6 of the Best: Double Banger

It's been a long time between drinks (and when I say 'drinks' I mean 'blog posts' ... in truth, there's been no interim between drinks ...) so this is a 6 of the Best Double Banger. In my mathematical mastery, I have deduced this to be 12 of the Best. (Not sure if it's just me but there are a lot of great books and TV shows out there at the moment). Enjoy.


1. Book: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I'm a little late to the party on this one. First published in 1965, this book is by the author of Breakfast at Tiffany's. It centres around the 1959 savage murder of the Clutter family. Capote reconstructs the murder and investigation that lead to the capture, trial and execution of the killers. Mesmerising, suspenseful and multi-dimensional. Hard to put down.


2. App: TagsDock

This little beauty lets you hashtag your posts on Insta quickly and easily. No more bulk copying and pasting Instagram hashtags. Find out more and download from here. Hashgram is the Android equivalent. 


3. TV: Big Little Lies

Have you seen the TV mini-series based on Aussie author, Liane Moriarty's book, Big Little Lies? Best TV series I've seen in years. More than the story. More than the talent. Production, music, real estate porn. Alexander Skarsgard. It was made by television maestro David E Kelley so really, what did you expect? We need more TV like this. (Showing in Oz on Foxtel).


4. TV and article: 13 Reasons Why

Speaking of TV, I recently gave my take on what parents can get out of Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. The show is based on the YA novel by Jay Asher about the fallout following teenager, Hannah Baker's suicide. It's a contentious issue and my article was well received by the Kidspot audience.   


5. Radio: Talking Lifestyle - when to introduce your kids to your new partner

Speaking of self-promotion, I recently spoke on radio about another of my Kidspot articles. 


6. Art: Another Day in Paradise by Myuran Sukumaran

Curated by Ben Quilty and Michael Dagostino, Another Day in Paradise was a sobering series of powerful portaits by Myuran Sukumaran, painted during his incarceration at Bali's Kerobokan jail and from his final incarceration on Nusa Kambangan Island before he was executed. 

I'm glad his art and his lessons live on.

7. Podcast: Bang On

 As a total fan girl of Zan Rowe, Bang On is just another opportunity to hear more from this intelligent, articulate, music lover. This poddy is a fun bit of audio nonsense featuring Zan and fellow music journo and presenter, Myf Warhurst. It's a debrief on the biggest conversations of the week - focusing on music, art, life and stuff. (Kind of a younger version of Crabb and Salesy's Chat 10 Looks 3).


8. Video: Under Pressure - Bowie and Lennox

How good is this little blast from the past?


9. Post: Gwendolyn Brooks on vulnerability as strength and her advice to writers

Article by Maria Popova on Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks was only 33 in 1950, a year after her debut novel was published, when she became the first black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize.

“Wherever life can grow, it will. It will sprout out, and do the best it can.”

10. Pin: A child backs himself despite less than ideal companions

11. Book: Letters of Note - compiled by Shaun Usher

Virginia Woolf's suicide letter, Queen Elizabeth's recipe for drop scones sent to President Eisenhower, the first recorded use of the expression 'OMG', a brilliant cover letter by a copywriter looking to become a screen writer, Iggy Pop's letter of advice to a troubled young fan. 

Letters of Note - a book that was borne from a blog of the same name - is a best-selling collection of over a hundred of the world's most entertaining, inspiring and unusual letters.

12. TV: Feud

The New Yorker probably sums it up best: "a barbed and bittersweet fable about female self-sabotage. The latest provocation from Ryan Murphy, “Feud” is a dramatization of the making of the 1962 camp-classic movie “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” which starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Beneath the zingers and the poolside muumuus, the show’s stark theme is how skillfully patriarchy screws with women’s heads—mostly by building a home in there."

Starring Susan Sarrandon and Jessica Lang. What more could you ask for?