Stuff I Loved in 2015

Better late than never?

It's been kind of a weird year. I've lost near total concentration for TV shows and movies and I listened to more books than I read with my eyes. Most of energy seems to go to my sports fandoms which sort of ends up taking up all of my time because baseball has a 162 games a year and figure skating takes up 7 weekends in the fall!

But, I still liked some things.

Most notably, The Walking Dead. Still love the show and am pleased with it even with issues of a cast that is too big to be written for. Other issues, most notable with the characterization of Rick, but I think it's all going to come around. I absolutely loved the midseason finale, especially everything to do with Michonne, and I'm excited to see where things go. Hopefully I can get back to writing about the show more here!

I also loved Bates Motel, thought it was an absolutely stellar season. I randomly stumbled across some fans discussing the show and it how it needed to go back to the roots of a story about a mother and son who are in love with each other. Oh man. I actually think the show does such a great job of illustrating the dysfunction in the family and how broken everyone is and kind of why they are so attached to each other even if they shouldn't be, but I guess people will see what they want to see. The show will end after two more seasons and there is a rumor that Norma will be killed this season. I'm so not ready, tbh.

And Better Call Saul was the best surprise for me, such a great show. I'm looking forward to season 2, but I don't think it will have the same heart and emotional depth since he's officially "broken bad." Even so, I do really recommend the first season.

And The Americans! What will happen next? Such a great cliffhanger.

I'm sort of watching a bunch of other stuff, but I'm behind on it all, lol. IZombie is super charming and Z Nation is fun, too. I liked but don't love (yet) Fear the Walking Dead. I did enjoy Orphan Black, too, especially Helena.

Books!

I finally listened to the Raven Cycle books and might write more about them in the future because I not only enjoyed the fascinating world and action plots, but I felt it was a meaty series? Like there was stuff to really sink your teeth into and think about. The books deal sort of heavily with socioeconomic statuses in an interesting way. Definitely recommend.

I listened to The Exorcist which was surprisingly good. I expected some sort of shock horror book, but it's actually a pretty thoughtful examination of doubt and faith.

Blew through Attica Locke's books in a week, (The Cutting Season, Pleasantville, Black Water Rising) all of which were very good crime thrillers. I especially liked The Cutting Season. All recommended. Great characters, interesting social issues, fast paced, etc.

And I ended the year with Ready Player One which I had sort of put off reading because I thought I wouldn't get it due to all the 80s pop culture references, but I loved it. So much fun and I absolutely loved how the virtual relationships were treated as real even while cautioning they can't be everything.

Sports

The Cardinals had one of the most inspiring seasons ever only to be wiped out almost immediately in the post season. Oh well! Baseball is always fun to watch imo, and I love getting caught up in the season.

Figure Skating is always heartbreaking, but I hope to write more about some of the reasons I love it later and try to get you all invested in it. Did you know the World Championships are being held in Boston this year?

So that was my year! Would love to hear about all of yours!