Another month has gone and so, it’s time to publish my third monthly review. I’m very much in the swing of writing these posts now, and I really enjoy reflecting on the things I’ve been enjoying each month.
I tend to think of these as being similar to the old favourites videos that influencers used to share on YouTube.
Does anyone else find that they tend to have a reading slump a month after reading voraciously? That was my March in a nutshell. I think that this was for two key reasons. For one thing, I had too many books on the go and that tends to make me feel very overwhelmed. And then, I got stuck on a few books that I wasn’t enjoying. Anyway, I did manage to finish a handful of books and I have my reading groove back.
Anna O, Matthew Blake
At the moment, I am on a book buying ban because I have so many in my ‘to be read’ pile. However, I’ve set myself aside a small amount of money each month for the occasional impulse buy. I tried to talk myself out of purchasing this book for weeks but, in the end, I caved and bought it. The plot sounded brilliant and as a true crime consumer, it sounded right up my street. Unfortunately, as I often am with hyped books, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I expected. For one thing, I didn’t enjoy the opening and I found it needlessly difficult to get in to. Then there were points in time were it dragged somewhat and I also found some parts very predictable. I still think the concept was outstanding, but it wasn’t something that was pulled off very well.
Line of Duty, Wensley Clarkson
It’s a long story (and not one that I really want to discuss here) but this month I found myself interested in police corruption. I decided to purchase this book on my kindle and, to be honest, it was better than I thought it would be. This book is an easy 4 stars for me and it was fairly good.
This is the second month in a row where I have binged listened to various podcasts and so, I have a fair few to share here.
Why do you hate me?
This is a powerful podcast about online hate, presented by the BBC’s misinformation correspondent (a journalist that is quickly becoming a fave). Each episode tells a different story and challenges the power of online hatred AND misinformation. Brilliant piece of work.
The rise and fall of Ruby Franke
I’ve not followed this case in real time, I am not overly interested in family vloggers and I’d only heard about Ruby Franke in passing. In fact, I think that I’d probably only heard about her after this situation started unfolding. But these kind of deep dives series’ are by far my favourite and once I’d listened to one, I needed to hear the full series.
Three
This podcast takes a forensic look at the murder of Skylar Neese in 2012. For those who’ve not heard of this case before, Skylar disappeared in July 2012. The night before she vanished, Skylar had snuck out of her home to go for a drive with her two best friends – Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. They later told police that they’d dropped her back, just outside the apartment complex in which Skylar lived with her parents. This was a lie and in 2013, Shiela and Rachel were charged for the murder of their best friend. This case is horrific and is one that I have followed for a number of years. Three is an interesting podcast about the case and the first deep dive that I’ve seen.
The Gatekeepers
This podcast is another offering from the BBC’s Jamie Bartlett, the man who famously hosted the Missing Crypto Queen. I devoured the aforementioned podcast last year – and the connected book – so I knew that this would probably be a good one. This series considers the power of social media and particularly how unmonitored content is affecting various walks of life. It’s detailed, in-depth and, at times, deeply concerning.
Black box
A new podcast from the Guardian, this series discusses Artificial Intelligence. It tells the story of it’s emergence and also, the concerns that continue to be raised about it.
Unreliable witness
In January, I watched the documentary about the case of Ellie Williams and was left feeling angry at what she had done. For those unsure, Ellie is a young British women, who rightly caused outrage in 2020 when it was revealed that she had been lying to the police about being the victim of a grooming gang. Over the course of several years, Ellie had attended the police station, reporting various forms of abuse and supporting injuries. However, the police were able to disprove many of these allegations with conflicting evidence proving that she was not in places where she said that she’d been and things had unfolded differently to how she claimed. This podcast takes a deeper dive into her story and having listened to it in pretty much one setting, things no longer seem as clear cut as the documentary made it seem. Yes, there is clear grounds to prove that Ellie did lie about a number of the allegations. However, I now have question marks over some of the allegations and certain things that she said. It’s very possible that while lying about some allegations, Ellie was still a victim. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this story.
Missing on 9/11
Before listening to this series, I had heard of the case of Sneha Anne Philip, but it was only in passing. I had a very surface level understanding of her case, primarily that she’d vanished on the 10th September 2001, the night before September the 11th. This podcast tells her story in an investigative format and this case is far more interesting than I’d ever perceived.
I find it really hard to watch new movies and am a nightmare for wanting to watch the same films over and over again. This month, I managed to watch a handful of new films actually and for the most part, they were pretty good.
The Holdovers
This film is truly wonderful, and one that will live rent-free in my head for the foreseeable. It’s heart-warming, emotional and inspiring in the very best ways. Unfortunately, I was entirely unaware of the plagiarism concerns until after I watched it and I sincerely hope that there is no basis to it. However, the film itself is joyous and well worth a watch.
The Zone of Interest
From the humorous to the utterly traumatising, because The Zone of Interest is emotional in an entirely different way. This depiction and version of storytelling (RE: the Holocaust) is the most honest representation of the Shoah that I have ever seen. It’s violent without depicting the violence and tells the story of domestic bliss in the shadow of the gravest crime in history. It’s confronting and jarring, challenging narratives about the Holocaust and portraying the Holocaust in an honest way.
Mean Girls (2024)
I was desperate to see this movie when it first hit cinemas earlier in the year, but it passed me by and so I rented it over the easter weekend. I had mixed opinions on this movie going in to it because I’d seen split opinions on whether or not it was worth watching. Here’s the thing, the original is a classic but personally, I kinda loved the new version just as much. It’s a ‘fetch’ update on the classic and while it certainly doesn’t replace it, it’s a fun movie.
The end where we start from
I’m not overly sure what to say about this movie to be honest, because it didn’t really leave much of a mark on me. It was weird, dystopian and a slow burn, and while it wasn’t the worst that I’ve ever seen, it wasn’t a favourite either. The story felt lacking somewhat and while it took a while to get going, it also didn’t have a huge plot either.
Muller’s girl
This month, I had a fair bit of down time and I was therefore able to watch a few new TV shows. Looking at my notes, I watched a lot of documentaries, a theme that transcends both TV and podcast! I must have been in a ‘factual’ mindset.
Titan Sub disaster
I, like most people, avidly followed this the Titan in real time and it’s a tragedy that has gripped me like no other. This is a fascinating documentary and it felt very well done. It’s two parts and is well worth a watch.
Mary and George
If you haven’t watched this, what have you been doing?? This series is BRILLIANT, it’s funny, intriguing and brilliantly acted.
The vanishing MH3709
I’m sure that this doesn’t need much of an explanation. I actually watched two versions of this, one on the BBC and one on Channel 4. Both are brilliant.
The Idaho Murders” Trial by Tiktok (w/ Zara McDermott)
This documentary was a highlight for me this month and it’s truly worth watching. This is one that I am going to be sharing with my true crime friends for the next few months, because of my increasing concerns over how the true crime community engages with active cases. And the victims of crime more broadly. This documentary brilliantly highlights the concerns that many have raised.
Cops gone bad with Will Mellor
See ‘books’ for more information on why this was a selection of mine this month. To be honest, I HATED this series and thought Will Mellor did himself a huge disservice by attaching his name to it. My primary concerns is the way that the documentary has been handled and that, a times, Mellor’s outrage feels forced or for the cameras benefit. It felt needless and his name being attached to the series felt incredibly unnecessary. I’d compare this to ‘Catching Cops’ which I watched earlier in the year (but forget to add to my list now that I think about it), which was handled much better than this.
I added a lot of ‘faves’ to this months list, so let’s jump in to it.
Dairy of a CEO w/ Paul Brunson episode
I sincerely LOVED this episode of this podcast, it’s really interesting and some aspects of the conversation had a huge impact on me.
Shaken espresso lattes from Starbucks
Why have I not had one of these before????
Habitat Luna Collection Sunrise Incense Holder with sunrise incense sticks
Bought these in Sainsburys earlier in the month and they were worth every single penny.
Lush’s Rock star rabbit soap, peachy bath bomb and Toby’s cow bath bomb
My mum surprised me with a few gifts from Lush earlier in March and these were my absolute faves. I’ve not had anything from Lush in forever and these were a truly welcome gift.
Guess what? In March I finally won a ‘prize’ based competition, meaning that I won something which was actually delivered to my door. Yup, that’s right, my first proper win for the year.
A set of GreenPan PFAS-free Ceramic Non-Stick Bakeware
I won a three piece set of bakeware via one of the Hearst magazines and to be honest, I was really pleased with it. These items were ideal because I swapped them for one’s I already had, meaning that I upgraded my bakeware.
