I realized yesterday that I had not done of these recaps in eight years! It’s not as if I don’t take time on New Year’s Day (or Eve) to reflect back on the past year, but I guess sitting down to write about that year takes too much time during a busy holiday period?
I was busy during the past year outside of the holiday season. I read 72 books during 2025. Most of them were short, of course, and not all of them were particularly challenging to read if I’m being honest. A few of them were works I reread for the classes I teach, but they should count too since they probably took more time than the ones that I read for pleasure. I saw an online post that indicates that I read more books than 99 percent of Americans do within any given year. That’s shocking and sad.
Last year was a good year for movie-watching for us. I watched 48 movies on DVD, some of them for a film studies class I taught last spring. I do think those should count since I had to watch each of them at least twice, once to prepare for the class and then again during the class itself. We managed to get to the movie theater to see another 48 movies, most of them pretty good, actually. I think it was, overall, a solid year for movies even if the box office suggests otherwise. Added to the 96 films already mentioned were another 96 that I saw on streaming services, most of them picked by my husband, unfortunately, who has somewhat odd tastes in movies.
Due to a series of health issues for myself and my husband, we didn’t get to see any live theater this year, and I missed going to see plays and musicals. Maybe this new year will bring better health and more opportunities.
On with the highlights…
Favorite
Non-Fiction Book:
It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time by Bruce Vilanch. Vilanch has had a long career in Hollywood, and he’s chosen in this book to focus on some of the worst experiences he had writing for television programs. Yes, he wrote for The Star Wars Holiday Special and The Brady Bunch Hour and many others, and Vilanch shares some great behind-the-scenes gossip about those shows and their performers. Will this book challenge you intellectually? No. Will it endlessly entertain you? Absolutely.
Favorite
Fiction Books:
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective and its sequels by Donald J. Sobol. I don’t recall when I read my first Encyclopedia Brown book, but I must have been pretty young. Sobol published the first one in 1963 and managed to complete 29 in all before his passing. I read almost all of them this past year; I only have one more to finish in 2026 unless I add the one written by Sobol’s son. I even read the one that doubles as a cookbook! I didn’t initially recall that these books are really collections of brief stories that represent puzzles for young Encyclopedia to solve and that the mysteries’ solutions are at the back of the book each time, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment. I even managed to guess some of the solutions myself before I turned to the back.
Favorite
Performances by Female Actors:
Amy Adams in Nightbitch, Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl, Amy Madigan in Weapons, and Demi Moore in The Substance. Three of these performances are from 2024 movies that I saw at the start of this past year. What I enjoyed most about the performances by Adams, Anderson, and Moore was the actors’ willingness to take on a different kind of role. Each of these women stretched them as actors. I was sorry that Anderson didn’t get nominated for an Academy Award, and I was disappointed that Moore didn’t win the award for Best Actress. Adams wasn’t even in the discussion for awards consideration, but anyone who saw that movie will never forget her performance. As for Madigan, her approach to playing Aunt Gladys has been discussed since the movie’s release, and I’m hoping that she gets nominated and wins for Best Supporting Actress. Did anyone immerse themselves in a role the way Madigan did in Weapons?
Favorite
Performances by Male Actors:
Michael B. Jordan in Sinners and Dylan O’Brien in Twinless. Yes, two actors playing twins! I’ve discussed how talented Jordan is before, and he didn’t disappoint as the twins in Sinners. (Has he ever disappointed?) He lets us see the distinctions between the two men in his performances, and it would be a shame if he isn’t listed as a Best Actor nominee. O’Brien probably doesn’t have as much of a chance of being nominated for his performance, but he’s fantastic in this independent film. If you’ve only got his great role on Teen Wolf as your reference point, you’re missing out. Each of the brothers that he plays is quite unique, and keeping us aware of which one is on the screen at the time is no small feat.
Favorite
Film:
Sinners is the movie that I will remember the most from this past year. It’s a mix of so many genres, and it features great performances from so many actors, and it pays great attention to details in the production design and the costume design and the music and every other aspect of moviemaking. And just when you think you might have figured it out, the film provides you with another twist. Just fantastic. If I could mention a runner-up, I’d pick Flow, the Oscar-winning animated film that answers the question, can you enjoy a dialog-free movie where a cat floats along in a boat for almost ninety minutes? Absolutely! Especially if it’s as well done and emotionally resonant as this one.
Favorite
Musical Performance:
Kylie Minogue is my husband’s favorite performer, and we’ve never missed her when she comes to our area. The Australian pop princess knows to keep the “show” part of show business a key aspect of her tour, and her few hours at the Staples Center were a highlight of the spring. She has almost forty years of hit recordings, and she keeps adding to her stellar discography with new and exciting songs. Every time we see her, we marvel at how great she is. If I could mention a runner-up, it would be Leslie Odom Jr. and his show at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Odom doesn’t talk a lot between songs, and he doesn’t have large production numbers. He just has that voice, that lovely, smooth voice that just makes you smile at how talented he is. Odom is a favorite of one of my dearest friends, and several of us made the journey to Cerritos to see him and had a stellar evening.
