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!