Looking back at the fourth quarter of 2024

And here we are at the end of the 4th quarter of 2024 and thus the end of the year, as well. My first thought is to say I hope you’re ready and in the mood for a brief look back at the quarter, but let’s be honest, these quarterly look backs are rarely brief. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy taking a look back at some of what’s happened this quarter, from photography to reading, music, movies and life, in general. If so, please keep reading.

Photography

Last quarter I tried to share a range of content, and I’ve attempted to continue that this quarter. Granted, I am photographing more buildings and less nature than in the past, but I still retain all the same interests which keep growing over time so I’m hopeful I’ll fit it all in over the course of the quarter and of the year.

Below are the blog posts I published this quarter so please check them out if you missed any or just want to take another look.

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Reading

This was another great quarter for reading, full of stories I enjoyed, and non-fiction that taught me something new or useful. I read a mix of older books as well as brand new ones, with my re-read of A Christmas Carol from 1843 being the oldest, and Water Moon being the most recent, which is due for release sometime in January of next year. They ranged in length from 120 pages (How to Relax) to 640 (Black River Orchard). The majority of them were consumed in audiobook form, though I did also read several as ebooks and some on paper. I find audiobooks the most convenient, and yet my favorite format is still paper.

The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).

Here’s the full list of books: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa (2017), Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie (1939), Saga Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (2014), Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth & Sky 3) by Rebecca Roanhorse (2024), Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig (2023), 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968), The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams (2023), Dracula’s Guest & Other Weird Tales by Bram Stoker (1914), Flying in the Shadows by Thomas N. Hauser (2023), How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh (2015), Needle (Inverted Frontier 3) by Linda Nagata (2022), A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843), Water Moon by Samantha Soto Yambao (2025).

And of those, my favorites were:

Water Moon by Samantha Soto Yambao

I received an advanced copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway. This was a wonderful story, whimsical, beautiful, lively, lyrical, romantic. When I was younger I would write scenes that I thought were part of longer stories, though I rarely finished them. The feelings I felt when reading this book reminded me of some of those I felt when writing my scenes. I think this is the sort of story I was trying to tell.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

I watched the movie long ago so it was good to finally try reading the book. Though they tell the same story they do it in different ways and it was fascinating comparing them. It was also interesting to learn it wasn’t a movie based on a book but was originally conceived as a movie under the collaboration of Clarke and Kubrick, and Clarke wasn’t good with scripts so decided to write the book as his way of conveying his ideas. So we ended up with two creative works born of that collaboration.

Needle (Inverted Frontier 3) by Linda Nagata

I loved the first two books in this science fiction series and it was so easy to get back into that universe with this one. The story continues, with a group of advanced humans heading to a specific destination in search of what happened to the humans who lived there. And along the way they try to solve the puzzle of the needle, a mysterious object obtained from an even more advanced entity at the end of the previous book.

Movies, Shows & Anime

Favorite, or notable, films I watched this quarter.

As with last quarter, the selection of video content I watched was a mixed bag. My least favorite of the batch was Darkness Falls (2003), which wasn’t bad, per se, it just wasn’t all that great, either. A very typical horror movie that just didn’t resonate with me.

I loved finishing the anime series Planetes (2003) about the near future (approaching faster and faster) where there’s so much debris in orbit that it begins posing a far too significant risk to the people working or at leisure in orbit. And so there are groups whose job it is to clean up the debris. I loved the real world topics handled in reasonably realistic ways while still mixing in some great storylines.

I had an even better time watching the first two seasons of Stranger Things (2016), which for some reason I couldn’t find listed on letterboxd, the site I made the graphical list in. This series felt similar to Ready Player One (book and movie) in that it seemed written specifically for me, that I was squarely in their target audience: younger kids growing up in the ‘80s playing Dungeons & Dragons, riding around on their bikes, imagining themselves doing great things (of course, in the show they really do). Such a fantastic series.

And naturally enough, my favorite movie was part two of Dune (2024). This was such a fantastic interpretation of the book. It had that moodiness, it captured the conflict and discomfort of the political and religious maneuverings, the curiosity and distrust of differing cultures, and I thought they did a great job casting the characters. Of course, the special effects were absolutely tremendous, such that they didn’t seem to be special effects, but instead took me straight into that world, letting me experience the harshness of the planet. The two movies increased my desire to read further into the book series.

The rest of the movies were good, mostly enjoyable, just not overly memorable.

Music

This quarter I discovered some older music that was completely new to me, as well as hearing new music by artists I’ve been a fan of for some time. And as always, there were so many other songs I thoroughly enjoyed but I’m trying to keep this quarterly list manageably small, so I’ve narrowed in on just three.

The Stranglers - Golden Brown

I don’t know how this group or song came to my attention. I don’t believe I’d ever heard of them before. But this song from 1981 has a very intriguing sound perhaps largely due to the interesting time signature(s).

Patty Gurdy - Peg Leg Silly-Billy (featuring Christopher Bowes)

This song is just plain fun. I’ve listened to Patty Gurdy and her hurdy gurdy before but Christopher Bowes is new to me, as is Peg Leg Silly-Billy.

Avantasia - Creepshow

I always look forward to new work by Avantasia, the albums, the stories they share within them, and the music videos that take us one step deeper into those stories. As is often the case, this one has a catchy chorus.

Life

So last quarter I mentioned wanting to get back into some kind of regular practice with my acoustic guitar. I’m not quite there yet in that my practice isn’t exactly regular, but I did restring it to freshen the sound and I have pulled it out more often than I did last quarter, so I’m moving in the right direction. Still can’t play an actual song, though. One step at a time. 😀

Overall it feels like a good quarter and one worthy of capping off the year. There were things I had planned to get done this year but didn’t manage to (such as a refresh of my website) and so I’ll carry those on into the new year. But life, for me, is more than just a list of accomplishments. At some point a more ephemeral but general sense of well-being factors in, and I’m feeling ok right now on that front. Still room for improvement all around, but isn’t that always the case? It gives us something to keep striving for. And strive, I shall.

Thanks so much for sharing your time with me, reading through some of my words, viewing a few of my photographs. I hope you get something of value from it all, and I will work to continue to be worthy of your time.

I wish you a Happy New Year!

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