Difficult women
My favorite book this year has to be “Difficult Women” by Roxanne Gay. It features a collection of short stories about women in different stages of their relationships. A pair of sisters abducted by a middle-aged man when they were young and have stuck together ever since. A stripper trying to put herself through college while also fighting off a very overexcited customer named William who one night follows her home.
We also have Milly, the pretty girl who isn’t really considered pretty because she is bigger than most girls. A woman who lost a child and doesn’t know how to cope and many more stories. This book is a SOLID 7/10. I didn’t give it a 10 because it is a very brutal read. The writing is perfect but the subject matters are extremely heavy and there were certain themes in the book that I couldn’t quite understand. Forewarning topics such as domestic violence, child abuse, and rape etc. are discussed in this book. Also, some of the essays include a lot of metaphors that might be hard to grasp. These topics aren’t everybody’s favorite things to read but I think they are super important because they are real issues that happen to both men and women. Roxanne Gay is a survivor of childhood rape herself so she stems her past experience into her work which I appreciated because it made the stories even more emotionally gut-wrenching. This was my favorite book this year because it is a compelling piece that looks into a more dark and morbid side of how women feel and are treated in society.
Runner-up: Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil
Favorite Movie/Documentary of 2018
13th
I know this documentary film came out in 2016 but I just watched it in February, thus it makes it on my list as my favorite documentary/movie for 2018. The main message I got from this film is that slavery has not been eradicated but redesigned in the form of incarceration. America uses the 13th amendment as a weapon against African Americans and their rights. In the film, important figures from the black community talk more about many policies and people that have contributed to the propagation of this detrimental cycle of discrimination. I mean to me this was more of a horror film and the main villains were: ALEC cooperations, Republican legislators, and basically every politician plus some (except Obama of course).
Runner-up: Call me by your name
Favorite Tv Show/Short Series of 2018
This is us
“This Is Us” is a show about three siblings all the same age but go through their own unique experiences in life. Kate is a morbidly overweight woman who has struggled with weight all her life. Kevin, Kates twin, is a good-looking actor who quit his job of playing a mediocre character to pursue something more real. Then we have Randell, their black adopted sibling, who throughout the show battles with where he fits in the world. The show features many flashbacks between their adult life and childhood, so you will get to see a lot of their parents, Jack and Rebecca, own life experiences. I love this show because every episode has me crying, not because it’s sad but because it’s so damn sweet.
Tie: The Office duhhhhhhh
What were some of your favorites this year?
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