37 books, 107 movies

That's my tally for 2016. And a strange, terrible, yet in a way wonderful year it was. A year in which I faced the possibility of losing my freedom, and still do, and a year which saw my return to studenthood after an interim of no less than 42 years. Somehow I was able to keep up my reading and movie watching despite the distractions. The figure of 107 movies in a year beats my former record by two. 37 books in one year falls short of my record by 8. 

            Which were my favourites? Allow me to list 8 books and ten movies that had especial impact for me:

BOOKS

1. Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce

2. A Brief History of Seven Killings, by Marlon James

3. Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

4. To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

5. The Butcher Boy, by Patrick McCabe

6. Maus, by Art Spiegelman

7. A Heart so White, by Javier Marias

8. All for Nothing, by Walter Kempowski

FILMS

1. Behind the Candelabra, D- Steven Soderberg

2. The Danish Girl, D- Tom Hooper

3. Eyes Without a Face, D- Georges Franju

4. Chronicle of a Summer, D- Jean Rouche and Edgar Morin

5. Tangerines, D- Zaza Urushadze

6. Like Father Like Son, D- Hirokazu Koreeda

7. The Salt of the Earth, D- Wim Wenders

8. Inside Out, D- Pete Docter

9. The Revenant, D- Alejandro Inarritu

10. I, Daniel Blake, D- Ken Loach

I give all these books and films my highest recommendation. As you can see they represent a considerable variety of genres, obscure classics, graphic novels, contemporary works, older films, documentaries, animations and bang up to date state-of the art Hollywood blockbusters. You could do a lot worse than having a go at all of them. You, like me, will culturally enriched and ennobled as a result. Have a great year yourself!