This week didn’t feel as long as the last one. Although, it did feel as though I was having the same conversations over and over again. Every day this week we’ve talked about our SEO plan and every day this week I’ve been ignored about it. My boss has got this idea in his head and won’t listen to anybody else. So, we just have to see how it goes. But it’s fine. We’ve got to try something different I guess. But this isn’t about work. This is about reading. Although, the SEO stuff has meant that listening to audiobooks at work has been harder this week. After getting through 6 books last week, this one feels like a failure. I’ve only finished 1 and will hopefully finish my current read on tonight or tomorrow. But 7 in one month is great for me so I can’t really complain.

Weekly Blog Posts

• BOOK REVIEW – He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

January has turned into something of an audiobook month without me realising it. It’s been nice to sit back and listen to books but I need to get back into reading physical books soon. The plan was to decrease the number of unread books I’ve got not just ignore them in favour of a different format. Although, I do also have a lot of unread books in my Audible library. This is one I’ve had for a few years. It’s probably something I got from a Daily Deal and just never bothered with. I managed to get it done in a couple of days at work. Read my review to hear if it was worth the wait.

• TUESDAY REVIEW – 1917 (2019)

This is definitely the film of awards season. Everyone expected The Irishman to get more of a look in but Sam Mendes is getting all of the attention. I finally managed to see this film at the beginning of the year and I have to agree with all the praise that’s been heaped on it. I know a lot of people suggest it’s all technical brilliance with nothing going on storywise but I couldn’t agree less. Is it a groundbreaking tale? No but it doesn’t need to be. It’s got so much going for it. Go check out my review to hear me bang on about how good this film is.

• BOOK REVIEW – James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes by James Acaster

I’ve thought about buying James Acaster’s new book Perfect Sound Whatever since it was released but have avoided it. Book buying bans and all. I decided that I would dip my toe into the water by trying out his first book. Getting the audiobook seemed like the best idea because why wouldn’t I want to hear Acaster narrate his own bizarre stories. If you’re a fan of the comedian, read my review to find out what I thought.

• THROWBACK THURSDAY – Victoria (2015)

Though everyone is heaping praise on 1917, there are still plenty of people who believe that Sam Mendes’ decision to fake a single-shot was a mistake. They moaned about being able to see the edits and being taken out of the film. It’s nonsense. The headache of trying to fake a single-shot was hard enough so why go one step further. Just ask German director Sebastian Schipper how stressful it was filming Victoria. And that was on a much smaller scale. Still, the argument was a good idea to go back and watch the single-shot film from 2015. If you’re also feeling a bit nostalgic then head over to my review.

• FRIDAY FAVOURITES – Bookish Words

In the January sales, I got a book called Word Nerd that had a bunch of really interesting rare and forgotten words. There were plenty f those weird old British words that don’t really make much sense but are utterly delightful. It also had a few great bookish words obviously. It got me thinking about all of those book-related words that we all love. So I picked my favourites. Head over to my post to see them.

• BONUS REVIEW – Cats (2019)

I could have happily lived my life without ever seeing Cats but I also knew I’d always be wondering how bad it was. I watched it. Then I put off writing about it for as long as possible. But I finally managed to put the words down. Head over to my review to find out how terrible I found it.

Just Finished

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I haven’t had as productive a reading week this week. After finishing 6 last week, I took a break at the weekend and didn’t pick anything up until Monday. I picked the Audible version of this book narrated by Tim Robbins. I wasn’t a fan of the narration so it took me ages to get it finished.

Currently Reading

• The Monk by Matthew Lewis

I decided I needed something fun to get me out of my post-Fahrenheit 451 funk, so I went back to one of my favourite ever books. I’d forgotten how long this book it but it’s still so good. I love revisiting an old favourite.

• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

I’ve not picked up an actual book since the start of the year but I’m determined to finish this one soon.

Recently Purchased

I caved a little this week but it’s not the start of something. I’m going to make sure of that.

• Feminists Don’t Wear Pink by Scarlett Curtis – I preordered the paperpack version from Waterstones cause it’s a special edition and it’s on offer at the moment. I have no regrets.
• Pine by Francine Toon – Saw a photo of this on the Waterstones’ Instagram account and I couldn’t resist. Not only is it beautiful but it’s a gothic tale set in the Highlands of Scotland. Who could say no?
• Those People by Louise Candlish – Now, it’s probable that this crime thriller will be as bad as the other ones I convince myself to read (see He Said/She Said) but it sounds really interesting. I love the closed-community aspect of it.

Recently Watched

• TV:
  • Lucifer – So, I finally finished season 3 of this show. Obviously, the last 2 episodes are weird and don’t fit the timeline but the season finale was amazing. Can’t wait to head over to Netflix and carry on.
  • It’s Always Sunny – I watched season 14 over 2 days. This show just continues to get better. Although, as much I love him, I’m getting tired of Danny DeVito in it.
  • AJ and the Queen – Watched it all. It wasn’t the worst but I can’t say I’m hoping for more. RuPaul doesn’t feel like the best choice to be the main star in a show and the kid’s performance seemed mixed. Neither were very strong choices. This was a show relying on cameos and it shows.
• Films