Audiobook: Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman

Four thousand weeks is the average number of weeks we get (if we take 75 to be the average age that people live to).

My take home from this book is that there are a lot of productivity programs out there, but the long and the short of it is, that regardless of how productive you want to be, there isn’t really a point to it. The main aim is to enjoy the here and now. Projects that you work on will always take longer than anticipated regardless of how well you try and plan them.

Small increments of work each day gets much more done than trying to do it all in once.

People who take breaks at the same time, e.g. over weekends / holidays, are a lot less stressed, because you don’t feel guilty or stressed about not being at work while others work. I think that is why Christmas / December is just such a magical time in South Africa.  

I didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have liked to. I found the narrator (author)'s voice a bit grating the more tired /irritable I was.

3/5

Audiobook: You are the star in N.P.H’s Life Story. Neil Patrick Harris. Choose Your Own Autobiography. Read by the Author.

What a fun book! Neil Patrick Harris has written his autobiography as an adventure book. A book where you can decide what happens next, and which chapters to flip to. As this is an audiobook, flipping through chapters isn’t possible, but, you still get to hear all the different options. It’s fun. What’s also great about the audiobook version is that he has included the audio clips of e.g. his speech about optimism when he was eight years old.

He has a marvellous sense of humour.

5/5

Audiobook: London's No.1 Dog Walking Agency, Kate MacDougall

Such a sweet book of Kate MacDougall, one of the first (and of course best) dogwalkers in London, and all her interactions with different dogs and dog owners.

The book is read by: Anna Popplewell who was superb.

4/5

Audiobook: The Midnight Man: A Slayton Thriller, Caroline Mitchell

Read by: Emma Gregory and Elliot Fitzpatrick

Oe, this was a good one!

I was gripped right from the Prologue! Totally understand why it was an ‘Audie Awards 2022 Finalist in the Mystery category.”

The reader, Emma Gregory, is just brilliant.

Every time I thought that I had figured it out, there was a twist.

5/5

Audiobook: The Yellow House, Emily O'Grady

 

I haven’t read / listened to many Australian books before. This one was compelling right from the beginning. It’s from the perspective of ten / eleven-year-old girl, ‘Cub’. It is incredibly beautifully written, absolutely loved the metaphors and similes used throughout. There is an underlying shadow of what her grandfather did, which has ostracised the family from the small town that they live in. Very well written, I totally understand why it has won a literary award. 

BUT, As much as I enjoyed it, the ending was a let down. I felt that everything needed a bit more unpacking. I immediately Googled in the hope to see if there is a sequel; sadly none that I can see. 

Book: Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

Such a lovely written book. But, I must admit that I felt incredibly stressed throughout the book. I had not seen the movie as I am not a fan of traditional circuses, especially animal circuses. But, the book came highly recommended so I decided to give it a shot. I think I had wanted to enjoy it more than I did. The animal cruelty is horrific. I do however find it fascinating that the book is (loosely) based on true events, and some of these events are shared at the end of the book; and, real photos are peppered throughout the book. 

3/5

Audiobook: Silent Sisters ~ A True Story, Joanne Lee with Ann and Joe Cusack

A very disturbing read. It’s incredibly tragic that it is indeed a true story. Very gripping though, which meant that I listened to it every chance I got and worked through it quite quickly.

It is rather shocking that child services were never called or involved while Joanne was growing up. I do find it rather hard to believe that at the age of ten that she was pretty much running the household; that teachers / neighbours / friends didn’t jump in and report her horrendous homelife and social services didn’t do anything, I find this very very odd and troubling.

Personally, I felt that the book got a bit long once the court case and judgement was discussed, I felt that it should have ended there, the additional narrative would have made for a good second book. BUT, it does all tie very well together at the end. So, if you are getting a bit bored, hang in there.

3/5

Audiobook: Tidy the f*ck up. The American art of organising your sh*t, Messie Condo

Hi, my name is Regine le Roux and I am messy. 

I sometimes feel like the Peanuts character, Pig-Pen, he doesn't do anything and still manages to become dirty. I feel like that about my clutter. I take ages to sort a space out, promise myself to keep it that way, and before I know it, I’m surrounded by clutter again.

 

I’m currently in a massive spring clean phase. This audiobook has some good tips. There is a lot of swearing, which is to be expected by the title, but it does get a bit much. I am also not a fan of the narrators condescending tone. 

But, here are a few good tips:

Books: Don’t hang on to books that you know you are never going to read again. If you are not willing to take it with you to a desert island for company, don’t keep it. 

Clothing: When you clear out, you normally have a couple of piles of clothes: keep / donate / throw out / not sure… For the ‘not sure’ pile, look at the items and ask yourself whether you would pay $40 (+R720) for a new similar garment. If the answer is no, then you’ve just bought it because it was most likely a charity shop buy / bargain, so get rid of it.

 

Stop buying stuff.  You regret the things that you buy, much more than the things that you don’t buy (just look at all the stuff that you throw out when you declutter). 

Clear things out for better things to take its place. 

Clean up stuff the night before you go to bed, just in case you get an unexpected visitor; you don’t want them to walk into a mess or trip over your clutter. 

3/5

Book: Something in the water, Catherine Steadman

The book started off very strong, with the narrator digging a grave and comparing it to running a marathon. I was intrigued! It started off with so much potential. I usually really like Reece Witherspoon’s book club picks.

I decided to just listen to this book during my runs. In the last week I actually found myself going for a run just so that I could finish the book. Not because I was enjoying the book, but because the story was just so unrealistic and stupid; I had so hoped that things would improve. It didn’t.

Every time I listened to it, I found myself rolling my eyes at how stupid the main characters were. But then had to remind myself, it’s a story. The main character irritated me more and more with her stupid decisions and actions. Long and the short of it, the couple should have gone to the police the minute a weird bag crossed their path. Everything that happened after that just verged on absolutely ridiculous. 

I got the distinct feeling that the author rushed to finish the book, maybe she also got bored with the absudity of it all. 

2/5

Book: Night of the Lions, Kuki Gallman

I had always thought that Kuki Gallman was Karen Blixen’s pseudo name. So, when I saw Night of the Lions at the Library’s book sale, I was very excited. When I read the intro and it said that Kuki was Italian, I thought…wait a minute, Karen was mostly certainly not Italian, things started falling into place. I know now, both are very much two different women, both European, who made Kenya their home. Incidentally, Isak Dinesen, is Karen Blixen’s pseudo name. (Isak / Kuki, who knows what I was thinking!) Maybe I confused I dreamed of Africa with Out of Africa...?

Seeing that I thought this was a Karen Blixen book, I obviously had no idea what to expect. Night of the Lion’s is Kuki Gallman’s second book. I didn’t mind reading it first, because it was made up of short stories. The last section of the book is in the format of a diary, recording their trek with camels through the desert.

Each story is incredibly well written, what a wonderful storyteller, but every story is so melancholic. The Night of the Lions story is probably my favourite story in the book.

3/5

Book: Hoerkind, Herman Lategan

Hoerkind, what a title! (Whore Child)

The book that I was reading I had frustratingly forgotten in Pretoria. When I arrived at O R Tambo and realised this, I dashed into Exclusive Books, saw that Hoerkind by Herman Lategan was number one on the rack and grabbed it. I had no idea what this book was about; that’s definitely how I prefer it and wasn’t disappointed.

It is beautifully written book. Herman Lategan is an absolute magician with words. I had trouble putting the book down and read it within a week! I quite enjoyed that the chapters are short, about a page / just over a page long each. This definitely made me read it a lot faster. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger, and you just know that something terrible is about to happen, although you do hope for the best and some good news. 

Just love a good Afrikaans book, it’s such a beautifully expressive language, and Herman is an incredibly talented writer. For years he only wrote in English, very grateful that he is writing in Afrikaans again. 

What a sad sad upbringing, no actually, his early days sounds pretty idyllic; surrounded by interesting colourful characters and a hippie mother. It is when he gets dropped off at the orphanage that things take a turn. So many sad things that he has had to face and cope with. A very poignant reflexion on his life. With everything that he went through he manages to still have a marvellous sense of humour. 

It’s frustrating / mind boggling how a blind eye was turned to paedophilia, especially in the 1970’s / 80’s in South Africa, (actually even earlier than that if I think of Mark Behr’s book, Smell of Apples).

The only criticism that I have is that there is a lot of name dropping. But, I do also understand and appreciate that this is part of who he is and what has made him.

Highly recommendable read.
4/5

MOVIE: Elvis

 26 August 2022

I had so wanted to love this movie and fall in love with Elvis' music, as I had refallen in love with Queen after Bohemian Rhapsody (I don't really care about the historical inaccuracies of BH, it was magical, and one of my favourite music movies, one I can watch over and over without getting tired of it). 

Unfortunately I did not love Elvis the movie. 

What I did enjoy about Elvis the movie:

✅ Learnt more about Elvis, which was fascinating. For instance that he had a yearning for travelling the world, but only ever did so during his army years and then to Hawaii later years. This I must admit I find incredibly sad. 

✅ Learnt about the Colonel that had ruined Elvis. It was interesting to hear the story from the Colonel's perspective. I think Tom Hanks was marvellous in this role. It was interesting that Elvis' philandering and drug use didn't come through stronger, but when I think about it, it must be because it was from the Colonel's perspective and because he 'made' Elvis, he won't ever admit to there being a fault with Elvis.  

✅ My foot did tap along to the music, 

✅ The colours, costumes and collages were marvellous. 

✅ Absolutely loved the old footage of the real Elvis and concerts at the end of the movie. 

Why I did not enjoy the  movie:

👎 It was way too long (02:36)

👎 Austin Butler that played the lead just did not have the charm or charisma of the real Elvis. Which, if the main actor does not come across as real or authentic, makes it difficult for me to enjoy watching. 

👎 I didn't get lost in the movie; the 02:36 didn't fly by, it didn't make me want to rush home and download the soundtrack.  Perhaps the hype was too big?

Very disappointed. I have read quite a number of reviews on the movie and actor now, and am very aware that I'm pretty much on my own here with not enjoying the movie. That's ok.

2/5

Audiobook: David Attenborough Life Stories, The Complete Complexion

Read by: Sir David Attenborough

Initially I thought that this book would be more about his life, his biography. But it's a selection of fascinating stories, from why his favourite animal is a sloth, to fossils, to using eye brows to communicate. 

It's also such a treat that he narrates the book.

4/5

Book: The year of magical thinking, Joan Didion

Heavy.

A very heavy read. Definitely not what I had thought it was about. 

It is a book about grief. Joan Didion describes the angst of her daughter being in ICU as a result of flu that turned into pneumonia and septicemia. One evening  after visiting her in hospital, while she is preparing supper for her husband, he dies of a massive heart attack. 

The book is about how she deals with this loss. I must admit that I was a bit troubled by the title of the book and the content,  so much so, that I Googled magical thinking and learned the following:

magical thinking, the belief that one's ideas, thoughts, actions, words, or use of symbols can influence the course of events in the material world. Magical thinking presumes a causal link between one's inner, personal experience and the external physical world."magical thinking | psychology | Britannica"

 https://www.britannica.com/science/magical-thinking

This is so true especially when dealing with death and grief. Quite fascinating. 

3/5

Book: The Rosie Effect, Graeme Simsion

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! It’s the follow up on ‘The Rosie Project’. It’s written in a very similar style to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon, but from an adult perspective. A very easy read. 

Don Tillman is highly intelligent, but doesn’t realise that he may possibly be on the spectrum. In his first book, The Rosie Project, he is on a mission to find a wife and develops a questionnaire to find the ideal partner (Rosie fails this questionnaire from question one).

I enjoyed the follow up book, The Rosie Effect even more! Absolutely thrilled to find out that there is a third book in this series, The Rosie Result.  

5/5

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

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