colin Firth, but somehow he looked old, tired and slightly constipated the whole time of this movie.  I guess we are all used to the English movie that is charming and sweet with a happy ending, so I felt a bit let down by this one.  The saving grace I think was that they got the look of the 1960s right, less Austin Powers and more muted palette of 1960s photographs that felt right to me. 2/5

Chocolat

A staycation break gives you the opportunity to laze about and catch up on reading and watching accumulated movies and shows.  My reading ability seems to have lessened, I can't seem to sit and concentrate for hours on end like I used to be able to do.  I can plonk myself in front of the television for hours on end, but find my reading is limited to an hour or so before going to sleep, although often I drop off after 10 minutes or so rather than. 

Chocolat is based on the story of Chocolat, who in the 1880s became popular in Paris as a clown.  Born into slavery in Cuba, he escaped and found fortune and fame appearing in circuses in rural France and Paris.  A beautiful and sensitive portrait, it was mesmerizing to watch the actor Omar Sy perform - there is something so compelling in each scene he is in.  It was a bit shocking to see his treatment by his employers, the police and even his partner.  4/5

Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

9 people gather at a rural Australian retreat to refresh their lives.  Cellphones are turned off and all are hoping in some way to have their lives changed after 10 days of yoga and salads.  Some are here to save their marriages, some to lose weight, others to help grieve, a variety of reasons to escape and regroup.

I did enjoy the first half of the book, but felt the last half was a bit of a letdown.  It felt like the author had a great idea but was unsure of how the story would finish and it all felt a bit overworked to me and turned a bit into silliness, which was a shame.  Not my favorite by Liane Moriarty.   2/5

Music Monday - Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

I work with lots of young people in their early 20s.  It was surprising to find out that many of them didn't know this song, but I guess it is old, and they don't listen to music like many of us older folk did.  Hours of listening to the radio, listening to albums over and over and all the hits played at every party I went to gave me a pretty varied musical education.  I guess for young people now there are lots of different mediums fighting for time to entertain them, and it is a very generational thing.

The Dressmaker

Mmm - this middle aged lady viewer is a bit confused by this one.  Tilly (played by Kate Winslet) returns to the small country town where she grew up in as a young girl called Myrtle, as an adult with her sewing machine in hand.  When she was young, a bully who was taunting her ends dead and she is labeled as a murder and sent away.  Now she is back to find out the truth.

With a group of quirky locals she uses her skills as a dressmaker to make over the local ladies and add a bit of swish to the beige town. 

Kate Winslet is of course gorgeous and I always like her movies, and you can't be sad when you are seeing Liam Hemsworth with his shirt off.  I just found it hard to think of them as the playing the same age in the story.  What could have been a goodish drama just felt a bit over acted and over stylized to me. 2/5

Music Monday - Gloria - Laura Branigan

I was thinking of this song after hearing it on the I, Tonya soundtrack at the weekend.  I wouldn't have heard of it in years, but still knew all the words.  It was released in 1982 and still brings people to the dancefloor - at least us oldies!!

Book Art - Elizabeth Sagan

I found these beautiful pictures on Elizabeth Sagan Instagram.  She uses her book collection to make wonderful shots. 

I'Tonya

I'Tonya is a biographical movie following figure skater Tonya Harding.  From a brutal childhood with an overbearing abusive mother to a marriage as a teenager with an abusive husband, you can't help but admire the portrayal of Tonya by Margot Robbie.  Against all the odds stacked against her, she still managed to rise in the ranks of US figure skaters to be able to skate at the Olympics and was the only US woman to perform two triple axel  jumps in competition.

Of course the main reason she will be remembered, will be for her involvement with the injuring of her competitor Nancy Kerrigan.  I thought they did a great job of keeping the tension throughout the movie, and it rocked along with possibly the best soundtrack I have heard in years.  It actually had real songs that filled the radios throughout the time period, and I was singing along to Gloria and The Chain in my living room.  4/5

I'll Be Gone In the Dark - Michelle McNamara

I guess if you turned this true crime book into a novel, you might walk away from it thinking it unbelievable at the scale of one mans crimes.  I had to give it 5 stars, as I have thought about it often since reading it, although I must say it is a pretty brutal and intense read.  For over 10 years in California there was a series of burglaries, rapes and then murders that terrorized many neighborhoods.  Still unsolved and unlinked until years later, modern forensic evidence and with the ability of teams of people looking over case notes, professionals and amateur sleuths were beginning to recognize the patterns and mo of the attacker.

The author Michelle McNamara ran her own true crime blog and the search for this Golden State Killer became one of her pet projects.  Speaking to many of the investigators and detectives involved in the case as well as victims, she pieces timelines and stories together, searching for clues and evidence using the internet.  Sadly she passed away,  before somebody was arrested for the crimes in 2018 which makes the story all the more intriguing.  5/5

This Is Me - Chrissy Metz

I did actually finish reading this book last week, and at the time I enjoyed reading about Chrissy Metz, the actor who plays daughter Kate Pearson on the hit show This Is Us.  I like the show, and I enjoyed reading her book, although a week later I am struggling to remember a lot about it - although that could be down to my middle aged lady memory.

Most of the book focused on her pretty difficult childhood.  A stepfather that was unsupportive and a mother struggling to bring up her children.  A career where she spent most of her time fighting for jobs for others as an agent, when she was rejected time and time again but still believing in her dream to succeed. 

I was left with the impression of what a nice woman she is, how far she has come and still remains humble.  How by being out and about in her latex dresses and red carpet looks, other girls get to see someone who might look like them.  How being on a hit show - she is not just the joke fat girl - she gets to have real feelings and relationships.  4/5

Music Monday - Everybody - Choir! Choir! Choir!

I'm not a major fan of the Backstreet Boys - I think I was too old when they came out to enjoy a boy band, or it could have just been during a rocker phase.  Still I can see the joy in this song when sung by Choir! Choir! Choir!

Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Aderton

I guess I have to start by saying that I am 20 years older than the target audience for this memoir by Dlly Alderton, a Dating columnist for a UK paper - a modern day career.  Her stories of dating, casual sex and drug taking are peppered by amusing stories although somehow I came away thinking that the author was just a bit spoilt and it she could do with helping out some folks with real problems. 2/5

Paddington 2

Saturday night on the couch seemed a good time to watch a movie.  Paddington 2 was a sweet choice for this middle aged lady viewer.  It was a 99c special, but one I did enjoy more than expected and maybe more than the original movie.  In this story Paddington is looking for a present for his Aunt Lucy.  He comes across a special present that he is sure that she will love, but this means he has to go and earn some money.  I won't give away the whole story, part of the charm is not knowing everything about the story.

A worthy 4/5 for kids and grown ups alike. 

The Post

I saved this one up to sit and watch on a Friday night in as us middle aged ladies are prone to doing.  Meryl Streep plays Katherine Graham the owner/publisher of The Washington Post,who seems to be a lone woman surrounded by men who try to influence her decisions as she takes the company public to raise funds.  Tom Hanks is playing executive editor Ben Bragdikian who is trying to beat the New York Times to a scoop story about Top Secret information leaked about the US Governments involvement in the Vietnam War. 

It is a pretty intense drama, and I knew a little about the story before viewing the movie but I must admit to finding it pretty heavy going.  While all the characters are watchable and I have a soft spot for Meryl and Tom I found myself a bit challenge watching it.  I guess it is a part of American political history that doesn't really resonate with me.  The good thing was that I was a bit concerned about falling asleep tonight, and this has made me feel quite sleepy.  2/5

Do Not Become Alarmed - Maile Meloy

Liv and Nora are close cousins, who take their husbands and children away on a cruise.  When a day trip turns disastrous, everyone is forced to question their relationships and question everything.  The children find themselves having to think quickly to survive, while the parents are falling apart.

 At times I really enjoyed this book, and can easily see it as a movie that plays late on a weekday night, and at other  moments I became a bit frustrated as it seemed to skip over areas that I think weren't covered.  Maybe it just pays to not think too deeply and just go with the flow of the story. 3/5

Music Monday - Walk This Way - Jimmy Fallon, Aerosmith & The Roots

Om my goodness I really like this one, I know I say that with every song, but really these guys are so happy doing this song.  I love that they use school instruments, nothing fancy.