As the festive intensity starts easing off, it's a relief to take a quick moment to pause and reflect on 2017 while bed-bound with a cold. The kids all survived and thrived this year, and that's always the bottom line as a family man, though the growing demands of parenting 3 young children have put a strain on things in 2017, not least my ability to listen to new music, watch TV & films and read books. That's meant being more creative about how to keep my mind active, aided by the wonders of modern technology – podcasts and album on my long lunchtime walks, audiobooks on my mammoth commutes and streaming services that allow me to binge watch while Peppa Pig hogs the TV.
To keep things brief, I've summed up my 5 favourite albums, TV series, films, books and general life experiences in 2017, below:
Albums
1. Peasant – Richard Dawson
2. Preservation – Nadia Reid
3. Prince of Tears – Baxter Dury
4. American Dream – LCD Soundsystem
5. Uyai – Ibibio Sound Machine
Notes: I also enjoyed The Underside of Power (Algiers), English Tapas (Sleaford Mods), The Journey Man (Goldie), Los Angeles (Rosalia) and Crack-Up (Fleet Foxes).
Books
1. Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
2. 7th Function of Language – Laurent Binet
3. Lincoln In The Bardo – George Saunders
4. Compass – Mathias Enard
5. Days Without End – Sebastian Barry
Notes: I spent most of my reading time this year revisiting old classics like Plato's Republic and Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment with my online reading group. I also read the Old Testament in the Oxford World's Classic edition and listened to the audiobook of the New Testament read by Johnny Cash (a highlight of my year). The plan for 2018 is to start tackling Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in January and to also read the essays of Montaigne and Orwell throughout the year.
TV
1. The Handmaid's Tale (Bruce Miller)
2. The Vietnam War (Ken Burns and Lynn Novick)
3. Blue Planet II (David Attenborough)
4. Mindhunter (Joe Penhall)
5. Three Girls (Philippa Lowthorpe)
Notes: I also really enjoyed the English pastoral of season 3 of The Detectorists (though preferred the first two series), and the American pastoral of the BBC adaptation of Little Women, while Stranger Things 2 was a disappointment and the Christmas Turkey award has to go to the awful remake of Porridge.
Films
1. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
2. My Life As A Courgette (Claude Barras)
3. Hunt For The Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi)
4. Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
5. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
Notes: I also really enjoyed The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook), Paterson (Jim Jarmusch), The Work (Jarius McLeary) and Baby Driver (Edgar Wright), while the worst film I saw this year was The Circle (James Ponsoldt).
Experiences
1. Jardins de Marqueyssac (highlight of our summer trip to the Dordogne)
2. Seeing Bob Dylan live at the London Palladium
3. Green Man Festival (especially seeing Richard Dawson, Nadia Reid and Ryan Adams live)
4. Running the All Stars sessions for 5-8 year olds at my local cricket club
5. Riding the Santa Tram at Lowestoft's Transport Museum
To keep things brief, I've summed up my 5 favourite albums, TV series, films, books and general life experiences in 2017, below:
Albums
1. Peasant – Richard Dawson
2. Preservation – Nadia Reid
3. Prince of Tears – Baxter Dury
4. American Dream – LCD Soundsystem
5. Uyai – Ibibio Sound Machine
Notes: I also enjoyed The Underside of Power (Algiers), English Tapas (Sleaford Mods), The Journey Man (Goldie), Los Angeles (Rosalia) and Crack-Up (Fleet Foxes).
Books
1. Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
2. 7th Function of Language – Laurent Binet
3. Lincoln In The Bardo – George Saunders
4. Compass – Mathias Enard
5. Days Without End – Sebastian Barry
Notes: I spent most of my reading time this year revisiting old classics like Plato's Republic and Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment with my online reading group. I also read the Old Testament in the Oxford World's Classic edition and listened to the audiobook of the New Testament read by Johnny Cash (a highlight of my year). The plan for 2018 is to start tackling Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in January and to also read the essays of Montaigne and Orwell throughout the year.
TV
1. The Handmaid's Tale (Bruce Miller)
2. The Vietnam War (Ken Burns and Lynn Novick)
3. Blue Planet II (David Attenborough)
4. Mindhunter (Joe Penhall)
5. Three Girls (Philippa Lowthorpe)
Notes: I also really enjoyed the English pastoral of season 3 of The Detectorists (though preferred the first two series), and the American pastoral of the BBC adaptation of Little Women, while Stranger Things 2 was a disappointment and the Christmas Turkey award has to go to the awful remake of Porridge.
Films
1. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
2. My Life As A Courgette (Claude Barras)
3. Hunt For The Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi)
4. Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
5. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
Notes: I also really enjoyed The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook), Paterson (Jim Jarmusch), The Work (Jarius McLeary) and Baby Driver (Edgar Wright), while the worst film I saw this year was The Circle (James Ponsoldt).
Experiences
1. Jardins de Marqueyssac (highlight of our summer trip to the Dordogne)
2. Seeing Bob Dylan live at the London Palladium
3. Green Man Festival (especially seeing Richard Dawson, Nadia Reid and Ryan Adams live)
4. Running the All Stars sessions for 5-8 year olds at my local cricket club
5. Riding the Santa Tram at Lowestoft's Transport Museum
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| Best wishes for 2018! |
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