New York dioramas, origami cranes, and a movie review of ‘Scrapper’
The giveaway this week is 'Before You Knew My Name' by Jacqueline Bublitz
I’d like to begin this week’s edition of Becks and the City by giving a shout-out to Alana from bookish_adelaide on Instagram, who’s an Adelaide-based book blogger. I’m loving the dark academia / kinda goth aesthetic she has going on on her feed. She has an upcoming post where she chats to my good friend, gothic fiction author R. A. Wodecki, who’s on the (cob)web here and Twitter/X here as @theloveofwords. The interview is sure to bring many writerly gems. Give them both a follow to keep up to date on when that releases.
Incidentally, I met up with R. A. on Friday to discuss all things words at a local library. It was one we both hadn’t visited in a while and it had moved locations to a shiny new building earlier this year. We hadn’t realised, and changed our meeting spot to the new location. Wow, what a lovely, modern, light-filled place! If you’re in the western suburbs of Adelaide and have a spare moment, check out the Ngutungka/West Lakes Library. There’s even a café in one corner (hint: the pancakes are top-notch). We had an ace time there and would go back in a heartbeat.
That’s about all I have for now. Wishing you bookish experiences and unexpected discoveries. : )
News
1. While this isn’t upbeat, it is hella interesting: pubs in the UK have adopted dynamic pricing. I’ve previously only heard of dynamic pricing in relation to concert tickets and I’ve got to say, I’m not a fan. In fact, I suspect not many consumers do like where it’s going – which is uncertainty. In an age where the cost of living is plenty scary to many, let’s make it scarier by adding a sense of randomness to the mix depending on what time or day you’re shopping. Think the fluctuations in petrol pricing, but for everything else as well. No thanks. The principle has the potential to spread some fairness around but could also be used to exploit people’s desperate need for certain products at certain times by jacking up the price. Let’s stamp this one out before it takes hold on our shores.
2. On the lighter side of life, here’s a regional Victorian project encouraging library visitors to fold origami cranes to promote peace (and some cheery mindfulness at the same time, I suspect). Initially their aim was 1,000 cranes, but they ended up with 16,203 across the library service’s branches. Such a simple idea, but a powerful one. Well done to program coordinator Bronwyn Cole for thinking it up and to everyone who participated!
Reviews
1. For some reason, I was expecting Scrapper to be in the same vein as The Full Monty – a low-budget, super-fun, heart-warming comedy about working class people. Perhaps I expect all British films not featuring Judy Dench or Hugh Grant to be this way. In any case, Scrapper does start off in this fashion. The movie features a cast of down-on-their-luck characters making the best of it. A 12-year-old girl named Georgie lives in a London flat and makes money stealing bikes with her friend Ali. She lives a challenging life and the audience can’t help but admire her determination to fend for herself. Scrapper brought both laughs and the feels (I was crying in the cinema at one point), but I feel like the wheels fell off slightly in the second half. The talking spiders disappeared (no, this is not a euphemism for anything) and it kinda dropped some other threads of the story a touch too abruptly. With more attention to detail and a few more laughs, this could have been the latest Full-Monty-esque low-budget smash hit. It was still enjoyable to watch, though. I’d give it three-and-a-half stars.
2. I’m sure I’ve expressed before how much I enjoy Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. I’m seeking to strike a similar tone in my novel manuscript, so I was very much taken with this interview with Osman from Town and Country magazine where he talks about class and balancing humour with serious, weighty topics. He does it so well, so I was eager to hear his thoughts on how it’s achieved and why it’s important. While I will read crime fiction grittier than the Thursday Murder Club books, I don’t enjoy books that depict graphic violence. It sounds like he’s of a similar mind, which isn’t surprising, I guess. The article is a useful, rather in-depth read if you’ve enjoyed any of his novels.
3. I stumble across Danny Cortes’s Instagram account in the past few days. What a delight! It’s filled with miniatures and dioramas of New York. Think grungy postboxes covered in graffiti and stickers, lamp posts, shop fronts, and school buses. Realistic, but magical at the same time.
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Using maple syrup in a salad dressing
‘Hush’ by So Below
Adding cinnamon to everything
Practising yoga out in a park somewhere
Cute, heart-shaped sunglasses
Drawing or colouring-in with fluoro pencils
Cheese on toast sprinkled with Worcestershire sauce
Giveaway
Last week’s giveaway, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories Of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae, was won by Claire Evans. Hooray! I’ve emailed you, Claire.
This week’s giveaway is Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz. Fill your name and email address in here to enter.
Playlist of the Week
If I was picking the latest Ministry of Sound Chillout Sessions tracks: