REVIEW: Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Original Publication Year: 2012

Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance

Series: Glamourist Histories #2

Awards: Nebula Award Nominee(2012), Locus Award Nominee (2013), Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Nominee for Fantasy Novel (2012)

Format: In Print

Narrated By: None

Recommended subtitle:  Awww, Shit.  Napoleon again?

WARNING:  Spoilers for the first in this series Shades of Milk and Honey!

This book is second in a series that takes place in a Regency Era England that is almost identical to Jane Austen’s except that people have the ability to create elaborate illusions with magic, called glamours. They use this ability mostly to gussy up the living or dining room or for entertainment purposes. In this second book in the series, there is more exploration of the more serious uses this ability could be put to.

Book one, Shades of Milk and Honey, ended in typical Austen style with the heroine Jane marrying her chosen mate, a brooding glamour artist named Vincent. At the beginning of this book we are told that most of the initial few months of Jane and Vincent’s marriage has been spent working together on a glamour commission for the Prince. They are due for some R&R and Vincent reveals his plans for them to travel to the countryside outside of Brussels, Belgium to visit a colleague. Travel on the continent has just opened up with the recent imprisonment of Napoleon on Elba. At first Jane relishes the lack of responsibility and the time alone with her husband. Shortly after arriving at the house of Vincent’s friend, however, Vincent becomes secretive and distant which arouses Jane’s curiosity and insecurity. Pretty soon it is known that Napoleon has escaped and is on the move again.

I read the first in this series last year and was pretty seriously meh about it. My Review. The gist is that I thought that rather than a homage to Austen it was closer to a rip off and a pretty awkwardly done one at that. But LOTS of people disagreed with me – it got all kinds of awards attention as did this installment as you can see above. I think because I was so contrary to popular opinion and because I like the idea of these books so much I was lured back to try the second in the series. And I’m generally glad I did. While it still had some significant flaws for me, I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the first. Once I picked it up, I was easily hooked and finished it rather quickly.

Part of the reason I liked this sequel better is that it departs a good bit from the Austen model. We are still in Austen’s society but the story is almost an action/adventure which made me stop making comparisons. I also thought there was some really good stuff in here about adjusting to married life and particularly with the idea of becoming a mother. I appreciated that Jane was torn about having kids. She wants them but is also enjoying unprecedented freedom for a woman of her time and she knows that starting a family will hamper some of that.

The flaws?
1)Not substantive to the book but Jane is continually described as plain and the fact that she didn’t undergo some miraculous transformation to swan in book one was one of the things I liked about it. The woman on this cover of the book however is a supermodel.

2)The Glamour in Glass. I was pretty enamored of the magic system in book one but here it took a turn for the very confusing. Though a lot of time was devoted to explaining it, I couldn’t figure out how the damn glamour in glass thing worked and therefore every time it was used (and it played an important role in the story) it pulled me right out of the story and into a befuddled state of not understanding what the hell was actually happening. May not be a problem for a smarter reader. :)
3)Jane. Jane’s an Elinor Dashwood - admirable, smart and self-sufficient. But really a story needs a Marianne Dashwood, an Emma or a Lizzie to make it interesting. I love Elinor but all by herself is BORing. Beyond that I just don’t like Jane very much. I don’t dislike her but I don’t love her even though she does some pretty heroic things in he book.
4)The rescue scene. I won’t reveal more about this but basically it seemed entirely implausible and unbelievable. It didn’t work for me.

Final Verdict: An alt-history action adventure with the flavor of Austen. I enjoyed it considerably more than book one and will be reading the next in the series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Do you have a favorite Alt-History?

Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Evs Historical Mysteries

The assignment from The Broke and the Bookish this week is to list the Top Ten books of all time in X genre.  There are so many things that do my head in with this topic.  First of all, I'm a pretty eclectic reader so what genre to pick?  Second of all "the best of all time"?  No way can I do this.  My anal retentiveness kicks in and freaks out saying that to be able to list the top ten of all time I would have had to read everything ever published in X genre ever.  Third of all how do I make a list that doesn't repeat books and authors from previous TTT posts ad nauseum.  Basically, I've already included a lot of my all time favorites on other lists where they fit, sometimes more than once.

So this is what I decided.  I picked a genre that's a little esoteric and pretty specific; Historical Mysteries. Which narrows the field quite well and should allow me to avoid most of my go to authors. It's also a genre I like a lot; I prefer my mysteries historical.  I also intend to just list my favorites that I can think of now and not get too caught up in the "of all time".  I don't claim that these are the best written books, but I really enjoyed them and I actually remember reading them which means that they made an impression even if for whatever reason I didn't rate them as 5 star books on Goodreads.  

1) The Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron

 I absolutely adore this series even though it hasn't quite been the same since a certain something happened in book 7 Jane and the Ghosts of Netley.  I still think Stephanie Barron is the most fluent and best mimic of Jane Austen's style that I have encountered. Plus reading these books feels like actually getting to hang out with Jane Austen and gives her a more adventurous life than she likely had.

2) The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Mysteries by Ellis Peters

This series has been known to make me wish to be a monk.  Which you know, would be a challenge given that I am neither Catholic nor a man.  Ellis Peters does such a great job bringing the medieval time period and Brother Cadfael to life, that it is hard not to yearn a little bit to be pottering away with him in the Abbey's herb garden.  There is also a lovely BBC television mystery series based on these books starring Derek Jacobi as Cadfael.

3) The Julian Kestrel Mysteries by Kate Ross

This is a series I have nattered on about before on this blog.  It's a lovely short series set in Regency era England, featuring enigmatic nobleman Julian Kestrel as the detective.  It was also a series that just got better as you went along with the final book in the series The Devil in Music being such a great read.  Unfortunately, if you start this series and get hooked be prepared to be heartbroken because Kate Ross sadly died of cancer at the age of 41.

4) Agatha Christie Mysteries

I'm not really sure it's legit to include Agatha Christie on this list because while her books are historical for me they were contemporary for her when she was writing.  I think for it to count as historical fiction the writer has to be writing about a past time they are not living in.  But whatever.  I'm including her because she's brilliant and I love the 1920s - 1960s settings of her books.  Her books may not be profound or have especially deep characterizations etc... but no one can write a puzzle mystery like her.  Plus she has this awesome quote I just saw on Goodreads from her memoir: “It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them. ” How true.

5) The Matthew Corbett Mysteries by Robert McCammon 

This series takes place in colonial era America and is so incredibly atmospheric and evocative of that time period.  I'm pretty sure that Robert McCammon has written quite a lot of horror fiction and it shows, particularly in the first book that takes place in a small South Carolina village isolated from the rest of the world.  It does NOT make me wish I lived in that time period but is fascinating nonetheless and they are great, slightly creepy stories.

 

6) Simon Ziele Mysteries by Stephanie Pintoff

I really love this series which takes place in turn of the century New York and was shocked just now to see that the first book in the series, which won a bunch of awards mind you has an average rating of 3.45. Shocking!  I bring that up not just because of  the shock but to illustrate that its a series that may not be for everyone I guess.  There's a lot early forensics and psychology in the series which is a special favorite topic of mine so maybe that blinded me to any faults.  I still recommend it.

7) The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Along the same lines as above, and perhaps a bit more substantive is Caleb Carr's The Alienist which focuses on an early forensic psychologist in late nineteenth century New York.  There is a second book that features the same protagonist but Carr does not seem to be taking this into a big long series. 

8) Flavia DeLuce Mysteries by Alan Bradley

I actually have kind of a complicated relationship with this series.  Flavia alternately charms and bugs the crap out of me and I just wish Bradley would let her grow up a little bit. But there is no denying the uniqueness and enjoyability of this series.  Set in a rackety ole English estate in post World War II England and featuring a precocious 11 year old detective who is obsessed with chemistry, death and poisons.  There is no one else like her and even though I know I'm going to be annoyed I always get excited when picking up the new addition to the series.

9) A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

A Test of Wills is the first in a series featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge but I'm only listing the first book because, the rest of the series has not quite measured up to this first one for me.  It is set in post World War I England and Rutledge is suffering from a pretty severe case of PTSD.  In his head, he hears the voice of a soldier he had to order executed during the war and it is never clear whether the Inspector is insane or if he is really being haunted.  A very unique protagonist and great mystery.

10 ) Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander(Sir John Fielding #1)

It has been many years since I read this book and I haven't for some reason read any of the many sequels but I really remember being fascinated by the Bow Street Runners, the first organized police force in Britain.  The book takes place in mid-eighteenth century London. Sir John Fielding was a blind magistrate who helped in the formation of the Bow Street Runners in an attempt at reform.  I definitely need to pick up the other books in this series!

Well, that about does it.  There are a few others that I could mention, The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear and Anne Perry's Victorian Series featuring Thomas Pitt but this'll do.  I certainly haven't read everything out there (hence why this isn't an "of all Time" list) so I'd love any recommendations of series or books that you would have put on this list!

REVIEW: Foundling by D.M. Cornish

Foundling by D.M. Cornish
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Original Publication Year: 2006

Genre(s): Midgrade Fiction, Fantasy

Series: Monster Blood Tattoo #1

Awards: None

Format: Audio

Narrated By: Humphrey Bower

Recommended subtitle: What’s a boy to do if the monsters are nice and the humans are monstrous?

 
What a strange little book this is. I picked it at random out of the young adult section of audio books. As I started listening, my thoughts were that this was less young adult and more middle grade. It seemed targeted for a pretty young audience, perhaps 8-9 year olds? But then violent and disturbing things started to happen and I thought…Oh, so NOT for 8-9 years olds. Heck it’s practically not for 41 year olds. It has moments of serious creepiness and some very dire situations.

Rossamund is an orphan, raised in a strict but sheltered life at Madame Opera’s Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls. With his girl’s name he is not treated very well by his schoolmates but is looked after by two kindly employees at the school. At the age of 12(ish), it is time for Rossamund to be assigned a profession but he watches all the other boys his age get picked as sailors and other common professions until a strange man appears and picks Rossamund to join the Emperor’s Lamplighter’s service. Rossamund has no clear idea exactly what a lamplighter does besides light lamps but he is excited to be getting out of the orphanage and into the great wide world. As you might expect, however, the wide world has some surprises in store for Rossamund as he is sent alone on a journey to the city of High Vesting to begin his service. I have to admit Rossamund being sent off alone and with little direction at his age, stressed me out quite a bit and may have had a negative impact on my enjoyment of the story. Frankly the story would have fallen apart if his recruiter had taken two minutes to at the very least put him on the assigned boat to High Vesting but this is a make believe world and we are meant to go with it. It is a world in which a 12 year old, who has practically never been outside an orphanage’s walls, is expected to have the experience and take on the responsibility of an adult.

As the preceding paragraph hints at, the world felt very Dickensian to me. A bizarre Oliver Twist if Oliver had been required to fight monsters. The dress and trappings of the society conjured up for me a more Napoleonic war Europe with tri-corn hats, landaulets, a peerage, a vigorous navy and roadside inns and taverns. The difference is that it is a world uneasily shared by humans and monsters, called bogles and nickers depending on their size and ferocity. The two societies are endlessly at war and there is a special class of citizen who specializes in keeping the monsters at bay. In his journeys, Rossamund ends up in the company of a famous lahzar or monster hunter named Europe (aka the Branden Rose). While I don’t wish to reveal too much of the plot, the main point seems to be that not all of the monsters in the story are bad while many of the humans are definitely monstrous.

Besides being a writer, D.M. Cornish is also an illustrator and his writing reflects this. The world building was vivid and it was easy to envision in my head. It’s a strange world, very dark, dangerous and richly imagined. It also has its own vocabulary which at times required clunky explanation and took a bit to get used to but in the end added to the otherness of the setting. It is also a world ala Tolkien, which feels much more vast than the small glimpse we are provided. In a way, I felt like I didn’t get fully immersed because it took me a while to get my head wrapped around the society and the feeling that I wasn’t getting the full picture – the view was limited to that of a 12 year old sheltered boy.

The characters were, again in the style of Dickens, quirky and a bit unknowable because we are seeing them through Rossamund’s eyes and, to a child, the ways of adults are sometimes baffling. Europe, the lazhar monster fighter, was the most intriguing character for me because it was so unclear whether she is good or evil and she is likely a bit of both. I found Rossamund himself basically charming and easy to root for but not terribly complex or interesting besides the mystery that runs through the book of who or what he is. He is the type of boy who is very naïve but who is brave, loyal and has a rock solid moral compass.

In the end it took me a bit to get into and I never really got sucked into the tale because of the extensive creativity of the world building. I think this is generally a problem for me and why I don’t necessarily love overly complex and unique settings. I feel like so much times is spent explaining the world, society, system of magic or conversely I spend much of the books so confused, that there is no room for getting caught up in the story. But this is my thing. If you are someone who likes to explore creatively imagined and vividly drawn new places, this is a book you may be inclined towards.

Final Verdict: A moody and intriguing middle grade book with an especially well built world which both fascinated and kept me from becoming full immersed in the story. I will likely continue with the series.

Have you ever read a "childrens" book and been a little taken aback by the ferocity or disturbing nature of  some of the violence?  I was wondering if perhaps the scenes I found disturbing would actually not have that much of an impact on a kid and would actually be more uncomfortable for an adult who perhaps can more easily picture the scene and give it reality? 

REVIEW: Groundbreaking Food Gardens by Niki Jabbour

Groundbreaking Food Gardens by Niki Jabbour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Format: Advanced e-copy from Net Galley, free in exchange for a fair review
Narrated By: NA
Original Publication Year: 2014
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Gardening
Series: NA
Awards: None

Suggested Subtitle: A Garden Plan for Every Eventuality. Ever. And some more.

I love to grow vegetables and herbs but unfortunately I am the queen of gardening handicaps. Okay so I am being a little melodramatic but I really do have some serious gardening obstacles. My yard is small and the garden must share the limited space with my two gigantic dogs but the real killer is that, my yard, front and back, is very shady mostly thanks to neighbor’s trees. I was very excited when I saw that this book included a couple of plans for growing edibles in shady conditions! That’s what drew me in and prompted me to request the book but in the end this lovely tome provided me with all kinds of ideas and inspiration beyond just my current situation.

My winter saddened handicapped garden, pic 1

My winter saddened handicapped garden, pic 2.

My winter saddened handicapped garden pic. 3.

The garden in happier times so you don't get as depressed as I do looking at the previous 3 pics. That's Garlic!

The book is a collection of garden plans for almost every conceivable situation. It felt like there was something of interest for every gardener’s unique situation or desire. One of its strengths is that each plan is contributed by a different source which translates into a huge variety of creative ideas. The contributors range from gardening professionals to bloggers and they garden in a wide range of locales and conditions. It also really felt like the plans being presented were not just ideas formulated by the contributor but were actually  the tried and true methods they use in their gardens. Each plan is narratively communicated in an interview type style, focusing on highlights and key concepts and advice and then is depicted with a nicely rendered and easy to interpret illustration of the layout and plants included. The artwork is nice. I liked that  the author insisted that the contributors name some of their favorite varieties of different vegetables even though she indicated they were resistant to doing this.

I also loved that there was a recurring theme of gardening naturally and creating a garden that produces edibles for people but also is a friendly place for beneficial insects and pollinators. For example, several of the plans mention planting pathways between beds with clover to attract and support pollinators which is not an idea I had encountered before. There are even a few plans that focus on creating a full on wildlife friendly garden which I especially appreciated.

While each plan is only 4-5 pages long and doesn’t go into too much detail I still felt like I learned quite a bit. I learned the difference between a Potager and a Kitchen Garden, how to make and about the benefits of Comfrey Tea (a natural soil amendment like compost tea) and how to plant a knot garden. I’ve only been gardening seriously for about 5 years and most of that time has been in less than ideal conditions so I am definitely still a novice but I have tried to read extensively on the subject and experiment every year. So, it's possible very experienced gardeners may not find anything new here, but I definitely felt like it presented some unique ideas and provided inspiration for trying some new things with a gardening space.

My vote for the quirkiest and most unique plans in the collection:
- Hot Dog Garden: shaped like a hot dog with all the fixins’ and including the plants for all the toppings
- Elizabethan Garden: growing 6 vegetables that were common in Elizabethan times but are unknown now (Skirret, Salsify and Rampion - what fun names!).
- Backyard Brewer’s Garden: how to grow hops in your backyard as well as some interesting flavorings for beer.
- Gutter Gardens: A hanging multi-tiered planter for shallow rooted edibles made from gutters.

The plans I particularly enjoyed:
- Partially Shaded Vegetables and the Urban Shade Garden: both of which gave me good ideas and expanded what I knew about shade-tolerant veggies.
- Circle of Life: innovative and symbolic circular design with the outer ring being a run for chickens.
- Founding Fathers Garden: a design with plants inspired by Monticello, Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg. I love history and am from Virginia so particularly appreciated it. I’ve gazed in envy at many of the Colonial Williamsburg gardens.

In short it gave me some ideas that I’d like to play with now, in my less than ideal space and ideas to dream about doing in my future “perfect” gardening space. It includes concepts of interest to the budding homesteader as well as the urbanite who’d like to include more edibles in their well-groomed yards.

Final Verdict: I’d recommend this book as a fun and informative perusal for any gardener but particularly those that are looking for inspiration for playing with their space. I really enjoyed it!

Top Ten Tuesday - Famous Authors I Have Not Read (but wish to)

 

This weeks topic, proposed by The Broke and The Bookish,  is actually one I've been working on over the last 2-3 years. A few years ago I made a list of authors that I should enjoy, but which I had not yet read. Some authors on that list that I have since caught up with: Stephen King (ish), China Mieville, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Barbara Pym and Ian McEwen. It's been a fruitful exercise as I've really enjoyed everything I've read by these author with one exception (King). Thankfully, I still have quite a few authors left on the list to discover!  I've listed them here with the novel for each that I thought I'd start with.  I'd appreciate advice or other recommendations if people have a favorite book by any of these authors! 

1) Cormac McCarthy

I thought I'd try Blood Meridian. "An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion..."

 2) Iris Murdoch

The Sea, The Sea 
"Charles Arrowby, leading light of England's theatrical set, retires from glittering London to an isolated home by the sea. He plans to write a memoir about his great love affair with Clement Makin, his mentor both professionally and personally, and to amuse himself with Lizzie, an actress he has strung along for many years. None of his plans work out ..." (Goodreads Description)

 3) Terry Tempest Williams

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place  "In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by...."(Goodreads Description)

 

4)Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake "Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future...." (Goodreads Description)

5) Octavia Butler

Wild Seed  "Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex or design. He fears no one until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is a shapeshifter who can absorb bullets and heal with a kiss and savage anyone who threatens her. She fears no one until she meets Doro...." (Goodreads Description)
 

6) Wilkie Collins

Woman in White  'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white'

 7) E.M. Forster

Howard's End  "Howard's End is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct, and personal relationships in turn-of-the-century England." (Goodreads Description)

 8) Larry McMurtry

 Lonesome Dove "A love story, an adventure, an American epic, LONESOME DOVE embraces all the West -- legend and fact, heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers -- in a novel that recreates the central American experience, the most enduring of our national myths." (Goodreads Description)

 9) Joyce Carol Oates

Bellefleur "A wealthy and notorious clan, the Bellefleurs live in a region not unlike the Adirondacks, in an enormous mansion on the shores of mythical Lake Noir." (Goodreads Description)

10) Virginia Woolf

To the Lighhouse "The novel that established Virginia Woolf as a leading writer of the twentieth century, To the Lighthouse is made up of three powerfully charged visions into the life of one family living in a summer house off the rocky coast of Scotland." (Goodreads Description)




So what well known authors would you like to catch up with?  If you are a particular fan of any of the authors on my list, do you have any advice on which of there books to start with?

REVIEW: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Original Publication Year: 2013

Genre(s): YA, Sci-Fi, Romance

Series: Lunar Chronicles #2

Awards: None

Format: Audio

Narrated By: Rebecca Soler

Recommended Subtitle: Little Red Riding Hood is Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names

 

I absolutely love the premise of this YA series – retold fairy tales in a science fiction setting. The purpose of “Scarlet” is to reframe the Little Red Riding Hood tale while still continuing the overall story begun in “Cinder”. There were a lot of things I could imagine going wrong here but I needn’t have worried because it continued to entertain.

This book continues right after the end of “Cinder” with two parallel stories. About 1/3rd of the book is spent with Cinder as she escapes from prison and begins to look for information about her past and with Emperor Kai as he negotiates the first few weeks of his reign. The other 2/3rd of the story is spent with Scarlet as she is desperately looking for her missing grandmother. She is helped in her quest by a mysterious and attractive young man going by the name of Wolf.

The whole approach to this series is really interesting. One overarching story with each book focusing on it from a different angle while incorporating a completely fresh story based on a fairy tale. I can’t think of another series that is structured this way, though I’d be interested if anyone else knows of one? It works surprisingly well. I wondered if I would resent not continuing on with the characters of the first book being front and center, but it really didn’t bother me at all. There was enough time spent with the original characters while still allowing the new story and characters to be adequately developed. I say adequately because we could have learned more about Wolf and for that matter more about Scarlet outside of the fact that she really loves her Grandmother, but I felt satisfied enough and the beauty of it is that I know there are two more books in which to get to know them. Cinder is also starting to struggle with some of the consequences of her new abilities and this is also dealt with more superficially than I’d like but for now I’m having a good enough time not to mind too much.

The character of Captain Thorn is a charming addition and works as a good foil for Cinder. Cinder’s interactions with him really helped me to like her more and I think she developed into the character I wanted her to be. I assume he is being set up as perhaps Cress’ love interest though with the name Thorn it seems he should be Sleeping Beauty’s prince? Isn't she the one enclosed behind a thorny rose hedge? I guess I’ll find out when I continue on with Cress!

Basically, I think this series is just a great big barrel of fun. I wouldn’t stare too hard at things because there are definitely some thin spots. However, there is enough depth to allow me to be drawn into the conflicts, the pacing is fast and expertly done, the writing good and the characters are very likeable and interesting. It is all set in a very interesting futuristic world which in itself enhances the story. I wasn’t profoundly emotionally moved or affected by the book but I was completely absorbed by the story and found it hard to put it down.

I ended up listening to this one on audio and I want to also really commend the reader. She did a great job distinguishing all the characters and giving all the right inflections. Scarlet yells a lot and this could have gotten irritating but she kept her likeable. Overall an enjoyable reading.

Final Verdict: Great storytelling and characters that are easy to like make this another page turner. Can’t wait to get my hands on Cress!

Hello To Jason Isaacs

Source

Recently I've been catching up with my favorite film review podcast and am experiencing an overwhelming feeling of affection for the program (or programme since it is British).  I thought I'd share the love in case you haven't had the pleasure of  stumbling upon this show that is so much more than just film reviews.  It's a bromance comedy and a collection of adorable quirks and it grows on you like a friendly fuzz of fungus.

I am speaking, of course, about Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, broadcast every Friday on  BBC radio's 5 live.  The thing that makes it especially fantastic is that it is a partnership between a professional film reviewer (Mark Kermode aka the bequiffed one above in the suit) and a surprisingly not at all irritating radio announcer (Simon Mayo) who is not afraid of poking fun of Mark when he gets too esoteric.  Couple that with the fact that they have been doing the show together for ten years which lends an air of camaraderie and sometimes bickering marrieds to the mix.  They are a perfect pair that balance each other quite nicely. 

Mark is also a great reviewer with a lot of personality.  He is intelligent, perceptive and expresses himself well.  He's opinionated and outspoken about those opinions which keeps things interesting (he HATES 3D, Michael Bay, and improper grammar) and is somewhat known for his rants about particularly hateful movies (example below).   I frequently don't agree with him; he loves the Twilight movies (seriously?!?) but is sniffy about Joe Wright's movies (Pride and Prejudice and Atonement) except Hanna. He also does not have the ability to fairly judge the merits of more low brow comedies like any that feature Will Ferrell or Judd Apatow which is especially head scratching given that he and Simon have been giggling non-stop for weeks about a Despicable Me 2 fart gun they were given.  However, his reviews are almost always interesting and entertaining to listen to.



The show also has a lot of quirks and inside jokes that make you feel connected with all the other listeners but initially it can be off putting.  I've been listening for at least 3 years now and feel completely in the know but I do remember feeling a little bewildered at first. They've named this patter and style Wittertainment.   The title to this post is one of their more famous signatures.  Mark attended school with actor Jason Isaacs (British, probably best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies but he's been in loads of movies and TV) and Jason listens to the show regularly.  They got into the habit of saying hello to him on air and it expanded into a kind of calling card for show listeners.  Listeners all over the world tried to fit the phrase into high profile events (like their wedding) and other locations (like in some of the graphics on the Jay Leno show). 

The show is roughly 90 minutes long and usually has a countdown of the British top ten movies at the box office, several reviews of new releases by Mark and an interview or two of actors or directors usually by Simon.  It can be subscribed to on itunes. If you like movies and like to smile like a loon for 90 minute stretches, I urge you to check it out. 

Do you have any favorite podcasts to share, particularly about movies?