2019: The year of reviews

So 2019 was not my best year, you can read about that here, but oh boy there was a lot of amazing culture to consume and that is what I did to soothe my poor wounded soul.

Thank you to those that shared these beautiful and rich experiences with me, here's to more in 2020.

Here are my lists!

Books

I read 78 books this year. 17 Fiction, 30 NF, 31 Biographies/Memoirs. 33 by males, 41 by women, 4 edited. 2 LGBTQIA, 10 POC, 30 Australian.

1. Boy Swallows Universe - Trent Dalton
2. The Library Book - Susan Orlean
3. The Year of the Monkey - Patti Smith
4. One Hundred Years of Dirt - Rick Morton
5. Belonging - Michelle Obama
6. Bruny - Heather Rose
7. Your Own Kind of Girl - Clare Bowditch
8. The Handmaids Tale/The Testaments - Margaret Atwood
9. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Eric Idle
10. Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss
11. Australia Day by Stan Grant
12. The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
13. Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
14. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
15. Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
16. I Built No Schools in Africa by Kirsten Drysdale
17. Normal People by Sally Rooney
18. Dear Fatty by Dawn French
19. JPY by John Paul Young
20. Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta

Television

Spoilt for riches at the moment, in fact, I would say there is too much television.

1. Game of Thrones
2. Watchmen
3. Fleabag
4. Killing Eve
5. What We Do in the Shadows
6. Mr In Between
7. The Durrells 
8. Shrill
9. After Life
10. Mum
11. Better Things
12. Family Law
13. Veep
14. Gavin and Stacey/Christmas Special
15. Peep Show
16. Chernobyl
17. Total Control
18. Years and Years
19. Riviera
20. Barry

Special mentions to those that didn't make it to the list: The Americans, The Good Place, Sally 4 Eva, Crashing (US), Crashing (UK), Counterpart, Orange is the New Black, Gentlemen Jack, Fosse/Verdon, This Is Us, Glitch, Summer of Rockets, The Affair.

Television - Documentary/Non Fiction

I am not a fan of reality shows, but I guess there are a couple in here that could be seen as that. 

1. Escape to the Chateau
2. Gogglebox
3. The Clinton Affair
4. Old People's Home for 4 year olds
5. Treasures of the British Library
6. Comedians in Cars getting coffee
7. Anh Do's Brush with Fame
8. Great British Bakeoff
9. You Can't Say That
10. Travel Man

DVDs
1. Blakklansman
2. Stan and Ollie
3. Toy Story 4
4. Hotel Mumbai
5. Captain Marvel
6. The Party
7. Hotel Artemis
8. Capharhaum
9. Mary Poppins Returns
10. Let the Sunshine In

Special Mentions: C'est la Vie, Spiderman:into the Spidey Universe, Welcome to Marwen, Loro, Us, Destination Wedding, Late Night, Little.

DVDs - Documentaries
1. The Fall
2. Working Class Man
3. RBG
4. Price of Everything
5. Above us only sky

Movies
1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Juliet Naked
3. Mystify
4. The Public
5. The Favourite
6. Sink or Swim (French version)
7. Judy
8. Return of the Hero
9. Avengers Endgame
10. Star Wars: rise of the skywalker

Special Mentions: A Star is Born, En Liberte, Rocketman, Frida Kahlo doco

Music
1. Cuz I love you - Lizzo
2. The Teal Album - Weezer
3. Go further in lightness - Gang of Youths
4. The Great Expanse - Hilltop Hoods
5. Crushin' - Julia Jacklin
6. Madame X - Madonna
7. My Songs - Sting
8. Anthem - Madeleine Peyroux
9. Celia - Angelique Kidjo
10. Better in Blak - Thelma Plum

Special Mentions: Abbey Road reissue, Grace reissue, 1999 reissue.

Podcasts
1. WTF with Marc Maron
2. Conversations with Richard Fidler
3. Chat 10, Looks 3
4. David Tennant Does a Podcast with
5. The Ringer with Quentin Tarantino
6. Song Exploder
7. Unspooled
8. Dolly Parton's America
9. Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda
10. Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin

Live Music/Concerts
1. Iggy Pop
2. Elton John
3. Shonen Knife
4. Suzi Quattro
5. Regurgitator
6. Nancy and Beth
7. Thelma Plum
8. Yes Commissioner
9. Steve Smyth
10. Ursual Yovich

Theatre
1. Edith Piaf Show
2. Dali: Hallucinogenic Torreador
3. Love/Hate Actually
4. Fleabag
5. Forever in my life: Prince

Art Exhibitions
1. Duchamp - Gallery of NSW
2. James Drinkwater - Newcastle Art Gallery
3. Wynne/Sulman/Archibald - Gallery of NSW
4. Sodeisha - Newcastle Art Gallery
5. Trevor Dickinson - Lovett Gallery
6. Andrew Antoniou - Maitland Art Gallery
7. Kilgour Prize - Newcastle Art Gallery
8. Charles Blackman - Maitland Art Gallery
9. Us/We/Me - MAC
10. Robert Dickerson - Newcastle Art Gallery

Special Mention: the fabulous Art Gallery Tour to little galleries in Newcastle