Friday, 22 July 2022

Audiobook: The Real Silent Witnesses, Wensley Clarkson




Read by Ben Onwukwe

The true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses

Absolutely loved this audiobook, apart from the fact that Ben Onwukwe has an incredible voice, it was fascinating to learn more about the intricacies of forensic science, e.g. how easily DNA is spread and, possibly the perfect murder! Cold cases and serial killers.

I have not watched an episode of Silent Witness, which has been airing since 1996! Keen to track it down, am sure it's a series that I will enjoy watching. 

4/5


Monday, 11 July 2022

Book: The Heart's Invisible Furies, John Boyne


This is a ‘Sip & Swop” book. A couple of us that run together also enjoys reading, so we have formed a ‘book club’ where we get together, bring a book we loved reading, enjoy a glass of wine and then swop out books. It is forcing me to read books that are out of my comfort zone; my ‘go to’ books are generally biographies and business related books.

This is a beautifully written Irish story of a boy with a very difficult upbringing coming to terms with his sexuality.

It’s a heavy book.

I am not entirely convinced that the conversations Cyril Avery (main character) was having at age seven felt plausible.

I only really started enjoying it towards the end. As the book develops, so does Cyril’s sense of humour. As much as I didn’t absolutely love this book, I did actually shed a tear here and there.

2/5


Friday, 3 December 2021

Book: Running like a Girl, Alexandra Heminsley


Thoroughly enjoyed this read. Having recently joined a running group to improve my running pace, one of my fellow runners gifted this book to us. 

It is lovely to follow Alexandra's journey of not being a runner at all, to becoming a marathon runner.

It has such good tips and tricks from selecting shoes, to keeping your head up. She also includes things like make up and false eye lashes. Although, I have never been big on make-up, it is very unlikely to change now :) mind you, maybe that's the trick I need to get faster :D

4/5

Monday, 15 November 2021

Audiobook: This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, Adam Kay

 


Wonderfully entertaining, really enjoyed listening to Adam Kay share his experiences as a Doctor in the UK. He has a marvellous wit!

Audiobook: Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir, Jennifer McGaha


It's an ok read. After the exhilarating Bad Blood by John Carreyrou this was very 'meh'. 

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Audiobook The Secrets We Kept, Lara Prescott


Throughout the book I was wondering whether it was based on a true story. Google has let me know that the book is 'semi-autobiographical'; the upcoming movie, not. 

The world of  spies has always been fascinating. A golden thread throughout is Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, which is a movie / book that I would now like read too. 

People who read the physical book (The Secrets we Kept) said it was brilliant, for me, the audiobook albeit interesting and I enjoyed the different voices, was ok. 


Wednesday, 18 August 2021

Audiobook: Untamed, Glennon Doyle


When I read reviews of this book, they were all incredibly positive. Personally I struggled to get through it. I just didn’t really resonate with it. Perhaps it's because the author constantly reminds us that she is gay and married. But, I do appreciate and respect that that is her journey. I had the choice to not listen to it; but I had downloaded it and didn't want to feel that I had wasted a credit. 

At times it did feel a bit like a sermon, but then there would be an interesting or funny part, which would get me to continue listening.

I think Glennon Doyle and I are about the same age, this is exactly how I also feel about phone calls: 

I will never understand why people insist upon calling my cell phone. It's such an aggressive action to take: calling someone.

Some of the other bits and pieces that I made notes about:

Our minds are excuse makers; our imagination story tellers.

“When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves.  What we need right now is more women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of only herself no longer internalizes the world's memos and expectations. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done, and lets the rest burn.

Glennon describes a decision-making process where she tries to feel each option instead of weighing them in her mind. Whichever option feels warm and pleasant is the one that she picks, ignoring the one that feels cold.

I had never heard this quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu before, and I really like it:

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.” Desmond Tutu

One last one from Glennon: "Life is brutal. But it's also beautiful. It’s brutiful.