I write this with the caveat that I have not been the “culture vulture”/consumer of pop culture that I usually am due to a whole host of factors that I may or may not share at a later date. [This year did, in fact, suck]  This was also a hard year for me with many challenges so I didn’t go out much either.   That is why I am not doing top 10 lists.  This is a long-winded paragraph to say I didn’t get out much in 2019.    Also, I don’t feel like expending the mental energy to rank anything although most of these do have a definite “number one.”

Another caveat, I live in Arkansas and apparently Parasite came to Arkansas for one week only.  This movie was in the state for one week only and I didn’t get any notice until the last day.  I had a work conflict for said last day.  Now it is gone.  GONE.  I keep telling people that Arkansas is not ass-backward and then something like this happens.   Bless their hearts.

 

MOVIES

  • Booksmart
  • Little Women

Booksmart will be a cult classic.  It didn’t get the numbers in the theater it deserved but I predict people will find it on streaming services soon.

BOOKS

  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps

This is the year I, to my embarrassment, finally got around to reading Donna Tartt’s The Secret History so I am adding it to this list.

 

MUSIC

At my house, 2019 was the Billie Eilish and Lizzo show.  Both of these women are ridiculously talented and I adored numerous songs on each of these ladies’ respective albums.  Also, due to Spotify and satellite radio, I didn’t listen to that much new music.

  • All of Lizzo
  • All of Billie Eilish
  • Ready to Let Go by Cage the Elephant
  • Lover by Taylor Swift
  • Uptown Road by Lil Nas

 

 

 

TV

  • Fleabag
  • Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  • John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch
  • Barry
  • This is Us
  • Russian Doll
  • Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt
  • Dickinson
  • Mindhunter

This was a year of great television but 2019 was the year of the Fleabag.  It is on everyone’s list and I am not sure I could say anything that hasn’t been said somewhere else.  It is simply a masterpiece.

This was also a personally heavy year so I didn’t seek out dramas.  So yeah, I’ll watch the good dramas of 2019 later.