There are a lot of amazing things to read/watch/hear in the world. Sometimes a recommendation from a friend can go a long way. In that spirit here are the things that brought us the most enjoyment this year!
MOVIES / SHOWS
Scavengers Reign
Kyle: This is my show of the year.
A survival story on an alien planet, except everything is the most ALIEN it could possibly be — this is sci-fi at its peak. Plants that reproduce by creating a clone that hunts you, psychic parasites, and a host of other creatures that boggle the mind. This is so imaginative that I suspect the writers may actually have visited other worlds. And the style! It’s like a graphic novel with goosebump-inducing sound design. Add a great cast of characters and a high-stakes survival mission… Gee whiz, I’m making myself want to watch it all over again.
Avvai: I like all the aliens that go click-clack and slurp-sloop. The sounds in this show is a real delight. All the creatures are so cute and weird before they start doing strange symbiosis or parasitic things. Seeing the biodiversity and how everything interacted with each other really satisfied the biology-nerd in me.
Asteroid City
Kyle: Ever had your plans derailed due to an unprecedented phenomenon? How about being quarantined somewhere and not allowed to leave? And maybe it was all due to… a mystery from outer space? Well, you might like Asteroid City.
This is peak Wes Anderson, so there are the symmetrical shots, fast-paced dialogue, and familiar cast of actors that we all expect, but there is also so much more. This feels like the most emotional Wes Anderson film in years — though the characters discuss things like grief in deadpan tones, the aesthetic creates an unforgettable tone. As the film itself states, this is a film “about a group of people dealing with something they don’t understand”, which is pretty dang relatable.
Full disclosure, it’s not a movie that spells everything out for you, but I, for one, couldn’t get it out of my mind.
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Avvai: I know I say this about a lot of movies, but Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure might actually be the best movie I’ve watched all year. I’m surprised by how much this movie stuck with me and I rewatch scenes from it and they still make me laugh. The ending might be the most perfect ending I’ve ever seen. Goofy, slapstick fun.
Kyle: Avvai and I laughed through an entire plane ride with this movie. I also have added the below scene to my impersonation repertoire, which is great.
Tatami Time Machine Blues
Kyle: Favourite anime of the year!
A group of University students discover a time machine and use it to try and fix their air conditioner… unfortunately, they’re all class-A goobs. This is the tightest and funniest time-travel story I’ve seen in ages. It is set in Kyoto, where we spent a lot of last year, and the filmmaker works hard to make the locations true-to-life — after watching, we went out and visited them! I love things that make you appreciate cities and cultures in a new way, so if you’re interested in Japan or Kyoto (or time travel) this may be right up your alley.
This is a mini-series that is the length of a movie, which is how I would recommend watching it. If you like it, there is a tv series with the same cast of characters (with only slightly less time travel).
Avvai: I loved this show! The first two episodes get a bit getting used to because the main character talks so fast so therefore you have to read the english subtitles so fast. But you get used to it and the time travel is so fun.
Roald Dahl by Wes Anderson
Kyle: So fun. It’s like they’re reading the book to you while also being in a movie! I’ve never seen anything like this.
Avvai: Wes Anderson does four short films of four of Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults. Roald Dahl’s adult stuff is strange and entertaining and it was really fun being played out by a great cast in a really unique way in classic Wes Anderson quirkiness.
BOOKS
Novelist as a Vocation — Haruki Murakami
Kyle: This book changed my life! I’ve read tons of books about writing, but after reading this I realized none of the others detailed the nitty gritty of what being a professional novelist is actually like. Murakami sets out to detail the process as if describing what it’s like to be a plumber or dentist — there is no mystical “muse” here, instead he talks a lot about how much he loves punctuation, being alone for long periods, and revising the same page for days. I put the book down, decided maybe I should focus on screenplays and comics instead of novels, and I’ve had a weight off my shoulder ever since.
Avvai: It’s true, I saw Kyle’s life changing before my eyes as he reading this book haha. But I loved this book too. Even though I’m not a novelist (thank goodness!) I thought a lot of the essays had some great advice on purpose and creativity. Murakami has a very matter of fact way of stating his thoughts which I thought was amusing.
The Japanese, a History in Twenty Lives — Christopher Harding
Kyle: I don’t know when I started liking biographies, but the idea of getting twenty mini-biographies and using them to tell the history of a country was brilliant. And boy, Japan has a wild history — it begins with the first novelist (a woman!), travels through the age of samurai, isolationism, tons of civil wars, the birth of manga, attempted world dominance, and ends with the current Empress. This helped me to appreciate Japan so much more — I wish I could read a book like this about every country we visit.
Babel — R. F. Kuang
Avvai: I love audiobooks and this audiobook was a 1000/10 listening experience. The narrator does such a good job with the voices and emotion. It took me a couple months to finish (it’s 22 hours long) but I loved every second of it. It always felt like I was returning back to good friends. I found excuses to go on long walks just so I could keep listening to this book.
Babel is an alternative history of Oxford during the 1830s with some fantasy elements to it. A young Chinese boy is brought to Oxford by a professor and trained to study at the Institute of Translation (Babel). The first part of this book gives Harry Potter vibes which really hooked me in, but then the second half shifted wildly and it became this secret-society-how-to-get-away-with-murder plot line. The story explores colonialism, British imperialism, the brokenness of academia, and language theory without feeling heavy-handed or preachy.
Senlin Ascends — Josiah Bancroft
Kyle: Another book about the tower of Babel! This one is a steampunk fantasy about a man visiting the tower with his new wife… and immediately losing her. He must climb the tower and discover its secrets as he attempts to reconnect with the woman he loves. Why did I love it? Each level of the tower is like its own world, it’s surprisingly funny, and it has the best character growth I’ve seen in years.
This is the first of four books. I’ve only read the first two so far, but they were excellent.
The Way of Integrity — Martha Beck
Kyle: An unexpected addition here that won’t be for everyone. Martha Beck is an ex-Mormon who decided one day to tell the truth no matter what… and her life changed drastically. The book is structured following Dante’s The Divine Comedy; each chapter extracts the lessons from Dante’s journey (with lots of personal anecdotes), so it’s kind of like reading classic literature as well. Martha/Dante’s main idea is that all “sin” comes from lying; for example, it is only through lying to oneself that you could commit murder. Ultimately, though this is a self-improvement book, it’s also a simple challenge — could you commit to telling the complete truth?
I was inspired and spent a month avoiding all lies, black and white, while also avoiding going out of my way to deliver hurtful truths to people (obviously). It was more challenging than I thought. I don’t know if it changed my life, but it made me appreciate how often I slip untruths into my conversations and how much people appreciate when you’re honest with them.
COMICS
It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth — Zoe Thorogood
Kyle: Comic of the year, hands down. Maybe book of the year. A young woman deals with the stress of being a creative young person — I know, what’s new? But Zoey Thorogood has created a masterpiece here. It alternates from feeling like the most personal diary entry ever, to a deranged creative screaming their heart out in Central Park. It encapsulates what it feels like to be a young person, except that she can also draw really really well.
I bought this book for multiple people this year, that’s how much I liked it.
Avvai: Same. Some of the pages have the most apt depictions of depression I’ve ever seen. Thorogood is very aware of this kind of writing can be very naval-gazing but continues on despite it. Every page is so interesting and cool to look at.
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chen — Sonny Liew
Kyle: The story of Singapore, told through the life of the country’s most famous (and totally fictional) comic artist. If you’re into history told in creative ways, this is definitely for you.
Avvai: I have never read anything like this before. I was 75% into this book when I found out the main character was completely fictional. I would never have known if Kyle didn’t tell me. This reads like an actual memoir/biography, complete with photos, newspaper clippings, interview transcripts. I was floored when it all turned out to be made up. The comic artist must have worked on this for a billion years to pull of this kind of storytelling. It felt like a work of genius.
Barefoot Gen — Keiji Nakazawa
Kyle: We liked this book so much we went to Hiroshima and made a Youtube video about it. Check it out here!
Shubeik Lubeik — Deena Mohamed
Avvai: This Egyptian graphic novel was super neat. I loved the setting: a modern-day Cairo where wishes are a commodity that can be bought and sold worldwide, with rules and regulations attached to them. The book is divided into three different stories with three different characters. They are heavy, dealing with guilt, depression, and death — but each story is also very uplifting and what the characters’ wish for at the end are always a bit unexpected.
Kyle: It’s about genies! But in a sneaky way where it’s actually about humanity. Sheesh.
Teen Dog — Jake Lawrence
Avvai: We discovered Teen Dog in Australia (the author is Australian). These comics takes me back to nineties cartoons, like The Weekenders. It’s been a while since I’ve seen or read this type of thing before…of teenage-live-in-the-moment-skater-pizza-loving-dude vibe and it was so fun. It was a nice reminder to enjoy life and not take things too seriously. Bonus points for bisexual representation 🤘🏾
Kyle: I read Teen Dog and then wished I had a friend like Teen Dog in my life. Reading this book is like what living in Australia is like — chill and friendly.
INTERNET
Struthless
Kyle: This video isn’t really about drawing, it’s about finishing things, and building something bigger than yourself, and commitment. It is valuable for artists, retirees, and businessfolk. And Struthless has a whole bunch of videos like it! I found myself going through his entire catalogue this year, being inspired and encouraged by it all.
Recommend if you’re looking for a little encouragement from a cool guy.
Game Changer
Kyle: This wins my award for funniest video I watched this year. This is a game show where the players don’t know the rules… but they figure it out pretty quick here. It’s comedians doing an impression battle! What’s not to love!
Avvai: If you’re having a bad day, watch this. It’ll cheer you up instantly.
And that’s it! If you check any of them out and enjoy it please let us know! We’d also love to hear any of your recommendations 🙂
Love, Kyle & Avvai