2021 Year In Review :: Favorite Books

in , , , , , , ,

At the time of this writing, I read 41 books in 2021. Not quite a book a week, but still a good pace. This year I finished the novels of Haruki Murakami in chronological order and started re-reading Kurt Vonnegut’s novels in chronological order. I read a lot about grief and grieving but I only had a chance to read a couple of books published in 2021. But two of them really stood out to me.

One about chewing gum, the creative process and the fight for survival. The other about a father’s love for his son and the desire for connection and the fight for survival. I’m sensing a theme.

  • Browse my favorite albums of the year

  • Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish

  • Browse my favorite books of 2021

  • Browse my favorite movies of 2021

  • Browse my favorite television of 2021

  • Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”

2021 Year In Review :: Favorite Movies

in , , , , , , , ,

As you might imagine; for someone who has eight children, I don’t get to watch many movies for myself (and by that I don’t mean “by myself,” I just mean “Not Watching Movies With Kids.”). Most of the movies I have time for are somehow kid-centered.

But five movies really stuck out to me this year, and they run the gamut. 8 hours of the Beatles rehearsing and breaking up. Somehow it both normalizes and enchants the creative process. A movie about fish boy finding himself, and a great introduction to the Velvet Underground. Oh, and a super-fun Marvel movie which I thought was their best in years.

But one of the movies that stuck out above the others for me was Pig starring Nicolas Cage. It was recommended to me as a powerful meditation on grief and, as a Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Counselor, I was hooked. It did not disappoint.

The Beatles: Get Back

Luca:

Pig:

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:

The Velvet Underground:

  • Browse my favorite albums of the year

  • Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish

  • Browse my favorite books of 2021

  • Browse my favorite movies of 2021

  • Browse my favorite television of 2021

  • Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”