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READING ROUND UP: FEBRUARY 2019 | Jazz Blackwell

I'm gonna preface this post by saying just this: I've been really really shit at reading this month. The last week of my life (and the last week of February) has been all but consumed by writing my dissertation proposal for my History class, which I fully thought I had over a month to write until a week before the due date - and I can assure you, that is exactly as much fun as it sounds. As a result, I've not had time to get much reading done at all, so this is gonna be a short one. Do accept my apologies for that, and I promise I'll read loads more in March to make up for it.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 by KURT VONNEGUT

A riddle that I'm sure plagues everybody who's asked what Slaughterhouse 5 is about: how exactly does one go about describing the plot of Vonnegut's seminal masterpiece without sounding entirely fucking mental? Seriously, try telling anyone you're currently engrossed in an anti-war novel about an American World War 2 soldier/prisoner of war who becomes unstuck in time and eventually gets abducted by aliens, and they'll likely look at you like you've grown a second head. 

Jokes aside, Slaughterhouse 5 is genuinely one of my all time favourite books and I was super pumped when I found out it was on my twentieth century lit course this semester. Maybe I'm biased because I'm firmly of the opinion that Kurt Vonnegut is one of the coolest people to ever exist, and he's definitely on my 'Who would you invite to a dinner party' list, but I definitely think that this is one of the best books of the twentieth century. A weird and wonderful tale about the futility of war, the abstract concept of time and - you read it right earlier - literal aliens, Slaughterhouse 5 is an absolute must-read for any sci-fi fan worth their salt. Definite 10/10. 
VIRAL by MIKE JEAVONS (sort of) 

First and foremost here I'll say if you don't know who Mike Jeavons is, you're missing out. He creates content over on YouTube which I, personally, think is absolutely hilarious in a dry, sarcastic, deadpan sort of way. I've been a fan of his for a good couple of years now, and he's been talking about writing this novel on his channel for as long as I've been subscribed. Usually, I'm not one to buy into the whole 'YouTuber book' thing because I find they're often pandering, ghostwritten drivel that was produced far too quickly in order to make a bit of cash. But with Mike, I knew it was gonna be different because a) I know for a fact Mike wrote it himself because he's been proving that on his channel for ages and b) since Mike seemingly has a more mature fanbase than those who generally put out books, it has a lot more of an adult theme to it. The premise is this: Chad's webcam gets hacked while he's having a wank, and the video gets leaked to the internet - seemingly by his own brother. All hell breaks loose.

Now, here's where the 'me being a little bit shit' part comes into play. I ordered this on Amazon earlier on in the month and began reading it as soon as I opened the package - and then I realised the sheer amount of work I've had to complete in the latter half of the month and just never got round to finishing it. I'd say I'm currently about 1/4 of the way through, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. It's as hilarious and sarcastic as I'd expect from Mike, and I can only assume it's gonna get better as it comes. It's maybe cheating a little bit to include it in this month's reading round up when I didn't actually read all of it in the month, but I wanted to include it because it's a new release and I want to show my support for one of my favourite content creators (and let's face it, I needed to pad out this post with something). From what I've read so far, the book is a solid 8/10, and I can only see it getting better. 

TOTAL BOOKS READ THIS YEAR: 5.25
PERCENTAGE OF YEARLY GOAL ACHIEVED: 10.5%
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NETFLIX REVIEW: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (2019) | Jazz Blackwell


It'll probably come as absolutely no shock to anybody reading this that teenage Jazz was something of a Gerard Way superfan (who are we kidding - I still totally am). So when I saw that the comics he created alongside Brazilian artist Gabriel Bá were being adapted to a television show via Netflix - well, something in my cold, dead little emo heart melted just a little bit.

Confession time: although I own the first volume of the comic book series (Apocalypse Suite), I never really got super into it. I suppose I've never really been a graphic novel person and really I was only interested in these comics because it had Gerard Way's name on the cover. That said, what I did read I thoroughly enjoyed and as such, I was more than a little excited for the series premiere.

If you're unfamiliar with the premise, allow me to sketch you a rough outline; on a day in 1989 in various places around the world, a number of children are born to women who had not been pregnant when they woke up that morning. Seven of them are adopted by Reginald Hargreeves, an eccentric scientist who recognises the unique superhuman powers each child possesses and raises them to become a ragtag team of sibling superheroes. Now adults, the siblings have abandoned their crime fighting and become estranged from one another, however, they are reunited by the death of their adopted father and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it.

I'm just gonna jump the gun and say it before I even get to the end of this review; I bloody loved this show, so much. Really, I have only two very small criticisms of it; the first is that, from what I recall of the comics, some parts of the storyline have been changed quite drastically. Now, to me, that isn't so much of an issue; the changes make sense for a TV adaptation and they don't make the plot any less enjoyable. However, if you're a purist and you like the show to be exactly like the book then this is probably gonna annoy you quite a bit. The second is the rather obvious similarities the show bares to the X-Men, which have been pointed out by several other critics. Again, this doesn't really bother me at all; I always was a huge X-Men fan, and the showrunners themselves seemed very aware of the similarities - there's even one direct comparison between Hargreeves and Charles Xavier.

Aside from those two small gripes (could we really call them that? Perhaps 'qualms' is more accurate), the show is, as far as I'm concerned, absolute perfection. It strikes a perfect balance between comedy and sci-fi, without ever being cheesy, and perfectly offsets its funnier scenes with some really pretty dark dramatic stuff. This is, of course, due in large part to the fantastic scriptwriting - but it's also carried perfectly by the cast. I'm perhaps a little bit biased because I've been head-over-heels in love with Robert Sheehan since the Misfits days, and putting him in eyeliner and leather trousers just makes him a thousand times hotter to my eye, but his character of Klaus (aka Number 4) is far and away my favourite on the show. Each of the characters is complex and interesting in their own right, but there's something uniquely fascinating to me about Klaus that had me in love with/rooting for him the entire time. The twist towards the end (which I won't share because we don't do spoilers here) was tense, shocking and brilliantly carried out.

Of course, we can't be sitting here talking about The Umbrella Academy without bringing up that soundtrack. Featuring classic hits from the likes of Adam Ant, Tiffany, The Doors and Toploader, as well as more modern tunes from Paloma Faith, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Woodkid, the music in the show is a perfect blend of vintage gloriousness and modern-day bops and good lord, that Gerard Way cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Hazy Shade of Winter gave me serious nostalgia back to the glory days of MCR. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I tell you I think this might be the best television soundtrack I've heard in literally years.

Overall, the show is perfectly written, perfectly cast and perfectly soundtracked, and that's supported by the fact that I binge-watched all seven and a half hours of it over two evenings. Warnings in place for some strong language, bloody violence and substance abuse. My overall rating is a strong 10/10. Anxiously awaiting season 2. 

 Keep it weird,
Jazz xo
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NETFLIX REVIEW: BANDERSNATCH (2018) | Jazz Blackwell


It'll probably come as little surprise to any of you that I'm something of a Black Mirror superfan. As both something of a fairweather conspiracy theorist, as well as a great big horror nut, it honestly feels like the series was made for me. I was also super into choose-your-own adventure stories when I was a kid - so, naturally, when I heard about Bandersnatch, I was beyond excited.

The first thing I'll say is a criticism, not of the show, but of Netflix itself. I initially tried to play Bandersnatch on the desktop app - to be presented with the 'Sorry' montage informing me that I wouldn't be able to do so. That was a bit confusing for me; its the newest version of the app that I have, and my laptop is brand new (I got it for Christmas), so I'm a little bit confused as to why the episode wouldn't play. However, I did manage to get it going on the Netflix online player with no issue, so it wasn't too much of a problem - just a heads up that if you are struggling to play it on the desktop app for any reason, then the web player might be the way to go.

As for the show itself, I intentionally didn't read too much into the premise or anything beforehand because I really wanted to go into it and have a totally fresh experience - so I was very pleasantly surprised to see Dunkirk's Fionn Whitehead in the main role as game developer Stefan Butler and the wonderful Will Poulter as his hero Colin Ritman. It was also wonderful seeing People Just Do Nothing's Asim Chaudhry as company director Mohan Tucker. In short - the show was altogether very well cast, though I expected no less of Black Mirror.

The choose-your-own-adventure style of the program - its main selling point - more than met my expectations. When I initially spotted people on Twitter talking about how their were rather cosmetic choices they didn't expect to be asked to make, I worried that it might be too much - I thought, perhaps, the show would be over saturated with viewer choice and lack that anxious sense of tension and suspense that makes Black Mirror so great. Thankfully, however, they seem to have found the perfect balance. The choices do, indeed, start off rather superficial and cosmetic seeming - you decide what Stefan will eat for breakfast, or what music he will listen to on the bus - but as the program progresses, the choices become more and more sinister and difficult. In typical Black Mirror style, there is no ending that is really 'happy' or 'good' - just some which are less dark and grisly than the rest.

Overall, Bandersnatch has every aspect of Black Mirror which makes it so fantastic. My only criticism is the one fault I had with Netflix itself. It's difficult to issue any kind of disclaimers or trigger warnings for the show, given the near-infinite possibilities that depend on viewer choice, but I will say that if you're sensitive to blood, themes of mental illness, depictions of suicide and mentions of murder, approach this (and, honestly, any other Black Mirror) episode with caution.

My rating is 10/10. This is a definite must-watch. 

 Keep it weird,
Jazz xo
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