Well. We made it everyone. What a year. I went to New York, Paris, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, back to New York, Denver, San Diego, New York two more times, and back to Denver again. I spent a lot of hours in the car, driving to work. I got rear ended (I was fine) and then it took four and a half months for my car to get fixed.
My grandpa died in August, the first of my grandparents to pass away. I don’t really know what to say about it other than it was time but it was sad, and what I said here.
If I’m being honest, the most significant thing I did this year was work. I spent most of the year working on a really serious case that ended in a Not Guilty from a jury after a two day trial, one of the craziest feelings I’ve ever felt in my life. Then, a month ago, I left that job at an office full of people I loved working with to do the same job at an office that’s 2 miles from my house instead of 60. I spent a lot of the year thinking about how my job has changed my world view, my perception of our society, and why I want to keep doing it anyway. I wrote about this stuff too, about my job, about the state of things, and about why I keep going.
I baked a lot of bread, I went to the movie theater 28 times, and I wrote this newsletter (almost) every week. A lot more people read it this year than last year, which is very cool. As I have done the past three years, I wrote up this list of my favorite things from the year. One more opportunity to yell at all of you about the things I like! As always, these are not ranked and anything I consumed this year is eligible regardless of when it actually came out. Previous lists here: 2021, 2022, 2023.
Books
I read 48 books this year, the fewest I’ve read in a year since I started tracking my reading in 2018. By a lot! I recognize that 48 books is still a lot of books, but compared to the pace at which I have been reading the past few years it just is not. I spent months unable to focus on a book, I DNF’d more books this year than I ever have, I made this list of 10 books I wanted to read this year and only read one of them (I am in the middle of two more of them, but still). I don’t know why this happened, but I really want to fix this soon. I love reading. I have so many books I want to read. I read a lot over the holiday break, so I’m hoping I’m back into it, but this is definitely one of my biggest goals for the new year, to get back into a daily reading habit. In the past I’ve picked five books in each category but since there’s way less this year, I picked three.
Romance
Funny Story by Emily Henry: If we are at the end of a year in which an Emily Henry book came out, it’s probably making this list. Every time I am stressed that it will not live up to the hype and she has yet to let me down. I don’t really even feel like I need to tell you the plot. After Happy Place this was a return to a true rom com. I loved it.
One Star Romance by Laura Hankin: I have read and liked all of her previous books, so I came into this with pretty high expectations and it exceeded them. It’s about Natalie and Rob, who meet when they are both in their early twenties and she is the maid of honor and he is the best man at their friends’ wedding. Before the wedding, Natalie finds out that Rob gave her recently published debut novel a one star rating on Goodreads, so obviously they do not get along. We then follow Natalie and Rob through the next decade or so as they keep having to see each other at their friends’ big life events. The romance in this was so good, but there’s also so much good stuff in here about navigating your twenties and friendships with people who are moving through life stages at a different pace. Loved this, will read whatever she writes next.
You, With a View by Jessica Joyce: I had heard so many people rave about this so I don’t know why I waited so long to read it, but I loved it. This about Noelle, who is struggling in the wake of losing her Grandmother and getting laid off. While going through her Grandma’s things she finds a picture of her with a man who isn’t her Grandpa, so she makes a TikTok with the photo to try to find the man. It works, and when she goes to meet him she realizes that his grandson is her high school nemesis, Theo. It’s funny, it’s cute, it’s hot, it was so GOOD. The romance is really good but there’s also a lot of good stuff in here about grief and loss. I read this in one sitting in a frenzy, could not put it down. I have her next book sitting on my shelf, I’ve been saving it for the perfect time.
Other Fiction
Good Material by Dolly Alderton: Maybe my favorite book of the year. I love Dolly Alderton SO MUCH. The way she writes about love and friendship and being alive is so incredible, she just understands the human experience in the most beautiful way. This is her second novel, about a man named Andy who has recently been dumped by his long term girlfriend, Jen. We spend most of the book in Andy’s head as he absolutely falls apart in the months following the end of the relationship. I was a little worried I wouldn’t like this, as the head of a 35 year old man is the last place I want to be, but Dolly’s writing is so good I shouldn’t have been worried. Her voice is so strong and she is so funny and astute. The book was good and THEN. Then the end!!! The last section of this book gave me an entirely new perspective on the first 300 pages in a way I have never really experienced before. It puts you so squarely into Andy’s world and takes you so deep into it before you even get a hint of anyone else’s. And then the last chapter is just some of the best writing I’ve ever read about choosing a life for yourself. She’s so GOOD. I’m reading anything she writes for the rest of my life.
Adelaide by Genevieve Weaver: I think about this book all the time. It’s about Adelaide, a 26 year old American living in London. She meets a boy named Rory and quickly falls in love with him, and we follow their relationship over a year or two. I was so invested in this so quickly, by like page 15 I was rooting for Adelaide. Then the next 200+ pages is just her going THROUGH it. This is so well written, I was so invested in the story, I just loved this so much.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe: I am not unique in calling this a favorite of mine this year, it got a lot of praise and I think it’s all warranted. I’ve never read anything else like this. It’s about a 19 year old named Margo who has an affair with her college professor, accidentally gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby, and then starts an OnlyFans account to make money. It’s written in such a unique way, switching between first and third person depending on what information is being conveyed. There’s so many fun side characters, and it handles a lot of heavy subject matter in really nice way. Almost no one in this book is making good choices but I loved most of them anyway. This is already getting a tv adaptation starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman, made by A24, and I think it will be so good on screen. I think about this all the time.
Non-Fiction
Down the Drain by Julia Fox: Unironically one of the best celebrity memoirs I’ve ever read. This book is WILD. It reads like fiction because her life has been so insane. It really does chronicle her entire life, starting with her early childhood and eventually ending up at the parts we all know about (Uncut Gems, dating Kanye, etc.). There is a lot of harrowing stuff in here about sexual abuse and drug abuse. This is hard to read at times, but it’s also full of so many iconic stories that match her public persona. I have so much respect for her after reading this, it is genuinely well written and an incredible story.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond: I had been meaning to read this for years, and it was as good as everyone says. It follows several people in Milwaukee as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. This is one of the most eye opening, unflinching pieces of writing I have ever read about poverty. I found this hard to read at times because it is so depressing and painful, but I think that is a reflection of how bad we are at talking about these issues in a realistic way. If everyone was forced to confront this reality more honestly then we would would be working harder to fix it. Everyone should read this.
Cue the Sun by Emily Nussbaum: This was so interesting. It’s a comprehensive history of reality tv, she starts with The Real World and goes all the way up to present day, with big sections on Survivor and The Bachelor and many other shows that I have watched and loved (or loved to hate). I learned so much from this and it was all fascinating.
TV
Pachinko (AppleTV): If you never listen to me about anything else, I hope you will listen to me about this. This is the best show on television right now, one of the best I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It is so beautiful, so cinematic, so emotionally effective, I cannot say enough how this show is exquisite in every way something can be beautiful. Season 2 came out this year and was just as stunning as the first. I watched this weekly in a trance, absolutely mesmerized by this story and these characters and the way this looks on screen. IT’S SO GOOD. If this does not get renewed I will be so upset. Watch this. Please.
Shrinking (Season 2) (AppleTV): I liked the first season of this fine enough, but I LOVED season two. This is about several people who all work at the same therapy practice and their intertwined family lives. I think this really came into it’s own in the second season. I love all the characters, this is so funny and heartwarming but it’s not at all cheesy or over the top. It’s just the perfect balance. Loved.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video): This came out of nowhere for me and it ruled. I watched this so fast, unable to look away. Maya Erskine and Donald Glover play spies, strangers who get paired together and assigned to missions by some secret agency. They were both so good in this and very good together, and this just had me on the edge of my seat. This show is so stylistic and COOL, they both just looked so cool the whole time. And it ended on a cliff hanger I’m still thinking about months later. It’s getting a second season, but with a new cast, so I’m scared! But I will definitely be watching.
One Day (Netflix): I was confused why they were making a mini-series adaptation of this book when the movie already exists, and then I watched it and understood. This is better than the movie in basically every way. I watched this very slowly because I was absolutely terrified to get to the end. This stars Leo Woodall (hot) and Ambika Mod as Dexter and Emma, who meet on their college graduation day and then we follow them through the next 20 years. This story is so beautiful and lovely and then the ending is so violently sad. The two leads are so good together, this is just a beautiful show.
Hacks (Max): This continues to level up season after season, which is a true feat given how good it started. Each season it reinvents itself without ever straying too far from the original conceit of the show. This is so smart and so funny, just so, so good. Everyone in this is *so* funny, this makes me laugh so much. The ending made me scream! Thank god they are making more.
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix): The amount of brain space this show took up is astonishing. I talked about this non-stop for weeks with anyone who I could get to listen to me. This series is made by the same guy who made Cheer, and it has a similar tone. It follows the Cheerleaders through an entire season, starting with auditions and training camp all the way through their end of year dinner. Just fascinating and really well done. Will be sat for season 2.
Taskmaster (Youtube): I watched more episodes of this than any other show this year (SEVEN seasons). This is a UK game show that makes me LAUGH. Each season features five comedians, and in each episode they have to do absurd tasks for points. This is so dumb and silly and it truly makes me cry laughing. This show has been on for years and there are many seasons of this in full on Youtube. This would be a great thing to watch if you’re sick, or sad, or need something with absolutely nothing that could trigger you. It’s so weird and so funny, I love it.
Nobody Wants This (Netflix): They said “Adam Brody rom com” and I clicked play IMMEDIATELY. I loved, loved this show. Kristen and Adam have incredible chemistry, and my decade-plus long crush on him is stronger than ever. The music in this show is sooooo good, and I’m also obsessed with the fact that its based on the creator’s real relationship with her husband. It got renewed, thank god!
The Diplomat (Netflix): This show rules, and the second season had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This is the perfect mix of political drama and interpersonal mess. Keri Russell plays the US Ambassador to the UK and she is SO GOOD. This season Allison Janney joined as the Vice President and she is so iconic, I love her so much. This ended on a cliff hanger that had me staring at the screen with my jaw dropped for several minutes once the screen went black. Thank god it’s already renewed for season three!
Somebody Somewhere (Max): Sad to say goodbye to this, the nicest, kindest, loveliest show on tv. It stars Bridget Everett (who I LOVE) as Sam, a woman who moved back to her small hometown to care for her sick sister, who has since passed away. Despite this sad premise, this show is a ray of light. It is earnest, but not cheesy, and heartfelt, but not depressing. It makes me laugh and it makes me cry, but because it’s so lovely and nice, not because it’s too sad. It is tender and kind and funny and full of joy. It was just the BEST. I loved all the characters so much. It ended this year after three seasons, I cannot recommend more strongly.
Movies
Anora (theaters): I have thought about this so much since I saw it a few weeks ago. I think it’s more fun if you go in not knowing what’s going on, but the general vibe here is that this is about a sex worker who meets a really rich Russian guy and they become involved. The first half of this is so electric, buzzy and vibrant and frantic and fun. Then it comes crashing down so effectively in the second half, it really builds so much tension over the course of two hours. This made me LAUGH, despite some darker moments it is really very funny. Mikey Madison gives one of the best performances of the year and is an Oscars front runner. My main complaint is this should have been 20 minutes shorter, but I still really liked it.
A Real Pain (theaters): I also think about this movie a lot. It stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as two cousins who go on a trip to Poland together to honor their late grandmother. This is so lovely, very insular and small while also hitting on such big feelings. Jesse Eisenberg also wrote and directed, and this is the best thing he’s done since The Social Network by far. But the real stand out here is Kieran Culkin, who gives the most incredible performance. So endearing and emotional and funny, just amazing. This is just a nice, sad, warm movie about family and life and grief. I really liked it.
Conclave (Peacock): Loved this gossip movie!! Plot: the Pope has died, and now all the Cardinals are coming to the Vatican for the conclave, the process by which they choose a new one. The main guy we follow is Cardinal Lawrence, who is played by Ralph Fiennes, and is in charge of running the conclave. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow are also here, as are a bunch of other dudes and Isabella Rossellini. All the performances here are amazing. Visually this movie is so stunning, it’s such an ornate setting shot in such a beautiful way. An all around win for me, this ruled.
Will & Harper (Netflix): This documentary is so lovely. This is about Will Ferrell and his friend Harper, who used to be head writer at SNL, and during the pandemic sent Will an email to tell him that she was going to transition and live life as a woman. This documentary follows the two of them on a cross country road trip, something Harper used to do all the time but feels less safe doing now, and talking about their friendship and Harper’s transition. This is such a beautiful and moving portrayal of friendship. And it’s so cool that Will Ferrel is using his huge platform to do something like this, while the norm for most other middle aged white male comedians is to be openly transphobic and/or a serial sexual abuser. Just a lovely, lovely film.
My Old Ass (Prime Video): One of the bigger surprises of the year for me, I didn’t go into this expecting to love it as much as I did. It’s just the loveliest coming of age movie, about a girl named Elliott (Maisy Stella) who does mushrooms with her friends on her 18th birthday and ends up talking to her future self (played by Aubrey Plaza, who is incredible in this movie). It’s set during the summer on a lake and it was just the best vibes. There is also a truly hilarious Justin Bieber bit in here that made me laugh so hard. And it ends up being such a poignant commentary on growing up and loving people and living life. Just the best, loved it so much, saw it twice!
Daughters (Netflix): This documentary is so gorgeous and painful and urgent, I haven’t shut up about it since I watched it in September. This follows a group of men who are incarcerated in a Washington DC jail and their daughters as they prepare for a Father Daughter dance. This is so amazing, and one of the most incredible documentaries about incarceration I have ever seen. The prison system is so fucked. This film is just devastating, but I loved it.
Babes (Hulu): This made me LAUGH. It stars Michelle Buteau and Ilana Glazer as life long best friends Eden and Dawn. Dawn is married and has just had her second child when Eden accidentally gets pregnant after a one night stand, and the movie follows them through Eden’s pregnancy as she leans on Dawn for support and Dawn struggles to cope on top of everything else going on in her life. This feels like a spiritual successor to Broad City in many ways, Ilana is doing a lot of the same things here as she did on that show. It’s so funny, and it’s also gross, it doesn’t shy away from the realities of pregnancy or parenthood and I appreciated that. And it also has some really lovely moments about family and friendship.
Hit Man (Netflix): Glen Powell had a banger of a year and I think this was the best part of it. He stars as a nerdy philosophy professor who moonlights as a fake hit man/police informant and it follows him as he strikes up an ill advised relationship with a client and things start to go off the rails. The man is a movie STAR, he’s so hot and so charming and just so charismatic it’s honestly absurd. He co-wrote this script with Richard Linklater, and then Linklater directed (he also wrote and directed the Before trilogy so I love him, obviously). This movie is hot and sexy and funny and fun, it kept me guessing all the way through and I especially loved the third act.
Challengers (Prime Video): I’m on the bandwagon, this movie RULES. IT’S SO GOOD. It stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a tennis player turned coach. She’s coaching her husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), as he is nearing the end of his career and chasing an elusive US Open win. She signs him up for a small regional tournament, and they are both shook when they get there and find out that Patrick Zwieg (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend and her former boyfriend, is also playing. This was immediately captivating and I was so engrossed the whole time. The score is incredible and really adds to the tension, I listened to it a lot this year. The cinematography is amazing, several shots in this I will be thinking about for a long time. It’s sweaty and horny and tense and hot! Exhilarating to watch!! When it cut to black at the end I literally gasped.
Wicked (theaters): Sorry but I loved this!!! I saw it three times in the theaters and listned to the soundtrack an ungodly amount of times. They did what they needed to do, ok. Johnathan Bailey is so hot and charismatic it’s actually sick, he needs to teach classes. I’m excited to do it all again this year.