Brilliant Corners

Another year is now (just about) over and I guess it’s about time I did a yearly media roundup. I've done similar things in the past, but I let the tradition lapse a few years. Since I don’t have the last few years' roundups available for comparison, I'm not too sure if I did any better (consumed more media) this year or not. These lists will just have to stand on their own.

So, without any further ado, here are the lists…

Literature

Thanks to my English classes at school, I've had to read more than I normally would in a year. Here’s the full list of books I've read this year (in the order read):

1. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (for ENGL 4400)
2. The Polysyllabic Spree – Nick Hornby
3. _The Crying of Lot 49_ – Thomas Pynchon (for ENGL 4400)
4. Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut (for ENGL 4400)
5. The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler (for ENGL 4400)
6. Native Son – Richard Wright (for ENGL 4400)
7. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck (for ENGL 4400)
8. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (for ENGL 4400)
9. My Ántonia – Willa Cather (for ENGL 4400)
10. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain (for ENGL 4400).
11. Moby Dick – Herman Melville (for ENGL 4400)
12. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
13. _Shutterbug Follies_ (Graphic Novel) – Jason Little
14. _Blankets_ (Graphic Novel) – Craig Thompson
15. _The Tipping Point_ – Malcolm Gladwell
16. _The Postman Always Rings Twice_ – James M. Cain
17. _V for Vendetta_ (Graphic Novel) – Alan Moore
18. _Freakonomics_ – Steven D. Levitt
19. _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ – J.K. Rowling
20. _Alias Vol. 1_ (Graphic Novel) – Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos
21. _Spring Snow_ – Yukio Mishima
22. _Ice Haven_ (Graphic Novel) – Daniel Clowes
23. _Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned_ (Graphic Novel) – Brian K. Vaughan
24. _Superman: Red Son_ (Graphic Novel) – Mark Millar
25. _The Fortress of Solitude_ – Jonathan Lethem
26. Stranger Things Happen – Kelly Link
27. _Men and Cartoons_ – Jonathan Lethem
28. _Tricked_ (Graphic Novel) – Alex Robinson
29. _Gary Benchley, Rock Star_ – Paul Ford
30. _More Box Office Poison_ (Graphic Novel) – Alex Robinson
31. _Magic For Beginners_ – Kelly Link
32. _Double Indemnity_ – James M. Cain
33. _The Golden Compass_ – Philip Pullman
34. _The Pragmatic Programmer_ – Andrew Hunt & David Thomas

Film

I didn’t see as many films this year as I wished I had. We subscribed to NetFlix for most of the year, but we were horrible about using it, and eventually cancelled. That being said, here are some of the better films I saw this year (in no particular order):

• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Hotel Rwanda
• Me and You and Everyone We Know
• Serenity
• City of God
• The Incredibles
• The Bicycle Thief
• Maria Full of Grace
• Vera Drake
• The 40 Year Old Virgin
• Mad Hot Ballroom

Music

I definitely stubled onto (or was introduced) to some fantastic new music this year. Here’s a list of bands or artists that I first heard of, and began listening to this year:

• Emiliana Torrini
• M.I.A. (I think she was this year)
• Diplo
• Keren Ann
• Built to Spill (yes, I'm late to the game here)
• Carla Bruni
• Spoon (late, yet again)
• Klint

Well, that’s about it for 2005. I'm looking forward to many more good books, good films, and some new music in the coming year.

Okay, now off to the New Year’s Eve party!

Paul Ford is Gary Benchley. I don’t think I read the Gary Benchley columns at The Morning News, but I'm happy to see Paul Ford getting published.

Originally uploaded by billturner.

I have never been a heavy fantasy or horror fiction reader. I had my Xanth spell in junior high, and I re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy before the films came out, but that’s about it. But recently I came across something, somewhere, that heaped praises on Kelly Link and her short stories. So, on a whim, I decided to pick up her first short story collection, Stranger Things Happen. It became one of those books that I had to pick up whenever I had the smallest amount of free time, just to read as many paragraphs as I could. It was that good.

Yes, they are horror and fantasy stories, but they're so much more than that. They're funny, clever, poignant, sad, a little creepy at times, and definitely unlike much else that I've ever read. Her writing style-at least in most of the stories-makes it feel like she’s sitting right next to you and telling you the story herself. You can find plenty of praise for Ms. Link all over the place, and while I normally roll my eyes at such things, I actually agree with all the great things being said about her work.

I more recently picked up her latest, Magic for Beginners, and have already read the first few stories. They're just as good, if not better, than those in her previous collection. You can even read the first story from Magic here: “The Faery Handbag”. Go on, give it a try!

Update: Finn has pointed out that her first book, Stranger Things Happen, is available as a free download here. Awesome!

I'm really not sure how I've managed to avoid everything Harry Potter for so long. I haven’t seen any of the films, and up until a week ago I hadn’t picked up any of the books. But now, and I'll admit it: I'm sucked in.

Sure, the books will never go on to win the Pulitzer Prize, but they're certainly engrossing if nothing else. I'm really enjoying the adventures of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of their Mugwarts classmates. I think I finally see what all the noise was about.