of pages and screens
Asterisks denote re-reads and re-watchings.
Book links will magically transport you to my reviews at Goodreads.
= Amazing, loved it, recommend it highly.
= Excellent and worthwhile.
= Flawed but enjoyable.
= Dull or unpleasant.
= No.
books
January
1.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (review)
2.
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke (review)
3.
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell (review)
4.
Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi (review)
5.
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen (review)
6.
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith (review)
7.
Persuasion, by Jane Austen. (review)
8.
Life Everywhere, by David Darling (review)
9.
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (review)
10.
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (review)
February
11.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (review)
12.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, by Susanna Clarke (review)
13.
Suite Française, by Irène Némirovsky (review)
14.
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (review)
15.
Fire in the Blood, by Irène Némirovsky (review)
16.
Conrad's Fate, by Diana Wynne Jones (review)
17.
The Pinhoe Egg, by Diana Wynne Jones (review)
18.
I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak (review)
19.
Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson* (review)
20.
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien* (review)
March
21.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (review)
22.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath (review)
23.
The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly (review)
24.
The Amulent of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud (review)
25.
A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Marin (review)
26.
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (review)
27.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, by William Blake (review)
28.
Closing Time, by Joseph Heller (review)
29.
Slapstick, by Kurt Vonnegut (review)
30.
Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon, by Jane Austen (review)
31.
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (review)
April
32.
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (review)
33.
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (review)
34.
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque (review)
35.
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut (review)
36.
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (review)
37.
Timequake, by Kurt Vonnegut (review)
38.
The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis* (review)
39.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (review)
40.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis* (review)
May
41.
Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones* (review)
42.
Anasi Boys, by Neil Gaiman (review)
43.
The History of Love, by Nicole Kraus (review)
44.
The Bacchae, by Euripedes (review)
45.
The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje (review)
46.
Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles (review)
47.
Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown (review)
48.
Antigone, by Sophocles
49.
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
50.
Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut (review)
June
51.
Agamemnon, by Aeschylus
52.
Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg (review)
53.
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (review)
54.
Philoctetes, by Sophocles (review)
55.
Alcestis, by Euripides (review)
56.
Suppliants, by Euripides (review)
57.
Medea, by Euripidies (review)
58.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
59.
Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis (review)
60.
Lysistrata, by Aristophanes (review)
61.
Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S. Lewis
July
62.
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (review)
63.
The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula LeGuin
64.
The Iliad, by Homer (review)
65.
Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper* (review)
66.
Andromache, by Euripides (review)
67.
The Voyage of Argo, by Apollonius of Rhodes (review)
68.
Clouds, by Aristophanes
69.
Troy, by Adele Geras (review)
August - December
70.
Slowness, by Milan Kundera
71.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
72.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, by Thomas Cathcart
73.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards
74.
Jane Austen: A Life, by Claire Tomalin
films
January
1.
Valkyrie
Despite the final outcome never being in question, this movie succeeded in being suspenseful and engaging and surprisingly awesome.
2.
Mamma Mia*
Not a cinematic masterpiece or anything, but my my, how can I resist it?
3.
Doubt
It had the occasional boring point, but it still kept me guessing all the way through. Every performance was excellent.
4.
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
A really great adaptation that stays true to Austen. Touching and funny and beautiful.
5.
Bride Wars
I laughed a few times, but it mainly frustrated me with the belittling of friendship and the annoying narration.
6.
Slumdog Millionaire
I'm not as wiiiiiild as some critics seem to be, but it was a nice mixture of adventure and romance, with great cinematography and music.
7.
Frost/Nixon
Clever and intense; I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
February
8.
Inkheart
A pretty terrible adaptation of a book that wasn't great to being with.
9.
Coraline
Dark and delightful--very entertaining and beautiful to look at.
10.
The Pink Panther 2
Amusing enough, if you leave some of your brain at home.
11.
The Pianist
I cannot say enough good things about this film. Intense, yet understated--it allows the events to speak for themselves. Adrien Brody was brilliant (I'm so glad he won an Oscar for this role, back in 2003), and Chopin's music was the perfect accompaniment.
12.
Revolutionary Road
I don't mind heavy films, but this was heavy and dull. I couldn't manage to care about either of the main characters. Props to Kate for an excellent performance, though, and the score was rather good.
13.
Defiance
The handful of Jewish units that existed in the forests of Eastern Europe is an aspect of WWII history that doesn't often get a lot of attention, so I'm glad this film was made. However, it tried to be epic, but was merely long and repetitive. There was also a bit too much melodrama.
March
14.
The Darjeeling Limited
Funny and enjoyable. Also, I do love to watch Adrien Brody run in slow motion.
15.
Waltz with Bashir
Original, intriguing, and somehow hypnotic. It stayed with me for a long time after I left the theater.
16.
Hotel for Dogs
As a dog lover I found it pretty cute, but it was predictable and heavy-handed with the anthropomorphism.
17.
Knowing
Two wrongs--fatalism and bad acting--do not make a right. The only reason it gets more than zero stars is that they used Beethoven's 7th Symphony.
April
18.
Monsters vs. Aliens 3D
I saw this mainly because of the cast (Reese Witherspoon! Hugh Laurie! Stephen Colbert!) and the 3D-ness. Although it had some funny moments, awesome scenes, and a giant cockroach, it was... too inane.
19.
The Class/Entre les murs
There was something addictive about the sharp realism of this movie. It raised many questions that are important in a classroom, but go far beyond it as well.
20.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe*
I will never not love magical furniture and kind lions and fauns with parasols.
21.
Eight Below*
Dogs rule.
May
22.
The Soloist
What with RDJ acting, Joe Wright directing, and a promise of good music, I thought I'd like this film. I didn't. I found it unfocused and dull, and I think it tried too hard to portray things that can't really be portrayed in film (like the experience of listening to Beethoven with one's eyes closed). Props to RDJ for good acting, though.
23.
Earth
Ohh. What a world we live in! At times I thought this film jumped from story to story a bit too quickly, but overall it was an awe-inspiring look at our planet, with all its beauty and tragedy and humor and glory.
24.
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian
Hectic, cheesy, and frivolous? Sure. Still had some delightful moments, though.
25.
Star Trek
Awesome, awesome. I'd forgotten how satisfying a good sci-fi movie can be.
26.
The Brothers Bloom
A crazy and hilarious crime/romance/comedy film that has surprising depth.
June
27.
Up
Oh wow, I loved this! It had all the humor and adventure and sadness of the very best animated movies.
28.
Angels and Demons
One of those rare occasions when the movie is better than the book. I blame Ewan.
29.
Everything is Illuminated
I must say that I found it a little bit cheesy, but I enjoyed watching it and I think it did a good job of combining a quirky charm with something dark and heartbreaking.
30.
Sleepless in Seattle
Ho-hum. Not terrible, but too fluffy for me. Although, it was unusual in the sense that it was a romantic comedy where the main characters don't even know each other for most of the film.
31.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)*
One of my favorite movies! I think this is Disney at its best: beautiful music, stunning visuals, characters that grow and develop, and a story that really means something.
32.
Easy Virtue
Snarky and picturesque, although Jessica Biel sapped it of a lot of its charm.
33.
Little Miss Sunshine
I love how this film turned a stupid concept into a smart story, and a sequence of tragedies into a comedy. After watching it, I felt so happy and somehow enlightened. Also, Steve Carell just might be my hero. And it WINS SO MUCH for using "How It Ends" by DeVotchKa as its main theme.
34.
Atonement*
♥
July
35.
The Lake House
Hmm, an epistolary time-travel movie. Not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be.
36.
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Cute at times, but really not all that funny.
37.
My Sister's Keeper
Although there were some scenes that I really liked, my overall impression was that it tried too hard to be a tearjerker. By the end, I was more exasperated than saddened.
38.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)*
I think this movie was extremely well-cast and exquisitely pretty.
39.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Despite the mindblowing visual effects, it seems that Steve Kloves has once again managed to sap Harry Potter of all sense, emotion, and intrigue. An impressive feat.
August - December
40.
Departures
There was some brilliant dark humor in this! Also quite a unique perspective on death.
41.
The Informant
42.
The Time Traveler's Wife
GAH WHAT HAVE THEY DONE.
43.
Julie & Julia
Cute at first...
44.
Michael Jackson's "This Is It"
It was fascinating to watch him work.
45.
Where The Wild Things Are
Hmm, I could appreciate and relate to some of this, but overall I found it quite boring.
46.
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