Book, Movie, & TV show Discoveries of 2014

Last year, just for the heck of it, I decided to start keeping a list of all the books I read, and movies & shows that I watched.  I included things that came out in 2014 and things that have many years behind them, and even ones that I was reading/watching for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time....  Now that the new year has arrived, I thought it would be fun to look back and consider what were my favorite discoveries (and re-discoveries) of 2014. 

BOOKS

My favorite comic book/graphic novel of the year was definitely Joe Sacco's Safe Area Goražde--a powerful depiction of the war and genocide in Bosnia & Herzegovina from 1992-95.  It tells the stories of the Muslim residents in the small town of Goražde: a UN designated "safe area" which was anything but safe.  Just like Sacco's earlier graphic novel Palestine (which is what inspired me to volunteer in the West Bank a few years ago), Safe Area Goražde is beautifully drawn and tells a riveting and devastating account of the war through a deft combination of intimate, personal stories and cold, hard facts. 

My favorite short story/novella was The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth.  It's a gorgeous retelling of a Buddhist folktale.  Simple and deeply touching--if you love cats, painting, or Japan, you should definitely give it a read. 

My top non-fiction discovery of the year was Bad Girls by Jan Stradling.  Telling the amazing stories of 22 kick-ass women from throughout history--queens, pirates, warriors, serial killers, and con artists--it's a really fun, interesting read.  Some of these women are already household names--like Cleopatra and Mata Hari--but there are plenty of others whose names you've never heard, and after reading their stories, you'll wonder why!

My favorite classic re-read of the year has to be a tie between The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I enjoyed Great Gatsby a whole lot more than I did when I had to read it in high school.  I think being an adult and having a deeper understanding of and appreciation for human behavior made a big difference--and also just being allowed to focus on the book as a story about people instead of having to talk on and on about symbolism probably helped.  -_-  Pride and Prejudice gets a mention just cause it's one of my all-time favorite books and becomes more and more so each time I read or watch it.  :-)


But my number one favorite book of the year was definitely The Hours by Michael Cunningham.

This is a really personal choice obviously.  I already love Mrs. Dalloway and this book is a take-off/homage to that novel.  But even though Cunningham is basically doing a modern retelling and exploration of this great literary landmark (he even mimics Woolf's style of writing), the resulting story is still very much his own, and it's powerful both as a stand-alone novel and as a companion to Mrs. Dalloway.  They're almost more real than real life, and they allow you to experience the world in another person's skin at a level few authors are able to achieve.


 

MOVIES

This was Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino year for me.  I always liked Tarantino movies, but the more I watch the more my admiration grows--though I think Pulp Fiction is still my favorite. 

As for Wes Anderson--how did I not know about this guy before?!  I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel in theaters early in the year, and I've been on an Anderson kick every since.   Moonrise Kingdom is a marvel, and one of my all-time favorites: simple--perfect--genius. 

My top cinematic experience of the year is a tie between a very new movie and a rather old one: Interstellar and The Princess Bride.   Interstellar--for all of it's little logical faults and typically Nolan-esque convoluted plot--was powerful in a surprisingly elemental and primaeval way for me.  That's the first time I've cried in a theater since Toy Story 3.  (Yes, I'm a bit of a sap--shut up).  :-P

The Princess Bride, I had the privilege of seeing at a special late-night showing at Riverview Theater in Minneapolis.  I was rather afraid that the audience would be full of people quoting along with the entire movie, but actually the only time that happened was when everyone spontaneously joined in with the Impressive Clergyman: "And wuv...twue wuv..."  :-D  Watching a movie with fans is so much fun. 

And...I finally saw Frozen.  I didn't mean to, but my friends were all going to watch it, and I was like, "Well, why not?"  I was pleasantly surprised.  I'd been very disinclined to see it since the music and what I'd heard about the plot didn't sound all that interesting--and maybe I was also turned off by all the hype--but it was pretty good.  Even the music was better in context.  As for all the hype, I think this video does a really good job of explaining it--and they point out a lot of things that I found interesting about the movie too: Why Were People & Critics So Infatuated With Frozen? | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios


TV SHOWS

Of course everyone was off their rockers this year about the new seasons of Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and Game of Thrones.  It was the first time that I've watched...practically anything...actually on TV in a long, long time.  I wasn't as crazy about this season of Sherlock as everyone else was though--in fact I had a lot of problems with it, not least of all the excessive mushiness into the which the plot sank like quicksand.  But I won't get into that.  Weis and Benioff almost spoiled an otherwise fantastic season of Game of Thrones with their disturbingly gratuitous rape scenes.  (Seriously, guys?  You don't think there's already enough misogynistic violence in the books?)  I could go into a long rant about why I think the changes they made are particularly creepy and damaging to the story, but I won't. 

My favorite new discoveries of the year though, were two (I think) relatively unknown shows called The United States of Tara and Moone Boy.  US of T is an American show that ran from 2009-2011 about a woman with multiple personality disorder and how she and her family try to cope with it.  To be honest, it's the sort of premise that I would normally roll my eyes at since TV has a tendency to make these things stupidly over-the-top--but the magic is in the details.  It's got wonderful, snappy dialog and winning characters (along with an award-winning performance by Toni Collette), and a lot of genuinely heart-felt moments.  Even if the portrayal of the mental disorder isn't accurate, I think the way they cope with it is. 

 

Moone Boy is a little comedic marvel.  It's mini-series about a little boy growing up in the west of Ireland in the late 80's, accompanied by a snarky, imaginary friend who gives him terrible advice.  The show is quirky and charming in all the best ways.  I'm looking forward to season three!

And okay, this is cheating cause I didn't see this until a couple days ago, but...whatever.  I am absolutely in love the mini-series Over the Garden Wall.  Broadcast on Cartoon Network in November of 2014, this children's/not-for-children cartoon miniseries is brilliant.  In every possible way.  With unforgettable characters, gorgeous animation, and a brilliant series of plots that mess with all your expectations, it's a tripped-out mash-up of Alice in Wonderland, Miyazaki, Huckleberry Finn, and good old-fashioned, scare-your-pants-off German style fairy tales.  It's absurd, profound, beautiful, creepy, joyous, and utterly mind-bending.  I've watched it twice in the last two days and I suspect I'll watch it again soon. 

(...and because I can't help myself...)
Honorable mentions:


Avatar: The Last Airbender
I watched this show for a third and fourth time this year, and I am becoming more and more firmly convinced that it is one of the greatest shows of ALL TIME.  

Gormenghast (BBC miniseries)
A TV adaptation of the fantastically fantastical novels by Mervyn Peake--it was predictably disappointing in some ways, but made up for it with certain scenes that were simply priceless.  And in some ways it even improved upon the books! 

Community 
I wasn't so crazy about this show at first, but it's really grown on me over time. 

Postmodernism for Beginners - Jim Powell  
I finally know what people are talking about when they use that word!  Although Paul's favorite saying about post-modernism still stands--"Post-modernism means whatever you want it to mean--that's the joke."  ^_^
(And who would've thought?  Here's a fun video intersecting Post-modernism and Community!: Is Community A Postmodern Masterpiece? | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios

Numbers - Rachel Ward
An excellent young adult fiction novel about a teenage girl in modern-day London who can see the date when each person will die.  An exploration of growing up, the hardships of under-privileged city youth, isolation vs. trust, fate vs. free-will, and of course, our relationship with death--it's a great piece of what I would call "realistic fantasy." 
 
The Fault in our Stars - John Green
Everybody and their mother read this book, but it was really good.