The Bourne Identity

I’m a big fan of the James Bond films. I think that, on the whole, they are sharp, full of excitement and (let’s be honest) as camp as a row of tents. I recently decided to watch all of the Bond films again to get myself ready for the 50th anniversary next year and the release of Bond 23, Skyfall …

Rear Window

As I’m sure you can guess I’m a huge film fan – otherwise this really wouldn’t be the website for me! Even so, I’ve always been aware of huge gaps in my movie watching history which I need to work on filling in. I’ve never seen Citizen Kane…

Author Interview – Carver Greene

Carver Greene is the author of the fantastic new military thriller, An Unlawful Order, which I reviewed today. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the characters and the whole idea of a military story featuring a strong female protagonist so I asked Carver for some insight….

An Unlawful Order

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before but I love Twitter. In a society where it can be difficult to get to know neighbours or find people locally who share your interests social media is a great way to “meet” people. Indeed online friendships can become real life relationships. I love chatting to other book and movie fans….

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

When I named my five must-see films for autumn/winter 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was right at the top of the list. The extended clips and discussion with producer Robyn Slovo and screenwriter Peter Straughan at Empire Big Screen really whetted my appetite….

Snowdrops

The Booker Prize has a reputation for only liking serious literary fiction so it was a pleasant surprise to see A.D. Miller’s crime thriller Snowdrops on the shortlist for this year’s prize

The Confession

The Confession is John Grisham’s latest legal thriller for adults and is currently riding high in the paperback chart. Fans of Grisham’s work are in for a treat when they buy it.

Russell Crowe joins Mark Wahlberg’s Broken

Cheery chappie Russell Crowe has joined the cast of Mark Wahlberg’s political thriller Broken. Crowe will play a Mayor who hires a private detective to uncover evidence of his wife’s cheating which leads to murder and financial scandal. Sounds very worthy and really rather dull. Can real estate shenanigans make for a decent film?

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

Trashy, campy nonsense – loved it!

Given my love of all things camp and the amount of time I spend with men who regard Bette Davis as the ultimate icon it seems incredible that I’ve made it to 2011 without seeing What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? Thanks to a reader’s suggestion ….

Top Ten: The Kindle – Bargain Books at Charity Shop Prices

When I first got my iPad I immediately fell in love with it. There was so much I could do on it and the capacity for playing games was immense. I did download some free classic novels on the iBooks application but I never got round to reading them. I assumed that I wouldn’t enjoy books on an e-reader – I preferred the look, feel and smell of a real book. Then I discovered the rival Kindle App and all of that changed. I realised I could carry lots of books everywhere I went. Packing for holidays would no longer be traumatic as weight was no longer an issue. Best of all there is a great selection of cheap books to choose from – have a look, you’ll see that it’s easy to spend very little but get a lot of good reads.

Here are 10 books I’ve recently read on my Kindle:

1. Love, Sex and Tesco’s Finest Cava by Steve Carter

It was the unwieldy title and the thought of how anyone could enjoy Tesco Cava that attracted me to this book. The narrator Rob is 38 and newly divorced for the second time when he meets a new woman on an online dating site, this novel charts the ups and downs of their blossoming relationship and how this impacts on both their families. This is a great little book, full of humour and interesting characters and it’s good to read a romantic comedy from the man’s point of view. I read this in one day on holiday and it’s the perfect beach or lazy weekend read.

2. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler

I had read one of Richard Zimler’s previous novels for work in my old job and really enjoyed it so this instantly appealed to me. A gripping thriller set in 1940 in the Warsaw Ghetto this novel explores the themes of loss, alienation, betrayal and brutality and tells the story of a crime set against the background of the greatest crime against humanity ever. This is both a moving account of the Holocaust and a fantastic crime story.

Read more …