May Reading

Popping in to show you what a clever boy I am

BOOKS:

London Falling, by Patrick Raddan Keefe

The second title assigned in my bookclub. Patrick Raddan Keefe is so good at telling a story. It’s sad, fascinating and explains so much about contemporary London I’d never thought about before.

Beast in the Shadows, by Edogawa Ranpo

This was sitting in the little library in the cafe beneath my office. The author is apparently an iconic Japanese crime writer. His name is a pseudonym (a Japanese rendering of ‘Edgar Allan Poe’). Look how cool he looks:

Shoplifter, by Michael Cho

An Adrian Tomine-esque graphic novel about a woman who works in an ad agency as a copywriter instead of pursuing her real dream of writing novels. Whatever! Totally unrelatable!

My Brother’s Husband Volume 1, by Gengoreh Tagame

This is a lovely story. I had never read Manga before - and turning the pages the other way took some getting used to.

My Brother’s Husband Volume 2, by Gengoreh Tagame

A continuation of a lovely story.

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MOVIES:

Broadcast News, 1987

By today’s standards the likeable guy is toxic and the sellout jerk is perfectly reasonable.

The Substance, 2024

Both more and less disgusting than I was worried it would be.

Lone Star, 1996

Didn’t see the incest coming.

Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013

Rewatch. First saw it in the Rio Cinema in Dalston, shortly after moving to the UK. I since read (or heard on a podcast or something) that this film was the Cohen brothers imagining their lives without each other — which is a touching lens to view it through.

Postcards from the Edge, 1990

State of Play, 2009

I love all breaking-the-story movies.

The Love That Remains, 2025

Rewatch. I saw at the cinema, but Jess hadn’t seen it. There’s a few more unnecessary abstract bits I’d forgotten about - but it’s a beautiful film and I think nearly everyone would like it.

Michael Clayton, 2007

A Most Wanted Man, 2014

Rewatch. We got 20 minutes into and realised we’d seen it years earlier. Still great. RIP Big Phil.

Sirat, 2025

I wasn’t prepared for how intense the second half was.

Kiki’s Delivery Service, 1989

Hadn’t seen this before. So pleasant!

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I’m also going to take June off from regular weekly posting too. So will see ya in a month. x