2016 Movies, TV, and Books

[kalient]

Looks like I've really be lacking in the TV/movies department lately. I mostly keep up with The Daily Show, and I've started to watch CNN occasionally, but otherwise I prefer to binge watch and then I don't find time for the binges. Guess that's a good thing.

There's been a lot of reading, though. My book club did a summer reading bingo, so that gave me direction and deadlines for a while. I also tried (again) to reduce the overall number of books on my shelf this, but that didn't quite work. I kept a lot of my dad's books, AND bought more than I should have. If I don't count my dad's books, I broke even between buying and disposing. However, despite numbers, there does seem to be more room on the shelves, and I've purged a fair number of books without reading them. That feels good, too.

So here are the lists. As always, * means I've seen it/read it before.

Movies and TV seasons in chronological order.

January

1. Galavant, Season 1 (After it sat on my DVR for a year. Just in time for Season 2.)
   
2. Magic Mike XXL (Girls night!)
   
3. Star Wars* (aka Episode IV: A New Hope)
   
4. The Empire Strikes Back* (aka Star Wars Episode V)
   
5. Return of the Jedi* (aka Star Wars Episode VI)
   
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens* (aka Episode VII. Saw it in December, but watched again after re-watching the original trilogy.)
   
7. Pieces of April
   
   February
   
8. Before We Go (My mom was watching it when I got home from work one day, and I couldn't not stare at Chris Evans for an hour and a half. It's a two-character film, so he's basically in every scene. I never had a window for walking away.)
   
9. Weird Science* (Stumbled upon while channel-surfing. Haven't seen it in ages.)
   
10. Deadpool
    
    March and April
    Nada
    
    May
    
11. Captain America: The First Avenger*
    
12. The Avengers*
    
13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier*
    
14. Avengers: Age of Ultron* (You see where this is going...)
    
15. Captain America: Civil War (Which was less of a Captain America movie and more of an Avengers movie, which wouldn't bother me except that more characters meant less Cap.)
    
16. The Family Fang
    
    June
    Rewatched Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War, but don't feel like those count.
    
    July
    
17. Finding Dory with my nephew. It was a little scary sometimes, but I didn't mind him crawling into my lap to hide.
    
    August
    
18. Ghostbusters (2016)
    
    September
    
19. The Princess Bride* (Necessary after reading the book. The movie stayed very true to the book. I was impressed.)
    
20. Ella Enchanted*
    
    October
    None.
    
    November
    
21. Spy (2015)
    
22. Doctor Strange
    
23. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    
    December
    
24. Archer, Season 7
    
25. Trainwreck (Loved it. Cried. Especially at her father's funeral. Having read her autobiography, I could tell how autobiographical the movie was, and it felt like she was proactively eulogizing her actual father. Then I wondered if that was for him, because from the way she describes him it seems like he would have loved that.)
    

Books...

January

1. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (My first Sherlock Holmes adventure!)
   
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* by J.K. Rowling (My (unofficially annual) re-read, this time prompted by the fact that my book club decided to do a "Harry Potter Extravaganza" to introduce those who hadn't read. Somehow I got put in charge of discussion and decoration.)
   
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* by J.K. Rowling
   
   February
   
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* by J.K. Rowling
   
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* by J.K. Rowling
   
6. The Circle by Dave Eggers (Book club. Caught the cult vibe very early on. He did a good job of capturing the pivotal points of brainwashing, and how everything just flowed from one distorted thought to another.)
   
   March
   
7. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn (Bar Code #1) (Very similar in theme to The Circle, which made it poorly timed. Still, the next two volumes were due back at the library, so I couldn't put it off anymore.)
   
8. The Bar Code Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn (Bar Code #2) (Very repetitive for a while (continuing a theme from the previous volume), but finally got sorta interesting at the end. But not interesting enough to convince me to read the third/last book in the series.)
   
9. Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (Book club, and basis for the movie. It was fine, but wouldn't recommending it. Kept waiting for something to happen. He kept hinting that things that could've been interesting, but never pursued it. And the pace was very uneven. I was eager to get to the end by the time I got there, but not a very satisfying ending. And I'm generally fine with ambiguous endings.)
   
   April
   
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* by J.K. Rowling
    
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* by J.K. Rowling
    
    May
    ABANDONED: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by "A. N. Roquelaure" (aka Anne Rice) (For a book club. Got about halfway through, learned that the rest was just more of the same, and decided not to waste more time. It enraged people, which is always good for discussion.)
    
12. The Extraordinary Journey of a Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas (Book club. People hated this, too, but it was a different kind of hate. I didn't finish it before discussion, but it still sounded interested and it was a quick read. I don't regret finishing it, but I'm not recommending it, either.)
    
13. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (Book club. I actually finished it before the meeting, and with a day to spare!)
    
    June
    
14. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* by J.K. Rowling (Finally. It took forever to finish this, which took away some of the emotional impact.)
    
15. The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry (Inherited from Dad, thought it would be a light read during vacation. It kinda was, but very odd. I kept figuring things out right before they happened, but hoping I was wrong.)
    
16. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (I was intimidated by this without having a clear idea what it was about. The author was coping with the death of his parents and talked about how managing the estate would trigger moments of grief. As I was finishing up dealing with my dad's stuff, it was aptly timed.)
    
17. Yes Please* by Amy Poehler (Audiobook, for book club.)
    
    July
    
18. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Wanted to read it because my mom just did (and she hardly ever reads), and it worked for my Book Club Bingo card. Seven squares!) (I promised myself no death in the next book. Everything I've read since mid-May had death as a major factor. Yes Please doesn't count because it was on audio.)
    
19. Death: A Life by George Pendle (Or I could switch gears by reading a faux memoir of Death. Delve in instead of avoiding it completely. You can never guarantee that a book won't have any.) (Two bingo squares!)
    
20. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (The Kane Chroncles #1) (Only one new bingo square, but it sets the foundation for two more.)
    
21. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (The Kane Chronicles #2) (One more bingo square: "Read the second book in a series")
    
22. The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan (The Kane Chronicles #3) (Another bingo square: "Read a trilogy")
    
23. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (Two bingo squares: "Read a book that scares you" and "read a book from the library." Definitely creepy. I had to start reading a YA book immediately - before going to sleep that night - to cleanse my reading palate.)
    
24. Scat by Carl Hiaasen (Not necessarily a bingo square, but I wanted to finish it before a family gathering so I could gift it to my cousin's kid.)
    
    August
    
25. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Two bingo squares: "Finish a book from book club that you skipped" and "Read a mystery book." It was quick, and reminded me a lot of Gone Girl. I didn't see what was coming, which I always appreciate.)
    
26. Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket
    
27. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (One bingo square: "Read a true crime book.")
    
28. Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black (Quick read. Two bingo squares.)
    
29. Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin (Has been on my shelf forever. Two more squares.)
    
30. The Girls by Emma Cline (Read in a day. Two more bingo squares.)
    
31. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
    
32. Jitterbug Perfume* by Tom Robbins (Given the honor of "favorite book of all time" for purpose of Book Club Bingo, but really just "one of my favorite books..." The last entry needed for the efficient bingo blackout - all squares with fewest books.)
    
33. Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher (Because someone called me out that Riordan's more middle-reader than young adult.)
    
34. The Patient Who Cured His Therapist and Other Unconventional Stories Of Therapy by Stanley Siegel
    
35. After You by Jojo Moyes (Sequel to Me Before You)
    
36. Get Real by Donald E. Westlake (Dortmunder #15) (Book club.)
    
37. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (Read with a client. Thought it would be a bingo square, but I'm not sure I'd call the characters "non-human." S'okay, I have a back-up.)
    
    September
    
38. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
    
39. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
    
40. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (rehearsal edition of the play's script) by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne
    
41. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman (I don't think I'd read it before. Loved it.)
    
42. Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller (Took a while to get interesting, but that's because I was focused on the wrong element of the story.)
    
43. Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn (This was supposed to be a romance for a bingo square. It was not, and therefore felt like a waste of time.)
    
44. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Loved it!)
    
45. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
    
46. Room by Emma Donoghue
    
    October
    
47. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
    
48. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Banned books week.)
    
49. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
    
50. Auggie & Me by R.J. Palacio (companion to Wonder)
    
51. One Fateful Summer by Vanessa Star (Book club. Horrible. The author is a book club member, and chose this for discussion. She apparently went through four editors because she didn't like the feedback she was getting. It shows.)
    
    November
    
52. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (I'd set a personal goal of reading the biggest book on the shelf. Didn't finish until 12/9/16, but it was the only thing I read in November. Bleah. Didn't like it, but now I can say that I've read it.)
    
    December
    
53. Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson
    
54. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (Audio. I like her a lot, but her voice lot a little annoying after a while.)
    ABANDONED: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (Nothing wrong with it. Just didn't grab me.)
    ABANDONED: A Theory of Relativity by Jacquelin Mitchard (It was a gift, and I really wanted to like it. I didn't.)