Challenge Update - March 2015

My 2015 challenges are:-

1. Read one book each month.
1a. Read Agatha Christie books in chronological order.
2. Watch films from IMDb's top 100 movies of all time.
3. Support charities.

My reading picked up a little in March, I got through three books as well as my Agatha Christie read. The first book I read was The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I remember someone recommending this book on a blog but I can't for the life of me remember who it was. What would you do if you found an envelope amongst your husband's belongings with 'to be opened only in the event of my death' written on it? Would you open it? Cecilia Fitzpatrick did and it had serious consequences for a number of families. I enjoyed the story, but once I've read a book I'm sometimes left wondering what happened afterwards. I liked the fact that Liane Moriarty answered those questions in a final chapter.

I saw The Debt & The Doormat by Laura Barnard was a free Kindle download so I thought that was a good reason to give it a go. I enjoyed reading about Poppy, a girl in her twenties, who swaps flats with her best friend and who is totally accident prone. The book was very funny, but the poor grammar and terrible punctuation nearly spoilt it for me, I can't see how this book was ever proof read. I enjoyed it for what it was but I'm in no hurry to read the sequel.

A Mother's Story by Amanda Prowse was recommended by Mitzi on her Lazy Days & Sundays at The Willows blog in A Mother's Story post. It just so happened that on the day Mitzi posted about this book, it was on my Kindle Daily Deals for just 99p so I downloaded it straight away. I'm so glad I did as I really enjoyed it. Jessica and Matthew appear to have it all, but after the traumatic birth of their first child, post natal depression rears its ugly head and their lives fall apart. It's written with great sensitivity and gives a very real insight in to the effect that post natal depression has on people's lives, it's such a terrible illness.

Hercule Poirot returned in Agatha Christie's third book, The Murder On The Links. This is my favourite of the three Agatha Christie books I've read so far. I was kept guessing till the end in this book, having changed my mind who the murderer was on several occasions.


I haven't watched as many films this month as I did in January and February, just four.

I've never seen Terminator but I watched Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I'd seen bits of this film previously, and it doesn't really matter if you haven't seen the first film. I'm not really in to science fiction but I didn't mind this film at all.

I've seen both Alien and its sequel, Aliens, previously but I enjoyed watching them again. I don't think there's many films where the sequel is better than the original but in my opinion, this is one of them.

I'm really not in to gangster movies so I wasn't expecting to enjoy Goodfellas. It's based on a true story and follows Henry Hill, a small time gangster, over the course of the next thirty years as an associate of the New York Mafia's Lucchese family. He eventually betrayed the mob and was placed in witness protection. There's no getting away from the fact that it's a violent movie but the violence is part of the story so it's in context. I think the casting was excellent and the film itself exceeded my expectations.

It was Red Nose Day for Comic Relief on the 13th of March so I bought a red nose to support this worthy cause. I saw children from the local primary school going to school that morning dressed in red and some even had their face painted. I could hear lots of excited shouts in the playground that day.

It was The Great Daffodil Appeal for Marie Curie Cancer Care in March. I bought my daffodil and have been wearing it all month. Marie Curie support so many people, not only the person living with terminal illness but their families too.

I had a bag full of old clothes and textiles which had seen better days so I dropped these off at the Oxfam recycling bin in the nearby Tesco's car park. Oxfam have a recycling plant, Wastesaver, which maximises revenue from textiles that cannot be resold in their shops, and minimises the amount of textiles sent to landfil. Damaged or low grade items can be sold to recycling traders so they can be turned in to such things as car soundproofing or mattress stuffing. I'm happy to know that my old clothes and textiles which aren't good enough to be sold in charity shops can still raise money for worthy causes.

Do you remember my Challenge Update - January 2015 post? I mentioned Candlelighters which is a childhood cancer charity in Yorkshire and said that I'd set up a regular standing order to them. I'd done it in Mick's name as the charity is able to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer, increasing the amount of the donation. As I don't pay tax because I don't work, it made more sense to donate in Mick's name. We received a lovely card from the charity thanking us for our regular donation.

I'd hoped to get out in the garden a bit this weekend but the weather hasn't been very nice at all. Surely, now that we're approaching April, the weather must improve soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.