5 Things I Enjoyed Recently
Books, TV Series and Music
Here’s an extra post about five things I enjoyed recently. I hope you enjoy reading about the books and TV series and listening to the music.
BOOK
As I explained in a Note recently, I’ve been finding it very difficult to get engrossed in a book these days. I’ve started more than I’ve finished but one book I did complete and thoroughly enjoyed, was Taste: My Life in Food by Stanley Tucci. My favourite fare is known today as the Mediterranean diet, which is constantly coming top in scientific research into food for longevity, and besides being a top class actor Stanley Tucci is an American Italian with a love of the cuisine of his ancestral home. His book is a memoir and a love story to food, containing many recipes. I really like his writing and tried some of the recipes. I realise now how important getting the right sauce is for the pasta.
SERIES
I’ve been watching a series on Netflix that I’d seen recommended in a review article. saying that it was a favourite with the American public, so I thought I’d try it. It’s titled “Seven Seconds” and is a mini-series. The plot centres around a hit-and-run accident where a 15 year old black boy is killed. There is an attempt to cover up the identity of the perpetrator who is a white police officer, but the young female Assistant Prosecutor is determined to get to the truth. It’s a gripping story, full of racial tension and has me totally engrossed.
MUSIC
I fell in love with the music of the British composer Jocelyn Pook a few years ago and have been listening again to her on Spotify. Jocelyn Pook has written the music for many films, including Eyes Wide Shut, The Merchant of Venice and The Wife. Among the pieces of her music that I listen to over again are: Libera Me, Hell, Fire and Damnation, How Sweet the Moonlight. There’s a melancholic feel to some of the sounds she creates and a strong Persian influence in others. Here’s a link to Hell, Fire and Damnation which is a very dramatic, otherworldy piece of music.
ANOTHER BOOK
I was given a book for my birthday in July. It’s a collection of poems to keep on my bedside table. I read a poem and accompanying explanatory page on it most nights. It’s titled: The Poetry Pharmacy collated by William Sieghart. It includes poems by Wendy Cope, Adrian Mitchell, Maya Angelou and Philip Larkin who writes a poem indicating that no matter what age we are we have the capacity to grow, in The Trees.
MORE MUSIC
Just lately on TikTok there’s a piece of music that’s played by many different people on various instruments and it’s called Nothing Else Matters. I found a version on Spotify that I really like and have added it to a playlist. It’s a cello solo by Jodok Cello.
I hope you like one or more of the five things I recently enjoyed. Please let me know which one(s) appeals to you. Have you already read either of the books, seen the series or heard the music? Back to the normal newsletter/blog post next week.