Saturday 16 March 2024

Sunday Post 49; It's Monday! What are you reading? 49

 


The Sunday Post - a chance for a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

My week was fairly uneventful, except of course for the heavy chains of capitalism.

We won at quiz on Wednesday night by one point, but a win is a win, no matter how narrow the margin. 

We got talking at work about some of the "reboot" movies that are coming out, and Roadhouse came up. So, of course, on Thursday night I had to dig into the vaults of TV Land and watch the original. The original Roadhouse is both great, and also terrible. This remains true. The soundtrack, however, still slaps. (Is that what the kids are saying? "Slaps"?)

Friday, Spawn had a friend over for a sleepover, so I retreated to my room and told myself "I'm not going to watch the whole Eras tour movie, it's over three hours long." Reader, I watched the whole Eras tour movie.  I don't consider myself a "Swiftie" as such but I do like quite a few of the songs, and I admire the work ethic. And honestly - it's a great show. One of my workmates went to see Taylor Swift in Sydney and declared it the greatest night of her life. 

Saturday a friend of mine and I went to the library, and after Spawn's wee friend had gone home and he had tidied up the debris of their sleepover, we went trawling some secondhand stores. Spawn bought a couple of books, and I found a photo frame for 50cents, which I've used to frame a Monet print card. 

Saturday night I went to my friend's place as usual and we stitched and watched reality TV. We're off to the movies later today to see Wicked Letters.

I finished Poirot & Me, and also You Can Trust Me, both of which I did enjoy. 

Currently I'm reading The Labours of Hercules, short stories by Agatha Christie featuring the little Belgian detective, and I started The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, first book in the Order of Legends series, which is shaping up to be very promising.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Monday 11 March 2024

Maree's Movie Night - Pain Hustlers


 I was going to watch The Bourne Supremacy on Friday night, but couldn't find it anywhere.

This popped up on Netflix, and I thought it looked interesting, so I dived in.

Pain Hustlers is based on a true story about a small, start-up pharmaceutical company trying to push a new painkiller for cancer patients.

Emily Blunt is down on her luck single mother Liza who talks her way into a job with the company, and Chris Evans is the slightly skeevy rep who recruits her.

It's always fun to see Chris Evans play against the Captain America stereotype and it's the same with this movie, although the front and centre star is without a doubt Emily Blunt.

Her character is motivated by the right things - she's trying to make a better life for herself and her daughter who is prone to seizures due to a tangled bundle of nerves in her brain. Catherine O'Hara also shows up in a great supporting role as Emily Blunt's character's somewhat chaotic mother.

The drug starts to take off for cancer patients, and it's not long before doctors are prescribing it for all kinds of pain. The kicker is - it's fentanyl. Which I don't know a lot about, but I do know it's incredibly addictive. There's a lot of other dodgy dealings and kickbacks as well which did largely go over my head.

But the story and the acting were engaging enough to keep me invested.

When the husband of one of her friend's dies from an overdose, Liza realises she needs to do something, and turns whistleblower, which brings the company crashing down.

Pain Hustlers is definitely worth watching - great cast plus a solid story make for a good night in.




Saturday 9 March 2024

Sunday Post 48; It's Monday! What are you reading? 48

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What Are Your Reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Why is it when you cut yourself, it's always in the most inconvenient place? I cut my finger yesterday and it's right at the tip, so when I'm typing I hit the cut every single time.

Anyway. 

My week was much more uneventful. 

I went to work because capitalism and I didn't marry rich when I was young and skinny. 

We won at quiz on Wednesday night which is always nice.

Son of Mine had a sleepover at a friend's on Friday night. It's funny - both his dad and I are pretty introverted - his Dad moreso than me - but somehow we've created this extroverted social butterfly who can make friends with anyone. 

So I parked up on the couch with some stitching and had planned to watch The Bourne Supremacy but could not find it on any of the streaming platforms we have. After a bit of browsing and false starts, I watched Pain Hustlers on Netflix, which is about a pharmaceutical start up with Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. Review to come later in the week.

Yesterday morning I arose from the depths, got myself settled for some uninterrupted TV and watched episode 2 of The Fall of the House of Usher. I'm greatly enjoying it but I can only take one episode at a time, and I need to wait until Son of Mine is out and about. 

Then I went to pick him up from his friend's and took Lily to the vet for her regular blood tests. 

I did some reading in the afternoon and ferried Son of Mine and another one of his friends about for a bit. He went to that friend's last night for another sleepover. He's going to come home and crash VERY hard I think. 

I'm still reading Poirot and Me by David Suchet which I'm enjoying. I also rented a couple of the Poirot seasons from the library, so I've also been working my way through those. 

I'm also still reading You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard which is still great.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Monday 4 March 2024

Short reviews

 

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travls Baldree is a prequel to Legends & Lattes, which I absolutely loved. And, I have to say, this one had me grinning like an idiot as well.

Viv is a young, brash Orc, just starting out as a mercenary with Rackham's Ravens when she's badly injured by the minions of necromancer the crew is chasing.

She's forced to take downtime and finds herself settling into Murk - a sleepy beachside down to rest and recuperate.

Viv doesn't take the enforced rest very well to start with, and things start to stack up for her.

Luckily, she meets some friends along the way, including Fern who owns the town's only bookstore, and Maylee, the dwarf - and romantic interest for Viv - who owns a bakery.

Unfortunately, the necromancer is still out there, and she's heading for Murk...

This was just. Lovely. I don't know how else to describe it honestly. I loved it so much.

After the book of Miss Marple short stories by modern writers didn't work out, I decided to go back to the source material. 

I picked up A Caribbean Mystery, in which Miss Marple is on holiday in the Caribbean - slightly bored if she's honest, but overall enjoying herself - when someone is murdered.

The murder - of a retired Major who's main goal seems to be boring everyone rigid with his stories - sets off an unexpected chain of events, leading to Miss Marple acting as a very unlikely Nemesis.

I haven't read this one for a few years so had forgotten whodunit. So I was entertained and surprised at the same time.

I had seen Foundryside at my library a few times, but - true confession  - the cover put me off for some reason, so I never picked it up. I *think* I saw someone on an instagram reel mention it and I though "oh, that DOES sound lik me," so I borrowed it from the library.

And it's SO good! Sancia is an escaped slave, living on the margins of a society with a very strong dividing line between the haves and the have-nots.

She survives by stealing, and she also has a secret - Sancia has a scrived plate in her head, which means she can ... talk? to things that she touches - walls, doors, windows ... 

She does a job for a fence, and steals a key. What Sancia doesn't realise is how important that key really is.

The worldbuilding is great, and Sancia is a truly compelling main character. Fantasy plus heist is one of my favourites, and this did not disappoint.


Saturday 2 March 2024

Sunday Post 47; It's Monday! What are you reading? 47

 


The Sunday Post - a chance for a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see ... my week was slightly more eventful than I generally like.

My sister was admitted to hospital last Monday night with pneumonia. (She's fine, and home now). So on Tuesday after work I went down to see her and take some magazines and books as she was - understandably - bored. 

Tuesday was also my work bestie's last day, and she has now moved to a different city. I miss her a lot - more than I thought I would, to be honest. I know we can keep in touch thanks to the magic of social media and cellphones but it's not the same as seeing someone every day.

Quiz was Wednesday night, and we didn't place for the first time this year - we came fourth. Can't win them all, I guess.

Friday night was a work do at a pub that had already been cancelled twice. 

I was very ready for the weekend by the end of it all.

I went to the library yesterday and to a secondhand store where I found a couple of art cards I'm planning on framing and hanging up. 

Son of Mine had a sleepover here on Friday night, and then spent Saturday night at another friend's place. So he's feeling rather tired today. 

Today I haven't done much at all, and it has been nice.

I finished Foundryside, and very much enjoyed it. I also finished A Caribbean Mystery.
I started Wife after Wife by Olivia Hayfield and I don't know whether it's just me, but I got 3 pages in and honestly could not take the writing. But it has a bundle of 4 and 5 star ratings on goodreads. But the writing is just ... clumsy somehow? Life is too short to read books that irritate me. 

Anyway. I'm reading Poirot and Me by Sir David Suchet, about his 25 years playing the great detective, and I also started You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard, which is shaping up to be very promising.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Monday 26 February 2024

Maree's Movie Night - The Bourne Identity

 

I mentioned in my Sunday Post that I'm trying to watch more movies this year. I've set a goal of ... 55? I think? and I've watched about 10 so far.

So I've decided, to help me stay on track, I'll start reviewing the movies that I watch. 

There's no rhyme or reason to it, it's just what I'm feeling like on the night, and how good my concentration levels are. 

So. First up is The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
I haven't read any of the books, but the movie is highly entertaining.

Jason Bourne is some kind of super-spy, who has been fished out of the ocean with absolutely no memory of who he is. Then things start going REALLY bad.

A friend of mine pointed out that the reason these movies are so good is that Bourne has to rely on his wits to get through, and she's right. He has amnesia, but muscle memory kicks in and he powers through. 

The cast is absolutely stacked to the gills with some top action talent, though Julia Stiles is criminally under-used in this one. From memory her part expands in the next movie.

The perfect Friday night film.





Saturday 24 February 2024

Sunday Post 46; It's Monday! What are you reading? 46

 


The Sunday Post - a chance for a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Son of Mine is over his bout of Covid and husband and I were lucky enough not to be infected this time around. Son's symptoms were mostly that of a bad cold or flu, and he spent a lot of time napping. He's feeling better, tested negative, and he's back to school tomorrow. Which he is VERY excited about.*



*Not.

Anyway. I opted not to go to quiz on Wednesday night as a couple of my team members are immuno-compromised, so I stayed home, and the team won without me. 

Apart from that... not a lot, really. Son of Mine and I went to the library on Saturday, and he's recently taken up drawing, so I took him to buy some colouring pencils and sketch paper. I went to my friend's as usual on Saturday, where we stitched and watched Survivor. We're only up to season 44, so no spoilers. :)

Today I had some sour cream and bananas that needed to be used up so I made a banana loaf, which came out pretty well. I spent the rest of the afternoon stitching and listening to You Must Remember This, a podcast about the first 100 years of Hollywood history. It's interesting stuff and podcast listening is great for stitching.

Otherwise I've been watching more Star Trek: Voyager. I also started season 2 of Reacher, which for me is just pure entertainment. I've only read one of the books, and I thought it was okay, but the show is great fun. I also watched the first episode of The Fall of the House of Usher, which I really enjoyed, but I need to wait until Son of Mine isn't around. I enjoy watching things with him but he comments on everything and I feel like Usher is the kind of show I really need to concentrate on.

I'm trying to watch more movies as well as reading more books, and towards that goal I try to watch one movie a week. Sometimes it pans out, sometimes it doesn't. This week I watched The Bourne Identity, which I haven't seen in many years. It holds up pretty well.

I'm still reading Foundryside, which is great. I had started Marple, an anthology of short stories featuring Miss Marple by modern day writers, but I sent it back to the library after "Miss Marple let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding" in the first story, and Miss Marple cursing ("hell" but Miss Marple would never) in the second one. So I've gone back to the source material, and I'm re-reading A Caribbean Mystery.