These are a few of my (new) favourite things!

1. John Marsden's the Tomorrow series. I devoured the first two books over the weekend and I'm hooked. I've always been drawn to the post-disaster/apocalypse/nuclear war genre. I guess it comes from growing up with the ever-present threat of the man pressing the button. Whilst the Tomorrow series are not post-nukes, merely your garden variety domestic invasion, the first two books have proven to be a gripping, thrilling exploration of the effect of this almost unthinkable (in our country anyway) event. The characters are wonderful - thoughtful and emotional and human. I've heard criticisms of the notion of teenagers becoming soldiers, but I think the way that Marsden handles this delicate and complicated subject is brilliantly done. These kids perform acts that would have been undreamt of to them prior to the invasion, but now they feel compelled to act, and it is not something they take on lightheartedly. They are changed people. And there is real food for thought in this story. More than once since finishing book two (I am not allowed to go to the library for the next until I have finished more Uni work) I have stopped mid-washing-up to reflect on how much of an impact a national invasion would have on my own life, and this reflection leads to the thought that there are plenty of people out in the world who have been living this reality for years, and will continue to do so despite my sheltered, comfortable, ignorant existance here. It's potent stuff. I just have to ration the reading and not glut on it and end up OD'ed in a corner somewhere.

2. Wilfred. We caught this little gem on SBS last night. It's only an eight-part series, and I'm not sure how far into we are, but I sure hope it's early days. This is comedy gold. Wilfred the dog, basically a bloke in a crappy rent-a-dogsuit, wanders around the house, ciggie dangling from his mouth, bored look on his face, tormenting his owner Sarah's new boyfriend Adam. Sarah only sees her wittle Wilfred, but Adam knows Wilfred's real self, and the battle-lines seem to have been drawn. I loved it.
3. The new kitchen butcher-block, made by the brilliant male I have the honour to live with.