Bits and bobs #2

Woops... Haven't really kept up with this blog in a while. So to ease my way back into the writing, a little bits and bobs.

• With autumn finally arriving, I've  been a real homebody, cozying it up on the coach with television shows to keep me company. I'm currently head-over-heels in love with The Great British Bake Off; I don't know why, but I just love that show so much. Everything they make looks scrumptious and all the contestants are a bit weird, but o-so loveable! Won't lie, I was a bit upset that Howard had to leave last week. With a cup of tea and maybe a biscuit (or two), this is the perfect show to relax with. I've also been trying to keep up with all the new shows premiering in America at the moment, but failing miserably. Did see Sleepy Hollow, and I have to say, the first episode looked very promising!

Retromancer by Robert Rankin. Published by Orion books / Gollancz, 2010.

• Finished Retromancer by Robert Rankin. It was a fun book, but you do need to be able to appreciate the ultra-sarcastic writing style of Rankin and not mind that the plot doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The book follows Hugo Rune and his assistant Rizla, actually called Jim Pooley, as they try to stop the Germans from taking over Britain. I didn't know this before I started reading, but Hugo Rune and Jim already appeared in many other books by Rankin set before Retromancer. However, you can read Retromancer on its own, like I did, and still understand everything that's going on. Rankin makes enormous fun of Sherlock Holmes' working methods and Rune and Rizla reminded me of more disfunctional versions of Professor Layton and Luke. Ratings: 3 out of 5

Oma & Bella, 2012.

• I also got around to watching the documentary Oma & Bella, made by Alexa Karolinski. I backed this project on Kickstarter more than a year ago and received the dvd quite a while back as well. Alexa Karolinski made a documentary about her grandmother Regina (Oma) and her best friend Bella, two Jewish holocaust survivors currently living in Berlin. It was touching to see how the war influenced these two women and also to see the place that many Jewish traditions still keep in their lives. It is a touching documentary about two lovely elderly women. The majority of the time, the two women are cooking Jewish cuisine and they relive their childhood memories through these recipes. The documentary is accompanied by a cookbook with beautiful illustrations (The Oma & Bella Cookbook), which I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. For more information on Oma and Bella, go to: http://omabella.com/index.html Ratings: 4 out of 5