Monthly Consumption // Feb 2020

Everything I read, watched, listened to and saw live in February 2020..

Books 

'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer - The graphic descriptions throughout made this a difficult book to read at certain points, but I honestly wish I could buy a copy for everyone I know. An in-depth, thoroughly researched book about the realities of factory farming, which doesn't necessarily reach the conclusion you'd imagine (i.e. "Let's all go vegetarian,") but instead encourages us to look at where we source our food and the messages sent by our consumerism. Strongly recommend. 

'A Winter Book' by Tove Jansson - A beautiful collection of short stories for grown-ups, written by the creator of childhood favourites the Moomins.

'The Locked Ward: Memoirs of A Psychiatric Orderly' by Dennis O'Donnell - This is a really interesting insight into life as a member of staff on a locked psychiatric ward. I felt that some small segments could have been written in a more respectful way, but overall it was an interesting and humorous read. 

'Their Finest' by Lissa Evans - A novel set in 1940, 'Their Finest' tells the story of a propaganda war film and the lives that collide in its making. Truthfully, I found the first half of this book a bit of a slog to get through, but it picked up eventually and I'm glad I stuck with it long enough to find out what became of its characters.

Movies 

I watched more TV than movies this month, but at home I saw 'Departures' (listed as 'Then Came You' by some sources) - a cute teenage drama about achieving your dreams in the face of adversity; 'Miss Americana' - the Taylor Swift documentary, which gave me a new appreciation for the singer; and then 'Suicide Squad', to acquaint me with Harley Quinn. 

In the cinema I saw 'Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'. I've seen very mixed reviews for the film over press and social media, but I actually really enjoyed it: fun, fast-paced and full of fierce female characters, backed by an excellent soundtrack.

TV

In terms of TV this month, I made my partner watch Daniel Sloss' brilliant stand-up show 'X' which I saw live last year. It's since been released on HBO and I highly recommend giving it a watch. 

I also watched season 3 of 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina', which I enjoyed save the surreal musical segments; 'The Stranger', which gripped me and had to be binged; the final episodes of 'The Good Place', which I was kind of over already, in all honesty; and seasons 1 and 2 of 'Anne With An E', which made for delightfully innocent viewing.

Music 

Music-wise, this month I enjoyed the 'Birds of Prey' soundtrack enough to listen to it on its own, slotted in between Oh Wonder's album 'No One Else Can Wear Your Crown', Hayley Williams' EP 'Petals for Armor' and the bush-fire charity album 'Forty-Five Degrees' by Amanda Palmer and Friends.

Seen Live

This month I saw Tom Walker play an intimate show to a small crowd at Aberdeen's Tunnels, with stripped-back versions of his songs really showing off those powerhouse vocals. Local lad Scott Wallace opened the evening, with Cameron Barnes (once member of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers) holding his own as support act, delighting the crowd by blasting some bagpipes between verses. (We enjoyed his performance so much we've booked tickets for his headline show in July.) 

xo