How to Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran
Hands down, the funniest book I've read since...ever? Quite probably. I can't remember reading anything else that made me laugh out loud on the tube. At rush hour. I think Caitlin Moran is awesome - not only is she a great writer but she also raises some excellent points about girl stuff and life in general. It's sort of like a critique on the behaviour of women told through a v.amusing narrative which links back to events in her life (so it's a little autobiographical too). The critic quotes on the cover of this book are correct: every woman should read this book. Guys might be interested too but I imagine a lot of it might be lost on them. She may not have all the answers but she's got some excellent (and hilarious) ideas!
The Teleportation Accident - Ned Beauman
A completely random read. If I'm honest I initially picked it for the title and cover but the blurb got me hooked. It's an odd little story centred around german theatre set designer Loeser and his two life passions: 1) Renaissance set designer Lavicini and his 'Teleportation Device' which destroyed a theatre and killed members of the audience. 2) sex, and more specifically, his obsession to bed one lady in particular, Adele Hitler (no relation). It's these two interests that take him first to paris and then to LA. Along the way he meets a string of interesting characters - good, bad and some who are completely superfluous to the story's progression. I liked the oddness of the dislikable protagonist and the bizarre back stories (and conditions) of some of the supporting roles, but most of all, the end was exactly what I'd wanted. So rarely does that happen these days. It's a delicious soup of odd-ball characters swimming around in the increasingly un-rigid elements of time and space. I wouldn't say that this book is for everyone but this is Ned Beauman's second novel (he's only 28!) and I liked this a lot so I think I might try his debut too...
I may live with a die hard star trek fan and I may, from time to time, watch an episode of the tv show all the way through but I'm not a big star trek fan and frankly, I think it's a little bit silly. BUT, J J Abrams has brought star trek to the masses, he has reached out to those who, when hearing the words star trek, roll their eyes and shake their heads at the thought of william shatner et al running around cheap looking sets fighting/conversing/attempting to get off with various humanoid aliens, and given them so much more. J J Abrams has made star trek cool. I was sooooo looking forward to this and it did not disappoint. Yes, perhaps it's not as good as his first foray into the franchise but by god it's bloody good. It's action packed, the script is sharp and the cast is superb! Seriously, the line-up for this movie is fabulous and I'm not just talking about Cumberbatch (even though he was my favourite thing in this instalment). There's lots of old skool star trek references for the trekkies (especially concerning the continuing spok/kirk bro-mance, particularly the part involving the radiation chamber - it's all rather touching) and it's a superfun journey for all the rest of us waiting to see how the gang will put an end to the evil (and delicious) Benedict Cumberbatch. Unsurprisingly, I highly recommend it, on the big screen if you still can!
The Fall (2006)
Possibly the most beautiful film I've ever seen both aesthetically (the locations in the 'story' sequences are AMAZING) and the plot itself. It's a simple tale - set in a hospital, a little girl with a broken arm befriends a fellow patient - a stuntman in the movies. He's depressed as his lover has left him for a movie star so, enlisting the innocent girl's help, he tries (a number of times) to kill himself. In return for 'helping' him, he tells the little girl the story of the Red Bandit. The characters and story in the hospital run parallel to the events in the fantastical story of the bandit until the v.touching (and bloody) conclusion of both. I cried at the end - the actress who plays the little girl is adorable - I defy you not to do the same. This is a great film which I deffo recommend - a real gem.
Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman is the best book I've read in a long time. Plenty of laughing, crying and crying whilst laughing. I feel jealous of all the people who haven't read it yet!
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