50/50 Challenge - 50 Books & 50 Movies in One Year

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2/50 Books

1. Us Conductors by Sean Michaels (he of "Said the Gramophone" blogging fame) — a groovily dramatised fictional retelling of Léon Theremin/Lev Termen's life story and his doomed love affair with Clara Rockmore. Read most of it on a single plane ride, very nicely paced and rich in historical detail. Sappy ending, if you like that sort of thing. The brutal gulag scenes will be what stay with me, however. Highly recommended.

2. Haddon Hall: When David invented Bowie by Néjib — another very quick read, and yet another fictionalised bio — this one a graphic novella narrated from the perspective of the titular home rented by the Bowies and hangers-on in the early 1970s. Once again, very entertaining and highly recommended.

2/50 Movies

1. The Trip to Spain — yep, the third in this bewilderingly ongoing but funny road trip saga of Steve Coogan + Rob Brydon trekking across the continent in a shuffly, irrelevant white Englishman kinda way. Not sure what other madcap misfortunes may yet sideline them from rote midlife meditations amid the usual trading of witty barbs over delicious looking local delicacies? Tune in! Very good Mick Jagger impersonations, too!

2. My Brooklyn — pretty relevant to my interests, a documentary about the racist history of neighbourhood divisions and the economic factors underlying gentrification in American cities. A little heavy-handed with the superfluous personal backstory/narration on the filmmaker's part, but lots of compelling historical footage (I love watching me a juicy town hall meeting). Discovered this through the Kanopy app, which streams lots of great stuff for free via access to your local public library system.