November Monthly Round Up

Hello all! Start off November’s Monthly Round Up by taking a deep breath and exhale slowly; we all made it through November! It’s been a whirlwind of a month with lots of things happening across the world and at home and yet; it still felt like a month that dragged on with nothing much happening for us here at Our Muchness Guide. So, here’s to the longest month in 2020 where we spent days obsessing over magic walls, got lost in our favourite sports again and lost our sanity to a horrible sleeping pattern. Let’s dive into our top picks for November!

Book of the Month

N:  One night when I couldn’t sleep due to a lot of pain I reread Kathy Reiche ‘Deja Dead’. If you are not familiar with this crime book and it’s series; they inspired the TV Show Bones. I adore Dr. Temperance Brennan. 

E: I reread six of the Harry Potter books this month and I’m going to pick my favourite book of course, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, as my choice of the month.

TV Picks

N: The Queen’s Gambit – The show that a lot of people have been talking about since it came out in October. The Queen’s Gambit follows orphan cheese genius Beth Harmon who struggles her way through drug and alcohol addictions while trying to become the best chess player in the world. Good plot, fantastic actors and a wardrobe to die for. 

E: Camelot – I found it completely by accident online and I was pleasantly surprised and the cast is actually very strong. It also has some very clever twists on the legend of King Arthur.

Movie Picks

Good Movie Recommendations: 

N: Noelle – I know it was my movie of the month this time last year too but, it is so good and just dropped onto Disney+. Go follow the story of Santa’s daughter Noelle as she tries to find her brother in time to save Christmas! Anna Kendrick does amazing in this movie!

E: The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King was a random Norwegian movie my mum found dubbed in English and, honestly, I really enjoyed it. It was a simple story but it was told very well. 

Cheesy Movie Recommendations: 

N: Midnight at the Magnolia – one of Netflix’s newest additions ahead of the Christmas season. Two best friends who are radio presenters hoping to make it from local sweethearts to national presenters; there’s just one surprise event standing in their way.  

E: I don’t think I watched anything crazily cheesy this month but I will offer ‘Falling Inn Love’ on Netflix if you want cheese-tastic goodness. It’s predictable and every plot point can be seen from a mile away but, let’s be honest, we love it really

Gaming Picks

N: Making my way through Vampyr as I wait patiently to receive Assassin’s Creed Valhalla this Christmas. I restarted Vampyr from last month just to go from the medium level of difficulty to the hard level. So far it’s bloody fangtastic! (E: may I add that I am so proud of this pun.)

E: Gaming has been replaced by knitting. No games, only scarves.

Music:

Single:  

N: ‘December’ Craig Cooney & Rowlette – It is such a lovely song. It does technically come under the Category of Christmas Music but, trust me gang this one is incredibly special. Make sure you give it a listen, it made me cry the first time I heard it. 

E: ‘Therefore I Am’ Billie Eilish – I had to choose between 3 great songs this month but I’m picking Billie because I genuinely love the message of her song. Hard luck to Ryan Mack and Dermot Kennedy and Meduza.

Album/EP: 

N: ‘Without Fear Complete Collection’ Dermot Kennedy. – There are some fabulous live performances and my favourite song of his ‘Giants’ is on it too!

E: ‘ALL OUT’ K/DA – it shows that a gaming company is capable of a massive creative effort in a musical context and, on top of that, the music was varied and interesting with at least one song that avid Pop fans will enjoy and I wrote all about it for the blog too.

Favourite thing about November:

N: I got to be creative at work again which I had a blast doing. It isn’t being used now but, I still had a lot of fun putting it all together. Hopefully next time it will work out. 

E: I managed to make not one but two scarves by hand this month on my own. I love physical evidence of my efforts and making clothes and designing them is a perfect way to keep myself busy while having proof of my progress and what I’ve been doing.

Favourite Item of the Month:

N: As I am putting together a very special mega post for December my top item is my white board. Trust me when I say it is the best thing to keep track of what I am trying to put together.

E: My knitting needles. Are they craft utensils or weapons? Both? Both. Both is good.

Event of the Month:

N: Niall Horan Live from the Royal Albert Hall. I finally got to see some of ‘Heartbreak Weather’ being performed and it was fantastic. If you wanna hear my full thoughts go have a look at the review I did but, gig of the year for me.

E: When Joe Biden was declared President Elect of the United States and I had literally just sat down with a bag of popcorn to watch the report live. However, I then realised I had no more magic walls to obsess over but congratulations America!

Moment of the Month:

N: Dermot Kennedy coming out to surprise Michael during Michael’s performance of ‘Giants’ on the Late Late Toy Show. Lovely moment and Michael’s smile said it all! Their performance was unforgettable. 

E: Watching Romain Grosjean escape from a fireball that was formerly known as his Haas Formula 1 car at the Bahrain Grand Prix. It was terrifying to watch but, thankfully, he escaped relatively unscathed and everyone breathed a sigh of relief seeing him conscious and talking. I wish him the speediest of recoveries.

Your Quote of the Month:

N: “This too shall pass”.

E: “Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.” – Maya Angelou

Three things you are most excited about for December:

N: I cannot wait for The Coronas live stream concert on the 12th, enjoying the Christmas traditions with my family and above everything else seeing some friends and families at some point this month. 

E: I’m very much looking forward to time with my family that isn’t as disjointed as it has been this month. My brother is out from 4am ’til about 1pm every day delivering for An Post (the Irish Postal Service) six days a week and sleeps for most of the day so it will be nice to spend some time with the whole family together and my aunt has joined our family bubble so Christmas Eve, Day and St. Stephen’s Day (a.k.a. Boxing Day) will be a full house.