What have you been reading this week?

We’re 5 days away from the big day and I now only have 2 days left to work. It’s quite an exciting prospect. As of December 24th, I don’t have to worry about anything until January 4th. That’s 10 whole days of relaxing, eating, and reading. Well, I say reading but we’ve all seen my track record. Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we get to that point I still have to wrap presents. In fact, I’m still waiting on certain presents to arrive. Although, given yesterday’s announcement that Christmas is cancelled, that might not be such a problem anymore. Not that the change makes much of a difference for my plans. We were always going to have a quiet Christmas anyway. Who wants to take any chances when we’ve made it to this point safely?

Weekly Blog Posts

• BOOK REVIEW – A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

This short read was easy enough to finish in one day last weekend so I was just able to write my review for Monday that night. It was the first time that I’d read it but it was always something that was on my radar. Could it possibly be as good as I’d always thought it would be? Read my review and you might see.

• TUESDAY REVIEW – Noelle (2019)

Those of us who had to wait until this year to access Disney+ also had to wait until 2020 to watch the streaming service’s first Christmas offering. It was one of the first original releases on the platform but only the lucky few countries actually saw it. It was released on the rest this November. Was it worth the wait? To find out, you’ll have to check out my review.

• BOOKISH POST – Jingle Bell Book Tag

Despite my last read being pretty small, I didn’t finish it in time to write a review last Wednesday. So, I had to find something to post instead. I scoured the book blogs I follow for a Christmas book tag that I could do. And by do, I meant one that I would be able to answer definitively. There are some in which I end up having to give loads of examples because I can never make up my mind. Head over to my post to see my answers.

• TBT REVIEW – Fred Claus (2007)

A few years ago, I decided that this film was one of the worst Christmas films of all time. If I rewrote that list now, I’d probably have a few changes to make and definitely some more additions to the list. So, I decided I should find out if Fred Claus was still worthy of its place. If you’re feeling nostalgic, check out my review.

Just Read

• A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

This was so short that I was able to finish it really quickly last Sunday. It was an interesting read and one that felt very nostalgic. It made me really long for snow, which means I’m going to even more disappointed by our non-white Christmas this year.

• A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

This was the reason that I didn’t get a second book review up this week. I don’t know why but I really struggled to read this short collection. It’s not that I dislike Capote’s writing or anything. I just wasn’t really in the mood I guess. I’m still not entirely sure what I think about this and I’m not sure I’d be able to manage a full review. So, I might end up combining this with my current read for Monday’s post.

Currently Reading

• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

I started this the other day and I’m finding it a lot easier than Capote. I’ve not read any David Sedaris before and only picked this up because it came up in my book club. Admittedly, the person who mentioned it has pretty wanky taste in books but this sounded too good to ignore. I’m glad that I did.

Recently Purchased

Okay, I admit it. I’ve bought myself some books this week. It’s Waterstones’ fault. They offered double points again and there was a special edition that I had my eye on.

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: Yep, after mentioning it in the Jingle Bells book tag this week, I went ahead and “gifted” myself a copy of this book. The special edition just looks beautiful and I really want to read it. So why not treat myself after the year we’ve had?
• Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson: I’ve seen this a lot over the last couple of years and it finally felt like the right time to buy it.
• Early Riser by Jasper Fforde: I nearly bought this when it first came out but I couldn’t justify the cost. When I realised that it was in the Waterstones sale, I knew it was time. I’ve not read any of Jasper Fforde’s other books but I know of them. This sounded very intriguing and might push me into reading more.

Recently Watched

• TV:
  • Taskmaster – This should have been compulsory viewing for everyone in 2020 as it’s so uplifting. Well, apart from the latest series. It was the show’s finest hour. I’m not sure if it was just the pandemic or whether the move to channel 4 has changed things for the worst.
• Movies:
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – I never really rewatch any films, so during my week off I decided to watch this again. The first one is definitely the best one of the trilogy. The cast is so good.
  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Yesterday I took the opportunity to watch the second of the trilogy. By this point, I had started to question the trilogy as a whole the first time round. Second time round, I just had to ask why the fuck there’s a really long barrel sequence. There’s just so much unnecessary nonsense here.