01. I had an ace day in the Yarra Valley last week (much wine, a superb lunch at Tarra Warra, and my first visit to Four Pillars distillery where the sales staff probably made their monthly quota after our visit – specifically ‘Espy’ Gin, breakfast negroni, and because I love negronis, this).
02. So, the Booker Prize winners – I just hope for Bernardine Evaristo that 2019 isn’t the year people remember as “Atwood won…and someone else did too…”
03. Saw The Australian Dream – heartbreaking, necessary, brilliant. Also on my to-see movie list is Pavarotti, Judy and Blinded by the Light. And still haven’t seen Downton, Animals, The Goldfinch or Parallel Lives… I need a movie marathon.
04. I always make big batches of tomato relish for friends at Christmas time but perhaps I should also be making candied jalapeño and bacon jam…?
05. State Library reno update.
06. I’ve been watching The Politician on Netflix – it’s fun and has that dark Heathers feel about it.
07. Interesting article on social media trends (although of course the excellent move to remove ‘likes’ is not just about mental health…).
08. Finally, a check-in on my book bingo progress (hosted by Theresa Smith Writes). I’ve only added two categories:
- book with a place in the title: Putney, Upstate, The Place on Dalhousie, and Murder on Easey Street
- historical novel: Book of Colours
Bookish Thoughts is hosted by Christine at Bookishly Boisterous. Pop by, say hi.
Not many left on the card though! Downton was splendid!
Not sure I will complete the other squares (the Australian ones are possible but fantasy and romance unlikely).
I usually have more romantic elements than actual romance. Same with fantasy usually. Neither are my preferred types.
My family have agreed to only make things for Christmas this year and I’m thinking my brother would definitely be on board for bacon jam…
The Politician does look very like Heathers! That’s good enough for me 😀
It’s Heathers crossed with Tom Perotta’s Election 🙂
I love handmade Christmases…
Judy is on my list of films too but I’ve heard Goldfinch isn’t up to much.
Thanks for that article on social media; the prospect of deep fake marketing campaigns is alarming. It’s hard enough now to separat truth from reality.
I’ve heard The Goldfinch isn’t great as well but I LOVED the book so want to see what they did with the movie (and I’ve always wondered why Secret History never made it to the screen… I’m sure the answer is just a Google search away!).
I’m with you on Evaristo – I was delighted that she won, but slightly disappointed that she had to share it. I always think these kind of double wins are a bit of a cop out on the judges part.
I wonder if the joint wins are something to do with not offending a ‘great’ (in this case Atwood) but also acknowledging the new… anyway, I agree, a bit of a cop-out.