Reading And Watching Joyously

 I've seen bits and pieces of Hamilton over the past few years but today was the first time I actually sat down to watch the entire show. 90 seconds in I was blown away by the rhyme and perfection of the first song, and I was mesmerised the whole way through. There were bits of history that I knew and recognised, and a heap of stuff that I didn't know before. I loved the realness of the story, that it didn't try to hide anyone's faults. And the songs, music, lighting, costuming and choreography were incredible. I loved every minute of it. I've been fascinated by Lin-Manuel Miranda lately and this just adds to my esteem of and interest in him.

 At first I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this book, the style of writing didn't flow easily for me and it felt like it was a bit of an effort to read. I came back to it after a couple of weeks and was quickly swept up in the story - I really enjoyed seeing a well known history told from a different point of view, focusing on the humanity of Jesus and giving an incredible glimpse into the world of Galilee and Egypt in the early 1st century AD. It was also a wonderfully feminist text, exploring the idea of ways women can have a voice even if their culture makes it difficult.

 I enjoyed this book, although I found it took me a long time to read - I didn't ever get absorbed and read it for long periods at a time. I related to the main character's anxiety, and liked the use of and comparisons of language (Irish, English, colonial English, Cantonese). It was an unusual setting (an Irish woman in Hong Kong) and dealt with a lot of issues surrounding identity, which I always enjoy.

 Quite enjoyable - fairly simply written but touched on some deep issues.  It was also stressful at times, I was quite worried as to how the main character was going to recover from some of the setbacks she encountered. I used to read a lot of books set in India, it was nice to return to the culture - I don't remember reading any set in the 1950s as this was. It gave an insight into a time I know less about, and I loved the glimpse into Indian life, especially from a woman's point of view. It showed how life is so different for women depending on their wealth, caste and status, and how standards of behaviour were so vastly different for men and women.

 This book was in one of the boxes sent to me by the library, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. The cover didn't appeal (it reminded me of a book I borrowed and didn't read once before, by the author of The Book Thief) and it was a detective story, which is not my favourite. It was set in a fantasy world though, one with parallel universes and ways between them, and I'd been coming across that concept a lot lately so decided to give it a go. There was an introduction that talked to reader about them potentially having doubt about whether to read the book, but that it would definitely be worth it - so that seemed to be talking to me!  I kind of liked it - I was never fully sure whether I was enjoying it or not. The parallel world concept and the way sorcerers operated was pretty cool - and there were Fae (fairies) which I always like. But the world was pretty confusing and I wasn't entirely sure how things worked through most of it. The main character was not...

 Caitlin really wanted to watch this because she's a fan of Millie Bobby Brown, and she thought I'd like it too. I wasn't sure as I'm not always a fan of detective stories - I really loved it! (So did Caitlin). The cast was excellent - Millie Bobby Brown was awesome, Helena Bonham Carter was quirky and enjoyable as always, and Henry Cavill was excellent (I didn't like him as Superman, but loved him in this). The rest of the cast were great as well. The storyline was interesting and not obvious, and it turned out to be a detective story that I was enthralled with. The use of the fourth wall by Enola made her even more interesting. There were themes of friendship, duty, family responsibility, personal responsibility - I was impressed by everything about this movie. It was also cool to watch it just before Caitlin turned 16, as Enola turns 16 at the start of the film.

 Caitlin and I watched this during the week on a day where we had no motivation and wanted something fairly mindless and fun to watch. It delivered exactly what we were after, with a slight variation in the basic dance movie theme but nothing that involved too much thinking. It was enjoyable, not too unbelievable (although we had a couple of complaints - I felt the timeline was inconsistent, there wasn't enough time for the main characters grades to get really bad and then recover again, and Caitlin was concerned at the speed at which the romantic relationship developed given the (undisclosed) age difference, and she noticed that they didn't bother to flesh out the personalities of a couple of the characters) and quite a feel good movie all around. The girls were excited to see Liza Koshy in the cast - a YouTuber they used to watch. The dancing was good, the music was good, it was fun to watch.

 An enjoyable story and a cool concept. Two separate stories that inevitably merged together by the end. I liked the slightly supernatural theme, The writing didn't always flow and was a bit forced at times, but the characters were believable and real. It was mainly a story about friendship and about it never being too late to find happiness.

I have always loved this movie since I saw it at the movie theatre when it came out. I thought it was brilliant then and I think the same thing every time I see it. I love that even though I've seen it possibly a dozen times, I still feel the tension and the worry every time as Romeo fails to receive the message from the priest and so makes his fatal decision. I'd been wanting to watch it with Caitlin for years and she was finally in the mood for it. We watched it with subtitles which helped with some of the trickier language. She hadn't realised that the dialogue was all from the original play, she was impressed. I felt a bit like I was showing off a well known location to her, and I was worried that it wouldn't hold up - we laughed at a lot of it and pulled it to bits like we tend to do but it was still excellent, and she enjoyed it. I love the soundtrack and I've listened to it recently but forgotten how well it fits into the movie. Still a favourite.

I loved this book so much! It was sent to me by the library in my box and I had never heard of it. It looked interesting, a teen paranormal mystery - I was only a couple of chapters in before I just wanted to sit and read it all day. Fairies and forbidden romance are my favourite combination of topics (not fairies like Tinkerbell, but mythological fairies (Faeries, Seelie) and that's what this book had. AND it was set in Australia which I hadn't encountered before - an Australian setting for a fantasy novel. It was scary at times and often exciting. The first person narrative gave a good insight into the fear and determination and confusion of the main character, she was a very believable 17 year old. There were a couple of moments that didn't quite flow, as if the story had changed a bit and an edit had been missed, but it didn't detract from the story. Halfway through I realised that it is the first book in a series, which means there's more to come - I can't ...

 This book was sent to me by the library in my first box of books - when I read the blurb I wasn't sure if I would like it or not - I think I feared that it would be like many other books I've read that were set in Africa - very wordy and deep, with a storyline that was hard to follow and many parts that were hard to understand. (Which is interesting, as one of my favourite books is The Poisonwood Bible, and it's set in Africa and not like that at all). Anyway, I gave The Hunters a go and it wasn't at all what I expected. It was easy to read, had a thrilling story line, with characters who were lovable, some detestable, some bland and some so so interesting - just like in real life. I fell in love with the characters just as the protagonist did - he was incredibly relatable and so was his sister. I liked how even as he gained understanding of why people acted the way they did he wasn't always able to forgive and forget  - again, like real life. The book was dark at ...

 I've been meaning to read this for years. I actually borrowed it from the library a couple of years ago and started it, but didn't finish before I needed to return it). This time I listened on Audio Book, figuring I'll be able to get through the whole series more easily that way, rather than spending months reading nothing else. I didn't enjoy the introduction and nearly gave up, but once I got into the main story I became interested. I loved it actually, although the level of tension throughout the whole story was pretty high and sometimes it was a bit exhausting. The characters were well developed and their actions made sense. It's an exciting fantasy world, with elements similar to a range of other mythologies, but as a whole unique to this series. I'm looking forward to the next book.

This channel shows videos of 2 brothers listening to classic songs for the first time, and their reactions to the songs. I love seeing the looks on their faces at surprising or evocative bits of music, and sometimes they pause the song to talk about it. Often they had preconceived ideas of the song or the singer, and they stop to discuss how they have changed their minds. I found myself paying more attention to the songs even though I already knew them - watching someone listen to them with fresh ears helped me remember what I appreciated about these songs too.

 An enticing work of historical fiction. I hadn't heard about the Lady and Unicorn tapestries before but now I want to know all about them - I've looked up pictures of them and they are beautiful. I love the story that the author devised about their creation and I'd love to think that at least some of it was true. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it even though I disliked nearly all of the characters (some of the Brussels characters were quite likable). I think she saved it by giving a happy ending to those who seemed to deserve it. I kept forgetting when it was set - it seemed a bit later than 1450 then something would remind me of the setting. I do find it exciting to discover a new piece of history that I hadn't known much about, so even though the story was fictional I feel like I've got a better handle on that part of French and Belgian history.

 This is the first book in the Immortals Blood series - a fantasy series set on a world where some people (randomly) are immortal. People find out they are immortal when they die and then are reborn (at the same place and age where they died). Different lands deal with immortality differently - the book sets up the scene in each of the lands, and shows the growing discontent which is in part being fed by outside influences.  It's well written and kept me interested all the way through. Having multiple lands with different customs is a big effort and they all seem pretty consistent and well-researched. The characters were likable and the upcoming trouble kept the suspense high throughout the book - I'm very eagerly awaiting the next book which is due out in September.

 So many people have recommended this book to me, over a period of several years. Even after Mum lent me a copy I took a while to start it - I think I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. At first that did seem to be the case, it took me a while to get into it. The short chapters felt a bit jarring and I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but the more I read the more I loved it. The short chapters made sense in between longer chapters and I loved the way it moved back and forward in time so that the story slowly became clearer and clearer. It had brilliant word use and really painted a picture of both the French and German situation during WWII. It was still more sympathetic towards the French point of view, but it definitely showed how things came about in Germany. It really did live up to the hype once I relaxed into it.

 I have never seen The Bodyguard - I didn't like Kevin Costner when I was younger and had little interest in watching his movies. I felt like watching it tonight, after hearing 'I will Always Love You' a few times recently, and knowing that I often do like things now that I didn't in the past. I really enjoyed it. Kevin Costner was actually really good (I don't mind him now), and Whitney Houston was as well. I liked the music, the storyline flowed well, the characters all seemed quite believable. It was quite scary in parts, I hadn't expected that, and although it didn't make me cry like I thought it would, I liked the ending.

 Liam and Amelie watched this (separately) a while ago, and they and lots of their friends love it and talk about it a lot. Over the past couple of weeks Caitlin and Amelie have watched it right through and I've seen bits and pieces as I've gone about my day - sometimes sitting down to watch a whole episode, sometimes just seeing glimpses or listening as I do something else. I see why the kids love it - the storyline is engaging, complicated, unexpected at times. The dialogue is funny, the animation is really good, and the whole concept comes together really well. The characters are each very individual and develop strongly over the seasons. They each have their doubts and their faults and they come to accept them. There's a strong message that your destiny can be achieved in unexpected ways - and that you always have choices, even if there are expectations on you. Also that everyone has a role even though everyone's skills and strengths are different. I'd definitel...

 Caitlin watched this last night and asked me to watch it with her today. I hadn't heard of it before, I was happy to watch it because she knows what I like and I trust her recommendations. I really enjoyed it. It's a fairly simple story about mental illness, and touches on a variety of ways it can present, and how debilitating it can be. It showed that there can be light even when things feel really dark, and the importance of having a support network. I really enjoyed the multi-age friendships that evolved too.  It ended up being a fairly feel-good movie - I think the point it was making is that things CAN get better with time, even when the mental illness persists.

 The girls watched Bolt today, and I watched bits of it. This was a big favourite of Amelie's many years ago - we've all watched it SO many times and we all love it. It's a good story,  not too scary, well cast and well animated. Amelie loves the hamster, I love the cat (and Penny!), and Bolt is pretty cool. The thing I got from it today is that just because you aren't who you thought you were, doesn't mean you're not capable of doing the things you were doing (or in simpler terms - identity doesn't define what you can do)