Media
A log of my long-form media consumption
I set goals to get through a certain number of long-form media pieces each year.
I've italicized media that I completed in part but put down or come back to as reference. I've bolded media that I'd especially recommend.
Note on video games: The ones I'm counting are the story-driven/finite ones. See the rationale here for reference. Also, in video game land, I count a "finish" as completing the main storyline or quest. I'm not a completionist with respect to the sometimes hundreds of side quests in the types of games I like. My "Video games I've completed before 2023" list is absolutely not exhaustive, but I only started recording them recently so there are many I don't recollect.
Note on my film/TV record: It's a work in progress. I haven't tracked my movie watching as religiously as books and other aspects of my life.
2023
Books
- Putin's Wars, Mark Galeotti
- The Witcher: The Last Wish, Andrzej Sapkowski - alright Covid reading
- Minus 148: First Winter Ascent of Mt. Mckinley, Art Davidson
- Denali's West Buttress, Colby Coombs
- Invincible, Issues 26-53, Robert Kirkman/Cory Walker/Robert Ottley
- Invincible, Issues 1-25, Robert Kirkman/Cory Walker/Robert Ottley
- Beyond the Mountain, Steve House - a solid memoir from another climbing legend
- Kiss or Kill, Mark Twight - intense, dark, contemplative
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
- A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles - Just a delightful, cozy read
- Reamde, Neal Stephenson (8%)
Film/TV
- Fargo (1996)
- Oppenheimer - magnificent
- Barbie
- Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (2018) - pretty decent; spectacular animation
- The Hunted (2003) - so bad. Also watched during Covid
- Honest Thief (Liam Neeson) - cheesy movie watched while in Covid recovery
- The Marksman (Liam Neeson) - cheesy movie watched while in Covid recovery
- Memory (Liam Neeson) - cheesy movie watched while in Covid recovery
- Invincible (Season 1) - watched on Amazon Prime; amazing
- Lethal Weapon (1987) - whacky, nonsensical plot, but lots of explosions
- Enter the Dragon (1973) - Kitschy, extremely fun
- Big Trouble in Little China - Exceptional
- M3gan - pretty funny
- Cocaine Bear - I was expecting laughs like Sharknado, but it did not deliver
- Yellowstone (Season 4) - it's so bad but so addicting
- Yellowstone (Season 3) - we hate the writing but can't stop
- Yellowstone (Season 2)
- Yellowstone (Season 1)
- Bloodsport (John Claude Van Damme) --also hilarious
- First Blood (Rambo)--hilarious
- Prospect (2018) --Pedro Pascal is great
- The White Lotus Season 2
- The Last of Us Season 1 (fantastic)
Video games
- Starfield - Skyrim in space, like I hoped for
- Horizon Forbidden West (excellent)
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition
- Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition
- Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition
- God of War (2018)
- Elden Ring
2022
Books
- Murderbot Diaries: Exit Strategy, Martha Wells
- Murderbot Diaries: Rogue Protocol, Martha Wells
- Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition, Martha Wells
- Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red, Martha Wells
- The First 90 Days, Michael D. Watkins (50%)
- Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson
- Fairytale, Stephen King
- No Shortcuts to the Top, Ed Viesturs
- Training for the New Alpinism: A Manual for the Climber as Athlete, Steve House, Scott Johnston (Reference text)
- Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills 9th Ed. (This is a textbook and intended for ongoing reference. Apparently required reading for many aspiring mountain guides.)
- In the Shadow of Denali, Jonathan Waterman
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman
- The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley
- The Guest List, Lucy Foley
- Endurance, Alfred Lansing
- Eiger Dreams, Jon Krakauer
- Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer
- A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking (15%)
- Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
- Bunker: What it takes to survive the apocalypse, Bradley Garrett (48%)
Film/TV
- Triangle of Sadness
- Three Thousand Years of Longing
- The Northman (excellent)
- Guns Akimbo
- Everything everywhere all at once
- Fresh (Mimi Cave)
- Free Guy
- Kimi (meh)
- 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible
- Pig (Nicolas Cage)
- Don't Look Up
Video games I've completed before 2023
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Half Life: Alyx
- Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
- Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
- Far Cry 3
- Far Cry 4
- Far Cry 5
- Far Cry 6
- Portal
- Portal 2
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild - maybe blasphemy, but I just don't go for the kiddy-feel of many Nintendo games
2021
Books
- 2034, Ackerman & Stavridis
- Lone Survivor, Marcus Luttrell
- Empire of the Summer Moon, S. C. Gwynn
- Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell
- With the Old Breed, Eugene B. Sledge
- Skunk Works, Ben R. Rich
- Under the Banner of Heaven, John Krakauer
- Eagle against the Sun, Ronald H Spector
- In the Woods, Tana French
- Memories, Jack Scrivener
- Manhunt, Peter L. Bergen
- Ghost Wars, Steve Coll
- Hogs in the Sand, Buck Wyndam
- Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts
- This is how you lose the time war, Max Gladstone
- Ghost Fleet, PW Singer
- Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton
- Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
- Rebel Yell, S.C. Gwynne
2020
Books
- For the Soul of Mankind, Melvyn Leffler
- The Odyssey, Homer
- The Bhagavad Gita, Eknath Eswaran
- So Good They Can't Ignore You, Cal Newport
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
- Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
- The End is Always Near, Dan Carlin
- Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, Eric Schlosser
- The Bomb: Presidents, generals, and the secret history of nuclear war, Fred Kaplan
- Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy
- On Writing, Stephen King
- The Elements of Style, Strunk and White
- The Stand, Stephen King
- The Cold War: A New History, John Lewis Gaddis
- Return with Honor, Scott O'Grady
- Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss
- Principles, Ray Dalio
- The Art of War, Stephen Coonts
2019
Books
- Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit
- The Iliad, Homer
- The Madness of Crowds, Douglas Murray
- The Monster of Florence, Preston and Spezi
- Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari
- Shape Up, Ryan Singer
- Amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon
- Originals, Adam Grant
- 10 arguments for deleting your social media accounts right now, Jaron Lanier
- Deep Work, Cal Newport
- E-Myth, Michael Gerber
- Atomic Habits, James Clear
- 12 rules for Life, Jordan Peterson
- Waking Up, Sam Harris
- Life, Keith Richards
2018
Books
- Make Time, Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky
- Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy
- The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
- 40 ways of looking at Winston Churchill, Gretchen Rubin
- House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski
- Getting Things Done, David Allen
- The Thirst, Jo Nesbo
- The Snowman, Jo Nesbo
- Inferno: The World at War 1939-1945, Max Hastings
- The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
- Make, Pieter Levels
- Ancillary Justice, Anne Leckie
Film/TV I remember watching before 2018 when I started tracking
- A Clockwork Orange
- The Godfather Part II
- The Dark Knight
- Schindlers List
- Every Harry Potter film
- Inception
- Se7en
- The Green Mile
- Parasite
- Terminator
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- American History X
- The Departed
- Rear Window
- Django Unchained
- Inglorious Basterds
- Reservoir Dogs
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Kill Bill Vol.1
- Kill Bill Vol. 2
- Natural Born Killers
- Fight Club
- WALL-E
- Princess Mononoke
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Aliens
- Avengers: Endgame
- The Avengers
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Iron Man
- Iron Man II
- Iron Man III
- Black Panther
- Shang Chi: Legend of the 10 Rings
- The Incredible Hulk
- Thor
- Thor: Ragnarok
- American Beauty
- Toy Story
- Toy Story II
- Toy Story III
- Braveheart
- The Patriot
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Requiem for a Dream
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Full Metal Jacket
- Amelie
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Die Hard
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Monty Python: Life of Brian
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Every Daniel Craig James Bond movie
- No Country for Old Men
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- The Seventh Seal
- The Truman Show
- Jurassic Park
- The Lost World
- Jurassic Park III
- V for Vendetta
- Bladerunner
- Bladerunner 2049
- Trainspotting
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Gran Torino
- Catch Me If You Can
- Room
- The Big Lebowski
- Logan
- Monsters, Inc.
- Into the Wild
- The Princess Bride
- Jumanji
- Rocky
- Nobody
- The Matrix Reloaded
- The Matrix Revolutions