I'm glad I persevered with Joe Abercrombie books despite being in two minds by the end of the First Law trilogy because I finished reading 'The Heroes' the other night and it's his best book yet. An anti-war war novel with engaging, incredibly human characters. And best of all, he has strong female characters who have agency and achieve things in ( Read more... )

Yesterday was the first time my feminist hackles were raised at work. Depressingly, showing we are sometimes our own worst enemies, it was another woman who set them off ( Read more... )

I'm tempted to start a sweepstake on how long we are going to have to put up with everyone who likes to think they are in touch with popular culture cramming references to Fifty Shades of Grey into their TV and radio appearances before the damn novelty wears off. Seriously People, it's not the only book that's ever been written with sex or BDSM in ( Read more... )

When discussing marriage equality, can we please use 'same-sex' and 'opposite sex' marriage? Referring to them as 'gay' marriage and 'heterosexual' marriage makes all of us bisexual people invisible and it is VERY ANNOYING! I am not becoming straight just because I'm marrying a man.This rant is bought to you by listening to Women's Hour this ( Read more... )

Leona Lewis is doing a worryingly good line in ruining my favourite songs. Hallelujah and Run were bad enough, now she's apparently covering Iris and Colourblind* too, but all of these crimes pale in comparison to her bid for Christmas number 1, which is a schmultzy cover of HurtAnyone with any taste knows the Johnny Cash version is the definitive ( Read more... )

I'm getting rather annoyed by all the people on Twitter harping on about Clarkson's outburst like it's a free speech issue. I defend the right of morons to make stupid jokes *but* that doesn't mean I think the BBC should give them a platform to air this nonsense on prime-time, pre-watershed TV. So don't tell me I have no sense of humour or only ( Read more... )

*Twitter is a very strange thing - one minute I'm reading loads of worthy liberal campaigning stuff and the next I end up wandering into a love-in between random actor-types in LA... Did you know the guy who plays Damon in The Vampire Diaries has set up an environmental charity ( Read more... )

I haven't mentionned politics for a good while, mostly because it is simply too depressing for words and for the 1st time in my adult life I find myself actively avoiding the news and wishing I could bury my head in the sand ( Read more... )

This is exactly the kind of hateful, patronising nonsense that makes me think I should really get around to joining the Pagan Federation or some such.

I wouldn't mind if she was an atheist and thought all religions were silly but no, paganism is an absurd cult for fascists and crazies while her religion is the root of all morality ( Read more... )

Because I'm feeling more judgemental today, and some random browsing reminded me, there are a bunch of books that I was made to read at school which can be added to the 'hate' list:

Empty World (responsible for my aversion to any TV/books/films about a bunch of survivors of some disaster on Earth), That Was Then, This Is Now (some atrious ( Read more... )