Sunday Summary

This week, I have mostly been...

Resuscitating the PC!

PRAISE BE!

Following a tentative "factory reset" that did a clean sweep of a ropey hard drive, the laptop (now known affectionately as Lapzarus) has risen like a PC-oenix from the ashes of, er, that ol' auto-repair loop and is now flaunting its Windows 7 capabilities like a brand-new machine.

...I really am the dullest of all possible tech dullards, aren't I? (It's a really quiet news week, folks, but next week ought to see an improvement...)

Still, without a PC, there's no SS. And without the SS there's no Sunday Self-Indulgence from me, QB.

And that wouldn't do (!)

(I'm kidding. You'd all manage perfectly well without this little injection of monotony.)

Another word to the wise from one who is far from it: if you ever plan to crash your entire system, it's probably cleverer to save all your system images and backup components to the PC itself, rather than externally. (It is however advisable to keep your life's work -- writing, photos, badge designs... -- on that separate, less volatile hard external drive o' yours...)

So when you do crash the entire system, the PC has half a chance of finding aforementioned recovery components.

I bin skool'd.

Of course I now have to claw back all my music (and there is a hawge amount...) but hey.

I'm rediscovering all those tunes I thought were epic back in 2003 and now sound a bit like Lindsay Lohan's Over. (Which is truly a bit awful, but I must have liked it once...)

And in a fit of proactivity I have finally cancelled that pointless subscription to a pointless support plan that failed to actually support me.

{Why, yes, AJ, that is indeed a grab from Bring it On}

Here's to being £7.99 better off every month...(!)

Reading

Um, so, yeah. If someone would like to explain this book to me I'd be most grateful. Charseverso.

I've also now started reading this:

sequel to/companion title to Every Day; and I'm very excited that Miss Clare (of Brighton in the rain fame) and I are going back to our literary mothership, Waterstone's Piccadilly, next Thursday to see Sir DL (along with fellow YA authors Louise O'Neill and Lisa Williamson) in conversation.

Wonder if I can add another autographed edition to my collection?!

#fangirl
#totallynotasycophant 
#genuinelylovethelevithan 
#isthatenoughhashtags 
#ithinkso

I'm also very much looking forward to reading this:

Thank you, Evie!

Listening

(although it's also possible to be a-watching) ... to this series of short (30-40-minute) concerts from the 1970s, as recommended by my musical-encyclopaedic colleague, Gary.

It's all rather wondrous, pared-back, acoustic wizardry, with a little bit of banter mid-way.

Cousin Jo, I think you might enjoy these if you haven't already seen them.

• Neil Young
• Carole King (embedded below because it really is a treat! One for Charlie, and for Father Andrew too!)
• James Taylor*
• Joni Mitchell**

*cuts out suddenly towards the end but there's still plenty before to enjoy
**features Both Sides Now. I have so much love for that song

{all via BBC4, on YouTube}

Watching

... Smack the Pony on All4 (the channel formerly -- four-merly? -- known as 4OD.

Much of it is still funny now as STP didn't try too hard back in the late 90s/early 00s to be satirical of the time, more of the way people were, and people still are.

Of course there were parodies in each episode of B*Witched, The Corrs, Oasis or Steps, but Those of Us of a Certain Age (i.e. over 25) can appreciate the old-skool take-offs.

... And in case you were wondering whether I actually left the house/office this week, I did. Honest. Here's proof:

Pinterest Pin of the Week

{I love this so much}

Weekly Web Finds

Sensible*

*(this is basically Literary Linkage masquerading as something else, isn't it...)

• Little Black Classics box set coming from Penguin (yes please I would like this please thankyouplease) | on The Bookseller

• Waterstones to open three-story shop on Tottenham Court Road | on The Bookseller | Sheesh, as if having Paperchase, TIGER and Habitat on that one road wasn't enough! #temptationcourtroad
• Gillian Flynn short story to be published | on The Bookseller
• Julia Donaldson bemoans library closures | on The Bookseller
• Ladybird partners with Read On. Get On. campaign | on The Bookseller
• Pushkin acquire Astrid Lingren diaries | on The Bookseller
• Kerr pens first children's novel since 1978 | on The Bookseller

• Not for everyone (e.g. people in relationships...) but I thought this was a rather lovely and touching piece by photographer Rosie Hardy on how to be single
• England's children 'less free to play out' | on the BBC | Sad times. Pretty sure the proliferation of "missing teenager"/"a friend of a friend's child was approached by a man in the supermarket/park" posts on social media are only perpetuating the mass fear here... :-/
• What life is like when having your period means being shunned | on Jezebel | via Evie | this is just... sobering. (Article is from March 2014 but still relevant and grim)

Silly and Sweet**

(**and spurious)

• Adopt a unicorn! | here | via Evie

• Subtle nuances of the Great British Summer | on The Poke | SPOT ON!

{via here}

• Lodnon's best typos | on The Londonist | Thanks to Caroline R! [yes, that's a deliberate one right there...]

• Southern Rail revealed as 'cruel experiment' | on Newsthump | Oh snap!

• It's that time of year again: It's Hovering Teenager Day Again! (aka A-Level Results Day) | on The Poke

{via here}

• Also, Twitter gives A-Level advice | via The Poke
• And here's a quirky throwback to 2014:

{Stephen Collins for the Guardian | here}

• 20 Things Donald Trump Looks Like | on The Poke
• Popstars in 2048 | on The Poke | Gnarf at Cher...

• I rediscovered this short but utterly sweet and clever film kicking about in my Evernote archives:

Apologies if I've shared it before but it bears a re-viewing.

• This gif of Frida Kahlo made me laugh:

And finally, here's a little clue to what I'm up to next week...

Stay gold.

qb xx

Sunday Summary

So... this is something new I'm going to try to maintain. Previous form decrees that any attempt at a regular post falls by the wayside within about four tries due to time pressures or just a lack of inspiration but -- I'll give it a go, eh?

This week, I have mostly been...

Absorbing Jane Eyre | A friend of mine is in a musical adaptation at the end of this month so I thought I should gen up on the story, having never read it previously. Let's just say, I'm now hooked.

* I read the novel first (it took a little getting into as I’m not used to the language any more). Subsequently loved the novel and the palpable chemistry and passion between Jane and Mr Rochester.

* Then watched the 2006 miniseries on DVD. Subsequently loving the palpable chemistry between Ruth Wilson’s Jane and Toby Stephens’ Rochester.

* Then ogled and coveted this Penguin Drop Caps edition of Jane Eyre: gaudy, but fabulous.

Discovering David Levithan | On Wednesday I managed to score myself entry to an interview event with David Levithan, author of Every Day, Boy Meets Boy, The Lovers’ Dictionary and collaborative author of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Invisibility… whoa, he really is prolific! And a great, great advocate for LGBT YA fiction. The event took place at Waterstone’s Piccadilly – I’ve previously seen Michael Grant interviewed by journalist Lucy Mangan there, plus Laura Jarratt on a panel with RJ Palacio and Sally Gardner. #meganamedrop

{Photo via @EgmontUK on Twitter}

David Levithan was speaking primarily on Every Day (published by Egmont) and his life as a writer and collaborator. It was one of those events in which the author was so dynamic, positive and enthusiastic that I genuinely felt compelled to read more of his material. Every Day is an amazing book that raises questions on the importance of gender and identity, and messed with my head a little bit – read my review over on Goodreads!

Rediscovering Grug | 

This is Grug. "Grug began his life as the top of a Burrawong tree. Resembling a small, striped haystack with feet and a nose, he is fascinated by the world around him and solves everyday problems creatively and without fuss." via here

I lived under the myth for many years that I was able to read this book [by Ted Prior] by myself when I was two, on a plane to Norway. The truth is I probably just recited it but – semantics. I accidentally discovered this Grug toy while Googling book and plush box sets for work purposes. Screamed a little bit. How cool is he?! Answer: VERY.

Singing The Air That I Breathe // The Hollies

With rock choir. Struggling with limited lung capacity. Need to work on that.

And finally, clipping these links and articles to my Evernote. Do you use Evernote? I was a cynic to begin with but now everything I need to remember and recall goes on there. I have it on my PC here at home, and synced to my work Mac and my phone. Brilliant.

Why is a children's book about rabbits being read at weddings?

Caitlin Moran's posthumous advice to her daughter (she's still alive, folks, don't worry)

Haiku to celebrate last Thursday being National Poetry Day, and haiku being the only poetry I can master...