You guys ready for 2015?

Catch up on my silliness HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Let’s wrap this shit up, suckahs!

Books

The Hard Bounce by Todd Robinson

You may know Todd Robinson from Thuglit, which he runs and edits (oh hey, here’s the issue I appeared in last year – aka: the BEST issue of 2014. Not so much because of me, McBride’s ‘Sounding’ is fucking amazing).

This is another book I read that had me cursing the author out as I finished each chapter. Todd’s ability to provide setting and character in a humorous, dark, and heartfelt way is enviable. Boo and Junior, to me, are two of the best characters in a crime novel and I’m very much looking forward to checking out what Todd has in store for them in the future.

Country Hardball by Steve Weddle

I’m completely comfortable in admitting I’ll never write this well.

Weddle’s gifted and this novel in short stories is more than just something to enjoy, but a great tool to identify how to put together quick, taut pieces of fiction.

Go buy this. Seriously. I rarely read anything twice and I went right back to page one after reading the final page.

Music

Fantastic Planet – Failure

Oh what’s that? I’m 22 years late to this party.

Seriously, this album came out 22 years ago.

Let that set in.

Anyway, thanks to the magic of Spotify, I remembered these fellas did a pretty fantastic cover of Enjoy the Silence and decided to dig in a little more. What a found was a forgotten alternative bit of excellence. I’m at a loss that this band wasn’t bigger, but this was at a time when everyone was paying attention to Nirvana or Pearl Jam, so it must have been easy to get lost in the shuffle.

My favorite track:

Movies

Guardians of The Galaxy

I know, I totally almost forgot.

I’ve watched this movie nearly 7 times now, and honestly? It’s a masterpiece. Not for the quality, there are plenty of tiny hiccups in the script. No, what made GoTG work for me was the feeling it gave me – a flick hasn’t made me feel like that since I saw Jedi for the first time.

That’s magic.

Groot and Rocket, two characters that would be laughed out of any pitch meeting three years ago. They work. Kids and adults loved them.

That’s magic.

What a nice feeling to know movies can still make you gawk and smile. Kudos to Gunn and company.

Nerdery

Trailers kicked our asses!

THE FORCE AWAKENS

The held shot on a familiar desert.

Huh, cool.

Oh crap, John Boyega.

Huh, this Daisy Ridley character is interesting.

X-Wings! Sweet.

Triple saber? I can dig it.

HOLY FUCK IT”S THE FALCON!!!!!

It’s like coming home again.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Good lord, if Thor doesn’t say he must have words with Ultron, I will be LIVID.

The standout, though? Ulysses Klaww.

I can’t wait for Black Panther.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Two words – Holy….fuck.

I think that about sums it all up.

No joke, I did a lot thinking on all of this, even wrote out a handwritten list with pros and cons regarding choices over other bits. Obviously, this isn’t the end all, but a good sampling of what I dug this year. Click links, buy stuff (the books especially!) and check out related items (authors especially!)

Have a great New Year’s, peoples.

Angel