Happily Ever Esther - Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter and Caprice Cane

I had never heard of Esther the Wonder pig until I found this book staring at me from the library shelves.  Apparently it is the second book, that tells how her two fathers, after realizing that she is indeed getting too big for their suburban house,  decide to move to rural Canada, buy some land and set up a pet sanctuary. 

Part of the story are amusing, and I had to admire their determination to look after so many animals that had been abandoned, and it made me want to pack in my job and do the same.  I did find some of it a bit bitchy and wondered if they should have just stayed quiet on their opinions about some of their helpers.  A quick light read it did make me go and look at Esthers Instagram posts.  3/5

Music Monday - This Must Be The Place - Talking Heads

This always reminds me of teenage years.  Must have been too many Saturday nights with the cassette player blasting loud.

The Lost Vintage - Ann Mah

Kate needs to pass the Master of Wine test and so returns to her families ancestral vineyard in France. Here she runs into old boyfriends, meets new loves and digs into the families hidden past. A lost diary answers some questions about what happened during the second world war.

Look it was ok for me but I was pretty sure I knew how it was going to end right from the start. I also kept wondering how a wine sommelier could keep affording to jet to and from Europe so often. Anyway it is always nice to escape into a French vineyard. 3/5

Meet the Frugalwoods - Elizabeth Willard Thames

This is the story based on a blog, of Elizabeth and her husband Nate who decide to go frugal so that they can live the life they want to.  Hats off to them, I don't know if I could  give up as much as they did to get their goals.  Even in a low paying job living in New York, Elizabeth was able to save money as an intern sharing a grotty flat. 

I do watch a few home reno programs from the US and it seems to me that is possible in many towns and cities to buy an affordable home, and  it is not too hard to see how people can decide to opt out of the rat race moving to somewhere rural.  I am not sure if the country dream is for me, but I do enjoy reading others who do make the transition.  3/5

Music Monday - I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Frankin

Thank you for the music.

Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker

It is always interesting to read a book about sleep, something we spend almost a third of our lives doing, yet scientists can't actually tell us why we do it, just that it is important.  In fact reading this book scares you with all the problems that can be linked to getting less than 8 hours per night - something I struggle with each night. 

There were lots of interesting bits about various studies looking into different aspects of sleep, how we dream, sleep deprivation, sleep at various stages of life and how not sleeping can even lead to an early death.  I do find this type of non fiction can often send me to sleep too - so that is quite helpful.  3/5

The Last Black Unicorn - Tiffany Haddish

Now I don't know much about Tiffany Haddish except for a few interviews I have seen on television shows with her, and as a comedian she is smart and funny and seems to be able to hold her own.  She seems young to be bringing out her memoirs, but that seems to be the way it is nowdays.  She has a tough upbringing, with a mum who had a bad accident when Tiffany was young, often leaving her in charge of younger siblings, and then having to negotiate her way through foster care and battle it out with LA judges.

The main stories in this book though center around her struggles with a dodgy ex boyfriend and she is pretty blunt and graphic about some of theses goings on.  At times I admired her ability to get herself together but there were moments when she annoyed me, that she couldn't see the obvious ways she allowed herself to get used and sometimes her behavior towards other people was a bit disappointing.  Still she had it pretty tough, going from foster home, to living out of her car to starring in movies and being interviewed on late night television shows.  She is certainly an ambitious woman who has worked hard to earn her chance in the spotlight. 3/5

Dear Mrs. Bird - AJ Pearce

Emmy Lake has dreams of being an important war correspondent, so when she spies an ad in the newspaper for a office junior at a large paper she applies and gets the job.  She finds herself working at a ladies magazine assisting the formidable Mrs Bird in replying to letters about womens problems .  As the Germans are still bombing London she also helps at the fire service, taking calls for the crews to respond to. 

A sweet book that transported me to wartime London which I could easily see being a masterpiece theatre movie.  4/5

USS Indianapolis

Oh holy moly of bad movie cliches and terrible model visual effects this was a bad movie.  It was like the team had watched Pearl Harbor and read the Wikipedia cliff notes about the USS Indianapolis.  Now I remember  reading In Harms Way - Doug Stantons 2001 book about the 1945 sinking of the boat.  Taking the part of the Atomic Bomb to its destination, the boat with 1200 crew aboard were hit by a Japanese torpedo on the return journey with 300 men killed and 900 going into the water.  As it was a top secret mission, no one was expecting them back and it was 5 days before any survivors were rescued.  By then many had succumbed to their injuries, or died due to shark attacks in the water. dehydration and salt water poisoning.  316 crew survived.

The story of the Captain of the boat is a sad tale too.  Look I guess they only had a couple of hours to cover a huge story, but in this case I think they did a true story of real bravery and courage a disservice.   They had a chance to tell a real story that seems almost impossible, and if it were a based on a novel you might have thought it unbelievable.  The saving grace was to hear the real stories of the sailors at the end of the movie.  Don't switch off as the credits roll - it is only a short few minutes but has real footage of their rescue.  3/5

Goodbye Christopher Robin

As I have been stuck at home with a dreaded viral infection of the horrible kind, I have alas not been able to view any further film festival movies.  I today was able to manage to actually sit up for a few hours in the living room, and watch the movie Goodbye Christopher Robin, which I had been meaning to see for some time.

In this biographical movie, we get to see the relationship between Christopher Robin, and his parents, Alan Milne a playwright suffering after serving in World War 1, and his beautiful but distant mother.  We see that his main source of comfort is the nanny who cares for him for most of his youth, although I wonder how true this representation was - in my mind a father writing such a book as Winnie the Pooh and When We Were Young must have had a deep deep love and understanding of play than the cold and aloof father portrayed in the movie. 

Still the young actor playing Christopher Robin was riveting to watch, and the beautiful forest and home were lovely (which I hope were English).  I can imagine in making this movie that balance between drama and magic was a difficult balance - I was just hoping for a few more reflective moments, some more visuals to stick with me.  I did love one of the final photos - of Christopher Robins real toys - the real Pooh, Eyeore, Tigger, Piglet and Roo that now live in the New York Public Library.  3/5