Stuff this year.

Well...  It's been a bit of a year, hasn't it?

Some very un-favourite things have happened, but some good ones too.  Here are some of my favourite cultural things of the whole year.

BOOK: The First Bad Man by Miranda July.

I have long loved pretty much everything that Miranda July has ever done - well, since I went by myself to the Curzon in Soho to see 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' and then worked backwards.  I loved her book of short stories, and had high hopes of her first novel.  Well, reader, this surpassed all of them.  I read it with not much idea of the story/premise, which was probably ideal.  I have never read anything quite like it.  Literally life-altering.

FILM: Another game-changer, I have to say 'Diary of a Teenage Girl'.  I saw it by myself (bit of a theme emerging here?) on a weekday afternoon.  Question: is there anything more decadent than going to the cinema alone on a weekday afternoon?  This film, and all of its performances, are so incredible - I walked home in a daze, my head spinning.  Bonus points for the lovely 70s San Francisco aesthetic.

MUSIC: Of course, of course it has to be 'Divers' by Joanna Newsom.  Is that too cliche?  I know some people who would think so - apparently my taste in music can be way too 'middle-class white girl who has a fringe and tattoos and lives in Brighton'.  I don't care.  I love her love her love her.  This is still going to be on my record player throughout 2016.

TELLY: I rarely watch stuff on 'actual' telly, and then I feel all superior about it.  For years I really enjoyed saying 'actually I don't have a TV' but now everyone watches everything on computer, that doesn't really have the same cachet any more.  But lately not so much no-telly superiority on my part.  A big reason for this was 'Catastrophe'.  The premise doesn't sound that great: couple get pregnant after casual fling and decide to make a go of things (sounds pretty standard, right?).  But the writing, acting and general charm plus LOL-ness really elevate it.

Oh shit, and I nearly forgot 'This Is England 90'.  And probably loads of other stuff.