Media Diary

I watch and read a lot. Here’s some of it.

Superlatives

Weirdest #

Possession: Weirdest squid pro quo in cinematic history.

Best Soundtrack #

It Follows: My synthwave obsession started here.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: If I’ve gotta die, I want it to be to this soundtrack.

Most Surprising #

Bones and All: Surprisingly easy to stomach.
Titane: Hear me out, Rosemary’s baby, but a car.

Most Comforting #

The Big Lebowski: Yes, that’s like, my opinion, man.
Addams Family: If your relationship goals aren’t Morticia and Gomez, then please rethink your life.
Shaun of the Dead: Needs no further explanation.

Best Vibes #

Atomic Blonde: HEALTH’s Blue Monday cover is as good as the original, and I will accept no counter arguments.
The Hunger: David Bowie as a vampire plus Peter Murphy doing a performance? Yes, please.
Sleepy Hollow: It’s here that Christina Ricci secured forever her grown as goth queen.

Most “Good for Her” #

Midsommar: Best way to get rid of a toxic ex. Also, is Ari Aster okay? How does someone write this?

The Witch: May we all live so deliciously.

Most Visually Stunning #

The Tragedy of Macbeth: Every frame of this is a painting.
Blade Runner 2049: It’s the cyberpunk dystopia I most want to inhabit.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: The use of color and cute 00’s vibes are beautiful.
Mad Max Fury Road (black and chrome): At least I don’t have to worry about trying to hear Tom Hardy like I do in literally every other movie.

Most Relatable Origin Story #

John Wick: There would be cataclysmic chaos and horror if someone messed with my dog.

Books

Fiction Picks #

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Nonfiction Picks #

2024 #

Feeding Your Demons (Tsultrim Allione)
Ripe: Tales of Hunger & Desire (Various)
Gone to the Wolves (John Wray)
Witches, Witch-hunting, and Women (Silvia Federici)
Design as an Attitude (Alice Rawsthorn)
Lilith’s Brood (Octavia E. Butler)
A Light Most Hateful (Hailey Piper)

2023 #

Last Days (Adam Nevill)
The Black Spider (Jeremias Gotthelf)
Silver Nitrate (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) ❤️
Halloween Season (Lucy Snyder)
Sister, Maiden, Monster (Lucy Snyder) ❤️❤️
Outrage Machine (Tobias Rose-Stockwell)
Little Eve (Catriona Ward)
The Last House on Needless Street (Catriona Ward) ❤️❤️
Looking Glass Sound (Catriona Ward) ❤️❤️
Dark Delicacies Vol. 1 (Various)
Notes on Complexity (Neil Theise)
The Handyman Method (Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan)
Salem’s Lot (Stephen King)
The Destroyer of Worlds (A Return Lovecraft Country) (Matt Ruff)
Little Heaven (Nick Cutter)
The Deep (Nick Cutter)
The Troop (Nick Cutter)
~~Unbury Carol (Josh Malerman)~~
~~Dead of Night: A Zombie Novel (Dead of Night Series Book 1) (Jonathan Maberry)~~
Queen of Teeth (Hailey Piper)
The Butcher (Jennifer Hillier)
~~Chaos Machine (Max Fisher)~~
Mind Gut Connection (Emeran Mayer) ❤️
Brain Energy (Christopher M. Palmer MD)
Pretty Marys All in a Row (Gwendolyn Kiste)
Boneset & Feathers (Gwendolyn Kiste)
The Rust Maidens (Gwendolyn Kiste)
Reluctant Immortals (Gwendolyn Kiste)
Old Souls: The Sages and Mystics of Our World (Aletheia Luna )
~~Sundial (Catriona Ward)~~
~~The Paris Apartment (Lucy Foley)~~
Come As You Are (Emily Nagoski Ph.D.)
~~Even The Worm Will Turn (Hailey Piper)~~
No Gods for Drowning (Hailey Piper)
The Worm and His Kings (Hailey Piper)
Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing (Hailey Piper)
Echo (Thomas Olde Heuvelt) ❤️
Hex (Thomas Olde Heuvelt) ❤️
Malorie: A Bird Box Novel (Josh Malerman)
The Living Dead (George Romero) ❤️
How Minds Change (David McRaney)