Ok some quick reviews of what I’ve been reading and watching when I haven’t been fixing stuff…
Books
Apehouse by Sara Gruen – Mmmmm… Not terrible but barely inspiring. The story of bonobo chimps who learn to communicate with humans and then get stolen and used in a reality TV show… Skip it I suggest…
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand – the biography of Louie Zemperini – a pretty inspiring and gritty story of a runner, soldier, POW, alcoholic and Jesus follower. Worth a read – easy reading but pretty gut wrenching at times and perhaps a bit drawn out in places.
The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo – a crime thriller and I’ve forgotten the storyline already… I enjoy Nesbo and his Harry Hole character, but find his stories a bit complicated to follow at times.
Nemesis by Jo Nesbo – as above, but a bit harder to follow the story… I actually enjoy the diversion these books bring, but they are far from top shelf.
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodrigeuz – pretty easy reading, I’m half way thru and enjoying the less complex storyline after Nesbo.
Movies
Selma – a bit disappointing. I had hoped for more, but it lacked some of the punch and inspiration I was thinking would be there. 5/10
Wild – one woman’s personal journey both physically as she treks a long trail in the USA and as she seeks to deal with her demons following her mums death and her subsequent melt down. It was engaging but the moral didn’t resonate with me at all. It seemed that the message of the film was that all the crap and messed up stuff we do in our lives isn’t actually negative, but it’s what shapes us into who we are. Hmmm… Maybe but perhaps we’d be better off not getting into dodgy stuff in the first place?… 5/10
71 – wow this one took me back. Set on the streets of Belfast in 1971, a British soldier gets left behind by his platoon in the middle of the battle zone. The complexity and messiness of the situation makes his recovery difficult. This is a gritty movie that can be brutal in places – but then that makes it all the more real. 8/10