The end of lockdown is finally in sight, but for now, our social calendars are still looking sparse. Whether you are quarantining, self-isolating, or just looking to order a takeaway and have a quiet night in, these culture picks will help fill up your spare time. Here are the books, TV series, films and podcasts recommended by the Hackney Post team.
WATCH Behind Her Eyes on Netflix
By Ida Hansen
The Netflix limited series released late last month is already causing a storm online. Louise, a single mother in London, meets a mysterious man in a chance-encounter at a bar. After an intense connection and a single kiss the two part ways, assuming they will never meet again. But the next day at work, Louise re-encounters the mysterious man – her new boss. What follows is an intense, eerie and thrilling whirlwind of connection as Louise grows closer to her boss… and his beautiful, enigmatic wife.
WATCH High Stakes Poker on PokerGo
By Tom Watling
Ten years after season 7 was released, High Stakes Poker has returned. Armed with at least $100,000 each, often more, poker’s elite battle it out with colourful amateurs every Wednesday. The first $1,000,000 pot has already been claimed by legend Tom Dwan. You’ll need to pay a subscription fee for this one, but it’s worth it for poker fans.
WATCH Ozark on Netflix
Jo Lonergan
Already a bit of a cult favourite, the show follows Marty Byrde (Jason Batement, also directing), a financial advisor who gets tangled up in a money laundering scheme with some unfriendly, kill-you-and-dissolve-you-in-a-barrel kind of people. He uproots his family to the Ozarks, a wonderfully creepy lake resort in Missouri, and we get to watch as Marty talks and tricks his way out of some extremely sticky situations. The cinematography is brilliant, the cast is phenomenal and, honestly, I watched all three seasons in about a week.
WATCH The Deer Hunter (1978) on BBC iPlayer
By Julian Bovill
Co-written and directed by Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter is a brutal look into the effects of the Vietnam War on American men. Based around three friends from a steelworkers town in Pennsylvania, their lives are changed forever by their experiences in the Far East. Starring Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, the film remains revolutionary in any era.
WATCH It’s A Sin on Channel 4
By Connie Dimsdale
A poignant drama about a group of gay men and their friends in 1980s London. The series follows the hedonistic, fun-loving group as the HIV/AIDS crisis takes hold in the UK. Accompanied by an Eighties soundtrack, the series is funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. I recommend keeping the tissues handy. Fun fact: Screenwriter and producer Russell T Davies based the character Jill Baxter on a real life friend of his, Jill Nalder. Nalder plays Jill’s mum in the show.
WATCH – Little Women (2019) on Now TV
By Holly Evans
Greta Gerwig’s adaption of the beloved classic novel Little Women is a brilliant celebration of women, love and family. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh alongside a star-studded cast, this coming-of-age film follows four sisters navigating their way through marriage and heartache in 19th-century Massachusetts. It is beautifully acted and oozes warmth, humour and the importance of sisterhood – perfect if you want something for International Women’s Day.
READ If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor
By Cachella Smith
Indeed, abiding by the title, this book itself deserves entire conversations. Following ordinary lives with extraordinary detail, the reader can find themselves mirrored in the old man who refills his kettle every morning, or the short girl who sits on the wall and eats chocolate doughnuts. You spend the book watching an entire street of residents doing nothing much but watching each other, as you hop from one set of eyes to another seeing the same events unfold through different lenses. And all while you know you are progressing towards some earth-shattering moment that you will be forced to watch over and over again.
READ The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather
Jo Lonergan
Even if you’re not a fan of history books, the story of a resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz isn’t the kind of stuff they teach you at school. Witold Pilecki’s heroic story is well known in Poland, but it took Fairweather’s meticulous research and sensitive storytelling to bring it to life over here. This isn’t your average thriller, raising questions about the Allies’ reluctance to interfere with Hitler’s destruction of Jews and the fine line between collaboration and survival.
READ How to Make the World Add Up: 10 rules for thinking differently about numbers by Tim Harford
By Megan Kenyon
Over the past year we have had statistics thrown at us left, right and centre. Never in my life have I thought about numbers and graphs so much. Tim Harford’s book, How to Make the World Add Up: 10 rules for thinking differently about numbers is the perfect companion to these numerically turbulent times. From taking account of your emotional response when examining a data set, to making sense of dense and complex statistics, Harford’s book will make a data detective out of anyone. It’s entertaining, informative and well worth a read.
READ High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
By Connie Evans
If you’re feeling in need of some comic relief (and aren’t we all?) Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity should do the trick. First published in 1995, it’s one of those books that gets better and better as the years pass. Hornby manages to expertly construct his semi-autobiographical novel around music, something with which we can all relate. This allows the hilarity to resonate so deeply; you’ll be laughing out loud. It’s wise and sweet, but above all else, it’s so full of truth. Just as we’re inclined to listen to great songs on repeat, as soon as you’re finished with this book, you’ll want to read it all over again.
READ In the End it was All About Love by Musa Okwonga
By James Riding
I’ll admit it – I judged this book by its cover! But In the End it was All About Love by Musa Okwonga is just as fascinating underneath its beautiful screen-printed exterior. It’s an engaging, powerful fusion of memoir, poetry and cultural history of the city of Berlin. Short but intense and rich in detail, it’s a Green & Black’s truffle of a novel.
LISTEN The Apology Line podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
By Tara Cobham
An artist sets up a phone line in 1980s New York, which you could call and apologise for anything you had done. ‘Mr. Apology’ soon becomes obsessed with his own creation – a gripping and interesting psychological thriller.
