24.01.25 - Books and Night Walks

 So in today's rambling, I'm going to talk about a few books I've been reading (I already wrote more than I expected on a fb book club post, so I may as well start with that.  I'll also include some pictures I've taken when walking in the dark, and that pretty much catches you up on everything I do. 

So, some thoughts on some books. 

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes 

This seemed very topical, a zombie/possession take on the influence of screens, social media, fake news, ragebait etc. It jumps straight in with horror and violence in part 1, then you go back and see how each member of a family is infected by either 'fax news', Instagram or twitter in part 2.

 It feels a bit preachy at times, but it's also critical of aspects of both left and right. Part 2 is a bit confusing as it jumps between the different viewpoints and time gets a bit confused, but it's very unsettling. 

Part 3 is where it becomes an apocalypse road trip story, and has lots of 'found footage' bits (transcripts of YouTube videos, police bodycam footage, etc) which I love. But because it includes all these different opinions of 'what's really going on' you never actually get many answers. 

I started to worry that it was going to have a 'non-ending' where nothing is resolved, then it for very silly and then the ending was...ok. not satisfying but it was an least an ending 😄

Hope you're enjoying this post

Incidents Around The House 

This is a haunted house story told from the view of a small child who is haunted by a figure she calls 'Other Mommy'. Sometimes the childlike narration actually made it seem less scary to me, but then at other points it highlights it so it's a good contrast I suppose. It's very sweet at times. 

I enjoyed this one a lot more on the whole, but I didn't like the feeling that maybe it was meant to be more metaphorical than literal (I know a lot of fantasy/horror uses supernatural stuff to represent everyday issues and that's fine but i really don't like 'it was all a dream' endings).

The ending for this one though... it leaves you thinking but in a deliberate way rather than 'the writer wrote themselves into a corner and now they explain it'.

I now leave you with a bunch of photos I took while heading over Gateshead for silent book club. 

This includes some faces I found in the toilets. 

But mainly lots of pretty lights on wet pavement. 

I'm tired. Good night all. 

Confused Catch-up - 22/01/2026

 I feel like I'm swinging a bit at the moment.  Like there's not a lot happening but there's lots to do (if someone asks what I've been up to its like..I don't know, everyday life? The same?) 

I'm still aware of all the hundreds of things I want to do. Things I want to watch, things I want to read, things I want to write about or otherwise tell people on the internet. Things I want to look into or try or think about. And while it's often overwhelming and stressful (how do you choose a particular thing to focus on out of hundreds of possibilities?) I've started to notice that I'm sometimes feeling quite eager and excited about it. There's lots of stuff I COULD do. And I'm not even talking about big things, I'm not planning on climbing any mountains or getting some fancy or important job. I could take a picture of a really cool leaf, I could have a particularly satisfying interaction with a stranger online, I could find that a cheap book I picked up by chance turns out to be really good. 

Yesterday I went to silent book club and I'd spent a lot of the day slightly preoccupied and on edge because I wasnt sure what time I would get into town, where I was going to eat that wouldn't take too much time etc. Just as I was walking from the station I remembered that Zapatista exists, it's quick, and I haven't had Mexican for ages. It was perfect, even if it doesn't make for the most exciting food photo

So anyway,  in the interest of getting on with stuff and doing what I actually want to do on this blog (rather than catching up on bits I meant to share ages ago) here is a brief tour of the last month or so. 

Christmas happened. It happened for everyone and I'm sure you all know roughly how it works. It was a good one for me. A quiet, relaxed one. 

Found an amazingly detailed piece of local graffiti. 

Had a nice, sophisticated NYE.

We had snow! Not on Christmas but close enough that it felt quite Christmassy.

I took loads of photos

I'll not post too many here, but you get the idea. If you want to see more, give me a shout and I'll point you to everywhere else I posted them that you missed, because the internet is stupid. 

I even went out at NIGHT to wander round a GRAVEYARD for my art. Cos I'm goth n stuff. 

All taken on my phone in night mode, until my hands got so cold I had to stop. I need some of those touchscreen gloves really. 

We continue to be part-time carers/staff for a ridiculous doggo

She continually looks like she doesn't appreciate our efforts. But she was very pleased when she got a roast dinner. 

I'm also trying to do a bit more homecooked food. Not in a 'new year new me way' (I'm still working on various chocolates and things after Christmas) but I figure the odd vegetable is probably a good idea. 

Anyway, that's all I want to cover for now but I will be back soon with thoughts on books and Night Walks

A wild traffic cone appears

Also, if you want ferret pictures that would be a whole other entry and surely if you're reading this you see them often enough anyway, but I'll leave you with these