2019 was a surprisingly anemic reading year for me. On the heels of an astounding 2018, when all is said and done, I’ll be lucky to crack 80 books by month’s end. Sure, impressive for some, but not this usually avid reader. I don’t know. Chalk it up to the fact that I was showrunning a new series. Or juggling various development projects. Or simply the fact that, following the insane number of books I read last year, I was feeling a little burnt out. But I’d love to get back at it in 2020 and, at the very least, break 100.
I have about a half dozen books recommended to me by friends that I still have to get to, but I’d love to hear from you, dear readers. What were the best books YOU read in 2019?
Oh yeah, fantasy football is also partly to blame for my rather poor reading effort on the year. On the bright side, my Snow Monkeys clawed their way up from the league cellar to claim the #2 spot and a place in the semi-finals…which kicked off Thursday night. We’re off to a promising started and projected to advance, but everyone knows those projections are meaningless. Any given Sunday anything can happen.
Hoping my Snow Monkeys wrap this up tomorrow so I can sleep well tomorrow night!
Oh, hey, in case you missed it, here’s another little something from the vault. This is the full speech made by Carter upon her arrival to Atlantis in SGA’s “Reunion”. A truncated version appears the actual episode, edited down for time:
I’d recommend some book titles, but all the ones I read in 2019 were ones you recommended! “The Glass Castle” in fact was one of the best books I’ve read in recent memory.
Love those SG clips. It seems to strange to hear them without the background sound design. Though seldom directly noticed, that background can make a huge difference.
Cheering for your Snow Monkeys!
Amanda Tapping … Miss her!
Speaking of frustration and disappointment …..
All excited to see the new Peanuts adventures and the new Series For All Mankind, last night I started my free trial of Apple TV. Although, the trailer for Snoopy made it appear I was going to be treated to the original Peanuts gang and adventures we all knew and loved, very sadly this was not the case.
It was not even 12 full length episodes. Only 12 eight minute webisodes. I only managed to sit through the first 3 1/2 of these, albeit seems to be nothing more than an educational video, aimed at 3-5 year old children, chopped into small segments, simply to promote NASA jobs. The humor and edge for all ages sadly wasn’t there.
Oh well. 🙁 I Guess that’ll teach me once and for all not to get too excited based on a movie trailer. 🙁
As for the show, For All Mankind. The jury is still out. I’m on episode 3 as of 11 am et. Not amazing or anything close, but not horrible either, thus so far. Guess I’ll keep watching and see where it leads. But highly doubt it’ll prove enough to convince me to do a paid subscription to Apple TV.
Thinking of doing the same thing, checking out Dickinson.
They don’t make ’em like they used to. I hated the most recent Peanuts movie.
I usually love historical fiction series. Not in this case. I caught the first 10 minutes of Dickinson last night. Another seriously soul crushing disappointment. 🙁
Made me wish I had not wasted 10 whole minutes on it. 🙁
My guess is that Apple TV is aiming its content at the youngest generation and is not at all concerned with attempting to appeal to a wider audience.
Okay, so Mr. Mallozzi, what I did last year with your book list, is I bought 10 of your recommended books, wrapped them up as mystery books with a bit of a blurb on what they were about. We spun the bottle with family and friends and they got to pick a book based on the blurb.
It was a real hit and everyone said I need to do that again…….so, um…. I need your recommend list please..ok? Please, pretty please.
If you do I’ll send you one of my favourite books Scott, Dick ” Ask That Mountain: The Story of Parihaka.” It’s based on a whole bunch of journal entries of soldiers and Maori, also newspaper articles.
The background, the British wanted to exterminate entirely the Maori race in New Zealand, at one stage they bought the might of the British army over to start from one end of the country and just genocide the lot. (As the Brits were app to do). It’s such an interesting an unknown story for most, but it was an inspiration for Gandhi and M.L.King. I like it for it’s journal entries – I like that real window into that time. I can send a physical book or a kindle linky thing.
Actually I’d be tempted to send you some other books from well-known NZ authors, because we have such a funny take on things, that I don’t see in the main stream, but can unnerve, freak you out or move you. I like our stories.
That was a terrific idea. Sadly, I didn’t read enough books this year to really make some strong recommendations. 🙁
Do you have a business post office box or locked bag? I can only find The Prodigy Pictures address: 124 The East Mall, Toronto, ON, M8Z 5V5. Will it get to you if I sent it there? They seem to be friends of yours.
Dick Scott first wrote The Parihaka story – it’s passionate, angry and really reads like a rousing good tale. Except it’s real. Then he expanded it to Ask That Mountain, which was twice the size and reads more like a history book. I’m going to send it to you anyway, I love sharing good books.
Also, there’s a New Zealand classic called Owls do Cry, it’s a Novel by Janet Frame. She’s probably not known in your part of the world, but she writes with linguistic beauty, not in an arty-farty way, because her stories aren’t sugar coated, they’re raw, compelling and pull you in. This was only her 2nd book I think, she’s written better. Probably “Angel at my table” is the best known. But it’s a good introduction to her work.
She fortunately won a literary prize for Owls do Cry ,as they were about to put her in a mental home and give her a lobotomy for her strange ways. The prize saved her from that.
I’m not as wide read as you, but the only other author that gave me a sense of other-worldly overlapping the ordinary was Charles de Lint. She doesn’t like write like him, she doesn’t deal in fairies or what not, but she imbues the ordinary with something magical. Or maybe it’s because she removes some filters that you see the ordinary differently.