Books/Movies 2009
At this point, posting my annual books and movies list has become little more than an exercise in making pointless... well, lists. It is also 4 days late because I just got home from an epic trip to New York City. I managed to ring in the new year with Anna, my brother, and a bunch of good friends from college at the Dead Herring- a loft music venue, and another loft next to Death By Audio, which honestly won't ring a bell to anybody outside of the New York music scene. But hey, bouncing around on a trapeze net suspended above a hundred people was how we spent the first few hours of 2010. I dare you to beat that, and the complete lack of a cover charge.
BOOKS 2009
1. Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough & Michael Braungart
2. An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Factotum, Charles Bukowski
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan
5. One World, Peter Singer
6. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, Alexandra Robbins
7. Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
8. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem
9. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan
10. The Mao Case, Qiu Xiaolong
11. The End of Oil, Paul Roberts
12. Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Thomas L. Friedman
13. Twilight of the Superheroes, Deborah Eisenberg
This year's list took a turn for the non-fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed Cradle to Cradle, An Unquiet Mind, and The Omnivore's Dilemma. Roadside Picnic wins best science fiction novel I've read in a while, and Twilight of the Superheroes is a fantastic bunch of short stories that remind me of Salinger. They're written by an English professor at my university who somehow also manages to live in New York City at the same time, and who also happens to be a MacArthur Fellowship winner of 2009- consisting of $500,000 awarded to individuals who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work." I can see why.
MOVIES 2009
1. The Usual Suspects
2. Ace in the Hole
3. Exotica
4. Trapped in the Closet
5. All the President’s Men
6. War Photographer
7. Young Mr. Lincoln, 1939
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. Watchmen
10. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
11. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
12. Singin’ in the Rain
13. 8½
14. Radio Days
15. The Player
16. Good Night, and Good Luck
17. Harvest of Shame (1960)
18. Network
19. The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
20. Dune (1984)
21. Terminator Salvation
22. Caligula
23. The Hangover
24. Les visiteurs (1993)
25. Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis
26. Brüno
27. Ne le dis à personne
28. Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
29. sex, lies, and videotape
30. Wild at Heart
31. Brazil (1985)
32. High Fidelity
33. Psycho (1960)
34. The Godfather
35. Alphaville
36. Pleasantville
37. Stalker (1979)
38. District 9
39. Where the Wild Things Are
40. Solaris (1972)
41. Solaris (2002)
42. Paranormal Activity
43. Mission to Mars
44. The Future of Food (2004)
45. 2012
46. Thirteen Days
47. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
48. Twin Peaks (both the movie and the entire series)
49. Primer (2004)
50. Rosemary’s Baby
51. Barton Fink
52. Avatar
53. Inglourious Basterds
54. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
55. Orphan
56. 9 (2009)
Not too many complaints about this year's movie list. I really enjoyed almost everything I watched in 2009. Whether this is a consequence of diminishing standards, or plain old selectivity, who knows. I just wish Avatar had come out before Halloween last year. BEST COSTUME IDEA EVER. Just sayin'.
I start my last semester at UVA come January 20th, and if I'm lucky, the Peace Corps will have my undeserving butt. I'm crossing my fingers for a good tiger year, because 2009 was a little rough. I hope to see my Singaporean peeps again come June though! 2009 was the first time I wasn't able to travel out of the country at all. I'm getting a little tired of America. I know that sounds a little whiny. But I miss my tropical island. And some of you readers. Happy 2010 everybody!
BOOKS 2009
1. Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough & Michael Braungart
2. An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison
3. Factotum, Charles Bukowski
4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan
5. One World, Peter Singer
6. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, Alexandra Robbins
7. Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
8. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem
9. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan
10. The Mao Case, Qiu Xiaolong
11. The End of Oil, Paul Roberts
12. Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Thomas L. Friedman
13. Twilight of the Superheroes, Deborah Eisenberg
This year's list took a turn for the non-fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed Cradle to Cradle, An Unquiet Mind, and The Omnivore's Dilemma. Roadside Picnic wins best science fiction novel I've read in a while, and Twilight of the Superheroes is a fantastic bunch of short stories that remind me of Salinger. They're written by an English professor at my university who somehow also manages to live in New York City at the same time, and who also happens to be a MacArthur Fellowship winner of 2009- consisting of $500,000 awarded to individuals who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work." I can see why.
MOVIES 2009
1. The Usual Suspects
2. Ace in the Hole
3. Exotica
4. Trapped in the Closet
5. All the President’s Men
6. War Photographer
7. Young Mr. Lincoln, 1939
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. Watchmen
10. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
11. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
12. Singin’ in the Rain
13. 8½
14. Radio Days
15. The Player
16. Good Night, and Good Luck
17. Harvest of Shame (1960)
18. Network
19. The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
20. Dune (1984)
21. Terminator Salvation
22. Caligula
23. The Hangover
24. Les visiteurs (1993)
25. Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis
26. Brüno
27. Ne le dis à personne
28. Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
29. sex, lies, and videotape
30. Wild at Heart
31. Brazil (1985)
32. High Fidelity
33. Psycho (1960)
34. The Godfather
35. Alphaville
36. Pleasantville
37. Stalker (1979)
38. District 9
39. Where the Wild Things Are
40. Solaris (1972)
41. Solaris (2002)
42. Paranormal Activity
43. Mission to Mars
44. The Future of Food (2004)
45. 2012
46. Thirteen Days
47. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
48. Twin Peaks (both the movie and the entire series)
49. Primer (2004)
50. Rosemary’s Baby
51. Barton Fink
52. Avatar
53. Inglourious Basterds
54. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
55. Orphan
56. 9 (2009)
Not too many complaints about this year's movie list. I really enjoyed almost everything I watched in 2009. Whether this is a consequence of diminishing standards, or plain old selectivity, who knows. I just wish Avatar had come out before Halloween last year. BEST COSTUME IDEA EVER. Just sayin'.
I start my last semester at UVA come January 20th, and if I'm lucky, the Peace Corps will have my undeserving butt. I'm crossing my fingers for a good tiger year, because 2009 was a little rough. I hope to see my Singaporean peeps again come June though! 2009 was the first time I wasn't able to travel out of the country at all. I'm getting a little tired of America. I know that sounds a little whiny. But I miss my tropical island. And some of you readers. Happy 2010 everybody!