Inside Out, 2015 - ★★★★

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Pixar at its best.

… slightly concerned the guiding emotions in my head behave a little like those in Dad’s head though.

Decision to Leave, 2022 - ★★★★

It’s all in the detail.

The Half of It, 2020 - ★★★

Delightful.

2022: A year in books

Here are the books I finished reading in 2022. I didn’t set myself a goal, it’s not helpful for me. Instead I prefer to aim to read a little every day. The final count of 18 feels about average for me over the course of a year.

Of these titles, the standouts were:

  • The Name of the Wind
  • Treacle Walker
  • The Vanishing Half
  • Spring Cannot be Cancelled
  • Great Circle
Titus Alone The Passenger Roseanna (The Martin Beck series, Book 1) Flight Behaviour Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Level 6 The Fortune Men The Name of the Wind The Vanishing Half Treacle Walker I Didn't Do The Thing Today The End of Eddy The Lamplighters The Locals A Thousand Moons Spring Cannot Be Cancelled: David Hockney in Normandy Great Circle Do Pause Saltwater: Winner of the Portico Prize The Books of Earthsea

Joker, 2019 - ★★★

I don’t know what to make of Joker. It made me feel supremely uncomfortable and I don’t know if that’s a result of its brilliance or because it vastly missed the mark. What I do know is Joaquin Phoenix is always intriguing.

This rating could have been a 2 and could have been a 4, so I split the difference.

The Harder They Fall, 2021 - ★★★

Effortlessly cool.

Miss Americana, 2020 - ★★★

Watched on Sunday May 8, 2022.

Bruised, 2020 - ★★

Watched on Saturday January 22, 2022.

Ava, 2020 - ★

Why Jessica, why?

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, 2022 - ★★★★

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film and glad I left my judgments aside when invited to see it.

Finished reading in 2022: Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake 📚

Finishing up the Gormenghast trilogy. I was really surprised just how much I enjoyed it and how long the characters have stayed with me. Really want to re-watch the BBC TV adaptation.

Finished reading in 2022: The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz 📚

Finished reading in 2022: Roseanna (The Martin Beck series, Book 1) by Maj Sjöwall 📚

It’s difficult to tell whether the functional language of this was due to the author’s style or the translation to English. Either way, I found it’s starkness compelling and a good addition to the atmosphere of the story.

Finished reading in 2022: Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver 📚

I’ve read a couple of other books by Kingsolver which, while I enjoyed I found overly descriptive. This was both an easy and enjoyable read.

Making Yorkshire puddings tonight with a new recipe and a new tin. What could possibly go wrong 🤞

Finished reading: Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Level 6 by John le Carré 📚

This might have been my first le Carré but it won’t be my last.

Wondered why I was seeing a flurry of finished book posts. Thought it might be that reading is a microbloggers main activity during twixtmas, but now reassessing as I realise there’s books I need to log in order to add them to my 2022 reading list 😆

Finished reading: The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed 📚

Read this on my summer holiday. Thought it was excellent, more so because I knew nothing about it before reading so had a surprise towards the end.

2022: A year in the park

I took 12 photos from the same spot in a local park this year. One for every month of the year, just to see how things changed over time.

What surprised me is how little these pictures really differ, and those differences are mostly down to the weather and time of day the picture was taken.

January January - view along path through avenue of birch, sycamore and oak trees February February - no leaves on the trees and undergrowth sparse March March - first daffodils breaking through April April - undergrowth beginning to fill out May May - leaves returing to trees June June - blanket of white from seed pods covers path July July - ground wet underfoot and first leaves falling August August - first gaps showing in tree canopy September September - undergrowth beginning to die back October October - leaves starting to turn yellow, with as many on ground as in trees November November - last of greenery on trees with autumn colours underfoot December December - trees bare and leaves on ground starting to decay

Currently reading: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 📚

I’m always mildly disappointed when the covers available in Epilogue don’t match the edition that I’m reading 😢