Pedal Power 2025

Blimey, it's been over three years since I last surveyed my kingdom of effects pedals. I've been chopping and changing a lot, and of course, any pedal set up is ultimately completely dependent on the amp, speaker and cab they're running through, and it's taken me a while to properly realise this. It's only now that I have an amp and cab I'm really happy with. As such, it makes sense to talk about them first.

For some reason that I can no longer recall, about two years ago I got a bee in my bonnet about solid state amps. Valves amps sound great, but they are problematic - power hungry, hot, delicate and expensive. And despite the vast amounts of bullshit spouted about the supposed magical qualities of valves, there are a few people trying to promote the idea that a well designed analogue circuit - so not digital modelling - can achieve the same results and not just be for cheap practice amps.

The long-standing king of solid state is the Peavey Bandit, which has been gaining more respect over the years, and Orange have their Super Crush amps that are very well regarded. And around this time I started hearing more about Quilter amps, and it turned out that they'd recently released a smaller amp.

And so it was that I ended up buying - new! - a Quilter Superblock US, which, despite its size, is a 25W amp. Around the same time, I decided I should have a decent cab and so ordered a Fat Baby 1x12 from the excellent and super-helpful folks at Zilla in Cornwall. As you can see from the picture, the contrast between the tiny amp and the somewhat oversized cab is quite striking! The combination sounds fantastic: the base Superblock US sound is Fender-based, so the cleans are lovely, and when pushed with a drive pedal, it really rocks.

With the core sound established, I re-examined my pedal board. I already had plenty of options, so it wasn't a case of throwing everything out and starting again, just identifying what worked well. For a while, I went minimal: just two pedals and the amp, and in fact the Blackstar boost shown here wasn't really necessary, because the Line 6 HX Stomp provides a comedically over-comprehensive set of options. It's wired so that the signal goes into the Stomp, then the Superblock's pre-amp is in the loop of the Stomp, and then the Stomp is in the loop of the Superblock. The upshot is that I can use the Quilter's pre-amp or bypass it and use a Line 6 amp model, and choose which (modelled) effects go before and after each.

This provided an incredibly wide range of different sounds, what with something like fifty different amp models and several hundred effects to choose from. But I realised after a while that I wasn't really happy with any of the sounds; I'd spend more time fiddling with options than just getting lost in the music. I'm not sure if that's because I know there's always another thing to try, or because I just didn't like what I was hearing, not that I could tell you what it was I didn't like. So I retired the HX Stomp for now and tried again.

Going back to individual pedals has been a bit of a relief, surprisingly - there's a lot less range, but what there is sounds really good. Also, the Pedaltrain fits nicely on top of the cab, so I can either just leave it there or put it on the floor when I play.

The pedals then, in signal order:

Digitech Freqout

This is a brilliant pedal that I've had for a while, but hasn't been on any board I've documented for some reason. All it does - brilliantly - is mimic the sound of a guitar edging into feedback. It's a sound I love and it's hard not to over-use it. It has to be first in the chain in order to get the cleanest sound.

Cry Baby Mini (CBM95)

Some people find this version of the Cry Baby too small, but I don't mind.

Fredric Effects King of Klone

What's better than one Klon Centaur-alike? Two! A staple of my boards for a while now

Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost

I bought a lot of pedals over the last ten years, but none for about a year, and this last one. It was shown on (YouTube channel) TPS and compared favourably to a (much more expensive) Kingsley pedal on the guitar forum. When I found out Blackstar were selling an ostensibly £190 pedal direct on Reverb for £99 (they still are, actually), well, I couldn't resist. It's not a clean boost, but it's a lot flatter (depending on the EQ settings) than the Klone, and adds a nice crunch to any sound. And so, having said I wanted to avoid valve amps, I've ended up with a valve on the board anyway!

Tech 21 Double Drive

An old favourite now, very versatile. Sounds particularly good when boosted by either the Klone or the Dept. 10.

Strymon Ola

I fancied a decent chorus and when this came up secondhand, and knowing the quality of the Strymon stuff - I've had five of their pedals at various times - it was a done deal. The Ola isn't one of their more celebrated pedals and it's a bit of a one-trick pony (a bit like the DIG) but it sounds superb - well up to an Analogman Chorus I A/B'd it with.

BOSS GE-7 (modded)

A fantastic utility pedal. After this, we go into the Superblock's input, and then out of the effects loop into the ...

Strymon Brigadier

I've had (and still have) analogue bucket brigade delays, but this is a better all-round pedal. Sounds gorgeous. Strymon recently released the Brig, which supposedly has reworked algorithms, but I can't hear much of a difference.

Neunaber Immerse (mk 2)

I've not even considered another reverb pedal since I got this (blimey) over four years ago. Interestingly, Quilter recently bought Neunaber, which makes me wonder whether the excellent reverb in the Superblock is theirs.

TC Electronics Ditto+

A great little looper.

The little shaving cream tin on the board holds picks and a tuner - the traditional/cliché utensil for this is an Altoids tin but I have several of these spare. Do these need to be on the board? Debatable. But it keeps it all together.

Reading - August 2025

Some Kind of Wonderful by John Hughes (draft script, 1986)

Any background info or trivia on one of my favourite films is welcome, so I was delighted to stumble across somekindofwonderful.org, a fan site from, I would guess, 20 years ago but amazingly still up and running. There's some amusing bits and pieces there (including the fact that there was a novelisation!) but by far the most interesting thing is this early draft script containing numerous differences from the eventual film. It casts light on some of the more jarring non-sequiturs in the film (like, why does Watts suddenly ask Keith if he misses her?) and contains a somewhat different (and frankly, unconvincing) ending. I'm not going to pretend Some Kind of Wonderful is a classic film but I'm very fond of it and this is great stuff.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell (2017)

To start with, this didn't seem very promising - the unvarnished, day-to-day trivia of the man who runs (and owns) the "largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland". But its low-key charm and humour grew on me, and the never-ending series of clueless customers, while I am sure intensely frustrating in real life, is dryly amusing on the page.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks (2023)

Here's an interesting combination of approaches: ostensibly an account of the making of a real film, written (mostly) as if it was a novel, but actually completely fictional. Except that - not least because Tom Hanks is the author - I'm certain that pretty much all of this is based on real events in some way. Even though there's no real plot - we just taken through the process of making a film - it's entertaining and compelling, and gives a brilliant insight into the sheer effort and logistics involved in the undertaking (and quite a lot about the madness and egos, too). And the fact that Tom Hanks, when he's not busy being one the best screen actors in history, can write this well is a bit like learning that your dad is a brilliant sculptor in his spare time, but you only just found out.

Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall by "Bill Johnson" (Tom Hanks?) (2023)

Brilliantly, the whole script for the film being made in The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece (above) is online, via a QR code in the book. I'm not experienced enough to judge whether it's much cop as a script; not much happens, but given that it's supposedly a new installment in an MCU-like arc, it seems comparable with that kind of film (one fight scene starts with the description "The sequence will last the better part of a half hour"). What I love about it though is that it was clearly fully imagined before the book was written, because there are multiple points where the book mentions the casting of a role, or how dialog was changed, or sequences filmed, that match the script.

The Funny Thing About Love by Tom Ellen (2024)

Predictable but emminently readable and predictably and enjoyably feel-good romance. Finished it in a couple of days.

Happy Place by Emily Henry (2023)

A clever structure of alternating then and now chapters gives us both the beginning and end of the relationship - except that, of course, the real end will be a reconciliation. So the chapters showing us the past keep the read from being too depressing, while the chapters about the characters' current reality build the tension. Will they work things out? It builds over longer than I would normally like, but does make the final ending more satisfying. I could quibble about the fairly obvious emotional manipulation going on here - it's a bit like being able to see the machinery behind the illusion - but it didn't stop me enjoying the book and wanting to reach the end (in a good way).

Watching - August 2025

The Naked Gun (2025)

Sunday afternoon cinema visit with the boys! I don't think I knew this new version was about to be released when I watched the original a couple of weeks earlier, and said that probably the spoof only worked for people old enough to remember what it was spoofing. But B & Z both enjoyed it, so clearly I was wrong about that. This is hit and miss, just like the original, but even though it's more hit than miss, overall it's a fun film to pass a couple of hours rather than a future classic.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

I've watched this many times, but it's always been a TV version that I recorded ages ago. I bought this on DVD recently and so this is first time I've seen the full, unexpurgated cut. There's a lot more! Still brilliant of course.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Family choice for Saturday viewing with pizza. Great fun, although I can't fully decide if the constant derision of The Teenz (who, lest we forget, chose this) is amusing or irritating. Probably both.

The Secret of My Success (1987)

A bit of a curio, and very much of its time - the clothes, the ambition, the casual sexism. Amusing enough, but it's not really sure if it's a satire or an instruction manual - or, briefly, a bedroom farce.

50 First Dates (2004)

Comfort, can't be arsed to think of something more challenging to watch viewing. There's a lot to dislike about the film, really, but for me, the central story between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler is enough to win me over. The less said about Rob Schneider's performance the better.

The Princess Diaries (2001)

Saturday evening family choice, which actually I was quite pleased about because I hadn't seen it for ages and it's a sweet, uncomplicated film with plenty of funny moments and the peerless Julie Andrews for class.

Watching - July 2025

Taskmaster (season 19, 2025)

A sudden jump to season 19, as K - who I watch with - managed to grind through everything from 5 to 18 without me, and also it turns out she was desperate to watch Mathew Baynton. Very entertaining as always, although possibly ten episodes is stretching it a little and of course, as with anything improvised, it can be a bit hit or miss. But you can't fault the creativity or the effort put in, both by Alex Horne and the Taskmaster team (excluding Greg Davies, who seems to have it rather easy) and the participants. Also, fun fact I learned: Alex Horne lives in Chesham, near where I grew up, and many of the filming locations are in the area!

Live Aid at 40 (2025)

A documentary about such a complex subject - even a three part one, as here - is only going to be able to skim the surface of the event itself, let alone all the political and social issues that led up to it and that arose from it. Still, this was a balanced and interesting overview of an incredible series of achievements.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (season 4, 2016-2017)

I said I'd give myself a break after the last season, but actually, this is perfectly sized for consumption in between other things, and sufficiently unchallenging viewing for when I'm tired or not feeling well (although this is obviously doing a disservice to the amount of effort involved in making it). I could do without the cliffhanger at the end of each season (of course it will resolve itself - the essence of a sitcom is that the "sit" never changes), but it's nice to see Jake and Amy in a straightforward relationship, without gratuitous roadblocks thrown in the way, and all 22 episodes are effortlessly funny.

The Naked Gun (1988)

It's possible that parody dates faster than just about any other form of comedy. Being the film version of the early 80s TV series Police Squad, which in turn was a spoof of 60s and 70s police dramas, this was probably already out of date when it was released. It didn't stop it being a success, and yes, it is funny - but I'm guessing only for people my age or above?

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Comfort viewing for while I'm ill. Still brilliant.

Inside Out (2015)

Having stumbled across an interesting video about Inside Out, I couldn't not watch the film itself, especially since I haven't seen it since records began! (ok, actually, so in at least five years) I still think it's incredibly insightful, and they have so much fun with the metaphor of how memories get stored (including repeatedly sending a random commercial back for fun). A classic for a reason.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

This is basically a James Bond film, right? Silly, fairly mindless action fun that jumps round multiple random locations. Kept me entertained.

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

A Powell/Pressburger film that I'm not quite sure warrants the "masterpiece" accolade given by some (including Martin Scorcese, no less), but as a lovely example of a romantic comedy of the time, it's unquestionably charming.

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019)

A weird, hodge-podge of a film that can't decide what it wants to be, so ends up being bits of about three. Not that any of it is bad by any means, it's just that the motivation seems to be more that Quentin Tarantino wanted to do a pastiche/tribute to various bits of Hollywood history and retrofitted a story around them. He - along with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio - seem to be having great fun remaking a lost era, but I suspect most of it is lost on anyone who isn't a film buff. For example, 8 August, 1969 - the date of the Tate murders - wouldn't have registered with me if I hadn't read the synopsis ahead of time. But without this information, or knowledge of what actually happened that day, the ending's impact is completely fudged. Still, I enjoyed it, nothing dragged, Pitt in particular is very good and I'm pleased I watched it. (side note: just reading some of the ridiculous critical theories catalogued on Wikipedia confirms to me that it's a film made for film geeks to bullshit about and I have no doubt that this is part of Tarantino's motivation also)

How Do You Know? (2010)

I can see what the makers were trying to do here, but the story is too slight for the emotions they're attempting to invoke. So, ultimately, it's a bit unsatisfying, because it's not clear why the two main characters should feel strongly enough end up together. It's a shame, because Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd are very good. Oh well.

Reading - July 2025

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (2022)

Enjoyable and readable bit of nonsense.

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver (2022)

If the setup is a bit contrived and unbelievable - two strangers sharing a one-bed cottage on a remote island for several weeks - the follow through is excellent, tracing the development of a relationship. Really sweet.

Things We Do For Love by Miranda Dickinson (2024)

Judging by her list of published novels, Miranda Dickinson has developed a habit of using well-known song titles for her books - I immediately thought of 10cc when I saw this but possibly she was thinking of Kylie. Anyway, the generic title bears no relation to the specifics of the plot, which is a shame because not only does the Shakespeare based plot begs to have something more relevant, but she even has one ready made in the story: "A Night of Bard Language". That aside, this is a reasonably predictable but enjoyable story set in Stratford-upon-Avon that I read happily to its obvious conclusion.

Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr (2020)

'Tis the Season by Robyn Carr (2014)

And so ends my affair with Virgin River. I've really enjoyed the world Robyn Carr created, and the way it built up. I think the first half-dozen books were probably the best, as the secondary characters had their own story arcs too and someone introduced in one book might get their own chance as a main character in two books' time. Latterly, it's just new people randomly turning up at the beginning of a story - you know: "hey, have you met Kyle, my second cousin's son's best friend?" - and then amazingly bumping into the future love of their life. But I'll still miss reading the books now I've finished them all.

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer (2022)

Bob Mortimer's personality runs through this book like words through a stick of rock, as the main character could easily be a version of himself. That gives a unique flavour to the story and definitely helps make the book more readable. The plot is a little far-fetched but good-natured with it, and it's nice to see everything work out properly in the end.

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson (2022)

It's obvious where this is going from pretty much the first page, which makes the author's attempts at misdirection not just redundant but a little annoying. Nevertheless, it's saved by a cute storyline and what we have in the end is a sweet, PG-rated story that kept my attention.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (2022)

Hannah Grace, on the other hand, writes very un-PG-rated stories. The characters are all pretty much obsessed with sex but actually that doesn't strike me as entirely unrealistic, based on my recollection of myself and my friends at similar ages, and in fairness there is also a decent enough plot decorating the bones of the plot. This is her first novel and I think it shows a few rough edges: the villain in particular is just generally unpleasant for no obvious reason, and I can't decide if the female main character is a too-good-to-be-true male sex fantasy or just an honest portrayal of girls these days. But it's very readable overall and pretty spicy in places.

My Word is My Bond by Roger Moore (2008)

Roger Moore has, of course, achieved much more than just the seven James Bond films he starred in, and I came away impressed by the amount of work he's done. But the book is otherwise fairly boring, with little sense of progression, and largely becomes just a series of anecodotes. Passed the time though.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons (1986-1987; this compilation 2014)

I've known about Watchmen for ages, but graphic novels have never been my thing and the few times I've tried them, they seem pretty trivial - short stories with pictures that provide an hour's diversion. Watchmen is the antithesis of this: a complex story with multiple subplots, often being told simultaneously, using the illustrations to properly further the story. I'm still not sure I like it much as a medium, but there's no denying the sheer imagination and ambition here - I'm pleased I gave it a try.

The Story of the Country House by Clive Aslet (2023)

Undoubtedly a good introduction to the subject, but still somewhat dry - and woefully under-illustrated, which given that this is all about aesthetics, is an odd omission. Yes, I can look things up on Wikipedia but that's not the point. Still, it did make me want to go and see more of the remaining country houses so that's probably a good thing.

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher (2021)

I really enjoyed this. For a while I wasn't quite sure where it was going, but it came together really nicely at the end in a bit of a twist I wasn't expecting at all, and it was very moving in places.

The Spare Room by Laura Starkey (2024)

Simple and straightforward romance, with a chatty style and slightly one-dimensional characters. But readable and sweet.

Wildfire by Hannah Grace (2023)

A more complete plot than her first book - albeit still quite YA-angsty - helps this be a good read. Notwithstanding the main couple's issues with their families, it's all bit idealised, but the characters are fun to be around and as most of it's set at a summer camp, it appeals to me as it reminds me of my time as a supervisor!

Reading - June 2025

Wayfaring Stranger by Emma John (2019)

Bluegrass is not a musical style I know much about and, having listened to a little now while reading this book, I'm afraid I'm not that bothered about learning more. But Emma John's enthusiasm for it comes across brilliantly and that carried me along completely. Her "musical journey in the American South" (the book's subtitle) doesn't come across as one that was undertaken in order to write a book, but rather driven by a genuine curiosity and desire to learn. It no doubt helped that she really can play the fiddle (there's a couple of YouTube videos if you're interested), and the result is the kind of travelogue that only an outsider (she's from London) can really write. Very enjoyable.

Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr (2012)

I'm nearing the end of the Virgin River series, and although they are all pretty similar, they're good-hearted, dramatic without being melodramatic (mostly) and feature characters you care about. However, in this instalment, the couple end up not choosing to live in Virgin River <gasp>. This is an unheard of departure and I'm not sure I like it. Seriously though, as well told and easy to read as always for this series.

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (2022)

In this third book in the record breaking (it says here) Thursday Murder Club series, the plot is increasingly implausible - perhaps that's the point (it's a cozy armchair mystery), but it does make it a little hard if you're trying to guess the plot based on logic, and of course none of the suspense can be taken seriously because we know none of the main characters will actually be killed. But I never try anyway, so that's fine for me. An enjoyable piece of nonsense that, for some reason, I've taken over two years to get round to reading (sorry C).

How To by Randall Munroe (2019)

A nice easy and very funny re-read. I love the slight recurring theme that some of the more ridiculous ideas have actually been researched by the US Government.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (2024)

A new series from everyone's favourite quiz show host and general media polymath! Most of the things we expect from Osman are present and correct: anchoring cultural touchstones (as he acknowledges in the, er, acknowledgements, he mentions "Twix", "Greggs" and "Lee Child" in the first fifteen pages), pointless but amusing details (the directions to and from the New Forest are funny) and a signature pathos about death of loved ones. And the plot is slightly ridiculous, and the "ordinary" people turn out to be anything but. All jolly good fun though and immensely readable.

Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod (1978)

An odd mix of styles that I found hard to like, but I finished it because I wanted to know how the murder mystery played out. I hadn't realised until afterwards that it was first published in 1978, so that probably explains some of the oddities, but in fairness nothing actually jarred or stood out as hopelessly dated. It's the first in a series but I don't think I'll bother with the rest.

Mixonline Classic Tracks by various authors (2009-2025)

In a very similar vein to the Sound On Sound classic tracks series (and featuring many of the same tracks), but with less of a focus on the engineers only and with more contributions from the artists themselves. Interesting reading and introduced me to a lot of tracks that I hadn't heard before, like Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise". Full playlist here!

Never: The Autobiography by Rick Astley (2024)

I didn't know much about Rick Astley other than that - like Andrew Ridgeley - he seemed like a nice guy who did a few years in the limelight before choosing to return to a sane, normal life. It turns out it wasn't quite that simple for Rick, as we learn through this honest and engaging book. Obviously he had help writing it (the Guardian's head of music journalism Alexis Petridis is thanked right at the beginning) but it comes across as Astley's own voice, and is an easy read that's well worth the time. And it's good to know he's happy now!

Rebel Rebel by Chris O'Leary (2015)

Ian MacDonald's classic Revolution in the Head inspired many people, no doubt, to attempt the same feat on their own favoured artist. The Beatles had a nicely defined, complete output that covered only eight years and it's tempting to argue that you could select a similarly short period from David Bowie's life and gather all the most essential recordings. This nearly does that; if you started a little later than '64 and then included Low and "Heroes" you'd probably be fine. But the subtitle says "All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76" and it's really not kidding, and since Bowie made so many false starts that means including a lot of fairly dull juvenalia. As a result, there's quite a bit of the book that's quite hard going, even allowing for the very fragmented nature of splitting into a commentary on individual songs. But once we reach the real hits, the narrative lights up and by the time we get to Station to Station (where this book ends), O'Leary is doing a superb job highlighting just how outré Bowie's records were for a mainstream rock star. Bowie was the first "serious" artist I got into as a teenager, and I'm so familiar with tracks like "Sweet Thing/Candidate" or "Station to Station" that's it good to be reminded how far away from blues-based rock they actually are - the closing essay on the latter is fantastic. It took me a while to get through (partly because I insisted on listening to each track while reading about it) but worth it. I'm a bit scared of the next book though - it's twice the size!

Sunset Point by Robyn Carr (2012)

Another fun instalment of the Virgin River series, and if this time I could have done without the "other woman" being quite such a caricature, and the ending not quite so abrupt, well, it didn't stop me enjoying the book overall.

Begin Again by Helly Acton (2023)

Well, the title is a bit misleading as our main character gets to see what would have happened if she had taken the other route at key moments in her life - but, crucially, she doesn't actually get to begin again. However, in what is a bit like a cross between Sliding Doors and A Christmas Carol, she does visit alternate timelines and learn about herself and her effect on others. A fun premise, well executed and easy to read, and providing a nice bit of feel-good incentive if you need it, perhaps.

Recursion by Blake Crouch (2019)

An example of the "what is reality?" strand of science fiction, in the grand tradition of Philip K. Dick and, more recently, Christopher Nolan. The only thing that marred it slightly for me was the bit where it kind of elided how implanting false memories in one person made every single person in the world go back in time - that not only didn't make sense (yeah I get that this is SF) but didn't seem to me to be consistent within the universe of the novel. So although everything that followed from that assumption was great, along with the thriller elements, it didn't quite hold true for me. Good fun though, and I ripped through it in about a day!

Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber & Emiliano Caballero (10th edition, 2024)

This was recommended by a working engineer/producer (on a forum) as one of the essential, standard works on recording, so I thought it would be interesting, both as an insight into how recording audio all fits together and as a way of understanding the subject better so I could have a go myself. It's laid out (and priced) like a text book, and no doubt is used as one in many places. I can't fault its scope - it covers a lot of ground - and while the editing and fact checking could have been better in a couple of places, it really has got loads of useful information that I am sure I'll refer back to at some point. However, I didn't find it easy to read and the layout is nowhere near as good as The Producer's Manual by Paul White - although in fairness, the latter is more explicitly aimed at a hobbyist like me!

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood (2025)

Maybe I don't get out much, but I haven't seen sub-dom (maledom in this case) relationships depicted much in the kind of mainstream romance I read - or, more accurately, I haven't seen it labelled explicitly as that. There are too many books where the strong woman becomes a simpering, submissive idiot when she meets "the one", and that makes me uncomfortable, as the men nearly always come across as sexist, controlling arseholes. In this story, Hazelwood makes it very clear that the central couple make a conscious, agreed and joint choice about their relationship, and logically that is much better - but it still doesn't sit right with the part of me that is very aware of the instrinsic power balance of most male-female relationships. However, the author manages to portray consensual submissiveness without implying that actually what all women need is a man to tell them what to do - and, honestly, I can kind of see the appeal of an arrangement like this, and I really enjoyed the story and a little soujourn into this world. Sure, the MMC (I've literally only just discovered the acronyms for all this book reviewing shit) is an unrealistically perfect robot but perhaps that just how he appears to the FMC (the book's in first person from her point of view). And shorn of the (pretty mild, imho) kinkiness, the plot is a pretty standard romance arc. But that didn't stop me charging through the book in a couple of days.

My Kind of Christmas by Robyn Carr (2012)

Yeah I know it's not Christmas - but even though you don't really have to read the books in this series in order, I want to anyway, and this is where I am. A little under-developed compared to other books in the series: the characters fall in love pretty much immediately and there's a half-hearted "oh noes what if they can't be together" plot line that we all know is going to be resolved. But satisfying anyway when it is.

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley (2023)

DNF, and in the first few pages too. I find this fad - and yes, obviously that's what it is - for not using quotation marks to be ridiculous and pretentious, and it constantly takes me out of the world. Apparently Sally Rooney is one of the most notable recent authors guilty of this, and although I'd wondered about reading Normal People, that completely excludes it for me now. I've read a few articles where other authors attempt to justify redefining grammatical rules that work fine for everyone else, and they all miss the point: if you want to communicate your ideas, then a common set of rules helps your reader. Otherwise you might as well invent your own words - and let's face it, there aren't that many Shakespeares writing today. Laura Miller puts the case against this pointless affectation much better than I do.

Daydream by Hannah Grace (2024)

K says I have the fiction taste of a teenage girl, and it's hard to argue if I describe the process by which I selected this from the library: it has a cute-looking couple on the pastel-coloured cover and a classic romance plot described on the back. I didn't have particularly high expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised to find sweet characters I cared about, likeable secondary characters and a story that got me really invested!

Adventures in Modern Recording: From ABC to ZZT by Trevor Horn (2022)

A perfectly readable but slightly sketchy (in the sense of lacking detail) account of snapshots in Trevor Horn's life. Each chapter is about a specific track, although it sometimes branches out to others he worked on, but you still get the sense that there's a lot missing. In fairness, he sounds like a busy man so if he included more, the book would be twice the size!

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (2022)

Excellent fun, with a You've Got Mail inspired sub-theme (even if it was obvious from about the first page who her correspondent was). I enjoyed seeing how the FMC went from thinking the guy hated her to realising the opposite, and if the cartoon villain was a bit Scooby Doo and one-dimensional, it didn't spoil things. And the extended rants about sexism in academia and STEM subjects in particular were great.

Funny Story by Emily Henry (2024)

Well, this meet-cute - girl moves in with ex-fiancé's new fiancé's ex - would a bit icky in real life, I think, but in the world of the story, it's kind of sweet and has lots of fun characters. There's some depth and insight into characters, but maybe not a lot of growth. But it's still a nice read and I enjoyed it.

Watching - June 2025

Hot Pursuit (2015)

Slightly ho-hum buddy movie, showing its age with some clichés (particularly about women) that I hope wouldn't get the time of day now. But funny in places, and passed the time.

The Time Traveller's Wife (2009)

I read the book about two and a half years ago and enjoyed it very much, so I was keen to see what the adaptations are like. There's a more recent TV series but I'm unlikely to get Apple TV for a while, so when this came up on Prime I was interested. It's a two hour film so of course it misses on much of the content and subtlety of the book - it can't show the internal thoughts of the characters and there's a limit to what it can show. So instead of a moving meditation on the effects of long term illness on a relationship (in my opinion, anyway) you get a sort of thriller/romance. The film brings to life some scenes well - Henry's despair at suddenly being transported to random places was much clearer in pictures than on the page - but struggles in others, particularly the ones with Henry as an adult and Clare as a child, where it's harder to ignore the slightly problematic nature of the relationship. Still, a sweet film and a nice way to pass the time.

Maestro (2023)

While I'm usually not very good at working out the underling themes of films, I think I've got this one. This is ostensibly a biopic of Leonard Bernstein, but really it's about what an amazing talent Bradley Cooper is. It's fatally infatuated with its own cleverness of direction and emotional truths, when actually it's just a posh TV melodrama, stuffed with clichés (ooh look, Bernstein is smoking in every scene! What a original, subtle and clever directorial choice!), over-theatrics - cue the Oscar nomination scene! - and poor dialogue; in one case, Cooper (did we mention that he wrote the script as well as directing and starring - blimey, what an amazing talent, eh?) has Bernstein say he "misread the room" ... in the 70s? Come on. And don't get me started on the startlingly poor choice to put Cooper in Jewface. I get that biopics are difficult - you're trying to fit decades of a real and messy life into a convenient two hour story arc - but this failed badly, in my opinion, and I was already counting the minutes to the end after about twenty minutes in. Somehow I finished it, but I couldn't get involved. 

Somewhere In Time (1980)

I was reading around the subject of The Time Traveller's Wife and this was mentioned - a little-known, slightly hokey and very sentimental romance starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour film that features time travel. Mostly forgotten now (apart from by a small but very enthusiastic fan club), there's nothing particularly special about it and if it wasn't for the big names (Christopher Plummer also features) it would be a typical TV movie - and indeed it effectively was, as apparently it got a new lease of life on early cable. So, nothing special - but I still enjoyed it more than Maestro.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (season 3, 2015-2016)

My kids are finally shaming me into watching more of this, since I haven't made much progress since last year! Is it worth it? Well, I enjoyed it, but a whole series is something like the same duration as four films, and that's a lot of time to spend with the same characters. I'll give myself a bit of a break before the next season.

F1 The Movie (2025)

A summer blockbuster about Formula One, on the biggest screen in Southampton, and with sound that shakes your seat - what's not to like? I really enjoyed the whole experience (even the fly that caught in the projector didn't annoy me); the action scenes are spectacular, there's laughs and emotional bits and some sort of redemption. The plot? Well, it's tempting to describe it as essentially a re-run of Top Gun: Maverick: old hand is called out of retirement for one last hurrah, and shows those upstart young 'uns what a real driver can do, by disregarding the rules blah blah blah. Brad Pitt's good (not as good as Tom Cruise, though), but I was pleased to hear so many British voices - this is true to F1 life, of course, but it wouldn't have surprised me if Hollywood decided that all these weird foreign accents would be too difficult for Americans to understand. But overall, although the (mostly ex-) F1 fan in me had a great time, it's hard not consider the film as a whole as pretty insubstantial, and I suspect that anyone not interested in the sport would find it a bit of a yawn (a view articulately and, I'd say, accurately, argued in Nicholas Barber's review on the BBC)

Monsters, Inc (2001)

I was reminded of this via a YouTube video that I now cannot find, but anyway, I hadn't seen it for ages and so was charmed all over again. Very good.

Clueless (1995)

So, anyway - it's, like, the 30th anniversary of this iconic teen romcom. And it's being re-released (briefly) into cinemas this weekend, so what better time to watch it again? At home, though - I considered going out, but it's only being shown on the smallest screens, so it would have been a bit pointless. It's still peerless, even if you could point at some moments and call them dated.