Game of Thrones
It’s Game of Thrones, but not as you know it. In preparation for the launch of season three of the Game of Thrones television series I started listening to the audiobooks read by Roy Dotrice. Having read the books only a few years ago (after finishing the first television series), they are fresh in my mind. Hearing them read by an actor is an entirely different experience, especially as I can get impatient with such weighty tomes and speed read my way through those epic battle passages. With the audio book I have been forced to slow down, or hear the details I may have missed the first time around.
Crying in the Car: Reflections on Life and Motherhood
I frequently hear my fellow parents lamenting their loss of time and attention span for reading. At the end of a long day, it can be easier to fall onto the couch and flick on the television than to dedicate some time to read a book. With this collection from Melbourne author Karen Andrews, you have no such excuse. This small volume is a collection you can dip in and out of, with poems, fiction and non-fiction on offer. There are some lovely insights into motherhood and parenting, with a beautiful sense of rhythm to it.
Another show about politics, media and corruption in America? It feels like over-explored territory in television over the past few years, especially as some shows attempting to tackle the subject matter have failed to inspire. I was hesitant to start watching House of Cards for these reasons, but I’m glad I gave it a go. From Kevin Spacey’s southern accent to the morally ambiguous characters, this show is a rare television treat. Where Sorkin bored his audience by lecturing us with grand sweeping polemics in The Newsroom, House of Cards perfects the ‘show don’t tell’ adage. This show works.
