At the beginning of the book, I was on team "this guy was an idiot." By the end I just felt so sad that Christopher McCandless was gone (spoiler alert?)—even if he was a bit of a punk. The author did a great job weaving an empathetic and tragic story that was truly gripping, although perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, as I'm a huge fan of Into Thin Air. The level of detail was fascinating rather than tedious, and the picture Krakauer painted of McCandless's life and tragic death was thoroughly engrossing. It's a great read, and one that moves briskly through the story (save one inexplicable extended foray into the author's own climbing background). In the end, I was left both cursing McCandless for his hubris and mourning the way his story turned out.
"The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything."
One of my favorite TV shows from last year was Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. (I was correct in my prediction that I would only come to love it more—it's now one of my all-time favorite shows, and my roommate and I are constantly re-watching episodes.) All this love led me to seek out the books the television series was based on, and I'm SO glad I did! Book 1 in the series, Cocaine Blues, introduces our beautiful and independent heroine Phrynne Fisher, who is just as highly intelligent and capable in the books as she is on the show. This brilliant mix of 1920's Australian culture, a fascinating and brisk mystery, and, best of all, our terribly clever protagonist. I love a mystery that doesn't just reveal itself in the end, and sure enough, once again Phyrne can only save the day by using her smarts and lots of really hard work. This was a joy to read, and I can't recommend it enough.
“You broke the window, Bobby, and you pinched the necklace. Do you want to confess or shall I tell you how you did it?”
I don't like hiking. I don't identify with Cheryl Strayed, her story, or her need to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But I figuratively walked every step of the way right along with her, shaking my head at her foolish unpreparedness, waiting with bated breath to learn if she made it through her most recent setback, and cheering at every minor victory along the way. I wouldn't have thought this was my kind of book, but I found it to be completely un-put-down-able for the entire duration. Her stories about her journey and the unforgettable people she met along the way are seamlessly interwoven with her backstory: the heartbreak of losing her mother (she said she wasn't afraid to be alone on the trail because THE WORST THING HAD ALREADY HAPPENED TO HER) and every other event that led to her embarking on her journey on an otherwise unremarkable summer day in 1995. The theatrical adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon was perfectly fine, but if you haven't read the full story of Cheryl's time on the PCT, you haven't experienced Wild.
"I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and I walked until walking became unbearable, until I believed I couldn't walk even one more step.
And then I ran.”
Honorable Mention
Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie
Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Amy Krouse Rosenthal
You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried, Susannah Gora
Slave Day, Rob Thomas
Fallout and Double Down, Gwenda Bond
Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan
I Love You, Ronnie, Nancy Reagan
The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown
My goal for this year was to read 30 books. For once I actually blew past my goal: this year I read 38 books! That may not seem like a huge deal, but I'm pretty proud of myself for constantly searching for new books to read, making several trips to the library, and suffering through Audible narrators doing things like pronouncing the word 'capsule' as 'cap-sue-al'—yes, really. (And he wasn't even British or anything! Looking at you, Wil Wheaton!)
My Three Favorite Movies of 2017
3. (tie) Thor: Ragnarok
Without a doubt, Thor: Ragnarok was the FUNNIEST movie I saw this year. Taika Waititi is an absolute genius, and I'm eternally grateful that he was given the reins to a Marvel movie. He crafted a irreverent, fun, hilarious film and still managed to imbue it with weight and lasting meaning. I love quoting this movie, I love laughing about this movie, and I can't wait to see it again.
3. (tie) Coco I didn't think Coco was ultimately going to make my list this year. I really didn't. But every time I think about leaving it off of my list, my heart clenches, and I just can't bear the thought. This movie is so sweet and charming, and its themes on family and memory are deeply affecting. I can't stop listening to the music, most of all the tear-inducing "Remember Me (Lullaby)" and "Remember Me (Reunion)." Also "Proud Corazón" and "The World Es Mi Familia." (Okay THE WHOLE SOUNDTRACK! Go check it out if you haven't yet!)
2. Home Again
You're questioning my taste in movies, I know it. But just hear me out: this simple, sweet, and very pretty movie just makes me SO happy. When I was re-watching movie trailers trying to decide what order to put my favorites in, this is the one that made me smile and feel all warm and sparkly inside. It's such a fluffy, inconsequential little film, and yet it just fills my heart with joy. Everyone's just so beautiful (including the male lead, as explained in this essay in which the author calls him "an extremely attractive 20-something who looks like a Hillsong youth pastor" and questions, "Was his face created by a Pinterest algorithm? Or in the same CW lab that created Nate Archibald?"), their problems are so simple, and they do things like watch old movies outside on artfully arranged designer blankets under the stars. This movie is all about low stakes and high comfort, and sometimes that's exactly what you need from your movies.
1. Baby Driver
I don't think I can adequately express to you how much I loved Baby Driver. As a huge fan of Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright directed them both), I went in with pretty high expectations. Baby Driver surpassed them all. Everything worked for me: the stunts, the music, the acting, the romance, the dancing, the classic Edgar Wright cuts—everything. When I left the movie theater, I felt breathless and excited and full of adrenaline, almost as if I'd just gone on an exhilarating 100-mile-an-hour car ride with Baby himself. I just had a BLAST. And then I went and saw it again and had another blast. Then I went back AGAIN because I just couldn't get enough, and guess what? IT WAS STILL A BLAST. Baby Driver was my favorite movie of the year by SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES. I saw 33 of the movies that came out in 2017 and 32 of them pale in comparison to Baby Driver. I hope you got a chance to see it on the big screen, because there's just nothing like it. If you didn't, you should still check it out as soon as you can. It'll blow your hair back and make your heart race and by the end you'll feel like you can go kick a hole in the sun.
Honorable Mention: The Post, Wonder Woman, The Big Sick, Everything Everything, Dunkirk, The Greatest Showman, Murder on the Orient Express
My Three Favorite TV Shows of 2017
Favorite shows I started watching this year:
3. American Vandal
Here's the thing about American Vandal: it's incredibly crass. There's no getting around that. The central mystery of this eight-episode mockumentary is: "Who spray painted a bunch of obscene images on 27 cars in the faculty parking lot?" The Netflix original is a comedic send-up of true crime shows like Making a Murderer and Serial. It takes this seemingly silly "whodunit" concept deadly seriously, which naturally just makes it funnier. You can't believe that this was one of my favorite shows of the year, and that's fine. I kind of can't believe it either. But as I continued to watch, I was surprised to find the mystery intensify, the characters become deeper and more layered, and the documentary (fake or not) itself lend meaning and weightiness to such an (apparently) dimwitted story. It's a difficult show to describe, so let me just end with this: the scene where high school documentarian Peter storms up to Dylan's house in a downpour to pummel on the back door and demand to know why he's been lied to and betrayed was as riveting as any I saw this year.
Stream it on Netflix
2. Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television
Not every show is for everybody. I'm a firm believer in that. Frankly, I don't know who Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television is for, exactly—other than me. A show that stars a Veronica Mars alum, guest starring everyone from Joel McHale to Kristen Bell herself, and makes constant reference to television, acting, and the entertainment industry as a whole? They might has well have called it, Ryan Solves Crimes on Television Just For You, Valerie! A delightfully bonkers comedic mystery series that takes meta to the extreme, RHSCOT is one of the most creatively risky shows I've ever experienced. It's a true delight from top to bottom that probably wouldn't work with any other lead—Ryan Hansen plays the perfect combination of guileless, optimistic, and delusional—and I'm not just saying that because we're total Twitter BFFs.
Watch it on YouTube Red
1. The Good Place
I TECHNICALLY started watching The Good Place last year, but only a few episodes had aired by the time I wrote last year's blog. When the show came back in January of 2017, it had gathered some serious steam, and each episode just got better and better. The season 1 finale BLEW MY FORKING MIND and ever since then I have been obsessed. Kristen Bell is her usual luminous and effortless self, and the writing (especially the restaurant puns) is on POINT, brilliantly marrying comedy and an intriguing world-spinning narrative. I can't oversell this show to you: it's that genius, that creative, and that hilarious. Do yourself a favor and catch up on the best network comedy since Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Watch season one on Netflix and season two on NBC
Honorable Mention: Bletchley Circle, Great News, Manhunt: Unabomber, The Keepers
Special Mention #1: Riverdale is overly dramatic and a LOT of the time I just find myself rolling my eyes at the TV. But here's the thing: I cannot stop watching it. This moody, beautifully shot, dumb show knows exactly how to keep me coming back for more. Step 1: Base it on my favorite (read: only) comic book series I read as a kid. Step 2: Cast a combination of super fun, super pretty stars, and throwback actors like Luke Perry and Skeet Ulrich. Step 3: Throw in a ton of hilarious one-liners and zingers delivered by the saltiest teenagers since a certain blonde detective went to high school. Step 4: Keep me guessing about any number of fascinating mysteries: Who killed Jason Blossom? Who's the Black Hood? What temperature is it supposed to be??? It's a winning combination, and one that always leaves me coming back for more.
Stream it on Netflix or The CW App
Special Mention #2: This year I finally finished watching ALL six seasons of Dawson's Creek. I had a blast, and it made me so nostalgic—not necessarily for the show itself, since I wasn't watching it live when it first aired, but for the time period of the late '90's and early '00's, the exact time I was in high school. From the costumes and hairstyles to the music and lack of cell phones, it brought back a ton of memories for me, and I'm so glad I finally got to experience the fun (and ridiculousness) of Capeside for myself.
Watch it on DVD like a peasant because they took it off Netflix before you could finish it. But apparently it's on Hulu now.
My Three Favorite Other Things That Don't Fall Into Another Category of 2017
3. Holiday Inn filmed live
I wasn't able to make it to New York to see Holiday Inn during its limited run last year. That's why I am SO grateful that they filmed this beautiful, funny, and sweet show and aired it on PBS so that I could record it, bless it, and keep it safe on my DVR forever. If you missed it, come over to my house and we'll watch Corbin Bleu dance through fire crackers, rows of gifted performers tap dance while jump roping, and my close, personal friend Bryce Pinkham serenade us through the screen.
2. My Favorite Murder podcast
I have a confession to make: I am what they call a murderino. (Chances are, you're one too, because who doesn't have at least a minor fascination with true crime?) I was hooked on the first episode I listened to, and I've thoroughly enjoyed every episode since. Treading the line between reverent fear and out-and-out hilarity ("Unless you're a ghost baseball player, you don't need to be in that field."), My Favorite Murder never fails to keep the laughs (or the chills) coming. Just remember: stay sexy and DON'T get murdered!
1. Disney's Newsies: The Broadway Musical filmed live
You've heard me talk endlessly about Newsies, so I won't go back over well-trod territory. Suffice it to say, knowing that they filmed my all-time favorite Broadway show with the original Broadway leads and a hybrid super-cast made up of both touring and original Broadway dancers thrills me to no end. I went and saw it three times at the movie theater, and now it's on Netflix for us all to enjoy again and again and again. (And again, probably.)
Honorable Mention: Psych: The Movie, The Meet Cute Cafe Podcast, Tiffany Haddish on Jimmy Kimmel and SNL, the Potato Salad Guy, Busy Philipps' Instagram Stories
My Three Favorite Events of 2017
3. Working Girl
This was a difficult year at work, but in the end one good thing happened: I got a title change, added responsibility, and more time to spend on my passion: social media. It's hard to be excited amidst the challenge and change that have come to define the past six months at work, but in the end I have this wonderful shining bright spot that I can return to and take pride in.
2. Morby Family Christmas
Family time is always the best time. Our Christmas this year was packed with laughter, Christmas lights, fun, cookie-making, games, presents, hide-n-seek, movies, playgrounds and more. I could keep talking about it, or you could just click play and see for yourself!
1. Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway
I was fortunate enough to go to New York again this past summer, and we saw a lot of amazing Broadway shows, including Bandstand, Groundhog Day, and Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812. But the very best show I saw last year, and the best show I've seen in a long time, was Dear Evan Hansen. It's so good, it's so good, and I feel like I could just keep typing "IT'S SO GOOD" for the rest of this paragraph and it still wouldn't be enough. If Hamilton is the bomb that blew up Broadway and lit the pop culture world on fire, then Dear Evan Hansen is the sparkling star that fell from above for you to cradle in your hands and protect at all costs. And to be more precise: if I had to pinpoint the happiest, most fulfilled few moments of my year, it happened during Ben Platt, Will Roland, and Mike Faist's performance of the song Sincerely, Me, three minutes and 40 seconds of pure, concentrated joy. I've loved that song since the first time I heard it, and I can remember the feeling of finally experiencing it in real life so clearly: leaning forward, grinning from ear to ear, and feeling like sunshine was pouring out of my own face.
Sincerely,
Me
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