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Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman writes some deliciously noir-ish tales, and her books always have something about them. Prom Mom is the name that the tabloid press gave to Amber when she unexpectedly gave birth on the night of her school prom back in 1997. The book opens with Amber being confused as she returns to a hotel…
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The Guest/Sweet Little Lies
The Guest by Emma Cline Emma Cline’s previous novel, The Girls, was a massive hit although I never read it. But I was interested enough based on reviews to pick up The Guest which is an archetypal summer read (assuming we ever get a summer here in the UK). Alex is in a spot of…
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RIP Tweetdeck
There are books and TV series to be written about how Elon Musk has reduced a moderately successful social media network, overpaid massively, and then destroyed it in months. And I’m not going to write that here. But I have long been a Twitter user, and mostly enjoyed using the platform. Key to that usage…
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RAJAR Q2 2023
This post is brought to you in association with RALF from DP Software and Services. I’ve used RALF for the many years, and it’s my favourite RAJAR analysis tool. So I am delighted that I continue to be able to bring you this RAJAR analysis in association with RALF. For more details on the product, contact Deryck Pritchard via…
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The Devil Stone/Case Sensitive
A pair of recent crime books featuring female detectives. The Devil Stone by Caro Ramsey When an entire family are found dead in a seemingly ritualistic fashion in a small town in the Scottish Highlands, DCI Christine Caplan is asked to help out with the investigation. It’s not helping matters that the policeman in charge…
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American Prometheus
At the weekend I saw the new Christopher Nolan film, Oppenheimer. It’s a powerful and superbly told biopic about J Robert Oppenheimer, who was in charge of the United State’s attempt to build an atomic bomb, before the Nazis got there first. This is a story that I’m very familiar with, having seen everything from…
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Edison Podcast Metrics UK
This week I’ve been at the London Podcast Show 2023, and I’ll write more about that in another entry. But one of the big announcements that came out of the event was that Edison Research is launching their Edison Podcast Metrics in the UK. In the US, Edison Research has been producing what have effectively…
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RAJAR Q1 2023
This post is brought to you in association with RALF from DP Software and Services. I’ve used RALF for the many years, and it’s my favourite RAJAR analysis tool. So I am delighted that I continue to be able to bring you this RAJAR analysis in association with RALF. For more details on the product, contact Deryck Pritchard via…
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Netflix and Live Streaming
Over the past couple of months, Netflix has dipped its foot into the world of live streaming. Back in March, they broadcast a Chris Rock comedy special live. I can’t think of a real reason for making it available live, aside from building up some audience excitement. But I’ve no doubt it was a useful…
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Ofcom UK Podcast Survey 2023
Ofcom has just published its latest Audio and Podcasts survey data for 2023. They tend to just publish the raw data tables, so I like to dig into the data and get into what the data actually means. I’ve done this for the last couple of years, and you can expect many charts and graphs.…
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Gravel Rides Around London #1: Cambridge to London
93.2 KM (57.8 Miles) | 953 Metres (3,127 Feet) This is the first, in what I hope will be a short series of rides you can do on your gravel bike in the vicinity of London. The first couple are going to be point-to-point rides which means that you will need to do one leg…
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Max
With Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) having yesterday confirmed what everyone expected, that the new combined HBO-Max/Discovery+ streaming offer will now be called simply “Max“, I have a few questions about what true global ambitions WBD has for the service. To date, HBO Max has only been available in a relatively narrow list of countries. Having…
Podcasts, Radio, TV, Books, Cycling, Photography and More
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Yellowface/All The Lovers In The Night
Yellowface by R F Kuang I first came across R F Kuang with last year’s very enjoyable Babel, an alternate history of the British Empire told in a world where magic exists and is controlled by an elite group of individuals. Yellowface is very different, but no less enjoyable. It’s a book about books, and…
Hadrian’s Wall
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