Hux

Normal People (2018) Sally Rooney Where to begin. In terms of the writing it was an enjoyable read but my, the hype was not justified. At the very minimum I expect a book to be an enjoyable read. Truth be told this was a Mills and Boon romance novel for the contemporary age. Every time a book like this wins awards and gets praise, I come to the conclusion that modern books are written for the growing demographic of people who... don't like reading books. Firstly, there's nothing remotely 'normal' about these two characters. I'll skip over the predictably dream-like otherness of Marianne and focus on the utterly non-existent Connell. I'm sorry ladies, but that guy (calm, thoughtful, caring, emotionally mature, intellectually honest, culturally sensitive, left-wing, etc) only exists in the heads of women -- women writers in particular. Connell isn't just these things by the end of the book. No, he's these things from the very start, as a teenager. You know, like most teenage boys are. These two people are highly popular, good looking, the smartest in school, having regular sex, and are apparently off to university where they'll be going travelling around Europe and becoming writers. Normal people, you say? I was genuinely quite irritated but this book. It's everything I hate in fiction. I was half-expecting a final chapter to reveal that Marianne was sexually assaulted as a child (perhaps by her father, maybe even by her cartoonishly evil, moustache twirling brother) but thankfully, that didn't happen. I was also slightly offended by the implication that women (or men, for that matter) who enjoy rough sex have some kind of underlying mental health problem. I did, however, like the ending. These two millennial idiots can't seem to communicate their feelings. Even at the end she tells him to go to New York. I do wonder what point Rooney was making though. It's not as if her generation are emotionally closed off. If anything they're more prone to expressing their feelings than any other generation. Maybe she was criticising that - modern people sleep with everyone without consequences but... gulp... maybe there are consequences. Sigh. I honestly couldn't tell if the book's title was ironic or if it was a clever twist on those awful romance novels (what if, instead of a pirate and a curvy wench, it was a saucy romance between two... normal people). Geddit? This is an airport book. That books like this get so much hype and applause depresses me. 5/10

The Map and The Territory (2010) Michel Houellebecq I read this after enjoying Atomised so much. Having read my first Houellebecq (Atomised), I resolved to read more. This is my second forray into his work, and while it wasn't as good as Atomised, it was, nonetheless, a wonderful reading experience and frankly, a damn sight more creative and interesting than most of the turgid contemporary novels I mistakenly read because they're nominated for Booker prizes. The book is about an artist called Jed who seeks to paint the famous writer, you guessed it, Michel Houellebecq. I enjoyed Houellebecq making himself a character, and especially enjoyed the moments when he mocked his own character (at one point he muses on whether Houellebecq might be a paedophile). I'll put the final third of the book in spoilers because I honestly didn't see the it coming. Frankly, this book, though not being anything profound, was significantly more fun and enjoyable to read than most of the crap I read these days. Original and thought-provoking. I will definitely seek out more of his work. 7/10

Atomised (1998) Michel Houellebecq I thoroughly enjoyed this. I've never read him before and only know him through reputation, namely that of a racist misogynist (though in today's climate that applies to people who make the 'okay' hand gesture so I'll take that with a pinch of salt). I'm not sure what all the fuss is about; he describes sex. What of it? Anyway, I wonder how many people have been put off him by virtue of a media that are full of hypocrites. I absolutely loved this. It was like being nourished by food, a feeling I haven't had while reading for quite some time. My interest was waning somewhat by the final third but that tends to happen with every book (all books, in my opinion being longer than they need to be). It picked up again after that and was a delight. My only criticism would be the epilogue. It essentially transforms the novel from a story about brothers to a peculiar science fiction romp that wasn't remotely necessary. I could have done without that in truth. The story is essentially two half brothers (Bruno and Michel) who have no real bond until adulthood. Bruno is obsessed with sex while Michel is almost asexual with only an interest in his scientific work. I must say, I found it hard to believe Michel as a character but complete understood Bruno. That may say more about me. I'm not sure what Houellebecq was trying to say by giving the two women in the brother's lives such tragic endings. Maybe that's where the misogyny accusation comes from. He seems to be suggesting that their sexual freedom is the very thing that has ruined their lives and left them unfulfilled as women. To be fair, that seems to be exactly what Sally Rooney was also saying in 'Normal People' too yet I doubt she gets accused of being a misogynist. The book is clearly about our 'atomised' western societies and how we have lost meaning so I'm not sure the criticism is valid. It's kinda the point. Very Good. Will read some more of him at some point. 8/10

This site seems to be more book blogs than actual specific boards for discussing books so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I'm gonna just copy and paste all my reviews from BGO and put them here. Starting with my favourite book. Journey to the End of the Night (1932) Louis-Ferdinand Celine It begins in World War I with Bardamu (Celine's alter ego) and explores the trauma and futility of the war. Bardamu meets his doppelganger, Robinson, a character that comes and goes throughout this life (a character I have theories about). Bardemu goes to Africa which results in yet more suffering and confusion. Then he goes to New York and works at the Ford company and meets a prostitute called Molly. Then the book jumps ahead six years to when Bardamu has become a qualified doctor. He begins working in a working-class suburb of Paris and deals with horrific things such as botched abortions, miscarriages and the death of a local child. This is where Leon Robinson, becomes a regular character in his life. The book is often described as a celebration nihilism. Celine has very little respect for humanity. To him, it's suffering, crime, greed, and pain. He witnesses awful things but responds to them as though they're the utter embodiment of normalcy (the book is actually quite funny because of this). Even when Robinson plots to murder an old woman, Bardamu doesn't care, he simply thinks... 'it's nothing to do with me.' There's an underlying message about the trauma caused to both him and Robinson due to the war. They have both been numbed to the point that they are no longer human. The prose is some of the most exquisite I've ever come across. Which is interesting because it was made famous for its more authentic, real-life writing. There's a chapter where he's on the boat to Africa which is amazing. It encapsulates humanities distrust of other people and their tendency to hate. Bardamu doesn't speak much or get involved so everyone on the ship turns against him and you genuinely feel the sense of threat, that they might actually kill him for daring to be different. Celine, of course, was a noted antisemite in real life. That might be an issue for some. Personally speaking, the fact that Celine is a fairly awful person himself only makes the book resonate more. I have a tendency to separate the artist form the art. And thank God because this book is a masterpiece. 10/10

Mark

Tenet - overly complex but good. I'm Thinking of Ending Things - superb. Next - I forgot how bad this was. Dredd - hugely entertaining. New Mutants - blah.

Sums up my feelings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwF1iri1GjQ&t=2219s Edit - how do I embed a video?

If you download the free sample on Kindle, you're essentially getting the best part of the book.

My favourite book. It begins in World War I with Bardamu (Celine's alter ego) and explores the trauma and futility of the war. He meets Robinson, a kind of doppelganger who lives his life parallel to Bardamu. Broth meet again in Africa, a place where Bardamu experiences yet more suffering (the chapter on the boat to Africa is sublime). Then he goes to New York (following Robinson) and works at the Ford company and meets a prostitute called Molly. He returns to France and studies medicine at which point the book jumps ahead six years and finds Bardamu working in a working-class suburb of Paris dealing with horrific things such as botched abortions, miscarriages, and the death of a local child. This is where Leon Robinson become a regular character rather than just a spectre. The book is often described as a celebration nihilism. Celine has very little respect for humanity. To him, it's all suffering, crime, greed, and pain. He witnesses awful things but responds to them as though they're the banal embodiment of normalcy (the book is actually quite funny because of this). Even when Robinson plots to murder an old woman, Bardamu doesn't seem to care, and simply thinks... 'it's nothing to do with me.' There's an underlying message about the trauma caused to both men due to the war. They have both been numbed to the point that they are no longer human beings. The prose is some of the most exquisite I've ever come across. Which is interesting because it was made famous for its more authentic, real-life writing. Celine was, of course, a noted antisemite in real life. That might be an issue for some. Personally speaking, the fact that Celine is a fairly awful person himself only makes the book resonate more. I have a tendency to separate the artist from the art. And thank God because this book is a masterpiece. 9/10

I really enjoyed this when I read it, especially the psychological aspect of Laurent's scar tormenting him.

Opera

Lost

Island

A mixture of the two is required. DS9 actually had very few explosions (they couldn't afford the CGI) and great portions of the war were only referred to rather than actually seen. Meanwhile, this was Discovery.

Star Trek is about exploring worlds and ideas and solving ethical or philosophical dilemmas. Discovery and Picard are about things blowing up and ninjas.

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) and The Boys (Amazon) were both superb.

Closer, but not to the extent that he would go on a death defying mission to save Data. I would think the Federation becoming a hive of xenophobes might a more urgent concern for him. This show, like Discovery, has only the most wafer thin connections to Star Trek. The original shows had an identity which made the world stand out in sci-fi but now it essentially looks the same as all the other sci-fi shows (The expanse, The 100, Lost in Space, Dark Matter). I'd like to see them meet some aliens and grapple with ethical dilemmas but instead, it's just a lot of pew pew pew and explosions.

Putting this in Chick Lit makes sense. Because that's what this book really is despite it's awarded winning hype. In terms of the actual writing it was mostly enjoyable but my, the hype was not justified. At the very minimum I expect a book to be an enjoyable read. This was a Mills and Boon romance novel for the contemporary age. Every time a book like this wins awards and gets praise, I come to the conclusion that modern books are written for the growing demographic of people who... don't actually like reading books. Firstly, there's nothing remotely 'normal' about these two characters. I'll skip over the predictably dream-like otherness of Marianne and focus on the utterly non-existent Connell. I'm sorry ladies, but that guy (calm, thoughtful, caring, emotionally mature, intellectually honest, culturally sensitive, performatively left-wing, etc) only exists in the heads of women -- women writers in particular. Connell isn't just these things by the end of the book. No, he's these things from the very start, as a teenager. You know, like most teenage boys are. These two people are highly popular, good looking, the smartest in school, having regular sex, and are apparently off to university where they'll be going travelling around Europe and becoming writers. Normal people, you say? I was genuinely quite irritated but this book. It's everything I hate in fiction. I was half-expecting a final chapter to reveal that Marianne was sexually assaulted as a child (perhaps by her father, maybe even by her cartoonishly evil, moustache twirling brother) but thankfully, that didn't happen. I was also slightly offended by the implication that women (or men, for that matter) who enjoy rough sex have some kind of underlying mental health problem. I did, however, like the ending. These two millennial idiots can't seem to communicate their feelings. Even at the end when she tells him she's going to New York, they can't adequately express themselves. I do wonder what point Rooney was making though. It's not as if her generation are famous for being emotionally closed off. If anything young people are more prone to expressing their feelings than any other previous generation. Maybe she was criticising that - modern people sleep with everyone without consequences but... gulp... maybe there actually are consequences. Sigh. I honestly couldn't tell if the book's title was ironic or if it was a clever twist on those awful romance novels (what if, instead of a pirate and a curvy wench, it was a saucy romance between two... normal people). Geddit? This is an airport book. That's fine but airport books shouldn't be winning literary prizes.

The Map and the Territory. My second book by Houellebecq, and while it wasn't as good as Atomised, it was, nonetheless, a wonderful reading experience and frankly, a damn sight more creative and interesting than most of the turgid contemporary novels I mistakenly read because they're nominated for Booker prizes. The book is about an artist called Jed who seeks to paint the famous writer, you guessed it, Michel Houellebecq. I enjoyed Houellebecq making himself a character, and especially enjoyed the moments when he mocked his own character (at one point he muses on whether Houellebecq might be a paedophile). I'll put the final third of the book in spoilers because I honestly didn't see the it coming. Frankly, this book, though not being anything profound, was significantly more fun and enjoyable to read than most of the contemporary stuff I read these days. Original and thought-provoking. I will definitely seek out more of his work.

The only contemporary writer that really resonates with me. Atomised. This was the first book of his I read having previously only known him through reputation, namely that of being a racist misogynist (though in today's climate that applies to people who make the 'okay' hand gesture so I'll take that with a pinch of salt). I'm not sure what all the fuss is about; he describes sex. What of it? Anyway, I absolutely loved this. It was like being nourished by food, a feeling I haven't had while reading for quite some time. My interest was waning somewhat by the final third but that tends to happen with every book (all books, in my opinion being longer than they need to be). It picked up again after that and was a delight. My only criticism would be the epilogue. It essentially transforms the novel from a story about brothers to a peculiar science fiction romp that wasn't remotely necessary. I could have done without that in truth. The story is essentially two half brothers (Bruno and Michel) who have no real bond until adulthood. Bruno is obsessed with sex while Michel is almost asexual with only an interest in his scientific work. I must say, I found it hard to believe Michel as a character but complete understood Bruno. That may say more about me. I'm not sure what Houellebecq was trying to say by giving the two women in the brother's lives such tragic endings. Maybe that's where the misogyny accusation comes from. He seems to be suggesting that their sexual freedom is the very thing that has ruined their lives and left them unfulfilled as women. To be fair, that seems to be exactly what Sally Rooney was also saying in 'Normal People' too yet I doubt she gets accused of being a misogynist. The book is clearly about our 'atomised' western societies and how we have lost meaning so I'm not sure the criticism is valid. It's kinda the point.

This is my film of the year (last year). Very metaphysical and fascinating. I wouldn't recommend it lightly because it's a curious oddity of a film that explores themes that involve giving away spoilers. A couple drive to the man's parent's house. There's a great deal of dialogue in the car. When they arrive at the house, things get weird. Then they leave and there's more driving and talking. Things continue to get weird. The ending helps explain things but it's still a film that requires thought and interpretation.

This was a real mind bender. Very hard to follow and that's before we even get to the time travel stuff. It all makes sense but following is difficult. You'll need to watch it more than ince to appreciate how complex it really is. Not without flaws, but original and intelligent.

Abysmal. An obvious anti-Brexit tale which no doubt appealed to Stewart which, as a consequence of its premise, utterly undermines everything Roddenbery established. In Measure of a Man, Picard gives a speech about androids and slavery but in this show all of that is utterly forgotten. The Federation has become some kind of authoritarian nightmare that has no value for outsiders and thinks enslaving androids en masse is completely fine. Meanwhile, Picard is now a privileged white man (boo, hiss) who is described as arrogant (have these people watched TNG?) who needs to be told by his female superiors to... 'shut the fudge up.' Oh, and to really hit home the white male privilege angle, Raffi apparently lives in poverty (because that's a thing now) and she's forced to live in a trailer unlike privileged white man Picard who enjoys his white man privileged mansion and vineyard. Then we get a Seven of Nine who has gone from intelligent logician to a gun-toting lesbian who murders indiscriminately. This whole show is based on the idea that Picard and Data were somehow deeply connected. Again, have they watched TNG? Picard tolerated Data at best. The idea that he's Data bestest friend is absurd. Data was no more meaningful to Picard than his toaster.

Love this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcdOLKx2XG8&list=RDFcdOLKx2XG8&start_radio=1