Last year I wrote a recap of all the books, TV shows, movies, and theater that I experienced in 2013. That post was spurred by an article I wrote for The Writer magazine a few months earlier about how vacation is a great time to catch up on books and TV shows that you don’t always have time for in day-to-day life — and that “filling the tanks” (to quote Joss Whedon) can pay off creatively down the line by informing your own pursuits.

What follows is a recap of my media and literary diet for 2014.

BOOKS

This year I read 27 books — 17 in Africa, and 10 in the States.

	Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern) - 4.5 stars This phantasmagorical novel chronicles two young magicians thrust in a to-the-death competition lasting decades; they must display their prowess in the realm of a night circus that appears out of thin air in each city it tours. Their romantic entanglement is inevitable and tantalizingly drawn out. Morgenstern displays a remarkable imagination in her depiction of the world inside the night circus -- a tent that, when entered, becomes a winter wonderland; rides that bend gravity, allowing the visitor to leap from cloud to cloud; imaginary treats and goodies that leave readers' mouths watering. I fell hard for this world and didn't want to leave.
	Divergent trilogy (Veronica Roth) - 4 stars Perhaps you've seen the first movie that was released earlier this year -- it's set in a dystopian future, and each person is assigned to one of five factions that make up their society: Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), and Candor (the honest). But when our narrator, Tris, takes the standardize test that will assign her faction, she gets inconclusive results: she does not belong to one group, but to three -- she is Divergent. This classification is considered dangerous to the government because these people might disrupt society. Tris must hide her true nature while pretending to fit into one of the factions and avoiding detection. All goes well until she meets Four, a recruiting leader; they become romantically involved while trying to stop the nefarious forces in their government who will dispose of the Divergent population. Much like the Hunger Games and Delirium trilogies, I was hooked immediately and thoroughly enjoyed all three books. The society depicted by Roth is well-drawn with attention to detail, and it's gripping to get caught up in the politics of this made-up world. The series ending goes against form and may upset readers (I remember my Moroccan roommate Tally flipped out when she finished the books on our tour). But the journey is worth it.
	Tiny Beautiful Things (Cheryl Strayed) - 5 stars You're likely already aware of author Cheryl Strayed who penned the NYT bestselling memoir Wild, now a likely Oscar contender starring Reese Witherspoon. Shortly after she finished writing Wild but before it was published, she took a gig writing an advice column for a website called The Rumpus. She answered questions anonymously under the pseudonym Sugar, and the best selections of her column are featured here in Tiny Beautiful Things. Each response is crafted with enormous heart and tenderness tempered with tell-it-like-it-is realness. Often the shortest questions -- "WTF? WTF? WTF? I'm asking this question as it applies to everything every day" -- are answered with a lengthy response that delves into Strayed's painful real-life past; she has bore the brunt of life's darkest moments and has emerged with tremendous wisdom. It is our privilege to bear witness to her advice.
	We Are Water (Wally Lamb) - 4 stars Lamb has been one of my favorite writers for decades, going back to I Know This Much is True (I was less of a fan of She's Come Undone). His novel The Hour I First Believed, released a few years ago about teachers who survived the Columbine tragedy, was especially gripping. In We Are Water he treads, well, shallower water with a less traumatizing subject -- a family breaks apart and ultimately comes back together. Annie and Orion split up after several decades of marriage and three adult kids; Annie has fallen for her art dealer Viveca. A series of revelations about the past and present-day hijinks paves the way for their wedding. I found it refreshing to read Lamb's take on a lighter subject, even if the outcome is slightly less gripping -- though no less compelling -- in We Are Water.
	The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) - 2.5 stars Unpopular opinion: I didn’t love this NYT bestseller. It gets major creative points for making Death the narrator, but I grew frustrated by the regular twee side comments — think lots of asterisks and bold print — interrupting the narrative. That said, it’s still a powerful story about a girl and her adoptive parents harboring a young Jewish man during the period leading up to World War II. Everyone else I know who’s read it has loved it.
	An Experience Definitely Allegedly Worth Having (Hairpin) - 3 stars This collection of travel-related essays kept me company during my time in Ethiopia last June. The stories are written by a cross-section of contributors, offering various perspectives on travel. Some recall stories of living abroad during their college days, others offer a more grown-up vantage point, several feature romantic entanglements. Each one brings their reality of what it's like to travel abroad into sharp focus. It's an easy and engaging read.
	My Booky Wook (Russell Brand) - 4 stars I've seen Russell Brand a few times in person, most notably at a Q&A several years ago for the Julie Taymor-helmed film The Tempest -- his intellect blended seamlessly with witty comments as he bantered with Helen Mirren and Alan Cumming. Not only did he hold his own with these heavyweights, but he stole the focus with seemingly little effort. I've been curious to read his autobiography for years (he's since published a second one) and it lives up to the hype of the man himself. As he details romantic conquests and chronicles his early adulthood, it's clear that Brand has a unique voice, perspective, and vocabulary. I left this book behind on the little lending library of our overland truck so that some future traveler might pick it up and enjoy the comedic stylings of Russell Brand as thoroughly as I have.
	Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton) - 3.5 stars This book was required reading in our AP English class senior year of high school. It's a title I hadn't planned to re-read until I spotted a tattered copy on that same lending library in the overland truck (I love when literary fate intervenes like that). While the language takes a few chapters to get into -- it was published in 1948 -- it's worth exercising patience. The story is about an old man in the countryside of South Africa as he attempts to reunite with his son who years ago escaped to the crime-laden city of Johannesburg. The forces of apartheid are gearing up as Paton describes the oppressive nature of this segregated city: the father attempts to find resolution for his son, who has been charged with the accidental murder of a white man. It was a pleasure to reunite with this book 15 years after the initial reading, and it was especially timely considering my (then-upcoming) travels to South Africa.
	The Laramie Project (Moises Kaufman & Tectonic Theater Project) - 5 stars This highly lauded play is one I've never seen. When I came across a used copy at a bookstore in Ventura, I purchased it impulsively, and I'm so glad I did. Here's the fascinating back story behind this project: in the days and weeks following the gruesome murder of gay college student Matthew Shepherd in Laramie, Wyoming, esteemed director (and playwright) Moises Kaufman and fellow members of his Tectonic Theater Project reached out to interview as many townspeople as they could to piece together a collage of perspectives on this hate crime. Some people knew Matthew personally, others did not, but all bore witness to the shock waves that rippled through Laramie in response to the horrific nature of Matthew's murder. In total the Tectonic members interviewed around 200 people over a two-year period. The company then beautifully assembled these perspectives into a play that reads like a modern-day twist on Thorton Wilder's Our Town and follows in the vein of Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles. It's emotionally gripping and I dare you to get through it without shedding a tear or three. Further listening: this Downstage Center podcast featuring an in-depth interview with Moises Kaufman.
	Whatever You Do, Don't Run (Peter Allison) - 4.5 stars This was another lending library find -- it's an adventure memoir from an Australian man who rose up the ranks to become a senior safari guide in the Kalahari desert of Botswana for over a decade. His tales of close encounters with dangerous animals -- lions, elephants, and scariest of all, honey badgers -- are delightful and entertaining. This book made its way around the overland truck so that by the end of our two-week Kenya/Uganda tour maybe half of us had read it. So many details have stayed with me and I found myself quoting animal facts for the duration of my African travels. It's a must-read for anyone who's enthusiastic about African wildlife travel and perfect for the armchair safari-goer.
	The Marriage Plot (Jeffrey Eugenides) - 4 stars While totally different in tone and scope from Middlesex, the novel that won Eugenides the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, I found myself hooked on The Marriage Plot. It's an unfortunately banal title for an otherwise engaging work that alternates perspectives between three newly minted Ivy League grads who become romantically entangled. Madeleine is a scholar of Victorian Literature and completed her thesis on how marriage is depicted in this genre. She falls in love with Leonard, who she will soon learn is battling manic depression. This book is largely a portrait of mental illness as Madeleine cares for him over the course of their relationship. Mitchell is the third side of our triangle; he has unrequited feelings for Madeleine, but spurred by the realization that she won't abandon Leonard, Mitchell embarks on a round-the-world trip through Europe and India. Years ago a friend of mine recommended The Marriage Plot and I'm glad to have finally read it -- this book provided a much-needed escape during the long, cold nights on Kilimanjaro.
	The Iceman Cometh (Eugene O'Neill) - 4 stars O'Neill is among my favorite playwrights, but I'd never read this classic until now. It takes place over two days in the back room of a very depressing bar with a very depressing group of aging drunk men. Theodore "Hickey" Hickman is one of their buddies who is often away as a traveling salesman; he comes by roughly once a year for the owner's birthday -- only this year is different. He's got a message for everyone, a recent revelation that he's sure will change their lives for the better: they must give up whatever pipe dream keep them going, because pipe dreams are the enemy to satisfaction. Happiness is ripe for the picking, if only they release their ambition and accept that those dreams will never happen. This rattles the gang and spurs them into short-lived action whereby they attempt to reach those goals (such as getting the job they've always talk about or merely going for a walk outside for the first time in decades) ... but each one returns with the realization that they are not capable of achieving such dreams, leaving them in a state of abject depression that even alcohol cannot dull. Aside from the criminal overuse of the words "pipe dream," The Iceman Cometh is an incredibly fine downer of a play. There is a production happening at BAM in February starring Nathan Lane that I would give my left pinky finger to attend.
	Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell) - 4 stars This YA novel rightfully earned a spot on most book reviewers' end-of-year list in 2013, at which point I eagerly added it to my own reading list. The plot revolves around the two characters in the title -- Eleanor is a lonely overweight teen who comes from an abusive family and has spent time in foster homes. Park is a shy teen who comes from a tight-knit family (American dad, Asian mom) and was raised with high academic expectations. While a bully encounter on the school bus initially creates a divide between Eleanor and Park, their mutual comic book connection and shared taste in music quickly overcomes that. Soon their days revolve around how often they get to see each other. When a family crisis threatens Eleanor's safety, the future of their relationship is thrown into question. This is an easy and engaging read; I am so glad to have added -- and checked it off -- my reading list.
	The Codex (Douglas Preston) - 2.5 stars Confession: I picked up this adventure novel from a book exchange at a campground in Malawi. It was slim pickings but this was the most promising title. (Whoever got The Marriage Plot book I left behind seriously lucked out.) It's about an older wealthy man who spent his life stealing Mayan treasure; when he finds out he's about to die of cancer, he sets up an elaborate hunt for his three estranged sons to work together to find his treasure. Favorite phrases include: "it was too clever by half," "he didn't need a complication like Sally Colorado in his life," and "you're selling a pig in a poke." It was a mindless diversion and fun to breeze through during our two nights in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. (Isn't it funny how in my mind these books are so clearly tied to the location where I read them?)
	Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger) - 3 stars This is a book I got for Christmas years ago and always intended to read but never did. Then I found it at a hostel in Johannesburg and decided now was the time. Audrey Niffenegger also wrote The Time Traveler's Wife, which I loved when it debuted a decade ago. This book is about two generations of identical twin sisters in London -- two of them middle aged, and two of them around 21 years old. When one of the older twins (Elspeth) passes away after a long illness, she leaves her flat to her twin nieces, even though she has not seen them since they were babies. The twins, homebodies up until this point in their lives, venture to live the city. Little do they realize that their aunt Elspeth haunts the flat as a ghost. The twins team up with Elspeth's former lover to communicate with her and figure out the rules of this new dimension. I was surprisingly on board with the ghost scenario -- Niffenegger presents the details of this world so convincingly that it's easy to go along with the supernatural elements. But I found some other plot points hard to swallow, like when Elspeth's former lover takes up with one of the nieces.
	Just Add Dust: Cape to Cairo Overland (Justin Fox, Mike Copeland, Cameron Ewart-Smith, Don Pinnock) - 2.5 stars This title and subject immediately intrigued me -- four journalists split up the 4,500 mile route between Cairo and Cape Town, each driving a different stretch in a 4WD vehicle while detailing the journey in their specific writing style. Some of the entries are more journal-esque, others read more like prose. My favorite part was reading about the specific places that I myself had just visited -- a campsite in Namibia, a national park in Tanzania -- and comparing their descriptions and observations with my recent memory. Since a different author wrote each quarter of the journey, it's not a cohesive piece (and it's not intended to be). It's worth checking out if you've traveled overland extensively in Africa.
	The Elephant Whisperer (Lawrence Anthony) - 4 stars This book was a treat. It's written by a man who took over a huge amount of undeveloped property in Zululand, South Africa with the plan to turn it into a game park. Since he was just starting up and needed to populate the area with more game, he agrees to take a herd of wild and aggressive elephants that have been rejected by other parks for being too dangerous. (The elephants are to be euthanized if they can't find a new home.) The first few days are a major challenge -- led by two obstinate female matriarchs, the herd easily locates the electricity source for the fence and knocks out the power to escape. Lawrence notifies an emergency wildlife force and spends thousands of dollars to get them back into his park. But over the following months, he slowly gains their trust and the elephants stop trying to escape. His tales of close encounters with these magnificent creatures -- including the birth of babies and death of another -- will leave a remarkable impression for just how human-like elephants are. The author lays out other impressive facts about their social structure and how they communicate. It's a very engaging, readable book, and great for animal lovers.
	Born Free (Joy Adamson) - 3.5 stars In the 1950s, British wildlife conservationists George and Joy Adamson became the proud parents of a newborn lioness when George shot her mother in self-defense. They were living in Kenya at the time and named the orphan Elsa, taking her into their home. (There were two other cubs that went to zoos.) Joy documented their experience raising Elsa as a member of their family in Born Free and it ranked at the top of the NYT Best Seller List for 13 weeks in 1960 (today you can visit the location of their home on the shores of Lake Naivasha). Joy writes with a scientific distance informed by her profession, but also with tremendous heart as she and her husband clearly had such abundant affection for Elsa. Eventually they returned her to the wild, taking many months to find the perfect spot and prepare her to fend for herself. Many years later Elsa died of a tick bite (she had given birth to three cubs in the wild), and ultimately both Joy and George were gruesomely murdered -- separately, many years apart: Joy by her former employee who staged it to look like a lion had attacked her, and George by poachers as he rushed to the aid of a tourist. Their deaths are not covered in the book; I just found their unfortunate fates fascinating.
	The Signature of All Things (Elizabeth Gilbert) - 4.5 stars Who knew that a book that delves into the study of mosses (among many other things) could be so compelling? Liz Gilbert, best known as the author of Eat Pray Love, returns to fiction with this saga of Alma Whittaker's life -- born to a wealthy (self-made) Philadelphia family, we follow Alma as she unexpectedly gains a sister, fails to meet a husband, discovers tremendous satisfaction in her work as a botanist, and ultimately enters into one of the strangest marriages I've ever read about. The Signature of All Things spans continents and cultures over the trajectory of Alma's life, which the traveler in me appreciated. The story unfolds quite naturally, with no obvious agenda or foreshadowing as to how Alma's life will play out -- and I found myself very content to go along for the ride.
	Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach) - 3.5 stars This is a short fable about a seagull who learns about life while testing the limits of bird society. He gets bored with daily ritual -- low-level flying and eating -- and decides to fly as fast and as high as possible, even though it's against the rules. This brings him enormous happiness but gets him banned from the seagull community. As an outcast, he teaches other banned birds to reach their potential despite pressure to conform to the masses. It's a reminder to us all that in order to do your best work, sometimes you have to leave the flock. Shout out to my former Y&R co-worker Tracy for recommending this years ago.
	The Real Thing (Tom Stoppard) - 4 stars This play is witty and intellectual, and reading it is the perfect way to appreciate Stoppard's deft use of language -- he crams so many gems into each page. Basic premise: Playwright Henry is married to actress Charlotte, and fellow actors Annie and Max are their friends. Charlotte and Max are starring in Henry's new play about infidelity. Life imitates art as we find out that Henry and Annie are having an affair; soon the couples de-couple and Henry and Annie move in together. But as fiction and reality blur, how do they know if their love is the real thing? There are side plots about a political arsonist, Annie's upcoming play with a younger male co-star, and Henry & Charlotte's teenage daughter. But the best parts are Stoppard's riffs on words, love, and life. I saw the play last Friday on Broadway (starring Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Cynthia Nixon) and it was a joy to watch them deliver these speeches so lucidly; Ewan McGregor was especially up to the task.
	Good Person of Szechwan (Bertolt Brecht) - 4 stars I picked up this play in a used bookstore in Durban, South Africa. It's a parable set in a Chinese city -- a young prostitute Shen Te tries to lead a good life, sharing her resources with others even though she herself has so little. When a small fortune is bestowed upon her by angels, she creates a male alter ego Shui Ta, claiming he is her cousin who protects her interests and who has no trouble cutting off neighbors who take her food. She cross-dresses as her fictitious cousin whenever necessary as she struggles to balance goodness/charity and self-preservation. I saw a version of the play about 15 years ago at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, but they altered details to make the play more location-centric and called it Good Person of New Haven. I'd love to see a more traditional production of this classic Brechtian play, which employs his developed techniques of Epic Theater -- namely, that theater is a forum for political ideas and the audience should not emotionally identify with the characters, but rather reflect on the action with a critical view. Brecht provokes this reaction through direct address, casting actors in multiple roles, and songs to disrupt the action -- all of these distancing effects "highlight the constructed nature of a theatrical event" and bring more awareness to the actual issues on display. I am a geek about this stuff and very much enjoyed a close read of this play.
	Choose Your Own Autobiography (Neil Patrick Harris) - 4 stars This book is so up my alley. NPH details his TV, film, and theater roles with juicy stories about interactions with co-workers (Patti LuPone, Anne Heche, Dustin Diamond, Madonna). I especially loved the theater stories -- about RENT, Assassins, Company, Hedwig -- and details about hosting the Tony Awards. NPH writes a lot about his personal life: growing up in New Mexico, getting his big break as Doogie Howser and dealing with fame, the slow realization that he was bi-sexual and then exclusively gay, the love story of how he and now-husband David got together, the process of becoming parents to twins via surrogacy, and the lavishly mind-blowing parties he's attended at Sir Elton John's estates. Oh, and NPH details the time he called the star of Young & Restless a d-bag on Twitter. And so many happy memories from How I Met Your Mother! And Dr. Horrible! With each passing chapter I realized just how much of Neil's body of work I've enjoyed over the years. The autobiography is written in a "choose your own adventure" style, whereby at the end of each chapter he presents options for the reader, sending them to different sections of the book. At first this premise grew tiring as most people will probably just read the book straight through. But by the half-way point I realized just how much creativity had been poured into this structure  (he enlisted a Daily Show staff writer for assistance) and I appreciated it more.
	Not That Kind of Girl (Lena Dunham) - 2 stars I've never watched GIRLS, but with all the buzz Lena Dunham has generated over the years, including praise calling her "the voice of our generation," I figured I'd give it a shot. I bought this book before the controversy about Lena's inappropriate behavior / sexual curiosity towards her young sister hit the news. Despite those disturbing passages, I got through the whole book, and found the description of her life leading up to the creation of GIRLS to be the most interesting part of her memoir: how she "worked" at an upscale kids clothing boutique and eventually put together an inspired web series that drew attention and led to her GIRLS deal at age 25. Her observations are sharp but I can't say it's a compelling read.
	One More Thing (B.J. Novak) - 4 stars Confession: I bought this book for my sister a few days before Christmas and then started reading it myself and become hooked. I got about 100 pages in before I had to wrap it and place it under the tree, but I'll finish it this week. The short stories vary widely in subject, and many are only 2-3 pages long. B.J. Novak explores fantastical and improbably ideas, like a man whose sex robot falls in love with him. They are mostly hilarious, occasionally emotional, and entirely weird. It's an easy and enjoyable read, and incidentally a great gift for yourself or someone else.

Books on my reading list for 2015 — Outlander (Diana Gabaldon), Nobody is Ever Missing (Catherine Lacey), Wonder (R.J. Palacio), Brother of the More Famous Jack (Barbara Trapido), The Light Between Oceans (M.L. Stedman), The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer), Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith), The Lowland (Jhumpa Lahiri), Some Luck (Jane Smiley), How to Be a Woman (Caitlin Moran), Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel), Us (David Nicholls), Yes Please (Amy Poehler)

TV SHOWS

Despite good intentions, I didn’t watch ANY shows while abroad. I’ve caught up on Scandal since returning home but that’s about it. I still have to watch the latest seasons of Homeland and Newsroom that just wrapped up. I can’t believe I haven’t seen seasons 2 or 3 of Nashville yet, because I was obsessed with season one. And I look forward to Downton Abbey returning in January. Oh, and of course I saw Peter Pan Live!

On tap for 2014: Transparent, Black Mirror, Orphan Black, Broadchurch.

MOVIES (watched abroad):

total = 9, with dozens more watched in the States

• Fault in Our Stars — I wrote in detail about my experience watching this movie at a cinema in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It’s a compelling tear jerker about teenagers with cancer living life and falling in love in the face of this crippling disease, based on the best-selling novel by John Green.
• Hotel Rwanda — I had never seen this highly lauded film until the night before our trip to Rwanda. It’s about the mass slaughter of the Tutsi people by members of the Hutu majority, and one man — a hotel manager — who harbors refugees until help comes. Very powerful film.
• Beautiful People — A very funny documentary made in 1974 about wildlife in the Namib desert. It had lots of animal footage with humorous narration. In particular, I recall there was a fruit with high alcohol content and animals would get drunk after consuming it, swaying back and forth and falling over.
• Last King of Scotland — Follows the story of a personal physician (James McAvoy) to a brutal Ugandan dictator (Forest Whitaker) in the 1970s. When chaos breaks out, the physician discovers he is not free to leave. Kerry Washington co-stars as one of the dictator’s wives who becomes attracted to the physician.
• Gorillas in the Mist — It’s about a scientist (Sigourney Weaver) who comes to Africa to study disappearing gorillas. National Geographic sends a photographer to cover her efforts and at first she doesn’t trust him, but then they suddenly become lovers. I assumed it was a Lifetime movie but no, it got a full theatrical release in 1988. And it’s one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
• Ghosts and the Darkness — Wait, just kidding, THIS is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas team up to trap man-eating lions who are attacking workers on the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in Kenya. So terrible.
• Boyhood — You’ve likely seen or at least heard about this film that’s generated major awards buzz. The movie was shot over 45 days between May 2002 – October 2013, with the same cast as they aged in real time, following a family from childhood through high school graduation over 165 minutes. It was an experiment from the mind of writer/director Richard Linklater and it could’ve failed spectacularly, but instead we have this gem of a film.
• NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage — It’s a documentary that follows Kevin Spacey and the cast of Richard III as they tour in a production staged by director Sam Mendes; they take the show on the road to seven cities in three continents. It’s about the collision of theater and travel and I’ve never seen a documentary that is so ME; I loved every minute of it.
• This is Where I Leave You — I spent my final afternoon in Africa watching this movie at a Johannesburg theater. It’s based on a Jonathan Tropper novel that I read years ago; the patriarch of a family passes away and his widow and their four adult children must return home to sit shiva for a week. Secrets come out and past acquaintances pop up. There’s a bevy of major actors (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, etc.) and it’s a great film.

THEATER

This is my favorite past time so it comes as no surprise that I make it a giant priority in my life. If I’m counting correctly, I had 45 theatrical experiences in 2014… I’ll spare you the recaps, but suffice it to say they all meant a lot to me:

• 38 in NYC (Broadway and off-Broadway): Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 / The Glass Menagerie / Matilda / Pippin / Kinky Boots / Bridges of Madison County / Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder / Almost, Maine / Outside Mullingar / The Tribute Artist / Dinner with Friends / Buyer & Cellar / Beautiful: The Carole King Musical / The Happiest Song Plays Last / Forbidden Broadway / Rocky / The Great Immensity / The Realistic Joneses / The Threepenney Opera / After Midnight / Bullets Over Broadway / Act One / Mothers and Sons / Cabaret / Annapurna / Violet / All the Way / Here Lies Love / The Last Ship / You Can’t Take It with You / On the Town / Side Show / Hedwig and the Angry Inch / Honeymoon in Vegas / The Oldest Boy / Disgraced / This is Our Youth / The Real Thing
• 3 in Connecticut: 4000 Miles / Last Five Years / Our Town
• 3 in Los Angeles: Vanya, Sonia, Masha, Spike / Slowgirl / Macbeth
• 1 in Cape Town: Rocky Horror Picture Show

Thanks for indulging me as I recounted this year’s media and literary diet. What were YOUR favorite books of the year? How about TV shows, films, and plays/musicals?

NOTE: I used Amazon Affiliate links for the book titles; should you purchase one, I’d get a tiny commission. For the record I have yet to earn a dime doing this but I’m legally obligated to say they’re affiliate links.