Sunday Summary Monday Missive

It's been yet another relatively quiet week at QB Heights so I'll put out a precursory warning for all the padding prevalent in this particular post... and the alliteration. So much of that, too.

Oh and the snakes and spiders. I should probably give you a heads-up about those.

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This week, I have mostly been...

Finishing

***HERE BE SPOILERS!***

****AND QUITE A LONG BOOK REVIEW FOR THOSE OF YOU FOR WHOM QUITE LONG BOOK REVIEWS ARE NOT YOUR BAG****

I'll be honest: while it made a quick read, and a fairly intriguing one at that, there were several elements of this novel that made me think, is it just me or do I deliberately not go crazy for the books 'everyone else' likes? (But then I thought, I am not a sheep, I am a' individual with certain literary standards.)

{No offence, guys.}

All the characters were flawed. Which is how humans are... but these characters' flaws made them all considerably unlikeable. There was literally no one character I rooted for; and at least in Gone Girl I felt a little empathy for both Nick and Amy before I ultimately decided they both needed to be locked in a room and made to fight to the death using only their fingernails for weaponry.

Also, really?! Rachel, the unreliable narrator, with her 'convenient' alcoholic black-outs and her insistence on continuing to commute into London to a job from which she's been fired (who does that -- commute for funsies?!), effectively 'realises' (or at least worms out the truth of) whodunnit because the police are clearly incompetent (!), and oh by the way the perpetrator is someone very, very, VERY close to her? COME ON. That's much too convenient.

I was also not particularly enamoured of the repetitive way in which every part of the story was told in terms of Morning or Evening occurrences, beginning in present tense and then flashing back to past tense. It just felt amateur. It wasn't wrong per se, but it was noticeable. Ergo jarring.

Ahem.

I've moved on to The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden, which I picked up a couple of months ago on the second-hand book stall on the South Bank, and which looks like this:

{Smut. It looks like smut. It's not, though; it's
from the 1950s.}

Also finishing

{Flight of the Conchords}

The
Whole.
Entire.
Series.

(OK, there were only two but that's not the point.) So many great songs. So many great cameos.

I now know not what to do with my slightly weird crush on both Bret and Jemaine and their musical genius.

The complete song list can be found on YouTube -- I'm a particular fan of this one, though: Foux da Fa Fa, a rather spectacular homage (Camembert! Baguette!) to 1960s French films:

(Bret is adorable speaking French. Or, just, speaking. Or, just, existing.)

Stroking Snakes

That's not a euphemism.

On Sunday afternoon I pootled along to Reigate to support my lovely friends who were doing a star turn singing at a charity day in a local pub, in an attempt to lead the karaoke.

They deserved a more attentive audience, but even my friends' vocal stylings can't compete with a local straddling a Bucking Bronco, apparently.

(QB big-ups and kudos due nonetheless to Dan, Pete, Jos, Charlie, Alun, Ali, Martin and "Bisto" Steve)

Still, for Charlie and me particularly, one of the highlights was the 'rent-a-reptile' part of the day: there was a delicious assortment of things slimy, scaly, several-legged and swivelly-of-eye to handle, and we being the fearless sort decided we needed to have a go.

***HERE BE SNAKES AND SPIDERS!
TO THE PHOBIC, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***

{That's actually elation on my face, believe it or not!}

{He's so fluffy I'm gonna DIE!}

{Nice necklace you're sporting there, Charlie}

{Ali isn't too taken by Martin's new friend...}

{"Karma karma karma karma..."}

The other highlight was an impromptu dinner at the Toby Carvery with C & J, plus Steve, Keira and Paul (and a fleeting guest appearance by AJ): this involved much, much meat and a Rolo sundae, and most importantly a lovely, lovely chat with my ladies, who just get me (but whom I can still surprise with the stuff I come out with sometimes!).

Jos and Charlie, you are golden. So much love to you both.

And in less exciting news I've been busy

Rebuilding my iTunes library

...after the Windows 10 Wipeout. It's a long process (hey, I likes my choonz) but it has also meant rediscovering gems long forgotten in a spindle of CDs.

Like this (audio only -- Tea for Two, Jo Stafford & Gordon McRae)

Oh, and this. Having a bit of an INXS moment this weekend. Here's a bit of Mystify for your viewing and listening pleasure:

Pinterest Pin of the Week

Weekly Web Finds

Serious

• Scotland pilots automatic child library membership | on The Bookseller
• Seven Stories to publish book on history of illustration | on The Bookseller
• On having your book made into a film | Emma Donoghue on the film adaptation of Room | on Literary Hub, via NYPL

Silly

• A compilation video of adorable baby owls | on YouTube, via Alice D

• Cows get Autotuned | on YouTube, via The Poke

• How a typical game of Monopoly usually ends | on The Poke

{via here}

Er, oh. That's it for now.

Next week ought to be much more action-packed, with four Social Interactions on one day alone including a party that isn't even just a me party:

There are other humans invited. I know, right?!

qb xx