The Years End Ramble

[klward]

Well, I did all sorts of things this year, that all took up unlikely amounts of time. I attended three conventions, two writers festivals and 'Under the Blue Moon'. I played a lot of games, including stints in the World of Warcraft and Second Life. I experimented with egg-free cooking. I did all sorts of stuff for the Greens, and have been quite ill. But you don't want to hear about that. Actually you probably don't want to hear about any of this either, but here goes:-

Reading Highlights

I read 20 novels, 89 novellas/short stories and 7 non-fiction books. My novel picks are 'City of Saints and Madmen' by Jeff Vandermeer (what can I possibly say?), 'Daylight' by Elizabeth Knox (as the guy at Conjure said, "it's about vampires in caves in France"), and 'The Prestige' by Christopher Priest (which I read before seeing the film). For non-fiction, John Birmingham's 'Leviathan' is brilliant, should have read it years ago, et al. I also recommend 'Us and Them: A Journalist's Investigation of Media, Muslims and the Middle East' by Peter Manning. Short stories; always difficult, but probably Ben Peek's "The Souls of Dead Soldiers Are For Blackbirds, Not Little Boys" in 'Agog! Ripping Reads' and "Waiting for Gandalf", a look at LARPing by Joanne Harris from her collection, 'Jigs and Reels'.

Film & Television Highlights

Rolf De Heer's 'Ten Canoes' - I honestly enjoyed it. And IMHO, Neil Marshall's 'The Descent' is the best horror film to come out since Del Toro's 'The Devil's Backbone' - though, as a female ex-caver, I may be biased (and I didn't get to the preview of 'Pan's Labyrinth' so that will have to wait). I actually liked Christopher Nolan's adaptation of 'The Prestige'. And topping the lot, that short film made in twenty-four hours by Andrew and Sebastian. You cinematic sods!

HBO's 'Rome' is absolutely rocking.

Music/Theatrical Highlights

The opera 'Batavia' (music - Richard Mills, libretto - Peter Goldsworthy). In all my years of opera-going, I have never seen a man drowned in the orchestra pit before.

The Writing Thing

Published: One short story, three reviews and, as co-author, one novel. Written: a fair bit. Could complain, but it would be about my sinuses.

See you all next year!

Comments

[mrteufel.livejournal.com]

Gee, I wish I could keep track like that. I'd have to look up my Amazon a/c to see what I've bought this year, then think hard about the rest.

I agree totally with the choice of films you named - they were all superb. I also liked The Magician, made with a string and chewing-gum budget - liquid-nitrogen cool.