1) Read one book each month.
1a) Read Agatha Christie books in chronological order.
2) Watch films from IMDb's top 100 movies of all time.
3) Support charities.
May has been a good month for reading, I've managed four books as well as my Agatha Christie book.
I didn't know what to expect from We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler as the blurb doesn't give much away. There's a bit of a twist, well, a lot of a twist so I won't give it away but I will tell you that it's about Rosemary, her family and family relationships. This book has got many mixed reviews, some people rave about it, others find it very hard going or even boring but there's no getting away from the fact that it will make you think. I actually thought it was an excellent read and I did shed tears, especially as there are some very sad true events documented in the book.
I saw a review for Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim on Mrs M's Meanderings blog and thought it might be my kind of book, I was right I thoroughly enjoyed it. It follows the lives of Lisbeth and her enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, over the course of many years. It was one of those books where you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.
I'm a fan of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith so when I saw he'd got a new book out, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party, I thought I'd give it a go. It's recently won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic literature but I'm afraid to say that I found it very dull. It's supposed to be humorous but I didn't find it funny in the least, it was just one ridiculous situation after another. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe, the latest Ladies' Detective Agency book, is still on my wish list though.
I read A Mother's Story by Amanda Prowse back in March and really enjoyed it. It's part of the No Greater Love series so I thought I'd read the rest of the collection. Poppy Day is about a married couple, Martin and Poppy, and how they cope when Mart is taken hostage in Afghanistan where he's serving in the army. Poppy is determined to bring him home herself after the army's failed rescue attempt but she faces a heartbreaking dilemma. I expected something different from this book, it didn't follow the course I thought it would and it was very far fetched, but I still enjoyed it.
The Secret Of Chimney's is the fifth Agatha Christie book I've read and it's been the hardest one to get in to so far. I had a bit of trouble at the beginning keeping track of who was who but it got easier to follow as I went along and I ended up enjoying it.
I managed to watch four films from the IMDb list this month.
I think everyone knows the Here's Johnny catchphrase from The Shining but I'd never seen the film. After all the hype surrounding it I expected more, I found it a bit disappointing.
A Clockwork Orange is definitely not my kind of film, I nearly turned this one off after the first half an hour as I just didn't get it. Thank goodness that some kind of story emerged after this time but it's not one I'd want to watch again.
I knew a bit about Reservoir Dogs before watching it. I'd shied away from it before as it's not the genre of film I'd ordinarily watch but it was a good film, not one I'd watch again but it managed to keep my interest. I did have to watch part of it from behind a cushion though, it's quite violent to say the least.
Toy Story 3 was my favourite film this month. This film is number 68 on the list yet Toy Story is not in the top 100 which I find unbelievable as I think it's far superior. I just loved the interaction in the first one between Woody and Buzz and how Buzz wouldn't believe that he was a toy. How about you, if you've seen the three Toy Story films, which would you say is your favourite?
I posted earlier this month about knitting Hats For Babies for Norfolk and Norwich Hospital: NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I recently received an email thanking me for the knitting donations which I thought was very nice of them.
I decided that I'd save up all my 5p, 2p and 1ps for the duration of a month and then donate the total to charity. The coins totalled £1.80, not a lot I know but every little helps. I saw some lovely dogs with collecting tins for Guide Dogs and thought this was a great charity to help. The lady seemed very pleased when I got my little money bag out and dropped the coins in the tin.
I've finally got round to sorting out all my shoes. I have to confess that I don't wear many different pairs of shoes as I've always had problems buying comfortable footwear but I've collected quite a few pairs over the years which I shall never wear again, most of them only worn once or twice, so someone else might as well get some use out of them. I took them all to the Mind charity shop.
I've managed to keep up to date with my challenges even though May has been a very busy month. As you know, my dad was taken in to hospital at the beginning of the month and since then, my mum's also been in but she's home again now. I'll be glad to see the back of May, I'm just hoping for a healthier June.
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