My top 10 favs of 2017: A year spent reading, watching and listening to intriguing stories

My top 10 favs of 2017: A year spent reading, watching and listening to intriguing stories

December 21, 2017 / 3 Comments

This year, amidst the madness of the world, I consumed 46 books, 48 movies, dozens of TV programs and many podcasts. These were my favorites:

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

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

1. “Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins” by Susan Casey
2. “The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well” by Meik Wiking
3. “It” by Stephen King
4. “When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II” by Molly Guptill Manning
5. “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi
6. “The Year of Pleasures” by Elizabeth Berg
7. “So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading” by Sara Nelson
8. “Invasive” by Chuck Wendig
9. “Big Mushy Happy Lump” by Sarah Andersen
10. “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History” by Elizabeth Kolbert

(Honorable mentions: “Paul Hollywood’s Bread” by Paul Hollywood, “Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good” by Kevin Smith, “I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks” by Gina Sheridan, “My Reading Life” by Pat Conroy, “Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself” by Alan Alda, “Simon’s Cat vs. the World” by Simon Tofield and “Obits: Reading behind the fine print” by Barbara Larsen)

Overall reading ratio: 51% fiction, 49% nonfiction; 51% male, 49% female.

MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS

1. Sense8
2. This Is Us
3. The Great British Baking Show
4. Stranger Things
5. Grace and Frankie
6. Madam Secretary
7. The Expanse
8. The Santa Clarita Diet
9. Penny Dreadful
10. Fortitude

(Honorable mentions: The Great British Baking Show Master Class, Timeless, The Defenders, Supernatural, The Closer, Pitch, Grimm, Haven, White Collar, The Following, Notorious, Iron Fist, The Good Place and Too Young to Die)

MY FAVORITE MOVIES

1. Hidden Figures
2. Obit
3. Collateral Beauty
4. Moana
5. Our Souls at Night
6. The Boomer List
7. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
8. LBJ
9. The Post
10. It

(Honorable mentions: The Orient Express, Hasan Minaj: Homecoming King, A Street Cat Named Bob, Me Before You, By Sidney Lumet, Going In Style, Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Patton Oswalt: Annihilation, The Big Sick, Wonder Woman, Hitman’s Bodyguard, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and The Typewriter)

MY FAVORITE PODCASTS

1. The Vinyl Cafe
2. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
3. The Daily from the NY Times
4. Death, Sex & Money
5. 99% Invisible
6. Criminal
7. Dear Hank & John
8. 10 Minute Writer’s Workshop
9. Nocturne
10. Radiolab

(Honorable mentions: Live from the Poundstone Institute, Smithsonian Sidedoor, The Nerdist, Lovett or Leave It, Reply All, Work in Progress, WTF with Marc Maron and You Must Remember This)
What I read last week

March 20, 2017 / No Comments

One of my favorite aspects of social media is being able to share stories that others might have missed. Due to my work, I read so many interesting articles on a wide variety of subjects, features I believe should have a broader readership. If you don’t follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr — or if you didn’t get a chance to read every item I posted — here are some of the fascinating articles I read/shared last week:

WORLD
UNICEF says 2016 was worst year yet for Syria’s children by The Associated Press

In drought-stricken Somalia, starving mothers forced to choose which child to feed by Dominique Mosbergen, The Huffington Post

NATIONAL
Trump gives CIA new authority to direct drone strikes on terrorists by Gordon Lubold and Shane Harris, The Wall Street Journal

White House says cutting Meals on Wheels is ‘compassionate’ by Eric Levitz, New York Magazine

BUSINESS
The 10 hardest parts of the funeral industry by Caleb Wilde, Confessions of a Funeral Director

TECHNOLOGY
DriveCare devices silence cellphones to prevent distracted driving by Sherri Borden Colley, CBC News

HEALTH
24 million people stand to lose insurance under GOP Obamacare ‘replacement’ by Jeffrey Young, The Huffington Post

For Melinda Gates, birth control is women’s way out of poverty by Celia W. Dugger, The New York Times

SCIENCE
Large sections of Australia’s Great Reef are now dead, scientists find by Damien Cafe and Justin Gillis, The New York Times

Meet Diego, the centenarian whose sex drive saved his species by Nicholas Casey, The New York Times

Talking with Jeanette Epps, the first black crew member on the International Space Station by Dayna Evans, The Cut

OP ED
The bombs of Steve Bannon by Timothy Egan, The New York Times

From an obit writer, the last word on “The Last Word” by Bruce Weber, The New York Times

FEATURES
New York’s secret doors and hidden rooms by Ronda Kaysen, The New York Times

VIDEO
The best argument for saving public media was made by Mr. Rogers in 1969:

AND MY NEW FAVORITE THING…
Improve any novel by changing its second line to “And then the murders began” by Clayton Purdom, A.V. Club

Did you encounter an interesting news or feature story that I should read? Let me know about it.
My top 10 favs of 2016: A year spent reading, watching and listening to intriguing stories

December 14, 2016 / 3 Comments

This year, I consumed 50 books, 39 movies, dozens of TV programs and many podcasts. Here are my favorites.

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

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

1. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
2. “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America” by Erik Larson
3. “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time and the Deadliest Hurricane in History” by Erik Larson
4. “Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-in-Training” by Tom Jokinen
5. “The Red Notebook” by Antoine Laurain
6. “End of Watch” by Stephen King
7. “Red Right Hand” by Chris Holm
8. “My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir” by Garry Marshall
9. “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food” by Jennifer 8. Lee
10. “In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem and Fun in the Sandbox” by Carol Burnett

(Honorable mentions: “My Memoirs: Fifty Years of Journalism, From Print to the Internet” by Bernard Gwertzman, “On My Own” by Diane Rehm, “The Care and Feeding of an Independent Bookstore: Three Instructive Essays” by Ann Patchett, “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” by Kate Andersen Brower and “Mary McGrory: The First Queen of Journalism” by John Norris)

MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS

1. This Is Us
2. Stranger Things
3. Grace and Frankie
4. House of Cards
5. Madame Secretary
6. Lucifer
7. Blindspot
8. Outlander
9. Timeless
10. Daredevil

(Honorable mentions: Sherlock, Luke Cage, Elementary, Agent Carter, Supernatural, The Americans, Designated Survivor, The Good Place, iZombie, Covert Affairs, Person Of Interest and Suits)

MY FAVORITE MOVIES

1. Spotlight
2. Cooked
3. I’ll See You In My Dreams
4. Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World
5. Trumbo
6. Money Monster
7. Sully
8. Before the Flood
9. Doctor Strange
10. The Big Short

(Honorable mentions: Learning To Drive, Captain America: Civil War, Hello, My Name Is Doris, Elvis and Nixon, Mr. Holmes, Jason Bourne, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Finding Dory, Hologram For The King, Weiner, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and He Never Died)

MY FAVORITE PODCASTS

1. The Vinyl Cafe
2. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
3. Limetown
4. Nocturne
5. Death, Sex & Money
6. 99% Invisible
7. Dear Hank & John
8. Criminal
9. Radiolab
10. Fresh Air

(Honorable mentions: Tavis Smiley/PBS, The Sporkful, The Diane Rehm Show, The Nerdist, NPR Books, WTF with Marc Maron and the 10 Minute Writer’s Workshop)
What do you wanna know?

October 18, 2016 / 1 Comment

I frequently use social media to ask questions of my friends and readers. Their answers give me insights and inspiration as well as sate my curiosity about the world. Last week, I offered myself up for an “Ask Me Anything” session. Here are the fun queries I received:

WHAT MOVIES HAVE ROCKED YOUR WORLD LATELY?

“Sully,” “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” “Money Monster” and “Age of Adeline.”

DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?

If you’ve seen the movie “A Few Good Men,” you know the only answer to this one is: “You’re goddamn right I did!”

FAVORITE PLACE YOU’VE LIVED SO FAR AND WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?

Top place I’ve lived? New York City. As for where I want to live… ultimately, I’d like to live in Scotland. I’d also like to reside in Canada, London and New Zealand. At the moment, we’re trying to move to the Manchester/Nashua area.

WHAT’S SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

I really enjoy receiving mail.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?

Kittens. A winning lottery ticket. An accepted bid and quick closing. Anything on my wish list.

WHAT’S YOUR NEXT QUERY?

What are you going to be for Halloween?

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN?

Due to our current circumstances, I’m not dressing up this year.

DO YOU CRY EASILY?

I never used to. Now I cry at the drop of a hat.

WOULD YOU RATHER BE HATED OR FORGOTTEN?

Forgotten.

WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

I vote for leaving the country and becoming an expat.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED LATELY?

Over the summer, M and I saw Judd Hirsch star in the play “The Stone Witch.” His character, an aging children’s book writer and illustrator, urged his young protege to always “value your work.” At that exact moment, I needed to hear it, too.
Sometimes, it pays to notice the little things

June 5, 2016 / No Comments

Sometimes, it pays to notice the little things. Once in a great while, when you do so, the Fates will throw fewer knots in your way.

Today, I:

* experienced a good dream (yes, vampires were involved).

* woke up without a migraine — or the promise of a migraine — for the first time in a week.

* went downstairs and rejoiced in the fact that my youngest cat, Sera, was still alive.

* didn’t start to sweat after leaving the shower because the temperatures had begun to drop.

* tried on a new summer-y blouse and it fit.

* ate dinner at a local restaurant and everything was cooked correctly.

* enjoyed ice cream for dessert and it was simply divine.

* stopped by the local movie house and learned that the film we wanted to see was just about to start.

* watched a movie where nothing blew up, a couple fell in love and nobody died.

* returned home and was immediately covered by all the animals who missed me while I was out.

* kissed my husband good night and did some productive writing.

All in all, it was a pretty good day, particularly for June. I am grateful.