Yes, it's a bit late to be doing still another New Year's post, but when has that ever stopped me? :) Like a true nerd, over the past few years I started cataloguing the media that I consume. Perhaps I'll elaborate in a future blog post as to why I find this process to be satisfying, but for now, here's my 2025 media consumption in review:

Movies

2025-01-21: Moon (2009)
2025-02-16: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
2025-02-17: Mad Max (1979)
2025-02-25: Mad Max 2 (1981)
2025-02-27: Her (2013)
2025-03-21: Empire of Dust (2014) (documentary)
2025-04-25: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) (family, rewatch)
2025-05-01: Solaris (1972)
2025-05-02: The Favourite (2018)
2025-05-24: Barbie (2023)
2025-07-22: Perfect Blue (1997)
2025-07-26: Manchester by the Sea (2016)
2025-07-28: Blue Valentine (2010)
2025-08-04: Castle in the Sky (1986)
2025-08-04: Pride & Prejudice (2005)
2025-08-15: The Substance (2024)
2025-09-24: KPop Demon Hunters (2025) (family)
2025-11-01: Frankenstein (2025)
2025-11-26: A Scanner Darkly (2006) (rewatch)
2025-12-17: We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)
2025-12-23: My Brother's Wedding (1983)
2025-12-26: American Psycho (2000)

You might notice the awkward, out-of-order viewing of the Mad Max films at the top. Many years ago, I watched Fury Road on a whim in theaters and absolutely loved it, but I never explored any of the other Mad Max films until watching Furiosa in 2024. I liked it enough to say, "You know what? I really gotta check out the older films." And so I did. But I made this decision somewhat on a whim while browsing available movies while on a flight. On paper, Mad Max is not at all up my alley; I'm not particularly fond of campy action films, and I usually need to connect to characters and theme. But for whatever reason, it just works for me.

Other highlights: Solaris, The Favourite, and Manchester by the Sea. I'll almost certainly be following up with additional films by their respective directors in 2026. Oh, and Perfect Blue -- wow.

TV

2025-03: Westworld (S01)
2025-04: Severance (S02)
2025-07: Pantheon (S01)
2025-10: The Summer Hikaru Died (S01)
2025-10: Pantheon (S02)

For ages, I heard great things about Westworld, and in 2025 I finally got around to watching it! And, well, it was... fine. I actually loved the premise, theme, and some of the underlying philosophical questions that it raises, but I felt as though they added on a bit too much sensational, edge-of-your-seat drama that took the show into a slightly campy direction away from its real strengths. I'm nitpicking -- it was very good -- but not quite the highlight in my TV viewing for the year.

The highlight for me was Pantheon. Another sci-fi show that's been recommended to me for years, this one exceeded my expectations. I have my criticisms of the show, but (spoilers ahead!) the way that season 2 ended truly blew my mind. I don't think any piece of media had ever made me seriously consider how plausible the possibility is that we are actually living inside of a simulation. And the show didn't just try to ride on what could have been a gimmicky premise; the character stories were touching and believable. I'm ready to call this one of the great pieces of sci-fi, but my wife tells me that this idea has been done many times before in anime, so perhaps it's not as original as I think.

Video Games

Elden Ring
Talos Principle (again)
Talos Principle 2 (again)
Talos Principle 2: Road to Elysium DLC
The Witness (again)
Hades 2
The Exit 8
Dispatch

Yes, Elden Ring is on the list, but no, I didn't exactly experience the game in its fullest. I'm still playing the game (on and off) and still enjoying it, but if I had to guess, I'm probably only about a quarter through it. It is without a doubt an incredible achievement, but I'm not sure if I have the stamina to ride it out till the end. We'll see...

Hades 2 was incredible -- probably my game of the year (though I still need to compare it against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) -- but if you know me well, you know that I always have something to complain about! :D I think I prefer the original Hades in almost every regard. But that's not to take away from how much enjoyment I got out of this one.

I replayed a bunch of Talos Principle this year, solving most of the puzzles with my 6-year-old son at my side. Initially I fired up that game because he was interested in watching me play it, but as I got deeper into it, I was reminded of how expertly crafted those puzzles are. Bring on Talos Principle 3!

Books

2025-03: 1984 (George Orwell)
2025-04: Up From Slavery (Booker T Washington)
2025-09: A People's History of the United States (Howard Zinn)
2025-10: The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir (Neko Case)
2025-11: Klara and the Sun (Kazuo Ishiguro)
2025-12: Talking to My Daughter About the Economy (Yanis Varoufakis)
2025-12: Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)

I am not an avid reader, so seven books in 2025 is more than I read in most years. My second attempt at reading "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn almost caused my reading habits to grind to a halt this year. It's a phenomenal achievement, but it's incredibly dense and (for me) not an easy read. In retrospect, I probably should have just allowed myself to say, "You know what, I think I'm going to abandon this one," but I managed to push through it regardless.

On the flip side, I was able to breeze through some of the other reads, all of which I enjoyed thoroughly. "Klara and the Sun", which I bought on a whim to get free shipping on an order, was an especially wonderful surprise. It was my introduction to Kazuo Ishiguro and was right up my alley in terms of theme, story, and writing style -- enough so for me to follow it up with "Never Let Me Go". I'll have to go digging for more of this style of sci-fi in 2026.