....Media Thread
I don't care to be a critic and I largely just like to keep track of the different media I check out over the year. Keeping a media thread is part of my promise to continue learning, making time for things I like, and exploring new avenues.
A Hero of Our Time
I really enjoyed this short novel and was really compelled by the byronic main character, Pechorin. I felt that even when he was at his worst I could not hate him, because his motivations were so human at their root that I felt if I was to cast blame on him for his vices I would, in the same movement, be casting blame upon myself. Leremontov paints a beautiful picture of both Pechorin and of the landscapes of the Russian Caucasus in the 1800s
december
Lights of the Inside Passage
This is a book about lighthouses on the northwestern coast of British Columbia. It's full of local history and is part of an effort to preserve lightkeeper records, history and culture. The story which swayed me the most is probably the Triple Island lightkeepers, the Odlums, who lived in the remote concrete lighthouse at Triple islands and made the most of their life with little luxuries on the bare rocks.
august
Amusing Ourselves to Death
I heard about this book on a Touhou forum of all places, which apparently piqued my interest enough for me to pick up a copy for myself. I braced myself for this cultural essay from 1985 to bore me with its old-fashioned takes and was pleasantly suprised by how relevant the content surrounding entertainment and news culture felt. A thoughtful and informative essay about media culture in America.
february
Siddhartha
I'm a fan of Hesse's work and naturally thus had to read Siddhartha myself. I love psychological novels and felt really drawn to a book about self-discovery at the start of the year during my winter lows. I think that this book changed the way that I think of myself and my overall life in a positive way.
january
Guardian: Zhen Hun
This was a fun read and by no means was a bad series, but I think some of the appeal was just lost on me. My favorite characters were Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Hong but I was a little disappointed in the direction Zhu Hong's character went towards the end, though Yunlan remained one of my favorites right through. I would definately like to read more danmei novels in the future after giving this series a try. I also loved the beautiful illustrations in the books.
September
Lamento ~Beyond the Void~
An old BL visual novel I was always curious about and finally got into after listening to the soundtrack. A slightly embarassing hyperfixation for me. Lamento fills me with such an overwhelming and powerful sense of nostalgia and I find Konoe's journey throughout the story to be very compelling. Part of my strong experience with Lamento is the sense of fufillment I gave myself by playing a game I was interested in as a teenager but couldn't play. The story was interesting and I love the visual style reminescent of the 'era' when it released. It holds a very special place in my heart. I loved Lamento so much that I ended up improving my coding a lot by making and revising my shrine page.
march
FFXIV: Dawntrail
This expansion was pretty fun and lighthearted, which was a much needed tone-shift following the last two expansions. The music is probably the most outstanding part of whole expansion to me. Erenville really grew on me over the course of the story most of all. I changed my 'main character' this expansion, from Vergil from Endwalker, into Roman for Dawntrail's themes of 'new beginnings'. I'm definately not into FFXIV in the same way that I was when Shadowbringers or Endwalker came out, so I think that affects how I look and feel about the game now. The new dungeons for this expansion have been really fun so far, and the designs for gear and items have really been taken up a notch.
July
Dark Souls
It's been almost 10 years since I first played Dark Souls so I wanted to revisit it. There is something just so appealing and nostalgic for me in the visuals, the quality of the voice acting, and in the level design that had me enthralled. Compared to modern fromsoft titles it's definately dated, but there's something so special in the original experience even despite the unpolished edges.
July
Dark Souls 2
This has always been my favorite out of the trilogy and the one that I played the most, despite being arguably one of the worst souls games. I took a revisit after playing the first game to see how it held up and while it's definately worse than Dark Souls 1, I think it still something really special and unique about Dark Souls 2, like the peaceful feeling of Majula at the end of the game compared to how the other hub areas are at the end.
August
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden ring might be one of my favorite games ever, and the last time I've had real, genuine fun playing a game on release was when the game first came out. My friend and I played through together in co/op and I think it tuned the difficulty for me just the right amount, so I had a really fun time with the bossfights. The lore revelations made me feel so emo...
July
The Thing
So classic. What can I say about das ding that hasn't been said before?
january
In the Mouth of Madness
Really interesting concept and I can't help but love the practical effects. I had super weird dreams after watching this.
january
Alien
I can't believe I've never seen Alien until this year. I loved it so much but I was so stressed over Jonesy the whole movie.
january