Things I liked in 2022

Date: 2022-12-31

Here's some of the things I remember enjoying most over the last year, grouped very tenuously by theme.

New Horizons

In May we moved home, back to the part of South London where I grew up.

  • ๐Ÿฆ Our last flat was on a busy main road, with thin walls and noisy neighbours. We used to sleep with earplugs and white noise machines running. We now wake to the sound of birdsong. I could do without the screeching foxes though.
  • ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธ Over the summer, I started joining the local Park Run. There's a real sense of community running with a couple of hundred people each week.
  • ๐Ÿž Browns of Brockley sells delicious seeded bread. Every Sunday I meet my partner after her gym session and pick up a loaf. It's a nice routine.
  • ๐ŸšŒ There's an electric bus that wiggles through our neighborhood. When it is moving slowly (often round corners), it emits a series of soft pings, moving up and down in pitch like a detuning modular synth. I love hearing it chime in the background.

Rebellion, Revolution, Revechol

This year culminated in a season of strikes. Here's some stories of resistance, protest, and the impact they have.

  • ๐Ÿ“– Work Won't Love You Back - Sarah Jaffe - Non-fiction book detailing how 'doing what you love' often results in exploitation, and how different labour movements have fought for improved conditions.
  • ๐Ÿ“– How To Do Nothing - Jenny Odell - An artist's thoughtful view of how to push back against the attention economy. Much less about quitting Twitter than you'd think, and much more about birds.
  • ๐Ÿ“บ Andor - I'm not really into Star Wars, but this show doesn't require fandom. It has no Jedis or lightsabers, and focusses on how normal people slowly become rebels.
  • ๐ŸŽฎ Disco Elysium - A game where you role-play as a total fuckup of a detective, in a world recovering from failed revolutions.

Mysteries at sea

A collection of mysteries, mostly by the water, that jump through time as they slowly reveal themselves. One book is in space rather than at sea, but it has 'sea' in the title, so I'm saying it counts.

  • ๐ŸŽฎ Return of the Obra Dinn - You arrive on a ship full of dead bodies and have to work out what happened, jumping back in time to view the moments before each crew member dies.
  • ๐Ÿ“– Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel - A sci-fi novel dealing with pandemics, time-travel, and connection.
  • ๐Ÿ“บ The White Lotus Season 2 - Rich people are awful. Jennifer Coolidge is spectacular. The theme tune slaps.
  • ๐ŸŽž๏ธ Glass Onion - Rich people continue to be awful. It's a murder mystery on an island. Sillier and frothier than Knives Out, but still really fun.
  • ๐ŸŽž๏ธ Aftersun - Beautiful film where a woman remembers a childhood holiday with her father. The trip isn't smooth sailing, but you don't have to spend the entire film anxiously waiting something awful to happen, like I did.

Trying to be your true self

Every choice you make shapes who you are, and the world you live in. What happens if you try to break the rules?

  • ๐ŸŽž๏ธ Everything Everywhere All At Once - Easily one of the best films I've ever seen. I'm not linking to the trailer, go in blind ๐Ÿ‘€
  • ๐Ÿ“บ The Rehearsal - Fancinating show about the lengths people will go to to gain control of their lives.
  • ๐Ÿ“บ Severance - Bringing your whole self to work can be tough.

Sounds Good

The theme...is music.

Honorable mention

This year I re-read The first four Stormlight Archive books by Brandon Sanderson (this time listening to the audiobooks like a good Vorin man). If you like any sort of sci-fi or fantasy books, you own it to youself to try them.

Start with The Way of Kings. It starts a little slow, but give it time. It'll pay off.


Hopefully there's something in here that you enjoy. If there's something you think I'd like, get in touch!

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