Read, Watched, Listened: Jan 2022
The first month of 2022 has already come and gone. Here’s a bit of what I read, watched, and listened to this past January.
Read
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Got around to this after having it recommended to me multiple times over the past couple of years. The story begins with Amir’s quest to win his father’s love leading him to regretful decisions, is interrupted by his attempt to piece a new life together after the Afghanistan he knows is torn apart, and ends with his struggle to redeem himself and his family. Hosseini balances showing the tragedy of war against Amir’s personal strife well, and the chaos of Afghanistan, while tragic, never overpowers Amir’s individual journey. I found the illustration of Amir’s life in the midpoint of the book particularly heart-warming, though that might be because so many little aspects reminded me of my grandpa. The final arc of the book was emotionally a bit one note (sad, sad, and then sad), but overall I found the book a solid, melancholic read.
Overall Feeling: Liked
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Finally decided to read this classic. Going in, the only thing I knew (other than the obvious element of book burning), was that many people think the central theme is censorship, but Bradbury himself disagrees. It’s hard to fault those whose main takeaway is censorship given the focus placed on the destruction of literature. The danger of mass media which doesn’t challenge its consumers and lacks interpretation comes through as the stronger idea though. The characters aren’t designed to be connected with as much as be vessels of the book’s themes. A decent quick read, but not as compelling or captivating as the other dystopian works I’ve read.
Overall Feeling: Kinda Liked
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
I put this on my to-read list after seeing its 2018 film adaptation (which I liked). The book was different enough for me to consider this nearly distinct. VanderMeer’s writing is both creepy and poetic. The horrors in the book are often not what is happening, but the unknown of what could happen. Every description of the bizarre, every slow reveal adds to the tension and mystery. When the story came to an end, I can’t say I really understood what I had just experienced. All I knew is I was enthralled the entire way through.
Overall Feeling: Loved
Watched
Don’t Look Up directed by Adam McKay
Pretty slow movie month for me, as I think this is the only new film I watched. Don’t Look Up generated a lot of buzz when it released, but I honestly had a bit of trouble getting into it. The main issue of the film was that it was satirizing the most discussed event of recent history. Every joke made in the movie, good or not, I had already heard some version of on Twitter a year ago. The jabs at the Trumps in particular had gotten old halfway through his presidency. The concerted effort to downplay or ignore the risk of the COVID pandemic is also not particularly difficult to understand - or maybe just well covered by news outlets. So, compared to McKay’s previous works like The Big Short or, to a lesser extent, Vice this film isn’t particularly illuminating either. Objectively, the movie was probably fine. The comedy was okay with decent acting performances. Sadly, the whole premise simply wasn’t going to work.
Overall Feeling: Not For Me
Listened
Dawn FM by The Weeknd
The Weeknd takes the ‘80s-inspired retro sounds from After Hours fully synthwave in Dawn FM. The overall construction of the album is arguably one of The Weeknd’s soundest, with squeaky clean production and seamless transitions between each track. The highlights are a bit frontloaded, with the first four songs (“Gasoline” -> “Sacrifice”) being four of the strongest on the album. The album ends on a high with “Less Than Zero” though, doing the Hey Ya! classic of pairing depressing lyrics with an upbeat and dance-inducing beat. The Weeknd’s vocals on this final song have a wonderfully ethereal quality. Dawn FM lacks powerhouse singles like those found on After Hours and I’m not sure how much the radio station concept adds. It ultimately deserves a listen though.
Overall Feeling: Kinda Liked
Ring Ring by ABBA
Can’t explain why, but I had the sudden urge to listen to some of ABBA’s earlier works. Not much to say about this other than the songs on Ring Ring not being as refined and catchy as their superhits. Nothing offensive, just nothing particularly interesting to me either.
Overall Feeling: Not For Me
Waterloo by ABBA
A step up from Ring Ring, but still not quite there. The megahits “Waterloo” and “Honey, Honey” are obviously fantastic, and I also found “Suzy-Hang-Around” underappreciated. The rest of the album was, again, not offensive, but not standout either.
Overall Feeling: Kinda Liked
In conclusion, not the most exciting media month. Ending January with Annihilation capped it off well though. Hoping to put a stronger dent in my movie backlog in February.