Category Archives: Annual Lists

Favorite Books of 2024

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Let’s start with the numbers:

For someone who does not do a lot of unnecessary math in adult life, I really do love statistics. So I’m about to hit you with some good ones! I read 132 books in 2024. I always set my goal as 100–because there have been years when I haven’t made it. For example I only read 88, 97, and 67 (what?) books, respectively, in 2020 (hello, global panini), 2016 (second year at a new school, had changed content areas) and 2013 (early teaching). In the 13 reading years from 2012-2024, I averaged 117 books a year. The last five years I have apparently given up other parts of life because I’ve averaged 140 reads a year for 2020-2024. Nuts.

I am a repeat-author offender. I read eight books by Percival Everett in 2024 (I’m sort of on a mission to be an Everett-completist; however some of his older books are not in the Chicago Public Library collections so we’ll see), five by Veronica Roth (three rereads), and three each by Naomi Novik (one re-read), Nghi Vo, Elle Kennedy (sometimes a girl needs her smut), and Neal Shusterman.

I read 55 fiction books, 29 science fiction or fantasy, 13 non-fiction (WHOA!), 21 poetry collections and 11 graphic novels (three non-fiction and 11 fiction). So across genre and type: out of the 132, 95 were fiction (71%, a little low for me, frankly, ha), 16 were non-fiction, which is a wildly high number for me, and 21 were poetry collections, which honestly tend to contain both fiction and non- within the span of a collection, although I do notice that Storygraph files them as nonfiction.

Highest of Highlights:

My very, very favorite read in any genre, but particularly fiction, for 2024 was “Wounded” by Percival Everett. Yes, I read James. Yes, I see it getting all the glory. Yes, I found it a good read. I did not find it as good a read as Wounded. I’ve read roughly 22 of Everett’s books at this point, and my favorites are: 1) Wounded; 2) The Trees; 3) Erasure; 4) Watershed; and 5) I Am Not Sidney Poitier.

I have really been reading a lot more non-fiction here in the old age of my 50s and I can lay at least part of the blame at the footsteps of Hanif Abdurraqib who put out my favorite nonfiction of 2024, a breathtaking memoir “There’s Always This Year.” Swoontastic. Abudurraqib’s writing is so beautiful that it actually becomes deceiving–when he writes about music, I want to buy every album he recommends. In fact, I did for a while, and it turns out our musical taste overlap is only about 25% of what he listens to, heh. Fortunately this memoir contains a lot of basketball, which I already loved, so I wasn’t fighting my instincts the whole time. It was glorious.

And my favorite poetry of 2024 was Victoria Cheng’s collection “With My Back to the World.” Beautiful, self-deprecating, humorous, and so much play with form. But warning: if you’re already depressed, this might not be a good prescription for you.

My favorite graphic novel reads in 2024 were the three books that comprise the Friday series by Ed Brubaker, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente: 1) Friday Book One: The First Day of Christmas; 2) Friday Book Two: On a Cold Winter’s Night; and 3) Friday Book Three: Christmas Time Is Here Again. These are also the books that made me most want to: 1) reread Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden; 2) rewatch Veronica Mars; and 3) be a precocious teen again.

Other Very Favorite Fiction:

  • Menewood, by Nicola Griffith. Finally the sequel to Hild. It was my first fresh read of 2024 and it broke my heart into a million tiny pieces. I will never be done reading these two books.
  • Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad. Definitely a book of this time and this moment in history. Also just a beautiful book with gorgeous ideas, interesting relationships, and such a tangibly fleshed out world. I went back and read her first novel after this. She joined my favorite living authors list this year and I’m so glad my dad told me about her, and then the NYRB told me about her, and now I am telling everyone about her.
  • I also really liked Big Swiss by Jen Beagin; James by Percival Everett, mentioned above; Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, which is just wildly gorgeous on a sentence level, and did you know you can’t hashtag that title on Instagram? Politics rule the world; Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino; The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut, another “I want to read everything he publishes author for me, after “When We Cease to Understand the World” in 2022; and, perhaps last summer’s hottest book, God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Other Favorite Non-Fiction:

  • Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe. OMG this book is so good. It sent me seeking out PRK all over the place. I’m listening to his podcast about the CIA potentially writing a German band’s hit song, I’m listening to every interview he’s ever gone, I’m obsessed. I guess I need to watch the series.
  • The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi, by Wright Thompson. Wowza. This book is amazing. It has a very spiraling structure (like a math curriculum, ha) and there are points at which you wonder why a particular tangent is happening, but it all ties together in the end. Very powerful. Here’s my GoodReads review if you need to hear more.
  • I also really liked How Far the Light Reaches, by Sabrina Imbler, a gorgeous exploration of identity via exploring sea creatures; Here After by Amy Lin, the best book I’ve read on grief since Madeline L’Engles’ book about her husband’s death from cancer in The Crosswick Series (volume 4 I think); and Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, by Chris LaTray, a poet I’m kinda obsessed with.

Other Favorite Poetry:

  • I loved Good Boys by Megan Fernandes, as I dig into her back catalog after adoring her 2023 release “I Do Everything I’m Told.”
  • I am also loving finally digging into Diane Seuss, both Frank: sonnets and American Poetry were excellent; and I also loved Safia Elhilo’s January Children after predviously loving “Girls That Never Die.”

Other Favorite Graphic Novels:

  • I’m still reading the ongoing series Saga (Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples), Monstress (Marjorie M. Liu), and Something Is Killing the Children (James Tynion IV). I also really enjoyed Shadowlife by Hiromi Goto.

A few other thoughts:

The books I found most unexpectedly charming:

  • Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
  • Familia by Lauren E. Rico (a purchase at the San Juan airport)
  • Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka

The books that broke my brain the hardest: everything in the Atlas Complex series by Olivie Blake.

The most fun series I read was the Scholomance books by Naomi Novik (I reread the first one and fresh read the last two with a student and we had such fun conversations about them, so shout out Kamilo!).

The sexist books I read were Wolfsong by T.J. Klune and its sequels (although there are elements that get very repetitive and I haven’t been able to finish the last one, Brothersong).

The book I liked that was certainly the most unexpected to become a movie: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder.

The author I’m coming around on: Sally Rooney. I really liked Intermezzo (and previously “Beautiful World, Where Are You”) after not loving either “Normal People” (and its overwhelming sadomasochism).

And I loved revisiting Ray Carney and his world in Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (I looooved “Harlem Shuffle”).

What about you? What were your favorite reads last year? What am I missing? Comments are open!

(Also if you want to see the complete list, you can view it on GoodReads or StoryGraph both of which I am doing. StoryGraph is better, ethically, but the community aspect on GoodReads is much stronger.)

Favorite Tunes of 2023

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Guess what? I continue to buy music…and barely listen to it! Throwing more money down the drain in 2023. Of course, I listened to *some* of it, but my bark is always bigger than my bite when it comes to consuming pop culture (of all types. obvi.). That said, I only bought albums during six months of the year (January 13, March 4, April 6, July 2, September 4, October 1). So, perhaps I was more controlled than it feels like now reviewing my iTunes. (Yes, I still use iTunes, and an iPod, and shut up, get off my lawn.)

Favorite Singles:

  • “Paper” Kenzie I don’t even know if this was a 2023 release but 2023 is when I got it. I think I heard it on a TV show. I will put this on repeat for my entire bus ride to school. Can’t stop. The ultimate “how TF is it that you don’t love me” song. Story of my damn life.
  • “Flowers” Miley Cyrus Doh, was this not the song of most of the year. Even Diane Keaton (!!) made a video of herself singing along to this.
  • “Be On Your Way” Daughter I never listened to the rest of the album as much as this one song.
  • “Ignore Me” Mothe When am I not feeling ignored? Was this song stolen from my brain?
  • “Ghost in the Machine” SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers All you had to do to get me to listen to a song this year was put Phoebe Bridgers on it (and yeah I don’t even think this song is from 2023? maybe?). That said, I never figured out what the SZA hype was. I maybe didn’t give it enough of a chance.
  • “Runner” Tennis Total epic movie soundtrack feel. Is that where I heard this first? We’ll never know.
  • “And We’ll Leave It There” Olafur Arnolds & Ella McRibb I don’t remember from where or why I found out about this but I watched a whole video of how this song came together and it’s just gorgeous.
  • “A Good Love, Part 1” Bear’s Den if you got a mix from me this year, this was probably on it, heh. I think I kept trying to add it to every one and then realizing I had already used it, oop.
  • “Run Away to Mars” Talk Every time I played this song, I thought maybe I WILL run away to Mars. How much worse could it fucking possibly be?!? I listen to it on the bus and pretend I’m on a spaceship.
  • “Our Song” P!NK I liked her whole album really but never listened to it *that* much.
  • “Lift Me Up” Rihanna from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. I think that means this song didn’t come out this year, but I listened to the fuck out of it. CHURCH.
  • “Just Like Heaven” Hannah Peel. Cover.
  • “Puzzle Peace” SAILR Aw. So pretty.
  • “If I Could” Charlotte Day Wilson If only
  • “Everywhere, Everything” Noah Kahan Someone (can’t remember) said to them when someone mentions Noah Kahan they just think “yeah, come to Nashville, meet every single long-haired boy.” Ha. I do know that his songs are all the same song to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them.

I made three mixes in 2023. I know I sent a bunch out early in the year. Email me if ya want a copy. 1: Ease on in. 2: Church. 3: Sing Me to Sleep.

Favorite Albums: Basically in the order they came out, with maybe a little slippage on that from The National.

  • Jacob Banks “Lies About the War” I’ve mentioned this before: the way Hanif Aburraquib writes about music convinces me that I will 100% completely adore every album he talks about. And it turns out, we just generally do not have the same taste in music and that’s almost always wrong. Heh. It’s to the point where I am no longer allowed to buy albums he hyped until I’ve listened to the samples at least 20 times and still want it. Yes, that’s how bad my Hanif persuasion goes. Regardless, I bought this in January based on his recommendation and I love it so so so very much. Deep and dark and tangly. What a voice!! Fave songs: “Just When I Thought”, “Our Song” (feat. Anna Leone.
  • Anna Tivel “Outsiders” Another January purchase that I never stopped listening to. You know, January, the month where I buy everything everyone else loved in 2023 that I missed. This one comes from Kiki’s husband Steve’s recommendation. My favorite song was “Heroes”.
  • boygenius “The Record” Anything that needs to be said has already been said by a bajillion people. I’m not all “I repost every picture boygenius ever posts on their instagram” levels of obsession, LIKE SOME PEOPLE I KNOW (not a joke), but there’s no denying how good this album is. At first, I was like obsessively figuring out who wrote which song and did that mean I liked one artist more (since I didn’t love any of their solo stuff as much as I loved this) but now I just think of it like the Beatles: better together. Favorite songs: “Not Strong Enough”, “Emily I’m Sorry”, “True Blue”, and “Cool About It”.
  • The National “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” AND The National “Laugh Track” I mean, what the AF, my favorite band in the world put out two massively fantastic albums in the same year. AND I got to see them in concert again (it was just such a fabulous night). Honestly, I love both albums in their entirety, but if you want just some snippets, here you go: Fave songs FTPF: “New Order T-Shirt”, “Eucalyptus” (that ending), “This Isn’t Helping” (w/ Phoebe Bridgers bien sur). “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” (also w/ PB). Fave Songs LT: “Weird Goodbyes” (w/ Bon Iver), “Hornets”, “Laugh Track” (PB again), “Crumble” (w/ Rosanne Cash).
  • Olivia Rodrigo “Guts” For the twelve-teen in me, that never completely goes away. Silly, goofballs, OMG I’M SO IN LOVE and OMG I’M SO NOT music. Fun times. Favorite songs: the back to back play of “Logical” and “Get Him Back!”
  • Sufjan Stevens “Javelin” I’m sorry whut. Can words. No, they can’t. Fucking stunningly beautiful that’s all you need to know. STUNNING. Amazeballoons. Favorite songs: “Goodbye Evergreen” (THAT BEGINNING), “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”, “My Red Little Fox” (kiss me like the wind), “Shit Talk.”

Albums I really liked when I listened, but just didn’t keep hanging with much beyond their purchase:

  • Natalie Merchant “Keep Your Courage” Dang, Natalie Merchant, I’ve been enjoying your tunes for over 30 years.
  • Tommy Prine “This Far South” Doing his dad proud.
  • Daughter “Stereo Mind Game” I did put one of their singles above. I liked this. It just dropped off my radar too fast.

Albums I’m enjoying on my 2023 review that I don’t even remember from actually during 2023:

  • Future Teens “Sensitive Sessions”
  • Wild Rivers “Sidelines”

Duff at the Movies 2023 / Review style cuz… I forget to keep a list!

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Oh nooooooo I never kept my list! What happened in 2023?!? Here’s what I can remember off the top of my increasingly forgetful head…

On the big screen, in general:

  • Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part 1 Loved it. One of the funniest action movies I’ve seen in ages. They definitely try to bring the drama, but so much of it made me laugh. That chase scene!!!
  • Asteroid City This was just a very Wes Anderson-y Wes Anderson movie. There were moments I enjoyed, but I would not put it in my top five Wes Anderson movies.

At home, but came out in 2023:

  • Cocaine Bear Unbelievably good, given its title. I would watch this a billion times.

At the Chicago International Film Festival: Yes, I finally made it back to the CIFF! After maybe a decade? I was soooo happy, but one movie every single day for 11 days was a LOT during the teaching year, heh.

  • All Happy Families Fun, good performances, but not a lot of plot. More a “moment in time” movie.
  • Eric LaRue I thought this movie was a COMPLETE MESS. I see some of the things it wanted to do or criticize, but I didn’t think it did a great job. Also Michael Shannon in the Q&A afterward seemed messy as well.
  • The Love Stories of Liv S. It was an enjoyable watch but not something I’ve thought about a lot since.
  • The Delinquents This was a WILD ride (and maybe I should check how long a movie is before I buy a ticket for 7:15 on a school night!!!) and very long but I definitely enjoyed it, even though the plot takes a lot of goofball leaps.
  • Only the River Flows I sat next to the most lovely people at this show and one is a film professor who really helped me decipher the ending! This movie was like a fever dream.
  • Solo This Solo, not Star Wars. This movie was gorgeous. Sad, frustrating (Don’t make that decision! Don’t do it!), beautiful songs, costumes, makeup, etc.
  • All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt Beautiful. Possibly the slowest paced movie I’ve ever seen. The atmosphere is amazing. But I think you definitely come away with unanswered questions as to what and why. Here’s a hint I would have liked to have known going in (took too long to figure it out!): it’s jumping back and forth in time. Those are meant to be the same girl at different ages! The pacing and contemplativeness (and overall experience of being in the theater) really reminded me of Tree of Life, but this one is much more realistic.
  • The Bride This was a rough movie to sit there. Nothing is explicitly shown, per se, but some really crappy handling of the main character, her agency, and her body. 🙁
  • The Taste of Things Bring a LOT of snacks to this movie, you are going to be sooooo hungry. It was beautiful, wildly intriguing and engaging if you know anything about cooking, and an interesting peek into a different world. Binoche was gorgeous in this flick.
  • Hard Miles Matthew Modine was at the screening and WHOA I had no idea what a total goofball he is. Also hats off to the dude who yelled VISIONQUEST as they started the Q&A. This was an engaging watch, the acting by all the boys was really good.
  • Perfect Days Another one of those movies that has almost no plot, just this weird repetition of this dude’s highly scheduled life and a few occasions where something happens to throw off his balance.

OK, I paged through the first 100 on IMDB’s list of movies that came out in 2024, and didn’t notice any others that I saw. So… maybe? that’s it. Sigh. Not a great year for Duff at the Movies.

Favorite Tunes of 2020

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Finally! The post you’ve all been waiting for. Obvi.

My Favorite Albums:

  • Perfume Genius “Set My Heart on Fire Immediately” (May) Oh my, this album. Falsetto swoony dramatics can be hit or miss for me, but I absolutely loved this. Favorite songs: “Jason,” “Nothing at All,” and “Some Dream.”
  • William Prince “Reliever” (February) This deep voice of calmness was so soothing. I guess this is labeled as country. If you like Eddie Vedder’s solo stuff, you might like this. Favorite songs: “Always Have What We Had” (with the best line “I can miss you from anywhere” SWOON) and “That’s All I’ll Ever Become.”
  • Ethan Gruska “En Garde” (February) don’t know what made me pick this one up (maybe the collab with Phoebe Bridgers?), but it stuck in my head. It’s certainly got a bit of an Elliott Smith vibe which turns out to be the kind of sound I was seeking all year long. Perfect for a melancholy “OMG it’s the end of the world” year like 2020, am I right? Favorite songs: “On the Outside,” “Enough for Now” (w/ PB), “Teenage Drug” one of my favorite songs of the year for sure.
  • Phoebe Bridgers “Punisher” (July) Speaking of Elliott Smith vibes… I wrote ‘Yup, yup, yup” next to pretty much every song on this album. I know this was Taylor Swift’s year to many people (and I do like both those albums enough to have them on my top 10) but I will maintain that this album and the HAIM release (below) are JUST AS GOOD, if not… better? Heh. Don’t come at me, Swiftees, I’m allowed to have a different opinion than you! Favorite songs: “Moon Song”, “Graceland Too”, “Kyoto”… And all the rest of them. Ha.
  • HAIM “Women In Music Pt III” (July) Do I own or know anything about parts 1 and 2, if those indeed exist? Nope, I don’t, but this album just really dug its way in to my eardrums. There’s all kinds of musical nods happening in the backgrounds, it’s so upbeat and fun in a LOT of ways. There are several songs with just a great! beat! on this album. What fun. Favorite songs: “Los Angeles,” “The Steps”, “I Know Alone”, “Up from a Dream” “Don’t Wanna”, “All That Ever Mattered”, “Now I’m In It.”
  • The Weeknd “After Hours” (April) Cringe. Some of his lyrics are so misogynistic, I don’t think I’d love my teenage daughter getting obsessed with his music. Those are probably all the songs I like the best HAHAHAHA OMG life is frustrating. I just… always love every album he puts out and then one day I find myself analyzing the lyrics I’m singing along to and get annoyed. Oh well. Such is life. Sometimes great songs have shitty messages. Music is complicated like that. Favorite songs: “Hardest to Love”, “Heartless”, “In Your Eyes”.
  • Kesha “High Road” (February) I had never bought a Kesha / Ke$ha album before but this one was totally worth it. TOTALLY. A wild mix of upbeat rock and pop, melancholy country, it’s up, it’s down, it’s all over the place. Favorite songs: “Cowboy Blues” (“Did I fuck my whole life up?”), “High Road,” “Birthday Suit” (so ridic), and “Resentment” (w/ Brian Wilson and Sturgill Simpson, of all people).
  • Waxahatchee “Saint Cloud” (April) Pretty sure Busy Phillips’ instagram stories put this on my radar as I’ve never really been a Waxahatchee fan in the past. This album has what is definitely a contender for song of the year: “Fire”. I take it for granted / If I could love you unconditionally / I could iron out the edges of the darkest sky / For some of us it ain’t enough / It ain’t enough. Cannot stop listening to it, singing it, humming it, getting lost in its chorus. It’s 2020’s Maggie Roger’s “Alaska.” Other favorites: “Lilacs” (so Dylanesque) and “Hell.”
  • Taylor Swift “Folklore” (July) OK are the “Cardigan” commercials not cracking everyone else up at this point? I mean, it seems insane months (and another album) later to suddenly see them a million times every Hulu show I watch. Heh. Favorite songs: “Exile” (feat Bon Iver) duh, “Seven,” “This Is Me Trying,” “Invisible String”, and “Mad Woman.”
  • Taylor Swift “Evermore” (December) Seriously, if this album was just the song “Ivy” in every single position, I would love it just as much. SONG OF THE YEAR, people, song of the whole damn year. Oh, goddamn, my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand. But, sure, there are others I liked. I guess. Favorite songs: “Willow,” “Champagne Problems,” “No Body, No Crime” (feat HAIM), “Dorothea,” and “Coney Island (feat The National).

Honorable Mentions:

  • Little Big Town “Nightfall” (February) In keeping the favorite list to 10, Waxahatchee knocked this one off. But there are a ton of songs on this album that really *really* stuck with me. Favorite songs: “Questions” and “The Daughters” might be the best back to back on an album all year.
  • BLACKSTARKIDS “Whatever, Man” (November) Oh wow, I dig this one. But.. I got it in November and then didn’t really start listening to it until 2021. Heh. I am always up for trying albums recommended by Hanif Abdurraqibb because his writing about music just sucks me in! But a lot of times it turns out I don’t hear what he heard in it. This one, however, is aces. Favorite song: “Camp Whatever” Haven’t felt alive in a while, but I’m not dead.

Best 1-2 Punch of the Year:

“WAP” Cardi B. & Megan Thee Stallion to be followed immediately by “Watermelon Sugar” Harry Styles. I know, what are we-teenagers? Just take my word for it.

Favorite Songs Not From Aforementioned Albums:

  • “Conversations in the Dark” John Legend – just all kinds of big swoony love for this tribute to CT.
  • “No Time for Love Like Now” Michael Stipe – definitely my favorite song of those early Pandemic days. Ah, those early Pandemic days.
  • “Hard to Forget” Sam Hunt – yes, I love his cheesy sappy fratboy albums. But never all the way through. This song though…
  • “Another Beginning” Joshua Radin – can he even write a bad song?
  • “Kings & Queens” Ava Max – just put this baby on repeat.
  • “One More Second” and “Take Me Out of Town” Matt Berninger – I was bummed to not really enjoy this album overall but loved these two.
  • “Ridiin’ Solo” Jason DeRulo – I think this may have come out some other year but 2020 is the year I could not stop singing it, like, basically, ever. It’s all about the beat, baby.
  • “Wasted Youth” Diana Gordon – oooooo love this draggy slow swirl.
  • “Almost Home” Moby (feat Damien Jurado – OMG so Bon Iver.
  • “I’m the One” DJ Khaled (feat. Justin Bieber et al) – Good grief, I like a song with Justin Beiber on it? Just bury me in shame.
  • “Spiral” Pinegrove – Another Busy Phillips insta earworm. “Drink water, good morning…”
  • “Video Games” and “Goodbye to All That” Sufjan Stevens – another album I found myself disappointedly uninterested in. Sigh. I love so much of Sufjan’s stuff, but somehow I never found a way in with this one.
  • “Cavalry” Mashrou’ Leila – an album recommended by YA author Abdi Nazemian, thoroughly enjoyed it and this song was the real standout for me.
  • “Beige” and “Goodpain” Yoke Lore – their Goodpain EP was a highlight.
  • “Gone Gone/Thank You” Tyler, the Creator – probably came out in 2019 but I bought the album in January, one of my “everyone had this on last year’s list” purchases, I think.
  • “Pictures” Asgeir – I buy a lot of singles when I hear them in a movie, on a TV show, or on a commercial. Presumably that’s how I found this one.
  • “Lost Here” Fauntella Crow – probably same.

Favorite Covers: (in that rare year where I bought very few!):

  • “Explain It to Me” Squirrel Flower – Liz Phair cover, that frankly sounds very close to the original. Heh.
  • “I’m on Fire” Staves – all slowed down and glorious.
  • “Put Your Records On” Ritt Momney – omg the name of this band. Smacks forehead.

What’d I miss? What song or album could YOU not stop listening to in 2020? I’d love to know…