What better way to start off 2019 than looking back at 2018. Granted, I meant to do this a little earlier than February, but things happen. Better late than never, I guess, plus this gave me more time to think about my choices and make sure they are the right ones.
So without further ado … the (all too rare) good things to come out of 2018!
Books
Fiction: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
I called that this was going to be my favourite book of the year pretty much as soon as I finished it. Had I gotten to the sequel in 2018, this might have changed, but heck, maybe that will be my fav of 2019
Non-fiction: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
I listened to this one on audio, read by the author, and I now have a much greater appreciation of octopuses (and yes, that is the proper plural). I had always liked them but I had no idea the depth of their intelligence and personality. Wonderful read!
TV shows
Drama: Star Trek: Discovery
I grew up watching The Next Generation, so Trek has always had a special place in my heart. While Disco is a very different type of Trek, I really enjoyed watching it and look forward to seeing where the show boldly goes in the future.
Comedy: The Good Place
TV doesn’t get much better than The Good Place. Even though I will admit that season three seemed a bit uneven to me (now that it’s finished, I will have to do a re-watch and see if this is still the case), it’s still one of the best things on TV. Brooklyn Nine Nine is a very close second, so the nights in 2019 when both shows were on back-to-back were good nights indeed.
Movies
Action: Black Panther
Action isn’t something that normally shows up on my list, but I really enjoyed Black Panther. It just has some amazing world building and design, I could just look at it for ages. The characters did sometimes seem a bit flat but even that is fine, since there were a lot of them and there will be more time for further development. Also Shuri is the best.
Comedy: Crazy Rich Asians
It’s so nice to see how many great romantic comedies are coming out recently and this is definitely the best. I saw it in theatres three times and have watched it a few times on Bluray/DVD as well and each time, I think I love it more. I can’t wait to see what they do with the next two, particularly China Rich Girlfriend, which is the weakest book IMO.
Audio
Song: “Yellow” by Katherine Ho
Crazy Rich Asians has an amazing soundtrack. But this song stands out for being just so lovely to listen to, providing a great soundtrack for the film’s finale.
New podcast: The Cut on Tuesdays
I listen to a lot of podcasts. A LOT. So it stands out when any new show becomes part of my list of “shows I listen to as soon as they come out.” This show, a collaboration between The Cut and Gimlet Media (yes, now part of Spotify), brings so many great stories to light and I look forward to it each and every week.
Returning podcast: Canadaland
I have been listening to Canadaland for many years, but it gets this slot this year because I finally decided to take the plunge and support it on Patreon. With this show, I don’t necessarily listen to every episode but the ones I do catch are so important. I’m really glad to have even a small hand in keeping this one going.
