What’s on our shelves: This month we travel through space exploration, via fantasy lands to Hell, with a brief stop off in reality…

TV: Starfleet Academy Paramount

Obviously if you are a Trekkie you are probably well aware of this series! Its an interesting take on the usual fare of a team on board a starship exploring the universe(s) and solving issues. This time we follow cadets on Earth – so almost the whole teen drama crossover. Solid characters from both the cadets and teachers. And this time a running theme and bad-guy to focus on alongside the trials and tribulations of campus life. Not quite as good as Strange New Worlds, but enjoyable.

Book series: The Greatcoats by Sebastien DeCastell

If you have read our reviews before you know I am a fan of this writer, his irreverent style is just my bag. Again this is a fantasy series (his usual genre). In this world we have a lot of political turmoil and intrigue, an executed king who wanted things to be better who created the Greatcoats – a band of roving justicars to bring a little more stability and peace to his realm. After he is gone our brave heroes face hatred and disdain from a populous who follow the victors, the Dukes. From our protagonists point of view the Dukes are a hive of corrupt villains, but we see glimpses here and there of the other side of this story. Really well written and I am reading the series through again and enjoying it as much if not more.

Sam Goldsmith, Business Development Manager – Open Fifth

eAudiobook: A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern

This was a book recommended to me by Jessie at ByWater, around the time of last year’s KohaCon in New Zealand. I had to put a reservation on it at my library and it only became available last month! Anyhow, it’s an inspiring read, described as “A deeply personal memoir”, and it really is. I found Jacinda hugely relatable, she seemed just like me! It describes her childhood upbringing and her rise to the most senior post in New Zealand without really seeking power. I found her observations about the “toll” of responsibility interesting and also her hope that people didn’t have to fit into a certain type of mould to attain a position like the one she held. Her underlying principle of “be kind” also hit home. The slight sting in the tail was her observation that she doesn’t see many leaders in the world like her, they all fit into the same mould of power seeking men, and I had to agree. However, she ends optimistically, and we should be also, that there can be a “different kind of power”. 

Jonathan Field, Managing Director, Open Fifth

Theatre: Hadestown by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, Tom Kirdahy

While the London weather was busy being—well, London—we decided to trade the damp, grey streets for something a little bit hotter.

To celebrate my daughter’s 11th birthday, the whole crew (Mum, Dad, and Big Sis) headed to see Hadestown. Now, my youngest is obsessed with all things Greek mythology, so this was the ultimate test. It’s a bit of a “stretch” for an 11-year-old in places—it’s soulful, deep, and definitely doesn’t hold your hand—but she was absolutely captivated.

The Quick Review:

• The Vibe: It was the perfect antidote to a dark, wet winter day. You walk in cold and walk out humming melodies that feel like they’ve existed forever.
• The Sound: A brilliant, gritty mix of jazz, folk, and blues. It’s not your typical “musical theatre” sound; it’s got way more soul than that.
• The Story: The way they handle the cyclical nature of the myth is just amazing. It’s a tragic story we all know, yet the cast was so fantastic they had us rooting for a different ending anyway!

It’s a rare win when a show hits the mark for the kids, the teens, and the parents. If you’re looking to add some heat to your winter schedule, get down to the Underworld. Trust me, the commute is worth it.

Martin Renvoize, Head of Development and Community Engagement, Open Fifth

Obsessive consumption:

I have continued my project to consume everything written by T Kingfisher by listening to:

• Nettle and Bone
• A Sorceress Comes to Call
• A House with Good Bones
• The Hollow Places
• Thornhedge

And reading What Stalks the Deep (3rd in the Sworn Soldier series)

Everything has lived up to the high bar I’ve now set for T Kingfisher and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all.

However, I now have a new author I must obsessively consume everything ever written by – TJ Klune.

I devoured The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea over the last week.

I alternated between laughing and crying and am so happy to have found something so beautifully joyful in this insane world. If you need a lift up, if you want a world that you can sink into like a cozy, warm, joyfully blanket – these books are for you. I will not sully my joy by mentioning she who shall not be named but if you want the polar opposite of that hate filled vileness, TJ Klune aims to be that author.

Read:

Hooked by Asako Yuzuki

Have you ever met or made friends with someone that as you got to know them better made you feel increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. I have. Right or wrong, I cut contact with them (or ghosted them if you prefer) without explaining why. For many reasons but it essentially boils down to my not wanting to have an awkward encounter to have a difficult conversation that would simply say, you make me feel uncomfortable and I don’t want to spend time with you. I never felt that it was my place or right to change them because just because I wasn’t comfortable doesn’t meant mean they were wrong somehow. It’s me not them….

Thankfully, none of those experiences I’ve had over the years lead to my being stalked. At least, not that I’m aware of. (Would that make them amazing stalkers or terrible ones?)

Hooked, by Asako Yuzuki, is about when one woman becomes obsessed with another and is so determined that they are destined to be best friends, she refuses to let the other woman cut contact.

I read Butter by Asako Yuzuki when it came out and thoroughly enjoyed it so when I got a chance to read an advanced copy of Hooked I jumped at the chance.

Like Butter, Hooked focuses on two women in contemporary Japan. Eriko has a high powered job at a large company her father previously worked at. She lives at home with her parents, works long hours and has always struggled to make friends.

Shōko blogs about how terrible a housewife she is.

Neither woman has any friends but whereas Shōko seems perfectly content with herself and her life, Eriko is desperate to make a connection with someone. Neither woman matches what society expects of them and so their isolation is palatable despite living in the middle of the megacity that is Tokyo.

Each woman is painfully self obsessed. Painfully presumptuous of understanding the other and this gives rise to some truly awkward and intense interactions.

I suspect this one will stay with me for a long time.

Helen Symington, Sales Executive – Open Fifth