What's that you say? I'm a week or so late? Well, I actually thought about my "best of" picks. Also, unlike most reviewers, I actually waited until the end of 2010 to reflect on the year. Starting before January 1 devalues the end of the year. If you publish a "best of" list before that and experience something phenomenal, your "best of" life is a lie. I just don't want to lie to people. That was a lot of ado. Here are my picks:
Best Fiction I Read in 2010
1. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
2. Democracy by Joan Didion
3. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
My reviews of all these books are available on my goodreads page (accessible by clicking on the goodreads widget on the right), so I won't go into too much detail here. I'll just say that Mengestu blew me away, Didion changed the way I think about storytelling, and Udall made fresh and new a subject I thought untouchable and uninteresting.
Best Nonfiction I Read in 2010
1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
2. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
3. Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald Walker
I'm naming my first-born son Malcolm. That's how much I admire this man. If the Simpsons hadn't ruined the name Nelson for me, I might consider naming my second son after Mandela. It was a long and tiring book, but Mandela taught me a lot about leadership, patience, and charity. Walker's historical research reaffirmed my faith in Mormon history after a year of reading subpar and poorly researched rubbish.
Best Reading Surprise of 2010
-The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
This was (maybe) the last book I read this year. I was expecting the usual self-consciousness and affected lyricism of most "up and coming" authors. Mengestu's writing, though, was organic, beautiful, and understated. The story was real without being heavy-handed. I love this book.
Best Guilty Pleasure Read 0f 2010
1. Night Soldiers by Alan Furst
2. World War Z by Max Brooks
I'm not even guilty about either of these. Brooks made zombies more alive [rimshot!] on the printed page than they are in most films. And Furst is a master of spy fiction that I've only recently discovered. Not everything I've read by him this year has satisfied me, and I blame that mostly on the fact that I read Night Soldiers first.
Best Movie Theater Experience of 2010
1. Inception
2. I need to go to the theater more....
It's been a long time since I've spent 3 hours in a theater and felt like a half hour has gone by. Inception might not be the best movie of the year, but I don't see enough movies in theaters to make this a very deep category.
Best Movie Rental Experience of 2010
1. Un Prophete dir. Jacques Audiard
2. Mystic River dir. Clint Eastwood
3. Blood Simple dir. Coen bros.
A Prophet is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. While I don't recommend it for most, it retold the prison story in a world of prison movies set on remaking The Shawshank Redemption. Casey Affleck blew me away in Mystic River and I loved watching part of the genesis of the Coens' genius.
Best TV Series I Watched in 2010
1. The Walking Dead (AMC)
2. The West Wing (NBC)
3. MI-5 (BBC)
4. Mad Men (AMC)
This category is so magnificently deep! But I always reward innovation, and The Walking Dead expanded the idea of a TV series. My wife and I have been watching the West Wing on DVD, and last year we finished the first two seasons. Best casting and dialogue. Whatever happened to good, witty shows like that? MI-5 is what 24 wanted to be but couldn't with an American audience. Fast, dark, understated, and troubling. I love me some spies. And Mad Men season 4...keeping on strong into the mid-1960s. I have the sneaking suspicion that I love this show the same way I used to love soap operas. But I reassure myself by remembering that my tastes have matured....
Correction 2/2011: So, it looks like I mixed up Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. Both based on Lehane novels, if that's any saving grace. I still stick with Mystic River as my number two. Affleck was good in Gone, but so were Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and (though I hate to admit it) Kevin Bacon. Trifecta. Bam.
Best Fiction I Read in 2010
1. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
2. Democracy by Joan Didion
3. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
My reviews of all these books are available on my goodreads page (accessible by clicking on the goodreads widget on the right), so I won't go into too much detail here. I'll just say that Mengestu blew me away, Didion changed the way I think about storytelling, and Udall made fresh and new a subject I thought untouchable and uninteresting.
Best Nonfiction I Read in 2010
1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
2. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
3. Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald Walker
I'm naming my first-born son Malcolm. That's how much I admire this man. If the Simpsons hadn't ruined the name Nelson for me, I might consider naming my second son after Mandela. It was a long and tiring book, but Mandela taught me a lot about leadership, patience, and charity. Walker's historical research reaffirmed my faith in Mormon history after a year of reading subpar and poorly researched rubbish.
Best Reading Surprise of 2010
-The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
This was (maybe) the last book I read this year. I was expecting the usual self-consciousness and affected lyricism of most "up and coming" authors. Mengestu's writing, though, was organic, beautiful, and understated. The story was real without being heavy-handed. I love this book.
Best Guilty Pleasure Read 0f 2010
1. Night Soldiers by Alan Furst
2. World War Z by Max Brooks
I'm not even guilty about either of these. Brooks made zombies more alive [rimshot!] on the printed page than they are in most films. And Furst is a master of spy fiction that I've only recently discovered. Not everything I've read by him this year has satisfied me, and I blame that mostly on the fact that I read Night Soldiers first.
Best Movie Theater Experience of 2010
1. Inception
2. I need to go to the theater more....
It's been a long time since I've spent 3 hours in a theater and felt like a half hour has gone by. Inception might not be the best movie of the year, but I don't see enough movies in theaters to make this a very deep category.
Best Movie Rental Experience of 2010
1. Un Prophete dir. Jacques Audiard
2. Mystic River dir. Clint Eastwood
3. Blood Simple dir. Coen bros.
A Prophet is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. While I don't recommend it for most, it retold the prison story in a world of prison movies set on remaking The Shawshank Redemption. Casey Affleck blew me away in Mystic River and I loved watching part of the genesis of the Coens' genius.
Best TV Series I Watched in 2010
1. The Walking Dead (AMC)
2. The West Wing (NBC)
3. MI-5 (BBC)
4. Mad Men (AMC)
This category is so magnificently deep! But I always reward innovation, and The Walking Dead expanded the idea of a TV series. My wife and I have been watching the West Wing on DVD, and last year we finished the first two seasons. Best casting and dialogue. Whatever happened to good, witty shows like that? MI-5 is what 24 wanted to be but couldn't with an American audience. Fast, dark, understated, and troubling. I love me some spies. And Mad Men season 4...keeping on strong into the mid-1960s. I have the sneaking suspicion that I love this show the same way I used to love soap operas. But I reassure myself by remembering that my tastes have matured....
Correction 2/2011: So, it looks like I mixed up Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. Both based on Lehane novels, if that's any saving grace. I still stick with Mystic River as my number two. Affleck was good in Gone, but so were Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and (though I hate to admit it) Kevin Bacon. Trifecta. Bam.
