The Best of the Year

 Tomorrow will be spent driving from Adelaide to Melbourne, with the cat in the back of the car. I've started gently moving items out of the granny flat at Mum's place in order to not freak out the cat too much. We'll set off nice and early and hopefully it wont be a bad run back. 

So, in order to seal off the year, I'm giving you my best of list as a bit of a run down of what happened this year. 

So, here we go: 

Best Book of 2022

I will have read 52 books this year, if you include I'll be finished with Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children by the time I get home tomorrow (27 hours on audiobook... I'm over halfway through). 

There's been a lot of forgettable stuff, but some wonderful reads as well. 

On my list of favourites there's:

• Damon Galgut's The Promise
• Louis de Bernieres' Birds Without Wings
• Maggie O'Farrell's This Must Be The Place
• Sarah Winman's Still Life
• Julia Baird's Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and The Things that Sustain Us
• Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry
• Paddy O'Reilly's Other Houses
• Catherine Deveny's True North
• Holly Ringland's The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

But my book of the year goes to Jennifer Down's Bodies of Light. Stunning book. It won the Miles Franklin Award in 2022. Yes, there's a trauma porn element to it, but it was a gutsy read. 

Best Film of 2022

I've seen 41 films in cinema this year, and to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed with what was on offer. Yes, there were some great stories out there, but those films which you talk about for years to come were thin on the ground. 

The first of my two films of the year are the Irish language film, The Quiet Girl. It's stunning. 

The second of my films of the year is the sensational Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. I adore Emma Thompson - and this was very cool. It's a woman's film. There should be more of them. 

 

Some other films I've enjoyed, but not to the same level include: 

• Licorice Pizza (actually, that's up there too - great fun)
• The King's Man (Yes, mindless action in some ways, but Ralph Fiennes reciting Dulce et Decorum Est, and the inclusion of Matthew Goode - yeah...)
• Kenneth Brannagh's Belfast was great
• The Duke and Operation Mincemeat provided my fix of a comical, historical English films. 
• Mothering Sunday was also excellent. 
• I've been reminded that I loved Mrs Harris goes to Paris. That was a delight. 
• And just for the spectacle, Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick were worth a view. 

Best Play of 2022

Where the cinema experiences felt a bit lacking, we saw some excellent theatre this year. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray was so good I saw it twice. AMAZING. I was also lucky enough to see both Eryn Jean Norvill and Nikki Shiels in the titular role. Both were incredible. 

The Melbourne Theatre Company didn't disappoint either. Girls and Boys, The Heartbreak Choir, Fun Home and Come Rain or Come Shine were fantastic. The rest of the season wasn't far behind these - it was a great season. 

I also saw Come From Away again - I adore that musical. 

Best experience of 2022

This goes to seeing The Pixies in both Melbourne and Sydney a few weeks ago. That and the two writer's retreats I went on down the Great Ocean Road. I always have a great time down there. 

This may sound strange but having my gall bladder yanked in May was actually a good experience. I feel better for it and thankfully, I had a textbook recovery. 

Best Trip of 2022

Thankfully we can travel again. 

It was lovely to see my cousins in Canberra at the start of the year. Sure, we were there for my aunt's funeral, but it was great to be with the extended family. 

The Sydney trip to see the The Pixies was also good. The Pixies are GOD. 

But I have had a wonderful time down here with the cat at my mother's place. I feel like I've had a proper holiday, even if I am home with family. 

Next year I get to use the passport again. Yay. 

Today's song: