List Updates ... x

So here we are again ...

I am currently unemployed, which in theory should mean I'm finishing books left, right and centre.. but apparently when I'm bored I have the attention span of a goldfish.

This means I've been a bit feeble when it comes to doing my list..!

I did mentioned back at the beginning of February that I've started to read Memoirs of a Geisha.. and I am happy to say that I finished it today!

Memoirs of a Geisha

I have to say that this is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

I think the reason it has taken me so long to read it is the sheer amount of description used by the author, and the fact that I wanted to make sure I was completely encompassed in the book with nothing to distract me from the writing.

It follows a young girl through her life as she meets different people that will help shape her life as a Geisha. It's a really moving story, full of emotion, that I found hard to put down when I had a spare moment to read it.

I didn't know much about the lives of Geisha before I read this, and I must say it has opened my eyes to their world. I particularly like how the author handles intimacy and sex within the book, as he shows how differently viewed it is by this culture.

I have to give this a 5/5 as anything less would be an injustice. I might have to watch the film soon, so I can see how well the Director manages to capture the story on a big screen.

The Apartment (1960)

What a lovely old romantic 'comedy' ... I can't really describe it as a comedy as it wasn't laugh out loud for me... but perhaps it was at the time of release.

Baxter gets promoted at work as he lets people use his apartment to meet up with their 'other women' without their wives finding out and as a cover for their real addresses.

This eventually becomes too much for him and he demands that they stop using his apartment, but not before his boss brings back the woman that Baxter has wanted from afar to his apartment .. on Christmas Eve! He then proceeds to break her heart and leave her alone to attempt suicide..

Baxter comes back to his apartment to find her, and nurses her back to health..

I won't tell you any more of the plot as it'll spoil the story, but it's a lovely tale of romance.. more so than comedy!

I will give it a 4/5 as it didn't quite go the way I'd have liked... but a great film nonetheless :)

So there you have it.. two more strikes on my book/film list...

I have just spent a whole 3p (I know, pushing the boat out!) on Hamlet, The Bell Jar, and Catch 22.. so looks like they will be next on the agenda.

I've also convinced a friend of mine, Beth, to write a list of her own to do before she's 35 and she's taken up the gauntlet... will keep you posted!

xx