• 2023 sign

    My top 10 favs of 2023: A year spent reading, watching and listening to stories

    Ok, my friends. It’s time to share my annual list of pop culture wonders. Over the past year, I consumed 58 books, 116 TV shows, 61 movies and many podcasts. These were my favorites:

    (Note: Not all were released during the past 365 days.)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – FICTION
     

    Lessons in chemistry book1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus

    2. “Cult Classic” by Stephen Blackmoore

    3. “Holly” by Stephen King

    4. “Drowning” by T.J. Newman

    5. “Going Zero” by Anthony McCarten

    6. “Hate Machine” by Stephen Blackmoore

    7. “Double or Nothing” by Craig Schaefer

    8. “A Plain-Dealing Villain” by Craig Schaefer

    9. “The Killing Floor Blues” by Craig Schaefer

    10. “Harmony Black” by Craig Schaefer

    (Honorable mentions: “The Castle Doctrine” by Craig Schaefer, “You Are Home” by Catana Chetwynd, “Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting” by Clare Pooley, “All Systems Red” by Martha Wells, “The Maid” by Nita Prose and “Starter Villain” by John Scalzi)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – NONFICTION
     

    1. true tails of baker and taylor book“The True Tails of Baker and Taylor: The Library Cats Who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Town . . . and the World” by Jan Louch and Lisa Rogak

    2. “National Trust Book of Scones” by Sarah Merker

    3. “What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator” by Barbara Butcher

    4. “American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century” by Maureen Callahan

    5. “Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story” by James R. Hagerty

    6. “A Pocketful of Happiness” by Richard E. Grant

    7. “Knave of Spades” by Alan Titchmarsh

    8. “My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place” by Meik Wiking

    9. “Clean & Green: 101 Hints and Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Home” by Nancy Birtwhistle

    10. The Art Thief” by Michael Finkel

    (Honorable mentions: “Kitty Cornered: How Frannie and Five Other Incorrigible Cats Seized Control of Our House and Made It Their Home” by Bob Tarte, “Disappearing Ink: The Insider, the FBI, and the Looting of the Kenyon College Library” by Travis McDade, “Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath” by Ted Koppel and “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power” by Deirdre Mask)

    Overall reading ratio: I read 18,034 pages. Books were split 70% fiction to 30% nonfiction and 55% female authors to 45% male authors.

     

     

    MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS
    GBBO1. The Great British Baking Show

    2. Julia

    3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

    4. Escape to the Country

    5. Ted Lasso

    6. The Diplomat

    7. The Repair Shop

    8. Grand Designs

    9. Britain’s Hidden Villages

    10. Reacher

    (Honorable mentions: Homicide Hunter, Cook’s Country, America’s Test Kitchen, Gardener’s World, Last Week With John Oliver, The Reluctant Traveler, Men in Kilts, Poker Face, Staged, For All Mankind, Foundation, Welcome to Wrexham and Lessons in Chemistry.)

     

    MY FAVORITE MOVIES
     

    Three Thousand Years of Longing movie1. Three Thousand Years of Longing

    2. She Said

    3. Elvis

    4. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

    5. John Wick: Chapter 4

    6. The Old Guard

    7. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

    8. No One Will Save You

    9. Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale

    10. Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool

    (Honorable mentions: A Man Called Otto, Being Mary Tyler Moore, The Fablemans, Plane, Ghosted, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Call Me Kate, Mike Birbiglia: The New One, 65, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3, The Leftovers, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Gray Man and Bullet Train)

     

    MY FAVORITE PODCASTS
     

    The Vinyl Cafe1. The Vinyl Cafe

    2. Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

    3. GrimmCast

    4. Small Town Dicks

    5. Naked Lunch

    6. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

    7. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

    8. Christmas Past

    9. Dear Hank & John

    10. Mobituaries

    (Honorable mentions: Clear + Vivid With Alan Alda, Sidedoor, Something Wild, David Tennant Does a Podcast With…, The Christmas Stocking, Sue Perkins: An Hour Or So With…., Nocturne, Criminal, Death, Sex & Money, Awards Chatter and The Anthropocene Reviewed)

  • movies, tv, books, podcasts

    Last month in pop culture

    Best TV show I saw: “The Reluctant Traveler.” Eugene Levy prefers the inside to the outside, the relaxing to the adventurous and the known to the unfamiliar. This show examines what happens when such a person travels, and because Levy is a brilliant comedian and actor, it’s a blast to join him on the journey.

     

     

    I also enjoyed: “Poker Face.” Natasha Lyonne portrays a woman named Charlie who’s a human lie detector. When her unique ability lands her in hot water, she hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda and ends up solving crimes in every town she hides in. Imagine if Jessica Fletcher and Columbo got on the mob’s bad side.

     

     

    Best movie I saw: M and I celebrated the anniversary of our first date over the weekend. Back in 2006, we watched the romantic comedy, “Serendipity,” starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, despite being 600 miles apart (we chatted about it in IM). Seventeen years later, we’re still together and still watching that movie (or visiting the restaurant of the same name whenever we’re in New York City).

    Best thing I heard: My favorite podcast, “The Vinyl Cafe,” is sort of back, even though its beloved host, Stuart McLean, has died. His long-suffering producer, Jess Milton, has created a new podcast called “Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe,” where she posts a couple of classic stories from the shows and then adds a bit of behind-the-scenes commentary. I’m loving it.

    I also listened to: “The Grimmcast,” another podcast featuring behind-the-scenes commentary, this one about the show “Grimm.” The series, which ran on NBC from 2011 to 2017, featured a homicide detective with the ability to see magical creatures. Claire Coffee, Bitsie Tulloch and Bree Turner, who also appeared in the show, are watching the program for the first time and sharing details about the filming process. They also interview other members of the cast and crew and answer listener questions. If you’re a fan of the show, as I am, you’ll dig this weekly chat. And if you’ve never watched “Grimm,” why not start now? It’s fun.

     

     

    Best thing I read: “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus is one of those books everyone raves about but you put off reading because it can’t possibly live up to the hype. The plot certainly interested me: A woman working as a chemist in the 1960s faces discrimination, recrimination and even violence due to her intelligence and gender. When she becomes the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show, the heroine begins changing lives and seriously challenging the status quo. The cover art really turned me off, but on a whim, I decided to give it a chance and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

     

     

    I’m also reading: National Trust Scones, a blog written by Sarah Merker that was recently featured in The New York Times. Back in 2013, Sarah and her husband joined the National Trust, a society that helps to conserve and manage historical properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Over the next decade, she would visit these sites, taste the scones on offer and write a blog post about each experience. Since discovering her blog, I’ve not only started reading the whole shebang from the beginning, I’ve also purchased her book about the experience. (Note to self: Visit Brownsea Island in the summer and Hughenden at Christmas.)

     

    My current desktop picture:

  • 2022

    My top 10 favs of 2022: A year spent reading, watching and listening to stories

    Over the past year, I consumed 61 books, 73 TV shows, 64 movies and many podcasts. These were my favorites.

    (Note: Not all were released during the past 365 days.)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – FICTION
     

    Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker1. “The Hidden Palace” by Helene Wecker

    2. “Child Zero” by Chris Holm

    3. “The Kaiju Preservation Society” by John Scalzi

    4. “Upgrade” by Blake Crouch

    5. “Shadow Deal” by M.L. McKnight

    6. “Death Moon” by Michael La Ronn

    7. “Mortal Terms” by Michael La Ronn

    8. “Snake Eyes” by Hillary Monahan

    9. “Three Parts Dead” by Max Gladstone

    10. “Oddball” by Sarah Andersen

    (Honorable mentions: “Running Blind” by Lee Child, “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King, “Cold Hard Magic” by M.L. McKnight, “Spirit Chaser” by M.L. McKnight and “Suicide Kings” by Stephen Blackmoore)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – NONFICTION
     

    in love by Amy Bloom1. “In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss” by Amy Bloom

    2. “On Animals” by Susan Orlean

    3. “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” by Michael Lewis

    4. “A Walk Around the Block: Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About)” by Spike Carlsen

    5. “Lily and the Octopus” by Steven Rowley

    6. “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t)” by Betty White

    7. “Finding My Voice” by Nadiya Hussain

    8. “The Beauty of Dusk” by Frank Bruni

    9. “The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness” by Sy Montgomery

    10. “My Life From Scratch” by Gesine Bullock-Prado

    (Honorable mentions: “100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet” by Pamela Paul, “Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals” by Laurie Zaleski, “Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World” by William Alexander, “The Nineties” by Chuck Klosterman and “About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks” by David Rooney)

    Overall reading ratio: I read 17,927 pages. Books were split 65% fiction to 35% nonfiction and 55% female authors to 45% male authors.

     

     

    MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS
    GBBO1. The Great British Baking Show

    2. Sandman

    3. Stranger Things

    4. Escape to the Country

    5. Gardeners’ World

    6. Love Your Garden

    7. Julia

    8. Ted Lasso

    9. The Repair Shop

    10. Men In Kilts

    (Honorable mentions: Evil, The Great British Baking Show: Celebrity Edition, Nadiya Bakes, The Great American Baking Show, For All Mankind, America’s Test Kitchen — At Home, The Morning Show, The Gilded Age, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages, The Confession, Mike and Molly, Ghosts, Ghosts (UK), Kim’s Convenience, Jack Reacher, Junior Baking Show and Welcome to Wrexham.)

     

    MY FAVORITE MOVIES
     

    Last bus1. The Last Bus

    2. Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris

    3. The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52

    4. Becoming Cousteau

    5. George Carlin’s American Dream

    6. Luck

    7. Sea Beast

    8. Hello, Bookstore

    9. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone

    10. The Dig

    (Honorable mentions: Jerry & Marge Go Large, The Last Movie Stars, Introducing Selma Blair, Free Guy, CODA, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Adam Project, How to Survive a Pandemic, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, No Time to Die and Being the Ricardos)

     

    MY FAVORITE PODCASTS
     

    Vinyl Cafe1. The Vinyl Cafe

    2. GrimmCast

    3. Small Town Dicks

    4. Naked Lunch

    5. Against the Rules

    6. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

    7. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

    8. Christmas Past

    9. Sue Perkins: An Hour Or So With….

    10. David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

    (Honorable mentions: Clear + Vivid With Alan Alda, The Christmas Stocking, Nocturne, The Book Case, Criminal, Death, Sex & Money, Backstory, Awards Chatter, Sidedoor and The Anthropocene Reviewed)

  • 2021

    My top 10 favs of 2021: A year spent reading, watching and listening to stories

    During 2021, I consumed 61 books, 48 TV programs, 60 movies and many podcasts. These were my favorites:

    (Note: Not all were released during the past 365 days.)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – FICTION
     

    Blacktop Wasteland1. “Blacktop Wasteland” by S.A. Cosby

    2. “Bella Bella” by Harvey Fierstein

    3. “The Last Flight” by Julie Clark

    4. “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab

    5. “Bottle Demon” by Stephen Blackmoore

    6. “Fire Season” by Stephen Blackmoore

    7. “Later” by Stephen King

    8. “Billy Summers” by Stephen King

    9. “The Last Bookshop in London” by Madeline Martin

    10. “Unclean Spirits” by Chuck Wendig

    (Honorable mentions: “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir, “Falling” by T.J. Newman, “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig and “Marigolds, Myrtle and Moles: A Gardener’s Bedside Book” by Alan Titchmarsh.)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – NONFICTION
     

    1. Fuzz“Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law” by Mary Roach

    2. “The Detective in the Dooryard: Reflections of a Maine Cop” by Timothy A. Cotton

    3. “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” by Candice Millard

    4. “The Hotel: A Week In The Life Of The Plaza” by Sonny Kleinfield

    5. “Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt” by Todd Harra and Ken McKenzie

    6. “You’re Lucky You’re Funny: How Life Becomes a Sitcom” by Phil Rosenthal

    7. “The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm” by Hilarie Burton Morgan

    8. “When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today” by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

    9. “Books” by Larry McMurtry

    10. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

    (Honorable mentions: “Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures” by Nick Pyenson, “Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library” by Wayne A. Wiegand, “Haunted Hillsborough County” by Eric Stanway, “What Fresh Hell Is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You” by Heather Corinna, “The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do” by Samantha Ettus, “American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI” by Kate Winkler Dawson and “The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements” by Sam Kean)

    Overall reading ratio: I read 18,452 pages — 65% fiction, 35% nonfiction; 53% male authors, 47% female authors.

     

     

    MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS
    GBBO

    1. The Great British Baking Show

    2. Gardeners’ World

    3. Love Your Garden

    4. Ted Lasso

    5. The Repair Shop

    6. Escape to the Country

    7. America’s Test Kitchen — At Home

    8. The Morning Show

    9. Evil

    10. Grow Your Own At Home With Alan Titchmarsh

    (Honorable mentions: I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, Staged, Grand Designs, Active Shooter: America Under Fire, For All Mankind, Lovecraft Country, WandaVision, Travelers, Nadiya Bakes, Bridgerton, The Hot Zone, Punisher, Ghosts, Ghosts (UK version), Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Outsider, The Witcher, Altered Carbon, Chicago Med and Alpha Dogs.)

     

    MY FAVORITE MOVIES
     

    1. Nomadland

    2. One Night In Miami

    3. Love, Gilda

    4. Gunpowder Milkshake

    5. Four Hours at the Capitol

    6. Studs Terkel: Listening to America

    7. The Last Cruise

    8. The Phone Call

    9. The Aeronauts

    10. Soul

    (Honorable mentions: Dune, A Quiet Place Part II, Red Notice, Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, 76 Days, Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings, Fear Street Part 3: 1666, Greenland, Luca, Fear Street: Part 2 – 1978, Fear Street: Part 1 – 1994, Verify Road Trip: Climate Skeptic Examines What Scientists Know And How They Know It.)

     

    MY FAVORITE PODCASTS
     

    Vinyl Cafe1. The Vinyl Cafe

    2. Small Town Dicks

    3. Against the Rules

    4. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

    5. Lost At the Smithsonian with Aasif Mandvi

    6. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

    7. Backstory

    8. Awards Chatter

    9. Sidedoor

    10. The Anthropocene Reviewed

    (Honorable mentions: 99% Invisible, Radiolab, Christmas Past, Sue Perkins: An Hour Or So With…., David Tennant Does a Podcast With…, The Christmas Stocking, Fresh Air, Clear + Vivid With Alan Alda, The Daily, Beautiful/Anonymous, Dear Hank & John and Mobituaries With Mo Rocca.)

  • 2020: The Year In Review

    At the end of each year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2020. I:

    * Produced/edited hundreds of breaking news stories about the near-war with Iran, Trump’s impeachment trial, the massive wildfires in Australia and California, the coronavirus pandemic, the busy hurricane season, the racial injustice protests, the 2020 election and numerous celebrity deaths.

    * Penned 16 journal entries.

    * Passed the 60,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker).

    * Began a stay-at-home regimen due to the pandemic on Feb. 26. Took one COVID-19 test (negative) and purchased a dozen masks. Avoided getting sick.

    * Maintained two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade.

    * Read 64 books and numerous magazines.

    * Watched 48 TV programs, 64 movies and listened to many podcasts.

    * Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Authors Guild, PEN America and the Silent Book Club, Manchester, NH chapter.

    * Planted a container garden and launched a gardening journal.

    * Spent months searching for our next home (alas, not in Scotland — damn pandemic). No luck yet.

    * Tried to get more sleep. Failed miserably, due to stress.

    * Fainted, landed face-first on hard tile, lost a few teeth, fractured my jaw and suffered through a lot of dental work. Now wearing braces.

    * Decorated the front and inside of our house for Christmas and mailed 30 Christmas cards.

    * Suffered from at least 33 migraines and lost 62 days of my life to pain. Average headache duration: 19 hours.

    * Mourned the deaths of my dear Aunt Mona, several colleagues and our 14-year-old cat Brigid.

    * Worked my 30th year as a professional journalist. Am once again facing possible layoffs since my news outlet has been sold.

    * Celebrated my 20th anniversary as Jade Walker.

    * Celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.

    * Turned 47.

     


    End of the year

     

    Goals for 2021

    * Change careers.

    * Avoid any library fines.

    * Organize the pantry.

    * Plant more flowers and veg in the garden.

    * Sleep at least 7 hours a night.

    * Work on my fiction.

    * Read at least 60 books.

    * Practice hygge.

    * Win the lottery.