I love a good list. I am a notorious list maker. I keep a daily list journal—what I hope to do, whom I need to call, what I want to research, and more. I have a shelf full of my journals of lists. I really should go through them and toss them, but find a weird comfort in my list collection. If I want to know when we ordered our mattress from Colton Mattress Company (an outstanding local business that makes mattresses) I just have to find the correct list journal and I can find when we ordered the mattress, the type of mattress it was and the name of the man who sold it to us. Okay, I admit, I am not sure why I might need that information but I like it that my lists are not on random scraps of paper but organized into small journals.
As we near the end of the calendar year there is an abundance of lists. The best books of the year. The best television programs of the year. The best movies of the year. The best of social media this year. Lists and lists and more lists. I can’t compete with this vast compendium of lists but thought I would offer a few of my own favorites of 2023.
Best books: I read too many excellent books to list really (with immense thanks to the South Buncombe-Skyland Library) but two stand out for me: Lessons in Chemistry and Remarkably Bright Creatures.
If you have missed reading either of these, you might like to put them on your list for 2024. I am not a big mystery fan but really enjoyed The Spy Coast that a friend suggested. I generally like best the last book I read, so I also want to give a shout out to Katherine Snow Smith’s Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker: Missteps and Lessons Learned. I checked this book out of the library because she is the daughter of A.C. Snow who was a columnist for the News and Observer and the Raleigh Times when I was growing up. I loved his columns (my mother would often clip them and send them to me after I had moved away from home) and I really enjoyed his daughter’s book as well.
Best movies: I have to admit that we have not been back to a movie theater since the pandemic. Our non-return is not because of Covid fear or because of our basically reclusive natures, but simply because we are spoiled by multiple streaming services and being able to enjoy a film in a comfortable chair with easy bathroom breaks. But we are still fans of films. A few favorites that came out in 2023 are The Swimmers, Flaming Hot , Air (about Michael Jordan) and his shoes), Pinocchio, and more. You can tell we don’t go for the big blockbusters though I do want to see Oppenheimer and Barbie. And also, The Boy and the Heron.
Best television shows: This one is easy: Reservation Dogs; Somebody Somewhere; Succession; Annika; Shetland; most anything on PBS; Abbott Elementary; The Bear; Daisy Jones and the Six; Shrinking; and, of course, Ted Lasso. We also re-watched all the seasons of Schitt’s Creek which we loved as much or more than when we first watched these episodes. It’s been a grand year for television in our opinion.
Best social media: Unlike many, I enjoy Facebook and Instagram for keeping up with friends and family. I regularly read a number of blogs.I love my friend Bill Clontz’s blog Agents of Reason as he always offers insights that make me think. The other blogs I read on a regular basis are Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American; Liz Lenz’s Men Yell at Me; Connie Schultz’s Hopefully Yours; Robert Hubbell’s Today's Edition Newsletter; Jami Attenberg’s Craft Talk; and Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse. I try to keep up with Michael Moore, Bill McKibben and Frank Bruni, too. Whew! No wonder I need glasses.
I miss having a paper newspaper but make do with daily digital versions of The New York Times and the Washington Post. I also love Asheville Watchdog for local news stories.
You don’t have to look far in these last days of 2023 to find a multitude of lists and you may be making a list or two of your own. I’d be interested to know a few of your favorites from this past year.
If I am honest I will tell you that I am looking forward to 2024 and some changes that I hope are on the horizon. I’ll share some of those thoughts with you next week.
But for now—Merry Christmas and happy be the holidays you are blessed to celebrate. May this 2023 year slide us all safely into home base as we get ready for the new year.
Great blog, Jeanne. Now I have lists of books, tv series, and movies from your suggestions. Here are three books to add to your "must read" book list.
Homecoming by Kate Morton
West with Giraffes by Linda Rutledge
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
So many books, so little time!
Best, Nancy
I’ve become a follower of podcasts. Not the murder mystery type, but informational type (most related to sewing), and interviewers doing what they do, interviewing others. I highly recommend Sam Fragoso’s podcast “Talk Easy”. He is an exceptional interviewer, he is in a league of his own on par with Terry Gross.
I especially liked his interview with David Remnick from the New Yorker and his interview the author George Saunders.