Over The Top - Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan Van Ness has come to my attention via Queer Eye on tv, but I have listened to some of his podcasts and watching his Instagram feed always makes me smile.  He is charismatic and real, and I always watch him and think how he would be the perfect party guest and a bonus as a hairdresser he could fix your hair.

In this book he is pretty honest about his past, his childhood sexual abuse, growing up knowing he was gay, being bullied for a lot of his life and his sometimes dubious lifestyle choices as an adult.  It may be challenging reading for some, but I enjoyed it and his real voice came across in this memoir.  I think as I finished this book, that I just liked him even more that I had when I started. 5/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Ben is Back

This is one of those movies that I no longer go to the cinema to see.  That kind of all too serious drama just gets me down, and often watching at home I find myself wandering away from the television or getting distracted.  Ben is Back is about the relationship between mum Holly (Julia Roberts) and her drug addict son Ben, who surprises the family by turning up at Christmas when he is meant to be in rehab.

Although a somewhat predictable story line, I was surprised that I watched the whole movie.  Great performances from everyone especially Julia Roberts.  I thought at first she was a bit sappy, but as the movie went on she showed her strength.  4/5

The Work I Did - Brunhilde Pomsel

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this slim book.  I had seen a couple of small clips about this woman Brunhilde Pomsel, who during WWII worked as a secretary to Goebbels, and seemed to flit in the inner circles of Nazi elite.

 I found her memoir somewhat contradictory, she was of the opinion that she was unaware of what was happening, but knew the Jews were being sent away to camps.  I also understand that at the time she was probably a bit of a young woman more interested in fashion and men, rather than politics, but she was right in the midst of everything living and working in Berlin.  Still for a woman who lived to 106, you can understand that her memories of what happened 70+ years ago must have faded somewhat, there is no remorse or accountability.   2/5

The Volunteer - Jack Fairweather

This is the true story of Polish farmer and reserve Calvary officer Witold Pilecki, who volunteers to enter Auschwitz to try and get honest reports or what is happening inside the camp and forming some type of resistance.  What he finds of course, is far and beyond what he had imagined, the murder of thousands of men, women and children which at the time was mostly unknown to the wider world.

It is at times quite the harrowing read, and I had to set the book aside several times in order to process what I had read.  His story though deserves to be more widely known, and I am sure many more people will know who he is because of this book.  4/5

The Mother-In-Law - Sally Hepworth

Lucy is married to Ollie with three small children, and no matter what she says or does, she can't get along with her mother-in-law Diana.  This story gives us multiple points of view and swings between the past and present, but for once I didn't get to confused and could follow the storyline pretty easily, which made it a quick and enjoyable read for me. 4/5

Lock Every Door - Riley Sager

Jules has just about hit rock bottom, when she applies for a job working at a famous New York landmark  All she has to do is to house sit a fabulous penthouse apartment for 3 months and be paid for it.  Of course nothing is quite as simple as it sounds, and things begin to look sinister quite quickly.  I did feel the menace in the story and was waiting for probably more spookiness than it offered, as I realized about half way through what was going on.  Still it was a pretty evenly paced Gothic horror that didn't fizzle out at the end like so many.  4/5

Music Monday - Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton - Say Something

I seldom listen to the radio anymore, and find new songs, or old songs like this one on youtube.  I have been out of the loop for sometime now that I keep finding songs that I haven't heard before like this one.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Saturday Night needed filling in before the rugby game started late, so it was time to catch up on some of the 99c specials I have on my apple tv.  I really like Melissa McCarthy as a person when I have seen her being interviewed and in many of her roles.  I am not a big fan of most of her movies however, as they all seem to be the same over played simplistic plots, with stories that seem to be written by 12 year olds.  She - I believe is better than that.

So in this movie, it is nice to see her take on a more dramatic role, and a more realistic wig/no makeup look to play author Lee Israel.  When she loses her job and with nothing waiting in the wings for her to write, she takes it upon herself to embellish and forge letters from celebrities from the past.  Passing them off as real, she realizes that she may be able to pay for her rent and drinks as long as the scam lasts.  Melissa does a stellar job of playing the acerbic and at times rude Lee, who seems to not realize that her star has ascended and her glory days are behind her.  Yet we can see that she is witty and clever and like most of us, is just looking for love and a way to survive the rat race.

I did however find it a bit drab and was shocked by what was under her bed!!  3/5

Mad Girl - Bryony Gordon

Mad Girl is a memoir by Bryony Gordon about her experiences with mental health issues.  She talks about growing up with alopecia and OCD, and dealing with drinking and drug addictions in her twenties.  She is honest and funny, although at stages I just wanted to sit her down and tell her to grow up and act like an adult. I guess she came to that conclusion on her own, with a little bit of help. 

The more stories that get told like this though the more it must help people realize that they are not alone , that everyone  has their own issues to deal with.  4/5

Downton Abbey

I have been wanting to see this one for a while and thought I had better get to it, before it disappeared from the cinema.  It is worth it to go and see on the big screen and I don't think that about many movies.  I would have to say that it was pretty much perfect and exactly as you would expect.

All the team showed up, and they are busy getting the big house ready for the royals, so they are all a flutter dusting, polishing and getting all spiffy.  I kept thinking, that in these crazy times, we all yearn for a bit of simplicity, for going back to the good old days, and Downton encapsulates all that.  Characters we know, going about their business as usual. 

So I'm going to say that it did bring a tear to my eye, so for that it is worth a big old 5/5.

The Writing On The Wall - Juliet Rieden

Juliet Rieden is an Australian journalist, who only after her fathers death discovers his story and the fate of his family members in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War.  While on a trip to Prague Juliet visits the  local Synagogue and notices several names listed on a memorial that share her same last name.  Realizing that they be related to her, she searches for the history of the Rieden family, a family that her father barely mentioned.

It makes me sad that we now have reached a period in time when most of the survivors of the war are now gone, and for most that their stories are lost also.  For many, they didn't want to speak about their experiences and so for the next generation they know little of what their families went through.  I just felt sad reading this book, that the authors father didn't share stories about his grandparents and aunties and uncles that he grew up with.  3/5

The Note Through The Wire - Doug Gold

This is a fictionalized novel about Bruce Murray a young New Zealand Prisoner of War and his chance encounter with Josefine Lobnik, a young Yugoslavian resistance fighter.   Such a nice unique war story that is based on the true story of his in-laws and how they got met.  It was so nice to read a story that sadly had to be based on letters and articles as like so many of their generation, they didn't talk about their experiences, and to have this story before it is lost.  4/5

The Blink Of An Eye - Rikke Schmidt Kjaergaard

This is a small book that tells a big story about Rikke Schmidt Kjaergaard, a young mother and wife,  who within a day or so falls terribly ill with bacterial meningitis, ending up in Intensive Care for weeks.  As she remains unconscious for weeks, it is her family that document what is happening to her and the struggles that staff have to keep her alive.  Although this horrid disease changed a lot in her life, forcing her to relearn basics like eating and walking again, she was lucky to survive.  It was a compelling read. 5/5

You'll Never See Me Again - Lesley Pearse

When Bettys husband returns from the war a shell of the man he was, she realizes that she will be trapped with him and his shrew of a mother.   Escaping, she finds a new life for herself, but she wonders if she will be able to escape her past.  Finding a new life as Mabel, she finds new friends and supporters and begins to have the life she deserves. 

I felt comfortable with this book as soon as I started it, and it was an easy read all the way through as many Lesley Pearse stories are.  She is comfortable with telling stories of women finding there way in the world, when they were often restricted by the society rules of the time.  When without money, you were often forced into doing what the family wanted and unable to choose your own path . 4/5

Something To Live For - Richard Roper

Andrew is a bit of a loner.  He lives by himself in a small flat and works for the local council.  When people die in council properties with no family or friends, it is up to Andrew and his team to see if they can discover next of kin, and to organise funerals for the deceased.  His best friends are some other online model train enthusiasts and Andrew is content to live alone without anyone to bother him.

His problem is that he has been avoiding his sister and may have happened to have told a couple of lies to his work colleagues.  Of course you know that there are going to be consequences to his action.  Look I liked the concept, but the character of Andrew felt very familiar to me and  quite like the main character in a movie I saw a couple of years ago called Still Life.  4/5

Music Monday - Bright Horses - Nick Cave

Such a beautiful song from Nick Cave and his new album Ghosteen.  I am loving the fantasy bucolic cover. 

Middle Aged Lady Watch - Mrs Wilson

Today was a strike day for us, so even though I had visions of going out to the movies and having lunch at a local cafe, after a late shift last night I just rolled over this morning, and woke up at a leisurely pace.  As there wasn't going to be any pay for today I saved some dollars, and dressed myself up in comfy pants, a warm hoody and slippers.  Just as I hit the couch with my toasted sandwiches for lunch and a big glass of apple juice, the temperatures dropped and a hail started before the rain set in.  A good choice to stay at home in the end.

Mrs Wilson was a 3 part mini-series that I recorded earlier in the year and I like the ability to sit and watch it in one go, so that I may follow the story a bit easier.  Based on her grandmothers story, the actress Ruth Wilson plays her grandmother Alison Wilson.  When her husband dies suddenly, Alison Wilson discovers that she was not the only wife of husband Alec Wilson (played by Iain Glen).  She also finds out that a lot of his past stories were in fact lies, and she sets out to find out the truth for her and their two suns.

I really enjoyed this period set piece,  which flicked between the early 40s and 60s as it told the story of their first meeting and early marriage and their life 20 years later.  Ruth Wilson is always an interesting watch, and such a good actress, being believable as both the young naive  20 year old and the older more jaded mother.  A satisfying cold day on the couch watch.  4/5

The Perfect Wife - JP Delaney

Abbie wakes up not sure of who she is and the man at her side saying he is her husband. So she starts to seek out what happened to her, finding out some unsettling truths. I won't give away the main points of this book, as that is the true basis of the story, and it does a good job of trying to confuse you on whose version of the truth is real.

I did keep having more questions as I went through the story and thought that there were lots of plot holes. Still it is a unique story that has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. 3/5