Author: yggdrasille
MSO: Beethoven Symphony No. 9 @ Hamer Hall (07/2022)
Good things come to those who wait! I got tickets for this Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert all the way back in October last year, and experiencing Beethoven’s epic final symphony live was truly worth the wait.
Top Gun: Maverick – Film Review
Despite my usual cynicism about sequels and nostalgia, I thoroughly enjoyed this exhilarating and refreshingly old-fashioned blockbuster that improves on the original and, despite all odds, doesn’t feel like a shameless cash grab.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie – Book Review
A fun collection of crimes solved by the one and only Hercule Poirot, with a bonus Miss Marple short story. I was slightly disappointed that only one of the stories is actually set at Christmas.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami – Book Review
I meant to read Murakami for ages and ages, so I finally got started with this novel that propelled the Japanese writer into literary superstardom.
Lifeboat – Film Review
A lesser-known Hitchcock movie about survivors of a German U-boat attack during World War II, this tense survival thriller, set almost entirely aboard a tiny lifeboat, definitely deserves more love and attention.
MSO: The Music of John Williams @ Hamer Hall (06/2022)
I was already plenty pumped to hear the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play John Williams’ greatest hits, but this special celebration of the 90th birthday of the film score maestro turned out to be even more magical.
Upheaval by Jared Diamond – Book Review
How do nations cope with crisis and change? In this brilliant book, the author, historian and geographer Jared Diamond examines how six modern countries have dealt with a crisis, and looks at the crises currently unfolding in contemporary Japan, his home country the USA, and the world at large. Read more
Top Ten Tuesday – Comfort Reads
I’ve always loved re-reading and comfort read to me is almost always about the pleasure of re-visiting an already familiar book. Naturally not every book that I go back to would qualify. I think I re-read Tolstoy’s War and Peace about four times by now, but I doubt that many people would put this dense door-stopper on their list. Bright, breezy and not too long is what usually hits the sweet spot.
Before I started compiling the list (as prompted by That Artsy Reader Girl), I thought it would be about individual books, but it turned out to be more about the authors with a writing style that makes for a perfect comfort read.
