December doubled down on comfort and chaos: warm-hearted millennial Christmas classics and one big-hearted sci-fi epic where friendship and sacrifice matter as much as saving the world.
Weir’s The Martian was a groundbreaking work of science fiction, and I remember tearing through it. I had pretty low expectations for Project Hail Mary (because The Martian was just so damn good), but it appears that Weir has captured lightning in a bottle a second time.
SPOILER ALERT: About a third of the way in, it still felt like a remix of The Martian (scientist uses science to out-science his predicament). Then Rocky shows up, and everything changes.
The Rocky-Grace friendship is one of those unlikely pairings that quietly sneaks into your top tier of literary duos: Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin; Frodo and Sam; and now Rocky and Grace.
The book’s final act is a straightforward arc. Once Grace realizes Rocky’s ship is stranded, you can see his choice coming a mile away, but the moment still lands because the book has earned that sacrifice. By the time Grace makes his decision to sacrifice himself in order to save Rocky and his people, you’re not surprised, you’re just happy that you got to watch him get there.
One of my favorite entries on our annual Christmas movies. Between Billy Bob, John Ritter, and Bernie Mac, it is a perfectly understated comedic cast. Not to mention, it’s a story with a perfect “Christmas Carol” redemption arc. “This is Christmas, and the kid is getting his f***ing present.”
Another good, solid Christmas movie, and probably one of Seth Rogen’s funniest performances. Hits a little different each year as you get older: as you reconnect wiwth friends you don’t see too often, you’re reminded that everyone’s going through their own ups and downs.
A well-written entry in the espionage/mystery genre. I had not heard of it prior to watching, but I wasn’t surprised to learn that it was a Steven Soderbergh movie. It has the same tight storytelling that I love from the Ocean’s 11 series, with a mystery thread that slowly unravels as the movie progresses. It reminded me a lot of All the Old Knives, which is one of my favorite other movies in this genre.
A Final Note
What I’m currently reading
In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. After reading The Wager a few months back, this felt like coming back home to the Age of Sail books that I love reading. Philbrick’s narrative of a whaleship being attacked by its quarry reads like a horror story at sea, and he spares no grisly detail in bringing the story to life.
The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam. On my second month of reading this (it’s quite long, in a good way), and it’s a great history of the Korean War, as well as the corresponding geopolitical currents shaping the conflict and the era around it.
A quote I’m pondering:
Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.
Until next time