2022 READING PLANS

More for my own amusement than anything else and a bit behind the times - 2022 Reading Plans

(note to self - find 2021 post of same, copy and paste, change dates and images, job done)

Ambitious or more likely ridiculous setting reading plans for a whole year, when I can't stay on track for more than a book, maybe two before getting my head turned by something else. Oh well..

I did actually achieve two of my aims in 2021, so there might be some hope for me.

1. Make decent progress on my USA State reading challenge. I've probably read more than half the states in the country but am too idle to keep things up to date. I would like to finish it in 2023. If I could be a bit proactive and get halfway that would be good

 

2. Catch up with my wife and son - I'm a list of books behind on the sidebar. So far behind I've not listed what they've read in the past couple of years that I haven't looked at.

3. Ditto - an author catch up list.... Charlie Stella, Anthony Neil Smith, Michael Connelly to mention a few...... probably 30 books to catch up on this sidebar irritation. I should probably add Dietrich Kalteis to the list.

4. Try and complete several book series I started running through some years ago, at a pace of one a month before getting distracted - Matt Scudder by Lawrence Block, Travis McGee by John D. MacDonald, Elvis Cole by Robert Crais, Quarry by Max Allan Collins and Nameless by Bill Pronzini.

5. There are a couple of other series I want to start from the beginning and read my way through. Garry Disher has two, Frank Zafiro's River City series, Colin Conway's 509 series, Mick Herron's Slough House series.

6. Complete the 2019 European Reading Challenge run by Rose City Reader, aiming for at least 12 countries in the year. If I count the UK as four separate countries, I could feasibly get to 24 different European venues. Possibly rolling over to 2023 then.

7. More blog related than reading - finish cataloguing my books - the physical ones at least. I've been a bit slack regarding this! When I get caught up on my blog posts - I'm about a month behind I'll have to get back on the horse. 

I think I'm up to 86 tubs recorded with about 20 still to do - another 1000 books!

I might try and log the books on the kindle as well for a sense of completism. Plus I have another computer app that stores books on the laptop.

8. Try and keep on top of any freebies/review copies that might come my way. Probably not so many these days.

9. Stop browsing Net Galley and Edelweiss early reviewer sites. The world won't end if I don't get my hands on every new crime fiction book published! Try and get my percentage up on Net Galley from 39% to at least 50. Preferred feedback level is 80%.

10. Stop buying books or buy less books maybe.

11. Try and catch up on the TV and Film backlog listed.

12. I do have a somewhat ambitious goal of trying to read a complete Indie publishers output - All Due Respect. I bloody love them. I think since 2012/2013 they've published nearly 70 books. I've maybe read 20 of them give or take. I probably have 40 in the TBR pile. I just like what they do. So why not aim high?

I've created a page for All Due Respect so at least I have made a start.

I don't think they are publishing much going forward, but last year they put out more than I read, so I've still some catching up to do. 

13. 120 yearly reading target as per usual. I read about 220 last year, so maybe I ought to set my sights a bit higher. I'll see if I can maintain that for 2022, then aim for 200 a year in future.

14. Read more female authors than in 2019/2021/2022 - I might need to actually find out how many that was first. I suppose I could at least aim to make one book in every three I read a female author.

15. Enjoy the books. I did last year and I'm liking what I've read this year so far. 

2021 READING PLANS

2020 READING PLANS

2019 READING PLANS

Expect 2023's Reading Plan post sometime in April next year.

FEBRUARY 2022 - FILMS (CINEMA)

A light month this time around, but still enough trips to ensure value was had for the monthly subscription.

Death on the Nile (2022)

Really, really good. I've not read the book but I have seen one of the previous incarnations of the story, but the ending eluded me until it was unfolding. I nearly grasped it, but not quite.

I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. A stellar cast. I think they had a bit of fun putting French and Saunders back together. I'm not a fan of Russell Brand, though to be fair his performance here, did distract me from thinking - you're Russell Brand and a massive bell-end.

I enjoyed the previous one featuring Kenneth Branagh and I'll be watching whatever they decide to adapt next.

From Wikipedia...

Death on the Nile is a 2022 mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was produced by Branagh, Ridley Scott, Judy Hofflund, and Kevin J. Walsh. The film is a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Tom Bateman and Branagh returning from the first film as Bouc and Hercule Poirot, respectively. The film also stars Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright. The film is the third screen adaptation of Christie's novel, following the 1978 film and an episode of the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot broadcast in 2004. Principal photography began in September 2019, with filming taking place at Longcross Studios in England, completing that December.

Jackass Forever (2022)

One for the inner man-child. Stupid, dangerous, painful stunts, one after another. Funny though. Who doesn't find amusement from other people's pain? I'll qualify that by saying when they intentionally set out to perform a stunt, fully aware of the outcome.

Immature, childish, lads together, humour which I have to say was hilarious and also made me wince on more than one occasion. I have to say you can't knock their courage. 

Not really my wife's kind of film, but she was considerate enough to accompany me, so I didn't look like a Billy No Mates and to be fair she did find some of it amusing.

From Google...

Celebrate the joy of a perfectly executed shot to the groin as Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and the rest of the gang return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd and often dangerous displays of stunts and comedy.

Uncharted (2022)

An okay adventure, treasure seeking movie starring Mark Wahlberg (who I like) and Tom Holland (who I'm less familiar with). A bit of a hybrid film, a cross between Indiana Jones and National Treasure. I liked it well enough, but you could pick a few holes in the plot without breaking a sweat. I've seen much better and I've sat through a lot worse. I don't think it will be up for any awards.

From Google...

Treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan recruits street-smart Nathan Drake to help him recover a 500-year-old lost fortune amassed by explorer Ferdinand Magellan. What starts out as a heist soon becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada can get his hands on it. If Sully and Nate can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure -- but only if they can learn to work together.

Rankings...

1. Death on the Nile

2. Uncharted

3. Jackass Forever

FEBRUARY 2022 - FILMS + TV (HOME-VIEWING)

Not much new stuff this month, with a few ongoing series watches, a new one started, one started and finished and half a film - we bailed on the rest of it.

Around the World in 80 Days (2021-22) - BBC Drama series

Series completed and really enjoyed. I do like seeing David Tennant on screen. I'd struggle to recall anything he's been in that I haven't enjoyed.

From Google...

Gentleman adventurer Phileas Fogg sets out on a quest to travel around the world and back home in a period of 80 days.

Taggart (1983-2010) - ITV Crime Drama - 27 series

Progressing through slowly. I think we're up to the 4th series now. This might take a while. 

I probably could have done with some subtitles on the first couple, but I'm used to the vernacular now. I did look to see if there were any books derived from the series, but couldn't find any which is probably just as well. I need more books like I need a hole in the head. (A big portion of my brain, does think I need a hole in the head!)

I like the dynamic between Taggart and his disabled wife at home. Sometimes it's a struggle to determine which is more miserable. I'm also enjoying spotting the young, fresh-faced actors that have subsequently gone on to other things. 

From Wikipedia...

Taggart is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station. Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name.

The Last Detective (2003-2007) - ITV Comedy-Drama Series

I quite like alternating this series with Taggart, as it lifts the mood a bit. Taggart is full on Glaswegian grimness, this series has a lighter touch. 

I like Peter Davison's portrayal as Dangerous Davies. I'm enjoying the evolution of his relationship with his boss, one which has gone from outright antipathy to a grudging respect. His relationship with his wife hasn't moved on at all, though he is slightly less of a doormat than previously.

From Google...

`Dangerous' Davies is one offbeat flatfoot who takes the stuff at the bottom of the pile - the cases nobody wants. In his usual comical way, Davies and good friend Mod help unfold events that usually end up in disaster, but somehow they still manage to nab their man. Maybe if Davies wasn't such a nice guy, his coworkers would take him a tad more seriously. The comedy-drama is adapted from the novel by Leslie Thomas.

The Responder (2022) - BBC Drama series

Another ongoing watch though I don't think this stretches to more than five or six episodes. I like Martin Freeman as the lead and he does appear to have a few complicated situations to deal with.... PTSD, work life, home life (wife), a Detective out to get him and also bag his wife, and ongoing issues with his terminally ill mother adding financial woes to his already troubled existence. I can't see this one ending well.

From Google...

Urgent response officer Chris Carson has been tasked with working a series of night shifts on his beat in Liverpool. It's a high pressure, relentless night-time world where his survival now depends on the rookie partner he's been forced to take on. Chris has more than the job to worry about, as his personal life has been hit by crisis, and he is morally compromised in his work. As he struggles to keep a grip on his mental health, a path to redemption appears in the form of a young heroin addict.

The Bay Season 3 (2022) - ITV Drama series

I missed the first two series and don't feel a compulsion to backtrack really. I enjoyed this one though the main character, a Family Liaison Officer was a bit irritating and annoying. Not the worst thing I've ever watched and I guess if there is a fourth series, I'd watch it. An okay bit of TV Drama.

From Amazon...

Beautifully crafted crime drama hit The Bay is back with a brand-new third series from award-winning writer Daragh Carville.

DS Jenn Townsend, Morecambe’s new Family Liaison Officer, is thrown in the deep end when a body is found in the bay on her first day in the job. She must get under the skin of a grieving and complicated family if she has any chance of solving the murder, whilst at the same time proving herself to her new colleagues in the Major Investigation Unit. And the pressure is multiplied even more when her new blended family struggle to settle in Morecambe, proving to Jenn that a fresh start might not be quite as simple as moving to a different town...

The Shack (2017) - Netflix Film

Awful IMO and I'll leave it there (almost). It probably appeals to people with faith or people struggling with their faith. Not my cup of tea or my kin's.

I did read the book late last year and while I didn't hate it, it did stretch the bounds of credibility. 

From Wikipedia...

The Shack is a 2017 American Christian drama film directed by Stuart Hazeldine and written by John Fusco, Andrew Lanham and Destin Daniel Cretton, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by William P. Young. The film stars Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Graham Greene, Radha Mitchell, Alice Braga, Sumire Matsubara, Aviv Alush, and Tim McGraw

Plot (*spoiler alert)

Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child at the hands of his drunken father, who abused his mother as well. One day, Mack tells the preacher at his church of his abuse, and as punishment, his father harshly beats him, leading to Mack's mother's decision to leave them. As a 13-year-old boy he chose to poison his father with strychnine in his whiskey.

As an adult he has a fulfilling life with his wife, Nan, and their three children: Kate, Josh and Missy. Mack's life is shattered when their youngest child Missy disappears during a camping trip while he is saving Kate and Josh during a canoeing accident. The police determine Missy is the victim of a serial killer after finding her torn dress and blood in a derelict cabin in the forest (the titular "shack"). Kate blames herself for Missy's death because she caused the canoe accident in the first place.

The tragedy derails Mack's faith and life until the onset of winter when he receives an unstamped, typewritten note inviting him to meet at the shack. The message is signed "Papa" (which was Missy's nickname for God). Thinking this may possibly be an opportunity for meeting and punishing the serial killer, Mack takes his gun, borrows his friend's SUV, and drives there, narrowly avoiding a collision with a truck on the way. Finding the shack empty, an enraged Mack is tempted to shoot himself; before he can, he encounters a mysterious figure, who leads him to the trio of strangers who invite him to stay at their house nearby.

The trio of strangers gradually reveal their identities: the African-American woman is God (Papa), the Middle-Eastern man is Jesus, and the Asian woman is the Holy Spirit. The purpose of their visit is to help Mack better understand his life as seen from a much broader context or higher perspective, the goal being to help free him from an inclination to pass judgment upon himself and others, and to help heal himself and his family after Missy's death.

Mack helps Jesus build a wooden box and helps the Holy Spirit prepare a spot in her garden for a planting. Papa—in the form of an elderly Native American man—leads him to the cave where Missy's body is located. Together they prepare her body for burial, place her in the box, and lay her to rest in the garden. Mack briefly sees Missy in Heaven, but is unable to be with her; Jesus steps through the boundary separating them to visit her. Mack also visits another cave where God's wisdom, in the form of a woman named Sophia, talks to him. Eventually, the trio and Mack encounter the spirit of Mack's father, who apologizes for his mistreatment of Mack and he reluctantly forgives him. Mack also apologizes to his father, whom he killed, and finally understands that Missy's death was not punishment for his murder of his father.

Finally able to move beyond his grief and his faith restored, he leaves the trio and sets out to return home to his family. However, he encounters the truck from before and collides with it, waking up in a hospital. The friend from whom he borrowed the SUV tells him he never reached the shack, having crashed on the way there. Later on, Mack tells Nan about what he saw on his journey and convinces Kate that whatever happened on the canoe wasn't her fault. The film ends with Mack attending church again with his family, as the audience is left to decide whether the events that happened at the shack were real.

JANUARY 2022 - FILMS (CINEMA)

 A busy month with seven outings to the flicks in total and no stinkers among them...

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Really good, really enjoyable. Loved Bradley Cooper and Toni Collette. I liked the moodiness of the film, the setting and the real noir vibe to the story. You know something is going to go badly wrong (and it does), you just don't know what. The final outcome is a wee bit predictable, but it couldn't really end any other way. It gives a symmetry to the film. I'll have to dig out my copy of the book for a read sometime.

From Wikipedia....

Nightmare Alley is a 2021 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan, based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, being the second feature film adaptation of Gresham's novel, following the 1947 version. A co-production between Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Double Dare You Productions, the film stars Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career. Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn also star.

The King's Man (2021)

Another film that didn't get great reviews, but which me and the wife enjoyed. Probably my favourite of the three in the King's Man franchise. Some great comedy moments, particularly with the goat.

From Wikipedia...

The King's Man is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service (later retitled to Kingsman) by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, it is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Its ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes (also one of its executive producers), Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance. It focuses on several events during World War I and the birth of the Kingsman organization.

Sing 2 (2021)

I was in two minds as to whether to join my wife and one of our daughter's for a Sunday morning matinee, but was glad I did. 

From Wikipedia...

Sing 2 is a 2021 American computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by Illumination, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Sing. It was written and directed by Garth Jennings and co-directed by Christophe Lourdelet. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Jennings, Peter Serafinowicz, Jennifer Saunders, and Nick Offerman, reprising their roles from the first film. The sequel also features new characters voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Spike Jonze, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Chelsea Peretti, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Adam Buxton, and Bono. Like the previous film, Sing 2 features songs from many artists, most of which are performed diegetically. The story is set after the events of the previous film, where Buster Moon and his group put on a show in Redshore City while working to impress an entertainment mogul and enlist a reclusive rock star to perform.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

I do like Keanu Reeves and I admire him as a good person, maybe a bit more than for his acting skills. Pretty sure I've seen and enjoyed all the previous Matrix films but a long long time ago. This was ok and I would have been wondering what I'd missed if I hadn't seen it. Too long IMO, but I enjoyed it overall.

From Wikipedia...

The Matrix Resurrections is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film franchise. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson reprise their roles from the previous films, and they are joined by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The film is set sixty years after Revolutions and follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life as a video game developer having trouble with distinguishing fantasy from reality. A group of rebels, with the help of a programmed version of Morpheus, free Neo from a new version of the Matrix and fight a new enemy that holds Trinity captive.

Licorice Pizza (2021)

I had heard great things about this one beforehand and while I really liked it, I don't think it quite lived up to the hype. It was hilarious in places and I loved the 70s vibe. I could relate to the awkwardness of young love, and attraction and raging hormones.

From Wikipedia...

Licorice Pizza is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in their film debuts, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie.

Licorice Pizza was released in the United States in select theaters on November 26, 2021, and had wider release on December 25, 2021. The film received acclaim from critics and received three nominations at the 94th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It also received three awards from the National Board of Review, including Best Film, was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute, and received four nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, along with eight nominations at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture, where it won Best Comedy. It also received five nominations at the 75th British Academy Film Awards, where it won Best Original Screenplay. It is also MGM's first fully produced, marketed and distributed film to be nominated for Best Picture in 33 years, after 1988's Best Picture winner Rain Man.

Belfast (2021)

I really liked this. My wife was bored to tears. A bit slow in places, actually all places and boring to boot, she felt. Me, I found the story being told interesting. A prelude to the troubles, agitation, unrest and a stirring up of sectarianism with Catholics being forced out of their homes in a form of non-lethal ethnic cleansing. Neighbours forced to turn on neighbours. Also about the lack of opportunity in Belfast at the time and the need to emigrate for opportunity. I had family flee the city in the late 60s/early 70s so could relate.

From Wikipedia...

Belfast is a 2021 British/Irish coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill. The film, which Branagh has described as his "most personal film", follows a young boy's childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969.

The 355 (2022)

An ok movie. One for the PC brigade maybe. I don't need a film to tell me how strong women can be. I see it every day with my wife and two daughters. 

From Wikipedia...

The 355 is a 2022 American spy film directed by Simon Kinberg from a screenplay by Theresa Rebeck and Kinberg, and a story by Rebeck. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Fan Bingbing, Diane Kruger, and Lupita Nyong'o as a group of international spies who must work together to stop a terrorist organization from starting World War III. Édgar Ramírez and Sebastian Stan also star. The title is derived from Agent 355, the codename of a female spy for the Patriots during the American Revolution.

Rankings...

1. Nightmare Alley

2. Licorice Pizza

3. Belfast

4. The King's Man

5. Sing 2

6. The 355

7. The Matrix Resurrections

JANUARY 2022 - FILMS + TV (HOME-VIEWING)

Some cracking TV shows watched in January and not so much film - only two and one of those I must have seen three or four times already (or at least parts of)....

Taggart (1983-2010) - ITV Crime Drama - 27 series

One of the satellite channels we watch is airing this series from front to back and I've set the boxy-gismo-thingy to record the lot. I caught some on and off over the years and enjoyed them. I missed a load as there was a long spell when I worked an evening job for extra dollar. 

I'm enjoying the 80s Glasgow vibe, the clothes, the fashions, the music and of course the characters and the cases. It's an on-going watch with about 110 episodes in all to plough through. No rush though.

I've enjoyed these early ones when Mark McManus was slightly fresher-faced than in his latter years.   

From Wikipedia...

Taggart is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station. Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name.

Taken (2008) - TV Film

Easy viewing when you've seen it a few times before. I enjoy seeing Liam Neeson putting people to the sword and recovering his daughter. I still think his wife was a bit of a dick, for setting things in motion. That said it wouldn't have been much of a film if she hadn't.

From IMDB...

A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.

Around the World in 80 Days (2021-22) - BBC Drama series

A modern dramatisation of a famous old story. This one features David Tennant as Fogg and is excellent. Highly recommended. The supports cast, both back at the club in London and assisting him on his travels are marvellous. A couple of episodes still to go.

From Google...

Gentleman adventurer Phileas Fogg sets out on a quest to travel around the world and back home in a period of 80 days.

Four Lives (2022) - BBC Drama series

Incredibly sad and also infuriating when you realise what opportunities the police missed to halt a killer before he got fully into his stride. The investigation and the support (what support?) offered to the victim's families was absolutely disgusting. Decent cast, great acting, sober viewing.

From Wikipedia ...

Four Lives is a television series, first aired from 3 to 5 January 2022 on BBC One. It follows the true story of the families of four young gay men (Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor) who in 2014 and 2015 were murdered by Stephen Port. Facing failings by the Metropolitan Police, they fought for justice for their loved ones. Stephen Merchant plays serial killer Port with Sheridan Smith as Sarah Sak, the mother of Anthony Walgate, Port's first victim

Ragdoll (2021) - TV Drama series (Alibi)

An alright watch. If I'm honest I'm not one for murder by dismemberment. I think I prefer investigations and fiction that concern accidental murder or crimes of impulse or passion, not the twisted sicko type.

From Wikipedia....

The series follows the murder of six people who have been dismembered and sewn into the shape of a grotesque body, "The Ragdoll". As detectives begin to investigate, the killer begins to taunt them.

Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012) - TV Film

Watched early January and if I'm honest I can't recall too much about it. I enjoy seeing Tom Selleck on screen and I like the moodiness and melancholy of his character. I'm tempted to try the books by Robert B. Parker, but to be honest it's not like I haven't got enough to read already.

From Google....

Jesse, a cop, who returns from his forced retirement after his replacement is blown up in the town police car. He is forced to solve a shocking and horrifying mob-related crime on his own.

The Last Detective (2003-2007) - ITV Comedy-Drama Series

Another enjoyable old series which we are working our way through. I like the dynamic between Peter Davison and the late Sean Hughes. There were five series of this one in all and it's another I might have caught the odd episode of. Dangerous Davies, the main character originated from the pen of author Leslie Thomas. There were four books in all and they are cheap on Kindle. I shouldn't but I probably will.

From Google...

`Dangerous' Davies is one offbeat flatfoot who takes the stuff at the bottom of the pile - the cases nobody wants. In his usual comical way, Davies and good friend Mod help unfold events that usually end up in disaster, but somehow they still manage to nab their man. Maybe if Davies wasn't such a nice guy, his coworkers would take him a tad more seriously. The comedy-drama is adapted from the novel by Leslie Thomas.

The Outlaws (2021) - BBC Comedy-Drama series

Last couple of episodes of this one watched and I liked it. Love a bit of Christopher Walken and still can't believe he was in this.

From Wikipedia...

The Outlaws is a crime thriller comedy television series created and directed by Stephen Merchant. It is shown on BBC One in the UK and Amazon Prime Video internationally. Filming halted in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021 it was confirmed that a second series had been ordered, with series one to restart shooting in February 2021, with both series being filmed back to back.

Plot

The story follows seven strangers from different walks of life who are forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence, set in Bristol. However, their luck changes when they discover a bag full of money, unaware that some dangerous people are looking for it.

2 BY LAWRENCE BLOCK

A couple of maybe lesser known titles from one of my absolute favourite authors, Lawrence Block.

I think I've read about 70 titles from Block in various genres and lengths and the good news is I must have at least as many still to go. 

The Triumph of Evil was originally published under the Paul Kavanagh moniker. 

Random Walk appears to be Block's Marmite book, equally loved and loathed. I'd better read it soon then. Personally I love Marmite.

Random Walk (1988)

"Every now and then someone comes up to me at a speech or signing and says one of two things.'I've liked all your books,' I'll be told, 'but there was one I couldn't make head or tails out of.' Or just the opposite: 'I've read most of your books, but there was one that really knocked me for a loop, and I've read it seventeen times now, and it's completely changed my life.' It's always the same book, Random Walk. I wrote the book in the spring of 1987, and never was a book more eager to be written. Paradoxically, never was a book less eager to be read - the advance sale was light, the reviews were venomous, and most readers never even knew the book existed. Now it's getting a new lease on life, and I'm delighted. I don't know that its time has come - its just possible its time has come and gone. But I do know Random Walk has enormous impact on some people who read it, and I hope that now they'll have a chance to find it." - Lawrence Block

It begins in the Pacific Northwest. Guthrie decides to take a walk. He doesn't know how far he's going or where he's going. A journey of any length begins with a single step and Guthrie takes it, facing east.

Wonderful things happen as he walks. He begins to draw people to him. The group grows and walks and heals.

The random walk: It never ends, it just changes; it is not the destination which matters, but the journey.

The Triumph of Evil (1971)

The Triumph of Evil concerns a sinister plot to take over a vast nation. Called for are the assassinations of five key political figures and a demagogue in place to take over in the ensuing chaos. One man with a gun is enough for the job, one man whose sole life function is to kill. His name is Miles Dorn, and his story will not be easily forgotten.

"Block's fiction is tense and energetic. His stories unfold smoothly and elegantly, with plenty of detail and rich characterization." - Houston Chronicle

STEPHEN BENTLEY - COMFORT ZONE (2020)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

There’s a killer lurking in all of us. Sometimes you just don’t know it.

Take Phil Mercer, for example, what dark secret from his past changes a decent man, and respected professional into a man with murder on his mind?

Down to earth Northerner, Phil Mercer, begins to question why so-called university friends failed to help him establish a practice at London’s Criminal Bar.

Despite that and colleagues’ professional jealousy, he goes on to achieve success as a fearless defender of society’s less fortunate until his career is threatened by events triggered by something completely out of his control.

Figuring his life and career are about to change forever, Mercer strives to find a way to right wrongs by inventing a new parlour game called ‘Comfort Zone.’

At a dinner party surrounded by colleagues he insists they all play the game. He introduces it after dinner as a ‘storytelling game.’

He adds – “the easy choice is not an option at all. What terrifies you? What scares you shitless? Be brave. Be reckless. You are among friends. What can possibly go wrong? It’s just a parlour game, right?”

My fourth encounter with Bentley's work, probably my last but also the one I enjoyed most.

Mental illness, depression, loss, grief, tragedy, solitude, military service, capture by an unlikely enemy, consequences, PTSD, murder and more.

Best book ever? No, far from it, but I was interested and engaged throughout. Twisty, turny, graphic violence, a main character - Phil Mercer who was worthy of sympathy. 

3 from 5

Read - (listened to) February, 2022

Published - 2020

Page count - 260 (4 hrs 28 mins)

Source - Audiobooks

Format - Audible