2014 Book Awards, Part 2

More awards which should speak for themselves. (Links go to reviews.)

DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I'M BEAUTIFUL

• S.

A HECKUVA GOOD TIME

• Pretty Good Number One
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

IN MY HEAD, EVERY DAY

• A Song for Nagasaki
• The Smile of a Ragpicker
• Jane Austen's books

NOW IT MAKES SENSE!

• Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?
• The Narnia Code
• Planet Narnia
• A Jane Austen Education

DEBUTANTE OF THE YEAR

• Ancillary Justice
• The Martian

TILT YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS

• David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

THE YEAR OF:

• Jane Austen
• C.S. Lewis
• Japanese Catholics

This one I'll explain. The Japanese Catholics and Jane Austen served to make me regularly mindful that I must be mindful of how I treat others. 

Meanwhile, I not only read C.S. Lewis's space trilogy, but began working my way through audiobooks of his theological writing. I'd read Mere Christianity recently but never his other nonfiction. These not only served as practical devotionals but also overlapped with Jane Austen and the Japanese Catholics in how I lived and, interestingly, how I understood the other books in my ken.

It's not a combination I'd have known to choose but one that I am sincerely grateful I fell into. I guess God not only looks out for fools but for those grabbing books at random off of shelves.

2014 Book Awards, Part 1

Rather than take my usual "defined in 10 words" route, these book awards should be self-explanatory. (Links go to my reviews.)

MARRY ME

• The Rosie Project
• Cruel Beauty

IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME

• Les Miserables

WORTH BEING CRUSHED IN BED

• The Source

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE? 

• Nancie McDermott
• Jane Austen

WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS?

• C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength

THE END OF THE AFFAIR

• New Watch

More tomorrow!

Favorite Movies of 2014

My favorite movies seen in 2014 with descriptions in 10 words or less. In the approximate order in which I saw them. Links are to reviews.

• Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon, director)
  If all Shakespeare movies were like this, I'd love Shakespeare.
  
  
• Gravity
  Gravity. Not mentioned once in the movie. But integral.
  
  
• Captain Phillips
  Intense. Just remember to breathe.
  
  
• I Confess
  We should all have a priest as good as this.
  
  
• Mud
  Where I learned to not hate Matthew McConaughey.
  
  
• The Guard
  Directed by a McDonagh. Which means clever, humorous, and nuanced.
  
  
• Calvary
  Not for the faint-of-heart. But simply astounding.
  
  
• Spinning Plates
  It's not what you cook. It's why.
  
  
• That Guy ... Who Was in That Thing
  16 faces you recognize but can't name. 16 fascinating stories of Hollywood.
  
  
• Halloween
  It defined a genre. And deservedly so.
  
  
• Mama
  A supernatural thriller I didn't want to love, but couldn't resist.