This Month I’ve Mostly Been…(July 2025)

Another busy month of work and family life, looking back on it I didn’t read, watch or listen to much but what I did get  around to delving into is, in my eyes, definitely worth shouting about!

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This month I’ve been reading

‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid

I’ll be honest, I bought this book because I was drawn to the cover and the title, I didn’t even read the blurb and against the odds it turned out to be a wise purchase! The book centres on the central character Changez, a young Pakistani man who graduates from Princeton University and lands a prestigious job at a top valuation firm in New York City. At first, he seems to have achieved the American Dream. However, after the 9/11 attacks, Changez’s relationship with the U.S. begins to shift. He becomes disillusioned with American foreign policy, especially toward Muslims, and increasingly feels alienated. This culminates in his return to Pakistan, where he adopts a more critical opinion on U.S. imperialism. The entire novel is a one-sided conversation between Changez and an unnamed American visitor in a Lahore café. Told as a monologue, tension builds throughout before we reach the book’s dramatic conclusion.

This month I’ve been watching…

'Licorice Pizza’ (2021) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is a coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama set in the 1970s. The film follows the unconventional relationship between Gary Valentine, a confident and ambitious 15-year-old child actor, and Alana Kane, a 25-year-old aimless young woman trying to figure out her place in the world. The story unfolds as Gary and Alana navigate various entrepreneurial ventures and chaotic adventures—from waterbed sales and acting gigs to brushes with Hollywood figures and local politics. Despite their age difference a strong connection grows between them…also the soundtrack is GREAT!!! I watched this on Blu-ray and you can rent a copy for FREE by clicking this link

I also watched and loved 'Dahomey’ (2024) directed and written by Mati Diop on Mubi. Set in November 2021, the film documents the symbolic journey of 26 royal treasures—looted from the Kingdom of Dahomey (modern-day Benin) by French colonial forces in 1892—as they are repatriated from the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris back to Benin. It features scenes of the artifacts being respectfully packed in Paris and ceremonially received in Cotonou. Discussion at the University of Abomey‑Calavi, where Beninese students “challenge the politics, symbolism, and sufficiency of cultural restitution” a lot of whom make the point that only 26 items have been returned out of an estimated 7,000+ looted objects of cultural significance. My favourite sections of the film though are the voice overs from the perspective of the statue of King Ghezo, one of the artifacts being returned—as though the statue itself is reflecting on its centuries long exile.

You can stream this one on Mubi and if you if you subscribe using this link we’ll both get 30 days free!

Finally this month I’ve been listening to a lot of…

'Dog Eared’ The new album by the wonderful Billie Marten. The highlight of which is the absolutely brilliant 'Leap Year’.

'Self Titled’ Kae Tempest. Still one of the most important voices in UK music if you ask me.

Thanks as always for checking in, see you at the end of next month for another short list of more things that have piqued my interest.