Not a huge amount of fun, but in a weeks time I have to go into hospital for an operation. Then they have said that I will be off work for at least 4 weeks.
Its a nasty operation as opposed to anything life-threatening, but those of you who know me IRL will understand how much the idea of a month stuck at home with nothing much to do (I'm not supposed to be exercising either!) fills me with fear.
That's where I could really use your suggestions: What DVDs (movies, but probably more interested in TV box sets) should I be catching up on? Are there any books that you have read recently that you thought were brilliant? Any new sites that might have passed me by?
All suggestions and recommendations gratefully received...
Thank you!
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. It's a beautiful book.
Posted by: Charles Frith | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 04:37 PM
Sorry to hear that, Amelia.
I'm reading 'Terror and Consent' at the moment, which is a bit serious but really very interesting and certainly worth reading.
On a lighter note, are you a Family Guy fan? If not, buy every series on DVD and prepare to watch the best entertainment available.
Hope all goes well.
Pc.
Posted by: Paul H. Colman | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 04:45 PM
'The Soul of a Chef' by Michael Ruhlman - a fantastic read even for those with little interest in the culinary world. A fascinating look into the creative process.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Ian Fitzpatrick | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 05:01 PM
Really sorry to hear that.
If you haven't read it already, Leaving Microsoft to Change The World is an inspiring tale:
http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/
Posted by: Nick | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 05:16 PM
Wishing you a sharp recovery!
I recommend reading 'The Future Files - 5 trends that will shape the next 50 years' by Richard Watson.
Posted by: Stephen Davies | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 05:30 PM
I did 6 weeks at home post op last Summer. Series 1-7 of Buffy did the trick for me. Perfect as not too much brain work required to keep up and the ideal length to watch between naps.
Posted by: gemma | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 05:50 PM
My wife and I recently listened to Julia Child's My Life in France which was fascinating. It will make you hungry though.
Best of luck with your recovery!
Posted by: David Comay | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 08:08 PM
Rome is brilliant, 30 Rock is compulsive and Lipstick Jungle is a lovely trashy Sex and the City follow on.
Good luck with the op!
Posted by: Le'Nise Brothers | Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 09:22 PM
Family Guy, 30 Rock, Californication, Arrested Development, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Gomorrah should keep you occupied for some time. Best wishes.
Posted by: John | Sunday, 18 January 2009 at 12:17 AM
And Weeds.
Posted by: John | Sunday, 18 January 2009 at 12:18 AM
These are such a brilliant mixture of High-Brow, Low-Brow, No-Brow!! Thank you all
My friend David FBed me with these book suggestions, and they all sounded great so thought that I would add them here too:
.........
Watching the Door by Kevin Myers (drinking shagging and getting shot at in early 70's Belfast)
Places in Between by Rory Stewart (almost zen like book which sees the author travel on foot across Afghanistan)
Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart (same man now our man in Basra getting shot at)
Emperors Children - f scott fitzgerald meets 9/11 Manhattan
The Last Campaign (thurston clarke) - the story of Bobbie Kennedy's doomed campaign. Mesmerising and tragic.
JG Ballard - Miracles of Life. Quite frankly I cannot think of a finer memoire
Posted by: amelia | Sunday, 18 January 2009 at 05:25 PM
Get better soon. This is laugh out loud...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Tell-Mum-Work-Rigs/dp/1857883772/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1232344514&sr=1-1
Posted by: Nick | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 05:58 AM
Ouch; hope it all goes well and recovery is quick.
Now, if I had some palliative time on my hands, I'd be looking to catch up with 'Sports Night', Aaron Sorkin's pre West Wing show, set in an ESPN-like network show; and finish David Foster Wallace's 'Infinite Jest'. When else are you going to get the chance to read 1150 pages...
Posted by: Rish | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 09:31 AM
Studio 60 (or whatever the number is) on the Sunset Strip was a really good show. Sad it got cancelled.
Hope all goes well.
Posted by: Rob Mortimer | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 01:45 PM
How about The Wire? I've just got into it and I'm hooked.
Posted by: Laurence | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 02:06 PM
I'm sorry to hear that Amelia - I hope it isn't too nasty and you come out just fine on the other side.
As far as box sets go... where to start.
The Wire is a must - all 5 seasons of it. That's a week or 2 taken up right there.
The box set of the Band of Brothers is always welcome next to my TV, and if you've never watched the series, I strongly recommend you do if you're interested in WW2.
If you're a Sean Bean fan, then I'd suggest the box set of Sharpe as well - its amazingly cheesy, but its fun.
Hope you mend soon :-)
Ramzi
Posted by: Ramzi Yakob | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 05:23 PM
My best wishes! I was laid up for 3 months following spinal surgery, and had all the very best intentions that I was going to use this time to read a tonne of books, see all the films I'd always meant to see but never got around to....and found that actually I did very little of this, because pain meds and pain meant I had bugger all concentration, and found it really really hard to keep focused / follow the train of thought when reading or watching films. Obviously your mileage may vary, and I hope your recovery is swift and painless, but also just to say don't feel disheartened if you find you're not up to all the things you thought you would be doing!
However, assuming you're not zonked out as I was, I'd recommend (bookswise) Quirkology by Richard Wiseman, Ben Goldacre's Bad Science, and This is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitan. Also old but good - 'The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat' - and generally anything by Oliver Sacks.
Posted by: Katy | Monday, 19 January 2009 at 05:30 PM
Hi Amelia,
Sorry to hear you're going to be holed up for a few weeks. I hope things aren't as drug induced as what Linders has just described and if so I'd recommend the following:
Books: Carter Beats the Devil - Glen Gold (early 20th century magician, quite fast paced and intriguing, great read)
Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (that should take a month to plough through!)
TV: The Wire all 5 seasons, Family Guy (all seasons) as long as you don't have stitches that will be irritated by laughing!! Three Colours Trilogy - Krzysztof Kieślowski (I'm sure you've seen them, but if not they're amazing)
Hope you make a speedy recovery and look forward to catching up soon.
Ash x
Posted by: Ashley | Tuesday, 20 January 2009 at 09:52 AM
Oh no - I had no idea about this when I saw you last night. Wish you a speedy recovery. As for things to do, if you haven't watched Mad Men that's a good DVD set to get on with, and Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts if you haven't read that. I just read A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz and though its huge, it is also entertaining in bits.
Posted by: Anjali | Tuesday, 20 January 2009 at 01:09 PM
Just one more thing...
Columbo Box Set.
http://tinyurl.com/9gzbt5
Posted by: Adam | Tuesday, 20 January 2009 at 05:23 PM
Another vote for the Wire. On the book front, it's harder to say (it's a more personal issue.) If it were me, though - I'd take stuff that I know I could geek out on (read "genre fiction"), and that would take AGES to read:
Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle trilogy -- "historical SF")
George R. R. Martin (Song of Ice and Fire series -- "gritty fantasy meets the historical novel")
Robertson Davies (The Deptford Trilogy -- magic realism from a dour Canadian)
William Gibson (the old cyberpunk stuff and/or Pattern Recognition)
E F Benson (the Lucia series -- fabulously funny pre-war social commentary)
P G Wodehouse (just because)
Posted by: Mat Morrison | Wednesday, 21 January 2009 at 11:03 AM
A few years ago I got sucked into an A&E reality show called Rollergirls. Its about a Austin, TX-based roller derby league. It was my secret indulgence for some time. If I was laid up for a while, it would be on my list.
http://www.amazon.com/Rollergirls-Complete-Season-Ann-Calvello/dp/B000F0UUQO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1232645229&sr=8-1
Posted by: Brent | Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 05:33 PM
All the best Amelia.
Books-wise: the wonderful, escapist, food-obsessed sicilian Inspector Montalbano novels
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snack-Thief-Andrea-Camilleri/dp/0330492977/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232652929&sr=8-3
TV: in case you haven't had enough of hospitals, check out Grey's Anatomy, which my wife got me hooked on
Radio: Adam & Joe on 6 music always get me giggling
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gstt0/Adam_and_Joe_17_01_2009/
Posted by: Josh Bullmore | Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 07:48 PM
I've heard good things about Summer Heights High:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/summerheightshigh/#home
Not caught it myself
Posted by: andy | Sunday, 25 January 2009 at 04:53 PM
there is only 1 thing to do if you are crock for a period of time!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hohner-Diatonic-Harmonica-Marine-Band/dp/B001AMFLWO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1232971838&sr=8-1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tMokseCpNpU
x
Posted by: anthony | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 12:12 PM
Hey Amelia - we're thinking of you here at VCCP.
May I recommend Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine if you've not read it already.
On the DVD front I'm a big fan of shameless, Green Wing and the Mighty Boosh as well as Family Guy.
Make a speedy recovery
Barn x
Posted by: Barney | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 05:47 PM
Just catching up with the blogs. Sorry to hear you're incapacitated. Idea: subscribe to free language lessons on iTunes!
Posted by: Victor Houghton | Monday, 02 February 2009 at 11:11 AM
If you're still under house arrest - and we're several weeks on, now, so you might not be - can I suggest Elephant Words?
www.elephantwords.co.uk
It's daily fiction from a rotating roster of writers, based on a weekly image, and it is sometimes very good indeed.
(I should add for clarity that I run the site, so may be biased!)
Posted by: Nicolas Papaconstantinou | Thursday, 05 February 2009 at 10:22 AM
Six Feet Under is a must. My favourite thing on television - ever. Nicola
Posted by: Resonate | Friday, 06 February 2009 at 03:20 PM
Proust. Now or never.
Posted by: Andi | Sunday, 15 February 2009 at 07:30 PM