Sunday Post 51; It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 51

 
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/

Once again, capitalism struck when I was most expecting it, and work happened. 

I didn't go to quiz on Wednesday night, as Son of Mine's school had the audacity to schedule parent/teacher interviews then. The way it works here, is you get an interim report, and on it the teachers indicate if they want an interview or not. Three of his teachers did, so I had to like ... parent.

It was fine. I always get "Son of Yours is a great kid but needs to focus." Which. I didn't need to miss quiz to find out, I already knew.

It was a short week, and I had Friday off. I watched TV, did some reading, did some stitching, played some Dragon Age. Full on power down mode in other words.

I worked yesterday because overtime is nice sometimes. I didn't go to my friend's last night as I worked, but just came home and powered down again. 

Today I haven't done much of anything, and I don't have work until Wednesday, so I have very few plans.

I'm still reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett, and The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson.

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

Maree's Movie Night - Road House reboot

 

My question here is - why. Why Road House. The original is fine as it is, and honestly - go watch that instead.

I sat through the whole movie (the new one) and honestly I was mostly just ... bored. And confused.

It's set in modern-day Florida for some reason? Like, that doesn't make sense to me? And Dalton has a backstory, which I don't like. Mysterious drifter? Yes. Former MMA fighter with a Dark Past? Meh. 

And - I don't know - the antagonist was mostly just annoying rather than deeply, deeply evil. He was an awful person but I did not care what happened to him.

One of the things that drove the original - for me - was the soundtrack. This time around a different band plays every night and I just couldn't connect to it.

Stick with Patrick Swayze.

Sunday Post 50; It's Monday! What are you reading? 50

 

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. Work happened to me again without my permission, but I've survived somehow.

We came second at quiz on Wednesday night, which is fine but honestly I prefer to win.

Son of Mine went to a friend's for a sleepover on Friday night so I settled in with some stitching and watched the Road House reboot. It was .... meh. Review coming later this week.

On Saturday morning I watched another episode of The Fall of the House of Usher before Mum's Taxi was called and I picked spawn up from his friend's. We went to the library, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon playing Dragon Age and watching You Tube before I went to my friend's as usual.

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

I finished The Labours of Hercules, and I'm re-reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett - I read it many years ago but Discworld is always a good place to visit. I'm still also reading The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson.

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

Two reviews

 

Sir David Suchet's portrayal of Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot is possibly one of the most recoginsable TV characters of the past 30 years or so.

One of the reasons, I believe, is the thought and effort David Suchet put into bringing Poirot to life.

It's easy to play Poirot as a caricature or entirely for humour or indeed to miss the point of him entirely (looking at you, Kenneth Branagh) but David Suchet dove into the character himself - before he even brought him to life on screen.

Poirot and Me dives into that transformation, and the consideration and thoughtfulness brought to bringing him to life solidifies the little Belgian detective as a truly great fictional character.

David Suchet has written a truly fascinating memoir centered around the TV show, the character, and how Poirot impacted his life in some very unexpected ways.

Summer and Leo are con artists, living in Summer's van and travelling around California, looking for the next grift.

Summer's speciality is pick-pocketing, credit card fraud, and identity theft, while Leo seduces wealthy men.

When Leo meets billionaire tech guru Michael Forrester and gets invited to his private island, both girls think they've struck gold.

Then Leo goes missing. Summer travels to the island, relying on her wits to get her through, to try and find out what's happened to Leo.

Most of You Can Trust Me is great - the tension is palpable as Summer tries to find out what's happened to Leo, and Leo's chapters give that reveal slowly over time.

Then everything gets a bit ... Hollywood thriller racing towards the conclusion. I would have been happy with something a bit longer that built the story up more.

ALSO  - and I don't know if this is just me - but there's a massive plot hole. I still can't get my head around it.

Maree's Movie Night - Road House

 

Ah, 1980s Patrick Swayze. So handsome. Riding the success of Ghost and Dirty Dancing. 

And then. Road House. Look, I know Road House isn't a good movie. You know Road House isn't a good movie. But here's the thing. As terrible as it is objectively, it's also great. It just is, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Swayze is a bouncer, or a "cooler" who's hired to clean house at the Double Deuce - the type of Road House the band plays behind chicken wire (which, side note, always reminds me of the Blues Brothers.)

So Dalton (Swayze) rides into town ready to kick ass and take names and set the world to rights. Which, of course, he does.

There are some unintentionally funny moments - and some intentional ones as well - but overall it's just pure entertainment.

Do yourself a favour - if you haven't heard them before, look up the band from the movie - The Jeff Healey Band. So good. 

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?

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.

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?

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.

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?