21 - Zadie Smith - On Beauty - much better than either White Teeth or Autograph Man, this book manages to explore some serious issues in an interesting way. Good read with believable characters and plot which surprises at many turns.
22 - Gok Wan - Through thick and thin - Recommended by lostock who, indeed lent me the book, interesting read but at times ( Read more... )

28 - Last King of Scotland - not as good as the book but amazingly acted. The story has been somewhat toned down to becoming an interracial love story in a war torn country but it hasn't quite lost all of it's richness ( Read more... )

18 - Moon - interesting little film involving good, nay fantastic, performances from Sam Rockwell. A different side to a usual trope ( Read more... )

11 - Harry Keeble - Baby X: a misery memoir written from the other side, of the Police Officer trying to sort out child protection cases. Interesting but reads largely as an apologia for the problems of child protection policing. Read with a vague interest for work but found this Police Officer at least was obsessed more with his professional ( Read more... )

6. Imogen Robertson - Instruments of Darkness - an OK cross between historical fiction and crime fiction. Settings good but plot rather predictable ( Read more... )

11. Ice Age 3 - cute things doing cute things and baby dinos and a baby mammoth. What more can one ask for ( Read more... )

8 - Batman Begins - reasonable if slightly boring film in the Batman sequence. At least I've now seen everything except The Dark Knight ( Read more... )

3. Emma Donoghue - Room - controversial Booker prize short listed novel loosely inspired by the Fritz case but from the child's point of view. An interesting read and a fair attempt to think into the head of a child born in abnormal circumstances but who doesn't know it. But read much like a writing exercise. Some interesting ideas, some good ( Read more... )

1. Jeanette Winterson - Weight - one of the retelling of myths series and an interesting read. Didn't know most of the mythology around Atlas but this tells is nicely. The link to the reflexive writing is less well done and quite odd although am sure Winterson seens the link. The ending is lovely, however ( Read more... )

1. The Piano Teacher - a film which basically doesn't make sense. Isabelle Huppert does a good turn trying to make sense of a nonsensical idea. Huppert is a frigid piano teacher at a conservatoire with a range of BDSM fantasies which she eventually asks someone to re-enact. He goes slightly loopy, does so but it's not right, not what she ( Read more... )