The Sharing Circle
May 2025
It’s apparently the time when I once again share some things I’ve been reading or watching or enjoying with the people who read this missive on the regular. Since last month’s sharing circle was just a ranking of all 5 Twilight Saga movies, you would think I’d have a lot to talk about. But most of those things are work related, and I’m saving that for another day.
Here are a few things from May…
Firstly, I randomly re-read The Hunger Games trilogy. I’d been reminded of its existence by a few things and then this Sentimental Garbage episode convinced me to go there. And you know what? I really enjoyed myself. It sent me into a pretty dark spiral which was unexpectedly intense considering it is actually quite a surface level story. But there are just some bits that really hit, given the current social, political, and entertainment climates. I had planned to re-watch the movies, but haven’t yet. I also feel no compulsion to read the two prequels. I thought I might. But I remain very much uninterested.
Misdirected by Lucy Parker – this is an audible original narrated by Nicola Coughlan and Gwilym Lee. Honestly, it was so good! Highly recommend if you need some light romance that’s excellently written and gorgeously narrated. Great Sunday afternoon reading. Big fan!
The Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman – These books are excellent!! Probably some of my favourites in the last few years. There are only two so far, and I might die waiting for the next one. Series of Regency adventures featuring an excellent sister relationship at its heart, fantastic banter, fantastic characters, good mysteries, good villains, great love interests. I can’t say enough positive things about these books.
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister – Dr Jodi is the Queen of Romance for a reason. This somehow manages to combine all the charming coincidences and helpful characters of a traditional small-town romance, (it’s not actually small town… just small-town vibes. Set in Hobart.) with all the actual nuance, character depth, hotness and fantastic writing of the best contemporary romances. Which is not surprising at all given who wrote it. I don’t usually go in for marriage of convenience. But I happily broke that rule for Dr Jodi and do not regret it one bit!
There was this story about casting directors which was interesting, and this one about AI in the screen industry which I hate so aggressively much.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned how much I love the Every Outfit podcast on here ever. Well, I love the Every Outfit podcast, and I love it extra now that And Just Like That is back and so are the weekly recaps. I also love the AJLT recaps by Drinks With Broads. For somebody who’s never watched a single episode of this show, I really love listening to people eviscerate it.
A show I have enjoyed fairly recently (I think it was actually in April) was The Lovers. A show from 2023 I’d never heard of, but found when I randomly googled something for a project one day. This show was messy and I genuinely enjoyed every minute. If you like your romance and your comedy dark, awkward and abrasive this is for you. It’s a pity it’s only available on Binge, a streaming service nobody has anymore.
I’ve been drinking a lot of Milo Mochas, and eating a lot of Ginger Biscuits to get through cold days at my computer, and that’s all really. I spent this weekend joining a new bank, eating cheese and macrons off my favourite fancy platter, and watching The Veronica Mars movie, which I genuinely love.
Don’t forget to register to attend the My Name Is Jemima Launch next Sunday. I promise it will be fun even though I still haven’t picked the perfect outfit.