This week, I 'ave been mostly reading...

I was just reorganising my entertainment cupboard (books, DVDs, tin whistle that I haven't learned to play yet) and need to put some books away. So I thought I'd summarise what I've been reading and watching - thought a few reviews might be of interest.

Ruth Rendell, The Keys to the Street.
Woman donates bone marrow to stranger and then starts relationship with him. Some murders also take place. An enjoyable read - won't change your life, but will pass the time.

Alexander McCall Smith, Morality for Beautiful Girls.
Another in the No1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. He is building a role for Mma Makutsi, formerly Mma Ramotswe's typist, which is quite nice, and there are some reflections on how less beautiful women make their way in the world. Mr J. L. B. Matekoni has depression, which is nicely portrayed but resolved rather easily. Pleasant and undemanding as usual.

Thor Heyerdahl, The Kon-Tiki Expedition.
A bunch of Norwegians and Swedes build a balsa raft to see if people could have got to Peru from Easter Island. On the way, they have some interesting encounters with marine creatures. I've read this many times, but always enjoy it. The illustrated version is better (Heyerdahl's own pen drawings) but I've lost my copy. Recommended.

Lesley Riddoch, Riddoch on the Outer Hebrides
Some interesting observations on the people, places and politics of the Hebrides but a bit personally self-indulgent at times in its reporting of the journey and its logistics.

Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
A lovely book - in which a woman visiting her sick mother-in-law in an old folk's home befriends an old lady with a store of tales to tell about her past life. I am very influenced by the brilliant film, which I'd love to see again - it's a bit more confusing on the page with how the flashbacks work, but a great read nevertheless.

Annie Proulx, The Shipping News.
Completely in keeping for someone on a journey to the Islands, this one is about Quoyle, an unsuccessful widower who makes a new life in Newfoundland by working on the local newspaper. Lovely language, plot much more luminous and intricate than the film. The film gets the atmosphere right but not the story. I've now read this a dozen times but it never palls.

Tom Steel, The Life and Death of St Kilda.
Written about the island of Hirta (its official name) and the story leading to its evacuation in 1930. Made me realise some things about the islands now - for example, the tension between a monetary life and a bartering, communal one - that still have resonances today. Also that the demise of the St Kilda community was not only because they had to contend with the elements, but also because they were stubbornly opposed to change.

E. M. Forster, Collected Short Stories.
Same Forster as usual. Woman walks into room with hat askew and proceeds to use wrong knife for hors d'oeuvres. Nothing is ever the same again. A native servant is blamed. Irritating and dull.

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Comfortingly formulaic. Watson enters room. Holmes lights his pipe. They go somewhere in a carriage and solve a murder. Absorbing.

Christina Hall, Tales from an Island.
Biography of woman growing up in South Uist. Interesting but a bit precious, pedantic and uncritical, and can't resist taking potshots at another author on the same subject. If you haven't read the other author, this just seems like infighting.

Finlay J MacDonald, Crowdie and Cream.
Another tale of growing up in the Hebrides. Much warmer and funnier than C. Hall, and he's better at keeping the child's perspective rather than looking at it all as an adult. Which is easier to follow and creates more empathy. Enjoyed this one, whereas C. Hall was more of a job. Start with this if you want to learn about Hebridean life.

Roger Hutchinson, The Soap Man
Story of how Lord Leverhulme tried, and eventually failed, to model Lewis and then Harris along the industrial lines of Port Sunlight. Interesting and absorbing, and gave a good understanding of islands history and values, past and present.

Peter Hill, Stargazing.
A student in the 70s takes up a part time job as a relief man on the lighthouses. The last insight into the lifestyle, told through the eyes of a beginner, before lighthouses were automated. Funny and sympathetic, and very compelling depictions of the characters and habits of the lighthousemen. Also very evocative of the 70s. Recommended.

DVDs

I didn't bring any DVDs with me, and have made it a rule not to spend more than £5 on them. So there are some odd titles.

A Very Long Engagement
With Audrey Tautou, a completely lovely film about a girl who won't believe that her lover has been killed in the trenches of World War I and sets out to find him. Enchanting.

The Constant Gardener
With Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. Very good film about political girl who falls in love with diplomat and goes with him to Africa, where she carries on her under-cover research into companies using Africans to test drugs. Dramatic and realistic.
A good watch.

Beverley Hills Cop II
Seen this before, but Eddie Murphy is always a laugh. This one ends in a massacre, which of course is all done terribly lightheartedly.

The Last Emperor
Loved this at the cinema but on my laptop in the van it seemed slow, mystifying, freaky, and upsetting by turns. I'm afraid I stopped before the end.

Lord of the Rings II and III
Great even on a tiny screen. Have seen before, of course, and am now a bit annoyed by the irritating auxiliary hobbits, but loved it even so. Especially that elf one.

How Green was my Valley
1940s black and white film (not green) with English persons trying hilariously for Welsh accents. A story of the demise of a mining town. A nice one for a wet afternoon.

Hot Fuzz
Simon Pegg, a top-performing Met officer, is put down in a little village with strange goings-on. Great film and very funny. Would also recommend Shaun of the Dead, which has Pegg and his comedic partner Nick Frost in almost exactly the same relationship. While Frost is always comic, Pegg is actually a pretty good actor in a serious role. I think I'll watch this one again tonight.

Thelma and Louise
Two women go away for the weekend and end up on a charge of murder. Fun road movie, with some nice moments between the two main characters (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis). Brief appearance by Brad Pitt, which is always nice to see.

Erin Brockovich
Always loved this film, in which Julia Roberts plays the single mother who starts to look into what a chemical giant has been putting into the water in a local community. Great film, feisty character who has some great lines.

The Shawshank Redemption
Tim Robbins gets sent to jail for murder and makes his way towards freedom through a close friendship with Morgan Freeman's character. Another heartwarming one, and you admire TR's character's brains (fortunately, while they're still in his head).

It's a Wonderful Life
Great old black and white film about a man unhappy with this lot. A mildly amusing angel comes and shows him what life would have been like for his community if he had never been born. Heartwarming - another one for a wet afternoon.

Cracker - the Movie
A feature-length movie in which Robbie Coltrane annoys his family, possibly for the last time, by skilfully solving the killings of some posh Americans. Absorbing, but only as much as the telly.