There are quite a few things to like about this book. It’s no-nonsense, straight to the story, and as fast-paced as it’s possible to be. There’s not a lot of time for character development, except a brief paragraph of backstory for the main two. Everything else you learn along the way.

I’ve heard people rave about this book before and have kept it sitting on my Kindle bookshelf for a long while before dipping in. I’m not really in fiction writing mode at the moment, although I do have some ideas bouncing around my head. I’ve got too many hobbies as it is and I’d want to give writing a good portion of my attention.

I’m still making my way through the Fleming Bond books, but had a quick detour into this prequel about a Young Bond. It’s quite a lot of fun to see Bond in a completely different light - a young boy who is nothing particularly special except full of grit and determination, morals and a wanderlust instilled by a mixed up childhood.

Another good story from Kerry Wilkinson, this is the first in a spin-off from the Jessica Daniel books, following the adventures of private investigator Andrew Hunter. I liked the characters in this one, particularly the fearless and emotionless assistant, but I’m not totally sure the story unfolded as well as it might have. I’m still not clear on how Andrew figured out what he did, and the actual dastardly plot still remains a bit muddy in my mind.

I hadn’t realised quite how pop Taylor had already gone before she even got to 1989. This album’s first half is pure pop before reverting to the more familiar country sound. It’s longer than a lot of albums too and stacked with hits, plus a couple of good collaborations to boot.

Nice and relaxing this one, I don’t know much about The Charlatans but this album has a pretty chilled out vibe that works for me. I quite like the interludes as well, not too intrusive and add rather than take away from the work as a whole.

As if I wasn’t obsessed with Haim enough at the moment, they’ve only gone and covered Shania Twain for a radio segment in Australia. Turns out they’re pretty fond of the country/pop sensation, and they do a fab job of covering That Don’t Impress Me Much. Okay, so you’ve got a car! As an aside, I can’t figure if the segment title ‘Like a Version’ is genius or not. It’s a good pun, but does it work in this context? Undecided.

Rather than the ’this is my job, read all about it’ memoirs, this book takes more of an explorative look at the world of being a top notch surgeon. It embraces the fact that medicine is a subject for which there is no end - that we are always learning and growing and developing as a society, and that we shouldn’t blame doctors for not always having the right answer.

Wasn’t too sure where this book was going to start with but I was soon captivated, as I travelled along with Gavin to Gardenia. It’s so unusual to have a utopian fiction novel rather than the more disturbing dystopian premises that actually, in its own way, it was still rather creepy.

Hard to think I can add anything to the world about this band, quintessential hard rock, with a couple of fantastic anthems on there – Sweet Child O’ Mine particularly stands out. But it’s an album full of good tracks, quite intense in places but overall a solid listen.

Not my usual style of music but actually quite liked it. It scared me off a little at the start – the first track being almost entirely jazzy, but moved into more comfortable territory. I like the songs with added brass instruments, and it’s got a cool vibe. Not all my cup of tea but still a good album.

This podcast first came to my attention as one of the episodes featured the rather marvellous Simona de Silvestro - race car driver and generally all round good egg. Once I listened to that episode, I very quickly downloaded all the preceding shows and subscribed so I wouldn’t miss any future publications either. In Her Court comes out of Australia and features sports journalist Sam Squiers interviewing a variety of sporting names regarding all things “women in sport”. Topics have included overcoming difficult events, changing sports mid-career, getting a leg up, fighting for equality with men, and sporting injuries. The focus of the most recent episode, which actually ended the first season of the show, was about whether women are more susceptible to injuries than their male counterparts, and delving deeper into that taboo topic of menstruation.

There isn’t too much to say about this film really, it’s exactly what it says on the tin. Charlie Day prancing around trying to avoid a fight with the ever-stern Ice Cube. It’s not smart and it doesn’t try to be clever, and in thus admitting its limitations, it’s flipping brilliant.

Back to the diary format that works so well with Adrian Mole’s thoughts, I enjoyed this book more than the third in the series. With Adrian older now, the subject matter also grows up, so we are talking about adult relationships, trying and failing to get a job, and going on various holidays and trips with or without your significant other.

Interesting book, this one. You really have to buckle yourself up for a bucket load of cynicism. Spread across your life, it’s probably a healthy amount of questioning the world around you and not just falling for every claim put in your path. Bundled together in a book like this, well, it does read a little grumpy and frustrated with the way the world’s going.

Hmm, didn’t enjoy this as much as the previous works as it’s clearly taking a different direction. It’s much more a random collection of thoughts, and not all of them from the always intriguing mind of Adrian Mole. I didn’t really get the Margaret stuff, but the Sue Townsend notes were okay - if still a little random.

Interesting collection of songs here, some massively stand out more than others but it also makes a complete work that has to be considered together. It’s good, and you can hear the craft in it, alongside Madonna’s excellent voice and musicality. Not sure it totally won me over but I appreciate the work.

Really liked this album. I sort of feel like I don’t know any Imagine Dragons songs but then hear them and love them and join the dots that they’re by this band. This album is a fab collection of pop-rock with some powerful rock anthems sitting comfortably side by side with more traditional pop blends. Love it.

It’s taken us a while to get round to watching this because, with the experience of the first LEGO movie still vivid in our head, we expected it to be bright and fast and exhausting. It was, but nowhere near as bad as the first. It actually felt like it had a somewhat slower pace, a more adult theme perhaps, and generally a better story overall.

For the past two weeks, the 2017 Wimbledon Championships have been underway, and they’ve provided lots of ups and downs, highlights and disappointments, the usual Grand Slam tournament soap opera. This year was different for me, though, because I was there on day one. I was one of those attendees in the grounds of the All-England Club. I never really thought I’d get to Wimbledon in person. It was a vague desire, but the complexity of getting tickets alongside the fact that coverage at home only ever gets more comprehensive and engaging meant I thought I’d be an armchair fan for the foreseeable future.

I’ve been catching up with BBC Two’s The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes – a programme hosted by Caroline Quentin and Piers Taylor that is kind of like Grand Designs, but the houses are already built and no one gets pregnant before the end of each episode. My dad first highlighted the show to me, because there was an entire programme dedicated to underground houses. The dynamic duo visit four locations in each episode, sometimes staying overnight to get a really good feel of the dramatic, the exotic, the downright crazy of each domicile. Piers gives the insight of the architect, whilst Caroline gives a wonderfully optimistic more down-to-earth opinion.

Usually when I watch sports, I am looking for a good game/match/race, and may have a favourite in the mix but as long as it’s a good battle or an impressive display, then I’m happy. Over the last six months or so, I’ve been investing myself into the WTA tournaments so that now I have a handful of favourites, for a variety of different reasons. Somehow, I’ve escaped without any of them meeting each other when it really matters, but now, on the second Tuesday of Wimbledon, the inevitable has happened.

It’s been a while since I re-read the first of these diaries, and the second was just as delightful as the first. I must have read this before, before the start of the book was quite familiar to me, but I’m not sure I’ve ever got to the end, because it certainly took a few twists and turns along the way.

This album has that pure early 2000s pop sound that I so loved. I’ve sort of grown out of it now but love it as a nostalgia trip. One of the songs was very Eurovision, and I do wonder if putting the same songs in various languages really counts, but otherwise it’s a great foot-tapping pop album.

Oof I love this album. I was eagerly anticipating it, and listened to it twice in quick succession before 8am on the day it came out. Love it so much. Every song has a unique something, it’s all quite angsty but these girls know how to layer their instruments and voices to create great sounds. Will listen many more times, I know.

At the end of this book, Dickie Arbiter says this was intended to be a professional memoir of a difficult period in the monarchy that he was on hand to witness, but gradually it became something more personal. That shines through during the whole book. It’s about his job in the press room of Buckingham Palace during some very difficult times - the death of Princess Diana in particular.

I was perusing the Goodreads site for a while early today when I noticed their stats page. I haven’t really delved into this side of things much, other than looking at the count of books I’ve read each year. What was I hyped up on in 2014 for goodness’ sake? Today I spotted this graph of books by publication date by read date. Forgive me for this self indulgence, but what an interesting way to view reading habits!

I like how the story of this real life crime is pieced together, from obviously thorough research. Bits and pieces about the crime itself, the aftermath and the lives of all involved before the event took place are slotted into place like some kind of terrible jigsaw.

I loved this! It’s a bit of a surprise because whilst I know I like Meatloaf songs in isolation, I wasn’t sure about a whole album stacked with super long songs in that rock opera style. Don’t know what I was worrying about, it was brilliant! Curious to listen on to Part II now.

I didn’t realise the girls were getting the band back together, but out of nowhere came a self-titled album from TLC (or TC as they sadly should be now). It was a good album, sort of standard R&B with that quite notable TLC sound. Not sure any of it stands out for me but very, very listenable album.

Oh hi, yea, I’m a bass player now. It’s not like I need another hobby at the moment, but this is the end result of a Friday night when you watch Glastonbury on iPlayer catchup with a glass of wine, and there just happens to be a seriously gorgeous bass guitar lying around the house. Of course after just a couple of days of this, I can’t feel my fingers anymore but hey, bass players are cooool.

I knew this was going to be a kooky film but it was even more oddball than I’d expected. That’s not to say it wasn’t good though, or enjoyable. You sort of have to settle into the weirdness, and there’s no way of connecting with these two super-bizarre characters, but once you’re on board, it’s actually great entertainment.

Oh my stars. Unlike Baywatch, where I had all the expectations in the world and was a bit disappointed by the trailer, for Jumanji, I had nothing. When I rewatched the original for Film Watch, it wasn’t as good as I remembered, so why would this be any better? Well, the first trailer was released today and already, I am loving the look of this remake.

This week, I just finished watching season four of Agents of Shield, and my word, it was an incredible ride. (Vague spoilers below, nothing major.) I’ve loved watching the trials and tribulations of these Shield agents since the show first began, but it has gradually been improving in quality to the point that this series was an absolute triumph. My affection for the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been wearing thin recently, the novelty of so many inter-connected movies has long since worn off and now all that is left is a strong feeling of being overwhelmed and consistently unable to keep up. At least with a TV show, it is for the most part self-contained. The odd reference to the bigger universe is a bonus and easily ignored, although it’s fair to say the events of each season are affected by what happens in that big bad world.

I was a big fan of McBain’s cop series but read a few too many of them so that they grew a little stale. It was really nice and refreshing to read his writing in a different format, this time a lawyer helping to investigate the murder of a mother and two kids. A brutal crime, and not many suspects, but even fewer once someone confesses to the crime.

Only knew Don’t Dream It’s Over going into this one, and that is a stand out track of the album (although the Miley/Ariana version is better), but actually the rest of it was a lot of fun too. Good pop rock, interesting hooks, very listenable. Enjoyed it.

I’ve only just become aware of Dua Lipa, but her album was a surprise to me. It’s your standard pop fare, although I did think it was made up of well-produced, catchy songs, if not hugely memorable. Her voice is interesting though, deeper and more soulful than I’d expected.

I love Genova’s writing. Usually, as in this case, her books are introducing me to conditions I’ve never even heard of, but even where conditions are more well known, there’s an empathy and a realism about the writing that puts you right at the heart of the family involved.

I knew it had been a while since I last went on an Alphabet Adventure visit, but looking back now, I’m horrified to find it’s been over three years. Ridiculous. So, I stopped putting it off, and dashed to the Lake District to have a gander at that body of water known as Windermere. It’s famous, apparently, for being the longest lake in the UK, and it’s very pretty, but I have to admit, I was expecting a little more.

Considering the premise of this book is an autobiography of the great man himself, William Shakespeare, it’s refreshing for author Bill Bryson to admit that we just don’t know an awful lot about him. And it’s also refreshing to realise that finding out just how little we do know about a subject can be just as interesting as a book filled with facts and statistics.

This year, in anticipation of their new album, I’ve become a fully paid up Haim fan. Somewhere along the line, these girls wormed their way into my heart. Whether it was listening to their album, or their radio show (currently on hiatus), or just following them on Twitter… I’m in love. Quirky and unique, with their own style and a comfort in their own skins, these ladies are also supremely talented. They released the video for their new track ‘Want You Back’ and it’s one of those one-take wonders that is worth watching for many reasons, but above them all, for the three part air drum roll. I wish I had sisters to do this with.

I love that the three characters are strong and inspiring in their own unique ways. Katherine is so smart and eventually yells at her boss to get equal treatment. Mary is so determined she talks round a court judge to get the opportunity to learn. And my personal favourite Dorothy takes it upon herself to learn everything and prove to be indispensable, thus making the colour of her skin a non-issue. Her attitude towards the way technology changes the workplace was really interesting, and still applies to this day.

I really like the simplicity of the idea behind Three Good Things, an app that does one thing well. You are tasked with logging three good things for each day, with the aim of stringing together streaks of days and generally making your world a little bit of a happier place. The things don’t have to be life-changing, and they don’t have to be complex. You’re only given 100 characters to log each thing anyway, so the simpler the better. Examples featured in the marketing material for the app include having a delicious takeaway meal, or your favourite artist releasing a new song.

Adore this album, lots of great songs and I like the blend of Paul and Jacqui’s voices, and the way they work together and apart. The singles are great, but I particularly love Little Blue, a real favourite. My only complaint is with Liar’s Bar, as the gravelly voice drills way into my ears and makes my eyes want to fall out.

Quirky and well crafted, this is a concise and compact album that feels like a lot of effort has gone into every single song. I worry some of it has meanings that go beyond me, but if I just settle back and listen then it’s a great selection of songs, ideas and lyrics bundled together brilliantly.

Very mixed feelings about this one. It took me a long time to get fully engaged with it, because, let’s face it: Scarlett is not a very nice character, is she? Many of the characters are pretty unlikeable really, by the end I was only fond of Melanie. It’s good to have flawed characters, that makes them interesting, and I did like some of Scarlett’s more fiery ambitions: no kids, money and power, to heck with what other people think. But there needs to be some scruples, doesn’t there?

Loved this. A story told in the form of communications between Rosie and her friends and extended family, this chronicles almost fifty years of love, loss, drama, tears and tantrums. It draws you in from the very beginning, and even though some of the letters or emails are a bit clunky (they have to be to get the story across in a less than natural form), it’s all very believable and readable.

Another hit and miss album. Like a couple of the songs but much of it is just a bit too experimental and lacking in actual tune-age for my tastes. Really like Pounding, There Goes the Fear is okay, the rest I can take or leave… and probably leave, if I’m honest.

Was super excited about this album arriving and thankfully not disappointed. It’s a superb pop journey stacked with great beats, intriguing concepts and thoughtful lyrics. There does seem to be more of a political or philosophical edge than previous efforts, but I think it all works really well.

About eighteen months ago, I talked briefly of my obsession with Asphalt 8 on the Apple TV, a game that combined third party controllers with Apple TV accessibility to make a brilliant and captivating racing game. For a few months, this game was everything – I wanted to get all the stars for all the events in all the seasons, I wanted to upgrade all the cars and collect as many as possible, and essentially do all the things. My obsession lessened as other entertainments distracted me, but it was always there in the back of my mind – Asphalt 8 is brilliant, don’t forget to go back and play!