Book #152 of 2016: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Science-fiction is generally concerned with exploring the unknown: potential future technologies, or alien lifeforms, or anything else that could perhaps be possible. And there’s some of that in this collection of stories from Ted Chiang, but the strongest entries are more fantastical …
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TV #51 of 2016: The West Wing, season 4 After a rocky adjustment post-9/11 in the previous season, this year The West Wing is back to its usual level of quality. I’m also amazed, even on this millionth rewatch, at the audacity of Aaron Sorkin to end his last season that way and leave such …
Book #151 of 2016: Goldenhand by Garth Nix (The Old Kingdom #5) A triumphant return to the Old Kingdom, finally resolving the fate of the lost Abhorsen, Clariel (whose early life is described in the prequel which bears her name, and which should definitely be read prior to this book). So many old favorites are …
TV #50 of 2017: Orange Is the New Black, season 4 Still a powerhouse this many seasons in, with an ever-deepening roster of characters and flashbacks. It’s hard to really discuss the arc of season 4 without spoilers, but it was a powerful indictment of the corporate prison system, with inefficiencies and unchecked (if not …
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Book #150 of 2016: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein A heartbreaking novel that kept making me want to run home and hug my wife and my dog as tight as I can. This story of a family from the perspective of their dog is terrifically written, but only really recommended …
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Book #149 of 2016: The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (Superintendent Battle #1) More a comedy of errors than a true murder mystery, Agatha Christie’s The Secret of Chimneys relied a bit too heavily on coincidence for my liking. (It was also the first Christie book that I was able solve before the end, …
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Movie #24 of 2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) My favorite sort of prequel, that slots neatly into the existing continuity without the need for retconning AND enhances the viewer’s appreciation of certain elements in the original material. Rogue One is a little clunky, especially towards the beginning, but it’s still a phenomenal …
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Movie #23 of 2016: Die Hard (1988) Another old favorite that my wife hadn’t seen (and another “Christmas movie” in that it’s set around the holidays, although that’s honestly not such a huge part of the film). This is a classic for a reason, with great performances from young Alan Rickman and Bruce Willis and …
Movie #22 of 2016: Bad Santa (2003) A family favorite that my wife had never seen before (and that I hadn’t watched in probably ten years). I don’t really have any interest in seeing the new sequel – which looked pretty awful from the trailers – but the original is a non-stop laugh riot. Very …
Book #148 of 2016: Seize the Day by Saul Bellow “You can spend the entire second half of your life recovering from the mistakes of the first half.” So laments Tommy Wilhelm in this tightly-focused character study of a New York City Jew longing for a fresh start but unable to find his way there. …
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