July: A bit of a slog
July has proved to be rather a slog, and I'm rather glad to see the back of it. There's stuff at work that I can't really talk about that's causing me considerable headaches, and to top it all off my grandmother died. 93 is an extremely good age to reach, and she'd been very ill for a long time, so it wasn't a massively sad occasion, but there is quite a lot of logistical hassle to deal with.
This all combines to not a very impressive month in terms of baking, watching, reading, reviewing, or really much of anything.
Television
I've been struggling to watch enough television to actually have anything to write about, the Olympics are also not helping with that! End of season reviews for Smash: Season 1, Criminal Minds: Season 7 (, Bones: Season 7 and a combined review of NCIS Season 9 and NCIS LA Season 3. There's also a pilot review of Veep and a rewatch review of Sports Night: Seasons 1 & 2.
Books
I was 6 pages under my target for the month, and it was pretty eratic as well ranging from a couple of zero days up to a 118 page count. I also didn't manage to finish any non-fiction books, mostly as the one I'm reading at the moment - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is very hard work. Excellent, but it requires more concentration than is possible on a bus.
- The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter - disappointing, far too little of Pratchett's flair, far too messy
- Whispers Underground, by Ben Aaronovitch - thoroughly entertaining as always
- Little Women and Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott - books I've read probably a dozen times since I was tiny, and still adore.
Films
Film watching really suffered this month, and the Olympics are making August look bad too! I rewatched Batman Begins in preparation for The Dark Knight Rises, but I didn't get round to watching the Dark Knight, so still haven't been to the cinema to catch the final one. I did go and see The Amazing Spider-Man which was possibly better than the previous Spider-Man, but I still don't think we needed another version so soon. My dvd rentals continued slightly randomly, with The Descendants and Waitress, both of which had very peculiar tones that I don't think really worked despite charismatic casts. The Jane Austen Book Club and The Soloist were both pretty sappy, but I enjoyed The Soloist a lot more (thanks to good performances from the always likeble Robert Downie Jr and Jamie Fox). Nanny McPhee was as hyperactive and multicoloured as expected, with surprisingly non-annoying children!