alobear | Film, book, audio

Robot & Frank:
I'm not sure what I actually thought of this. The robot was very cool, there were some quite funny moments, and all the performances were good. It didn't really engage me emotionally, though, which is probably good, as otherwise I might have thought it was really sad. Mostly, it was fairly harmless, I guess.

The City & The City by China Mieville:
I suggested this as the next book for family book club in a couple of weeks, and I'm fascinated to find out what the other members think of it. I had remembered it differently from the first time I read it last year, but it was still really good. It's basically a fairly standard detective novel with an interesting twist that leads it into some really clever places in the second half.

The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer:
The Artemis Fowl books have turned into my favourite series to listen to on my walks to and from work. They're just shamelessly entertaining, and very well read. There's perhaps a smidge more toilet humour than I'd prefer, but the rest of it is just great. The characters are all so well-drawn and likeable, and the plots are pacy, exciting and fun. I'm never sure how the heroes are going to get out of the mess they end up in, and it's generally satisfying when they do. This one had a bit more emotional depth in that one of the regular characters died, but it was handled really well, and if you have an entire series where everyone is always safe at the end, it rather diminishes the tension.