Here’s bi-annual round up of books, TV and film that I’m loving at the moment. I’ve also cheekily included what I’m looking forward to reading and watching as well. Hopefully, they’ll provide you with something to read or watch while you enjoy some well deserved R&R this summer.
Books
Small Mercies – Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane is a truly magnificent author. If you’ve not read his work, you – first and foremost – absolutely should, but you’ve quite possibly seen it. So many of his novels have now been turned into award-winning films, that he must be close to setting some kind of record. Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River, The Drop, Shutter Island – all are films based on his work.
Small Mercies sees Lehane returning to his native Boston and at a fractious time in its history, when black students were about to be bused into white schools to combat the disparity in educational standards. Against that backdrop, a young black man is murdered by four white youths and the story follows the mother of one of them, who is trying to figure out what happened to the young man and her missing daughter. It’s unflinching and incredibly powerful storytelling. I absolutely loved it, and it is one of those books that will stay with you long after you’ve closed the cover.
Ben Aaronovitch – Winter’s Gift
A novella. but a good-sized one. This sees Ben following one of his secondary characters, FBI Agent, Kimberly Reynolds, as she starts investigating weird goings on in a snowbound Wisconsin town. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a massive fan of the Rivers of London and I love seeing Ben building the world out, more and more. This is an excellent addition to a superb series.
Perilous Times – Thomas D Lee
This debut novel manages to be both humorous and depressing. Arthurian Knights back from the dead in the near future is a wonderful idea, expertly written. They are tossed into the world on the brink of an ecological disaster and yep, that’s the all too believable and depressing as all hell bit. I was feeling good about having an electric car, now I’m worried that will not be enough to solve the whole thing. It’s a fantastic debut from Thomas D Lee –an adopted Mancunian like me – that’s a fun read which’ll also give you a kick up the arse and pull your head out of the sand.
Up Next
I’ve got a quite a lot of books on my to be read pile. Here are a couple that I’m looking forward to.
The Last Dance – Mark Billingham
As I was just starting out in my stand-up career, Mark Billingham was finishing his. He’s gone on to be one of the true A-List authors in Britain, most famously known for his wonderful Tom Thorne novels. The Last Dance is not only the start of a new series, but it is also a fairly substantial change of tack. While Mark was a great comic and is rightly renowned for being a hilarious speaker at conventions, etc, the Thorne books only ever had occasional subtle moments of humour. With this new series, though, he’s apparently going back to his roots and is letting his inner comic come out and play. I’m really excited to read it and it is next up on my TBR pile.
The Good, The Bad and The History – Jodi Taylor
And coming hot on the heels of Mr Billingham, I’ve got the wonderful Jodi’s latest book sitting on my bedside eagerly waiting for me. Fourteen books into the fantastic Chronicles of St Mary’s series, and it is as fresh now as it has ever been. That’s the thing with history, they keep making more of it!
Read The Good, The Bad and The History
TV
Colin From Accounts – BBC Player/Binge
This comedy from Australia is an absolute gem. Technically, you could call it a romantic-comedy, I guess, but it is just such an original and fresh take on the genre. Both Wonderwife and I absolutely loved it and not just because it features a dog. It’s on the BBC iPlayer in the UK and I’m sure it’ll be knocking around on streamers somewhere in the States. It’s worth seeking out. It is an absolute delight.
The Lincoln Lawyer – Netflix
Not my typical kind of watch, but I absolutely love this series. Based on the Michael Connolly books, it is a nice take on the novels while also showing why Connolly is so good at what he does. The man is an absolute master at crafting a story that keeps you hooked, full of characters you find yourself warming to. Season two has just dropped on Netflix and I’m devouring it.
The Last of Us – HBO/Sky/Now TV
There was a time when the words ‘based on a video game’ would chill the soul, but increasingly modern games have wonderfully complex plots and fully realised characters. Certainly, The Last of Us does, and it has transferred wonderfully to the screen. Yes, it’s a zombie series, but really it is an awful lot more than that. It is an examination of how people behave when society breaks down, and what being forced into situations can make us all become. The writing, acting and directing all are stunning and – no spoilers – but the oil truck sequence is some of the most memorable TV I’ve ever seen.
What I’m looking forward to. I guess it goes without saying …
Good Omens Season Two – Amazon Prime
The first season of Good Omens was fantastic and, dare I say it, proof to those who needed it, that a series based on the work of Terry Pratchett could work without having to be made into something it is not – I’m looking at you The Watch *shudder!*. Of course, it was written with his great friend, Neil Gaiman, and what makes it even more exciting is that the duo had planned out what would happen in a sequel and were never able to get together and write it. Ergo, for nuts like me, this is rather a lot like getting some brand new Pratchett material. Add in two of my very favourite actors and July 28th can’t come soon enough!
Film
Dungeons and Dragons – Honour Among Thieves
Finally, and yes, I appreciate I’m banging on about a big Hollywood film here, but – this film is so damn good! It deserved to be a massive hit and, frankly, something went very wrong somewhere that it wasn’t. Whatever went wrong wasn’t down to what was on the screen. The writing is fresh and genuinely funny, and the film is an absolute romp from start to finish. It is not only meant for fantasy fans. A good friend of mine has no interest in that kind of thing and she saw it twice in the cinema. It’s just great, and more importantly, with the superhero genre getting rather stale even for someone like me, who was a big fan, I’d love to see a swathe of more adventurous and interesting big movies like this one. Fingers crossed it’ll get the sequels it so richly deserves.
