Like most humans, I consume a lot of media. I read a lot
of course, but I also love T.V and film and I’m lost on public transport if I
don’t have my headphones with me. There’s always something new to watch or
listen to in this ever-growing Netflix age so I thought I’d start a series where I discuss what I’ve read, watched, and listened over the last month or so. I
love reading these kinds of posts and I think it’s always interesting to
reflect on what you’ve been enjoying recently. Or not enjoying. With the good
comes some bad, but overall I enjoyed some pretty good stuff over the last
month so here’s what I read, watched, and listened to in February!
Reading
Over the last few months I’ve gotten in to listening to
audiobooks and I do wonder what took me so long to give them a go. I find that they’re
perfect for those times when I want to snuggle up with my book, but my eyes are
just too tired to concentrate. So with my latest Audible credit I decided to
listen to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. As a true crime
fanatic this one had been on my radar since its release last year and I enjoyed
it (as much as one can enjoy a non-fiction account of an infamous serial killer.)
I wasn’t completely enamoured with it as I hoped I’d be, but I put that down to
listening to it rather than reading a physical copy. I think my brain might
have appreciated reading the facts and statistics as opposed to listening to
them. I’m still glad I finally got around to this one though.
I then had a bit of an impulse read and picked up Holes
by Louis Sachar. I read this back in high school and I had a sudden, desperate
urge to read it again. I love mood reading and I especially love it when I have
a desire to pick up a book I know I’ve enjoyed in the past. There was something
so comforting about reading Holes again – not just the story, which I think is
well thought out and executed, but the nostalgia of the book as a whole. It reminded
me of being 14 again and reading it in my Year 9 English class.
Whilst reading Holes I also had two other books on the
go: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and The Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding. I’d
been reading Homegoing throughout January and February for Bee’s Patreon book club
and it was an incredible read. I was a bit sceptical with how I’d feel about it
at first since multigenerational novels aren’t something I read a lot and I
think they’re a tricky thing to master, but Gyasi does a brilliant job. It’s unlike
anything I’ve read and I highly recommend. I then rounded the month of with a
bit of fantasy and completed The Black Lung Captain, the second book in the Ketty
Jay series. This was so much fun and I enjoyed this one more than the first
book, so much so that I put my order in for the third book before I finished
this one. These books are pure escapism with great characters and a super exciting
plot. A very good end to February’s reading.
Watching
I somehow managed to watch a lot of TV series in
February. Usually I either read a lot or watch a lot, but this month I seem to
have found an equal balance between the two. I started off by watching You on
Netflix, a show I’d heard a lot about and one a friend had recommended I check
out. I’m sure a lot of you have heard about this one by now – the show where
Dan from Gossip Girl is a seemingly charming bookstore clerk/stalker/murderer/creep.
It’s binge-worthy I’ll give it that and I was hooked from the first episode,
although by around episode 6 my interest started to wane. For a 10-episode
series, I felt it was too long and the ending really annoyed me. It was good, but
I don’t think I’d recommend it in a hurry.
So after watching 10 hour long episodes of a show about a
stalker, I wanted something equally binge worthy but a bit more fun. Russian
Doll starring Natasha Lyonne jumped out at me – a series following a woman who
relives the same night over and over again. A bit like Groundhog Day with Nicky
from Orange is the New Black instead of Bill Murray. I enjoyed this one – it’s not
without its faults and it didn’t knock my socks off but it was an entertaining
experience and one I’d recommend if you’re looking for something quirky.
I also finally managed to get to a cinema in February to
watch the much talked about The Favourite. I’d been dying to see this ever
since I knew it was being released – a historical comedy drama about the later
years of Queen Anne and her closest female advisers, both vying to be her
favourite. The cast is amazing: I love Olivia Colman and Emma Stone and I’ve
had a crush on Rachel Weisz since seeing her in The Mummy when I was 12. Throw
them together and you’ve got a strong cast of amazing women. It’s a Yorgos
Lanthimos film so it’s a little bizarre but it was an experience to say the
least and I felt there was lots of layers to unravel in terms of storytelling.
Olivia Colman won an Oscar for her leading role and so well deserved because she
was brilliant.
Towards the end of February I watched The Umbrella
Academy on Netflix which was a bit of a random watch for me, I’d seen someone
mention it on Twitter so I decided to give it a go and I’m so glad I did. It stars
Ellen Page and it centres around a family of former child superhero’s who reunite
after their father’s death and it’s so good, so so good. The cast, the
cinematography, the soundtrack, this show was pure fun and I binged it in two
days. It’s not perfect, most works of television have their fault, but I was so
entertained by this series and I’m very much looking forward to season 2.
Once I binged The Umbrella Academy I felt like I needed
something else along a similar vein – that and I needed some more Robert Sheehan in
my life - so I went old school and watched the first two season of Misfits.
Damn that show is good and I can’t believe it aired 10 years ago, although
watching all of the characters use flip phones really took me back.
Listening
I’m very much a repeat listener, so when it comes to
music I play the same songs or album for weeks. In February I discovered Patti
Smith’s Horses album, which really made me want to read her memoirs. I’ve already
mentioned The Umbrella Academy Soundtrack, but I’ve been listening to it
constantly. There’s an amazing collection of songs on that show, just tune
after tune. It’s on Apple Music so I recommend giving it a listen.
In terms of podcasts I haven’t listened to anything new
for a while. I’m forever listening to My Favourite Murder when I’m in bed and I
can’t sleep, but I would like something new to listen to if you have any
recommendations. Anything true crime based and chatty with a bit of humour, yes
please.
So that’s everything I read, watched, and listened to in
the month of February! Quite a lot for such a short month but on the whole I enjoyed
some really good content. What did you read, watch, and listen to last month?
Any new favourites?
YOU HAVE TO READ JUST KIDS RIGHT THIS SECOND!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed Homegoing. It was so good. Will you be reading The Handmaid's Tale? If so, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
I'm gonna start watching Umbrella Academy very soon. Love me some Gerard Way. Once an emo, always an emo.