2016 approaching....

New year.
New dreams.
New hopes.
Ends and beginnings.
A leap of faith,

Have a good one.

The Mentalist - TV series

I'm a bit of a latecomer to this series, and I only discovered it thanks to a colleague who said, "well, if you like Sherlock, you will like the Mentalist". He was right. I think.

I loved the first episode of season 1. Really enjoyed the second. By the third, I was wondering when and whether the Red John storyline was going to take off.

Friends assure me it will, in a big way. So when I have time to laze around in front of the silver box, I'll give episode 4 a try. Meanwhile, am I the only person in the universe not planning to see the latest Star Wars instalment?

Big Little Lies

I'm on a Liane Moriarty bend. As soon as I finished Big Little Lies, I  immediately purchased What Alice Forgot/ On Kindle, so that I wouldn't have to wait for the delivery.

Big Little Lies is a murder mystery: not only a who- and why-dunnit, but also a who-is-the-victim? Through witness statements, we learn there's been a death at a close-knit primary school, and that the police officers are treating it as murder. But who died? Oh, no, please let it not be her. Nor her. Nor....

While the clever structure and brilliant prose certainly keeps you turning the pages, the ultimate strength of the book lies in the sharp insights into human behaviour. The author is an intelligent observer, and the reader can't help but nod in places.

A tale of bullying in all its shapes and forms.

Addictive.

Spectre

Not as dark or evil as "Skyfall", not as silly plot-wise as "Quantum of Solace", not as suave as "Casino Royale". But all those negatives add up to a damned good Bond movie. Stunts, touristy locations, humour, a suave hero, and the certainty that all will end well.

The ending ***SPOILER ALERT!!!*** feels as though you should be wondering whether there are any more Bonds in the pipeline. In fact, the whole movie seems a collage of previous Bonds: we have the baddie attacking James and his lady in the train, we have a paper shooting target with Bond's face on it, we have the villain's white cat. Whether homages or lazy writing, they will either delight you in a nostalgic way, or... not.