2015 Movies, TV, and Books
I set a few reading goals for 2015, and I mostly achieved them. It feels good. There's only one (unofficial) goal that I didn't quite meet, but I'm okay with that. I met the the goals as posted on 1/2/15, and that's what should count. Additional goals were just icing.
1. My personal library: to own fewer books on 12/31/15 than I do on 1/1/15. I'm down by about 5 books. When buying new books, I didn't count practical books (like work-related stuff or estate planning), or books purchased for other people.
2. Make the anvil smaller I decided not to read Infinite Jest. I let myself abandon things that weren't engaging. I put books in the "to sell" pile without actually reading them (though I admit that some books went back and forth between the pile and the bookshelf a few times before making it out the door). I read two new series that were already on the shelf. I set my goodreads goal at 25 books for the year, and hit that goal with a little cushion.
3. Strategize Book Club participation I missed a lot of book club meetings this year, which was important. It was a busy year (new nephew in April, Dad needing a lot of time and attention before passing away in November), and I didn't need the pressure of pushing book club. Of the three times I did go, there was only one time when I'd finished the book ahead of time. Then there were three times when I eventually did read the book, even if I didn't make it to the meeting. I miss everyone, and am very much looking forward to going next year. Especially since we're reading some Harry Potter in January.
I set another random goal, related to #2, that I didn't quite hit. In August 2010, I brought a huge stack of books to LA when I was going to be here for a few weeks. I took a picture of that stack, and posted it on Facebook. At the beginning of 2015, there were still 6 books in that picture that I hadn't yet read, but still planned to. I read 4 of those this year, which is pretty damn good. I kind of wanted to make that a new shit-or-get-off-the-pot list (as in, if I haven't read them by 12/31/15, I should write them off), but I still want to read the remaining two. It can be a 2016 goal.
I also decided I should read the first book on my goodreads to-read list when sorted by title (An Abundance of Katherines), and the first book when sorted by author (Feed by M.T. Anderson). I think to make sure the list didn't have the same starters for years on end. I met that goal on 12/31/15. I thought about also reading the last book on each version of the list, but did have time. An easy enough goal for next year.
So here's the tally. As ever, * means I've seen it/read it before.
Movies and TV seasons in 2015, in chronological order.
Books...
1. My personal library: to own fewer books on 12/31/15 than I do on 1/1/15. I'm down by about 5 books. When buying new books, I didn't count practical books (like work-related stuff or estate planning), or books purchased for other people.
2. Make the anvil smaller I decided not to read Infinite Jest. I let myself abandon things that weren't engaging. I put books in the "to sell" pile without actually reading them (though I admit that some books went back and forth between the pile and the bookshelf a few times before making it out the door). I read two new series that were already on the shelf. I set my goodreads goal at 25 books for the year, and hit that goal with a little cushion.
3. Strategize Book Club participation I missed a lot of book club meetings this year, which was important. It was a busy year (new nephew in April, Dad needing a lot of time and attention before passing away in November), and I didn't need the pressure of pushing book club. Of the three times I did go, there was only one time when I'd finished the book ahead of time. Then there were three times when I eventually did read the book, even if I didn't make it to the meeting. I miss everyone, and am very much looking forward to going next year. Especially since we're reading some Harry Potter in January.
I set another random goal, related to #2, that I didn't quite hit. In August 2010, I brought a huge stack of books to LA when I was going to be here for a few weeks. I took a picture of that stack, and posted it on Facebook. At the beginning of 2015, there were still 6 books in that picture that I hadn't yet read, but still planned to. I read 4 of those this year, which is pretty damn good. I kind of wanted to make that a new shit-or-get-off-the-pot list (as in, if I haven't read them by 12/31/15, I should write them off), but I still want to read the remaining two. It can be a 2016 goal.
I also decided I should read the first book on my goodreads to-read list when sorted by title (An Abundance of Katherines), and the first book when sorted by author (Feed by M.T. Anderson). I think to make sure the list didn't have the same starters for years on end. I met that goal on 12/31/15. I thought about also reading the last book on each version of the list, but did have time. An easy enough goal for next year.
So here's the tally. As ever, * means I've seen it/read it before.
Movies and TV seasons in 2015, in chronological order.
- January
- Bachelorette (On Comedy Central, so it was amusing how much they had to bleep Lizzy Caplan.)
- Mean Girls (I'd never watched it all the way through. Almost felt like Comedy Central was doing a Lizzy Caplan weekend.)
- Spanglish
March
None, I think? I've been working and reading a lot.
April - The Lego Movie (Borrowed from a co-worker around New Year's. Watched on April 1. She said she didn't mind that I kept it so long, but that's kinda rude. Oops.)
May - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)* (Needed to watch it when I finished reading the series.)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Pitch Perfect
- Earth Girls Are Easy* (With friends who were in town. Amazing. So 80s.)
June
None? That doesn't seem right, but I don't remember and didn't update this at the time.
July - Ant-Man
August - Fantastic Four (2015)
September - Inside Out (2015) (With the nephew. It was more complicated than we were expecting.)
October/November
None, that I can remember. Not even something from Netflix. This was around the time my dad died, so I guess I was pretty busy with other stuff.
December - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (Did everything it was supposed to. Action-packed, but somehow a little disappointing. One of the character deaths was not as powerful as in the book, partly because you can't exactly stop the movie in the middle of a battle to have a cry (like you can put a book down for a few minutes).)
- After Earth
- Psycho Beach Party (I've had this from Netflix since August 2014. Probably time to downsize my plan.)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (I really liked it. Haters gonna hate.)
None, as far as I can remember, except for having the first 7 Harry Potter movies playing in the background through my trip to Universal Studios Orlando/Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
February
Books...
- January
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* by J.K. Rowling (Had to delve in since I was going to Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and then I had to finish what I started this year.)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* by J.K. Rowling
February - No Way to Treat a First Lady* by Christopher Buckley (Book club. A re-read that I finished in less than 24 hours. Good, but not as good as the first time I read it. I think I'm more critical of a book when I'm the one that recommended it to the group.)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* by J.K. Rowling
March - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* by J.K. Rowling
April - The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (March book club, but I didn't finish on schedule. Despite the fact that it was generally poorly reviewed by the group, they mentioned a few things that piqued my interest, so I finished. I had mixed feelings about the fact that it delayed reading Half-Blood Prince, but it was a fairly fast read once he stopped talking about a philosophy class.)
- Yes Please by Amy Poehler (Audiobook.)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* by J.K. Rowling (Last year this sat on my nightstand for months meaning to read it, and never did get around to it. This time I read it in 4 days. I would've read it in 3, but work decided to get in the way. Oh well.)
May - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* by J.K. Rowling (Took me a while because work and new nephew. Then the last bit took an extra while because I needed uninterrupted, private day time so I could cry in peace and not worry about staying up all night. Those last few chapters always have me bawling.)
- Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (Audiobook. Eh.)
- I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids by Jen Kirkman (Audiobook.)
- The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (Book club, though I missed the book club meeting because I was busy with Harry Potter. Really sad, because I liked it and it would have been fun to discuss.)
- A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner
- The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #6)
- I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl by Laurie Notaro (She's really not my thing. I enjoyed her first novel - There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble - but her essays start to grate. Quickly.)
June - Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Book Club, but I missed the meeting. Somehow the story of the murderer was less interesting than the story of the inventor, and the latter was cumbersome.)
ABANDONED: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (I read enough to see how it could be interesting, and pieces were starting to come together. Then I took a break because the group I was planning to discuss this with "postponed" the meeting and never came back to it. I did the math to figure out how long it would take, and decided I wasn't willing to put 3 months and lots of brainpower into it. One reading goal accomplished, though: this book is off my "to-read" shelf.) - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies #1)
- Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies #2)
- Specials by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies #3)
- Extras by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies #4, kinda. More of a companion/coda.)
- The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #1)
July - Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #2)
- The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #3)
August - The House of Hades by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #4)
- The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #5)
ABANDONED: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdich (Book club. I didn't have time, and wasn't all that interested. Sounds like it was pretty interesting, but not enough to lure me back.)
September - Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar (Recommended by a 10-year-old client. Very cute.)
October - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Book club, but I missed the discussion. I wasn't 100% sure what kind of book it was supposed to be, so I kept watching for good guys to be bad guys in disguise. (On the internet, no one knows you're a dog.) I'm an almost-perfect match for the target demographic, and I really enjoyed it.)
- Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman (More readable than I thought it would be.)
- Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephanie Meyer (Gender-swapped version of Twilight, released with the 10th anniversary edition of the original. It was very odd odd to read, and made me acknowledge some of my stereotypes as male versions of originally female characters just seemed like effeminate men. It bugged me that some of the iconic phrases were missing. It morphed into a slightly different story, which I guess is okay. Not entirely sure if that's what the author was going for. Her prologue said that a lot of the changes were things that have been bugging her since the first release of the book, but I don't know that I saw anything that I would call an improvement.)
November - The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson (Less readable than I thought it would be. I think I'm done with Bryson. Definitely like his travel work better than the more educational stuff.)
December
ABANDONED: How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theater by Marc Acito (Needed some light reading, and this looked like it would fit the bill. Full of stereotypes and cliches, but the protagonist kind of owns it. Ended up abandoning because I just didn't get caught up in it.) - The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (Disappointed. Based on the title, I was expecting more about the men than the history of the OED.)
- Feed by M.T. Anderson
- An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (I was hesitant to read John Green because I thought it would be depressing. Silly. Not all of his books are about kids with cancer.)