You Are Dead - Peter James

Oh Roy Grace you sexy beast, for what is sexier to middle aged lady readers than a sensitive, smart and funny detective who loves his lady, his fish and his little son to pieces?  Then there are the young woman who are being abducted in Brighton, plucked from the street or from their homes, which always kind of freaks me out.  Part of me loves a thriller, but I do wrestle with  the number of books and films that portray violence towards women - quite the conundrum. 4/5

Music Monday - Major Lazer - Powerful (feat Ellie Goulding and Tarrus Riley)

I'm loving this song at the moment.  She has a beautiful voice old Ellie Goulding and lovely phrasing.  My little ipod is just full of great tunes at the moment - it keeps me happy to listen as I walk around at the weekend or to and from work.

Dreamland - David K Randall

After injuring himself one night in his sleep, the author decided to look into what we knew about sleep.  The answer is of course that we know very little, even though we spend a third of our life conked out.  There were some interesting points - how our ancestors slept, with a first and second sleep and a break often around midnight. How the invention of the light bulb changed what we did at night, how we worked and made night shifts a  possibility.  The importance of sleep on those in the military, and how they have changed how they let some soldiers sleep.

Personally I think the ability and type of sleeping is genetic.  Most of my family are lucky, and have an ability to just lie down and sleep whenever we want, in fact I think we have a sleepy gene when many of my friends have the opposite.  It can take them hours to drop off to sleep and stay asleep.

So I learnt a bit, and but I was left wanting more.  So go scientists go - hope you find out more soon. 3/5

Amy

Documentries are so rocking my movie loving world this year.  It shocked me a little that I wasn't watching a movie made currently, but this movie was made up of video, photos and footage of Amy Winehouse from when she was a young 16 year old entering the entertainment industry, to her erly death at 27.

Back in Black is one of my favorite albums - I listen to it all the time, but seeing this movie you see the raw talent and enormous strength of her voice and her amazing songwriting skills.  There was certainly something about this girl, her charisma was amazing, and her ability to light up a room as she sung was a beautiful thing to see.

It was however so hard to watch the second half of the movie, as you could see how bulimia, drugs, alcohol and depression caused her to withdraw and shut down.  Even though I know how it all went, it made me teary watching it.  She just seemed a vulnerable little thing, who needed somebody to take care of her, instead it seemed she was thrown to the wolves, and no one was there to step in and protect her.  Definitely  an adult watch 5/5

Late Fragments - Kate Gross

This is a small little memoir, telling a big story.  It is about Kate, who has a great job, a wonderful husband, and two lovely little boys, who at 34 discovers she has stage 4 bowel cancer.  Facing a poor prognosis we join her for her journey, and she guides us along, telling us to appreciate what we have, be grateful for each day and love the friends and family we have.

I am always touched in some way by this type of book, for they all hold some small wise wisdom and are reminders of our own mortality. 4/5

Fat Girl Walking

Oh Brittany you write a good book girl.  I loved this little memoir about what it is like to grow up us the fat girl and be the target of everyones comment.  Because if you are heavy, everybody likes to comment on what you eat, and what you wear and what you should do to be skinny.  I think she does a fab job of combining truth and humor, of being funny without being over the top silly like so many modern memoirs.

The main message is about accepting yourself whatever size you are skinny or fat.  That for a lot of us we don't giver ourselves permission to be happy as we are, we sit around waiting to be happy once we have lost 50 pounds or lost four dress sizes.  We need to hear these voices, especially our young girls who are presented with one cookie cutter look that they have to be skinny to be cute or loved. 4/5

One Small Act of Kindness - Lucy Dillon

Libbys life has changed, she has gone from being a London business woman to helping her mother in law run her rural hotel and helping her husband balance the books.  Then there is an accident, and Libby once again steps into help.

I did enjoy the characters, and although slow it was a bit of a journey discovering about their lives as not all was given away at the beginning of this novel.  To me though after a long meandering beginning there was a rush to the end, and I was left wanting a bit.  I wanted to find out what happened to all the characters, who got back together, who hooked up, who drifted apart.  3/5
 

Trainwreck

So I took my 19 year old niece to this one - what a nice aunt I am.  Amy is a 30ish lush of a girl who has plenty of one night stands and is not looking for a relationship, and in fact she mocks others who want that lifestyle.  Then of course she finds love, and that changes how she thinks.

Normally I am not a fan of this type of movie, by Amy Shumer, who also wrote the movie I think has done a fab job.  Bridesmaids was ok - but it just seemed to me to be a series of skits that started off funny but lapsed at the end.  Whereas I think this one is more steady throughout.  Although I hate the line on the poster where it has to say it is from the guy who bought you Bridesmaids - why does it need to say that?

So it was a bit crude and full of sexual jokes and a few sex scenes so definitely one for the adults.  3/5

The Theft of Memory - Jonathan Kozol

It is hard not to be moved by this memoir, as Jonathan Kozols father Dr Harry Kozol, a noted psychiatrist is affected by  advancing memory loss. We meet him when he is beginning to realize that his memory is failing, as his notes become more confused and continue as he gradually loses more functions, requiring assistance in walking, bathing and eating.   He obviously loves his parents, and his care of them is top notch, continuing to visit both of his elderly parents on a regular basis and supporting them as they age.

The book left me with some important impressions - the importance of discussing with your loved ones about what their wishes are as they age, what would be acceptable for them, what they would want if they were unable to make choices for themselves, that discussing a dnr (do not resusitate) order with next of kin is not about doctors wanting to save money or be lazy - but is about letting nature take its course and allowing a patient (especially a frail elderly patient with a limited quality of life) a natural death rather than violently doing cpr and other interventions that may just prolong the process.

I would certainly recommend that if you read this book, make sure you read Atul Gawandes fabulous book Being Mortal.  4/5

Luckiest Girl Alive - Jessica Knoll

To me this felt like a book of two halves.  The fist half is about Ani, a girl who has fashioned herself into a perfect fiance, with hours spent in the gymn, never eating a carb, designer clothes and shoes, the perfect hairstyle and the perfect upper class rich man to marry. Then in the second half we get to find out about her past, the reasons she wants to better herself and hide her background.

Without giving it all away, I did enjoy the beginning of the book more than the second part, but somehow it felt a bit forced to me, all a bit contrived. 3/5