March film & tv wrap up: The Mandalorian, Infinity Pool, Ant-Man, Succession + more!

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Tune in for all the Movies and TV shows I watched in March.

On the film front, there are some classic French New Wave movies courtesy of Jean-Luc Godard, Scandinavian period dramas - one of which is based on the acclaimed book by Per Pettersen, the messed up whirlwind that is Infinity Pool and another bizarre film from Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi as well as the worst marvel film ever - Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Meanwhile, for TV, I've been gushing over Grogu, aka Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian and laughing my head off at Succession season 4 - ludicrously capacious may just be my new favourite phrase. I've also watched a brilliant Nordic Noir series called Face to Face, which has the biggest cast of Scandinavian actors ever; it would seem, like seriously, everyone is in this show. Then there's Travis Fimmel's new show Black Snow, and also I've been catching up on The Last Kingdom before the film The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die comes out on Netflix this month.

March reading wrap up 📚✨

Hi, this is my March 2023 reading wrap up.

This month I read books written by women, semi accidentally but also aware that March was Women's History Month here in the UK (I think I accidentally called the whole month International Women's Month when in fact, it is just a day (March 8th) rather than an entire month)

The first book was A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Chinese-British author Xiaolu Guo, a smart witty look at life in England as a Chinese woman learning English.

The second was Rest and Be Thankful by Welsh author Emma Glass, a fascinating dreamlike and emotionally raw look at a Paediatric nurse's struggle to balance her personal life with the unrelenting demands of the underfunded yet essential work she does in the NHS.

The third is Passing by Nella Larsen, a 1929 classic of the Harlem Renaissance that follows two women with Black ancestry who can "pass" as White women in a society that is inherently racist and the dangers of this.

I also continued reading Grettir's Saga, which is a Medieval Icelandic Saga that follows a bellicose outlaw called Grettir Ásmundarson and his antics, one of which inspired a scene in Robert Egger's Viking epic The Northman! - Join the Saga Book Club to delve into Sagas and Norse History and Mythology with me!

So I failed my book buying ban

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So I failed my book-buying ban. Oops.

In this video I have 6 books to share with you: a popular cosy fantasy and a Norwegian novel by Karl Ove Knausgard that I've wanted to read for ages.

Also, there are some history books and, finally, a book with the most stunning front cover ever; it's by Emma Glass, a welsh author, ready for me to read this month as part of the Dewithon 2023 as recommended by @KDbooks in his Celebrating Welsh literature 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 video -    • 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Celebrati...  

February Wrap-Up: Han Kang's new book, too many Nordic dramas, The Whale + more

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Hi, welcome to my longest video for the shortest month of the year! Because that makes sense somehow.

I read some fantastic books in February, including a mysterious horror, a hilarious Medieval Icelandic Saga where everyone is called Thor and Han Kang's latest book to be translated, just to name a few.

I watched quite a few movies, and it was a rollercoaster ride of emotions from the heartbreaking The Whale and a devastating Holocaust drama to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Cédric Klapisch's latest film En Corps (Rise) and Netflix's Troll!

TV shows were pretty much all Nordic dramas because I recently subscribed to Viaplay - so I watched Exit, which is about 4 bankers in Norway who are despicable, Furia a drama about Fascist extremism in Europe, Jordskott a Nordic Noir meets dark Brother's Grimmesque, fairytale and Valkyrien a medical drama with a dark twist.

Essay: Sworn Sisterhood? On the (Near-) Absence of Female Friendship from the Íslendingasǫgur: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/...

Freewritting: A moment today

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A farmer or just a neighbour is out tilling/mowing the earth with some kind of machine - I cannot see it; therefore, it remains just a machine, an enigmatic force of industry. The mechanical groan ebbs and flows as it comes and goes.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written…well written like this anyway. I have written some reviews since I lost my job, but it’s taken me a while to find my way back to pen and paper, or shall I say pencil and paper, for that is the tool I am using to put words to page.

I like the soft scurrying of a pencil on paper. It also feels less permanent, more fleeting, like life in general…

As I finish this small piece of writing, the whirring growl of machinery continues on for a moment before it ceases altogether.