Culture 2012
07 January 2012
Well, the Christmas tree is packed away, the turkey digested, and the presents all have their new homes (I had a faux leather desk tidy, a new keyboard and mouse, a first edition John Updike book of his golf writings, the superb Super 8 on DVD , a banker’s lamp [bloody bankers] and a whole host of other goodies). Time to put 2011 to bed and look forward into the new year. And there are lots of things to look forward to. I’m going to use this blog to highlight some of the things I’m eagerly anticipating for the coming year.
BOOKS
Although it was released last year, Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 is my most anticipated read. It’s going to be my reward for finishing my new novel, The Curve of the Earth. Other than that, Doubleday are going to be releasing a book that sounds brilliant; The Light Between The Oceans by ML Steadman. It’s about a childless couple living on a lighthouse when one day a boat arrives containing a dead body and a baby. The baby is the child they could never have and together they bring it up. Conflict arrives years later in the form of the child’s mother, who one day appears at the lighthouse. It’s out in April.
Here’s a list of books, not released this year, that I intend to read in 2012:
Underworld – Don DeLillo (yes, this is still on my shelf of shame)
From Hell – Alan Moore
The Absolutist – John Boyne
Wild Abandon – Joe Dunthorne
Writings on Golf – John Updike
Once Upon a Time in the North – Philip Pullman
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
TV
I don’t watch a great deal of TV but returning this year is the second half of the second season of The Walking Dead. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s a zombie apocalypse series from Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, The Mist) that left off before the mid-season break on a blistering climax that had me and my girlfriend gasping. Can’t wait to see the ramifications. The show also guarantees at least one extremely cool zombie moment every week.
Also back after a mid-season break is the best sit com in years, Community. It’s not been on British TV yet but if it does get syndicated I strongly suggest you watch it. It’s about a group of mature students at an American Community College and features none other than Chevy Chase . It’s smart and bursting at the seams with pop culture references. Oh, and there’s a stop motion Christmas episode. It’s struggling in America and NBC are dangling the cancelled brick over its head but if it does go then it would be a great loss.
I shall be watching TV this year on a 60 (that’s right, SIXTY) inch HD TV that we just inherited from Amy’s bampi, who has upgraded to 3D TV. The size of the thing is quite incredible.
MUSIC
There’s only one album for me this year: Port of Morrow by The Shins. A little known fact is that I have written an entire novel about The Shins. When I signed my book deal with Transworld it was for two novels and I spent most of 2007 writing The Girl Who Loved The Shins. The trouble was that when I finished it I didn’t feel ready to put it out into the world. I still have a great affection for it but it lies un-typed-up in about five notebooks at home. It was about an ugly, friendless thirteen year old girl suffering from a psychological disorder, and how she viewed the world. But anyway, I’m really excited about Port of Morrow . The Shins got me through some tough times and I think James Mercer is a hugely underrated songwriter. In their three albums there’re only two songs that I don’t like. They’re pretty special.
I had Ceremonials by Florence + the Machine for Christmas and have been listening to that on my way to work. Shake It Out is a stunning song.
FILM
There are four films coming out this year that I am really excited about. The first two are pretty obvious: The Hobbit and The Dark Knight Rises. The Lord of the Rings films played a big part in my life and still remind me of Christmas. And Peter Jackson is a pretty inspiring guy. I loved Braindead and Bad Taste and think it’s brilliant how the director of those films went on to create the monumental Middle Earth trilogy. Seeing The Hobbit is going to be very nostalgic.
As for The Dark Knight Rises, it’s going to be big! I’m a huge fan of Batman (my first published work was a letter to Batman Monthly when I was thirteen) and Christopher Nolan’s take on the caped crusader has blown me away. I’m probably the only person in the world who preferred the first film to the second but the third could top the lot. In the comics Bane breaks Bruce Wayne’s back so I can’t wait to see how it’s going to play out. Nolan has managed to put together another incredible cast yet again and Tom Hardy facing off against Christian Bale is going to be an intensity-fest that surely can’t fail.
The third film I’m chomping at the bit to see is The Master, the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson. He’s directed my two favourite films – Magnolia and There Will Be Blood – and this outing sees Philip Seymour Hoffman setting up a cult in 1950s America (definitely not Scientology apparently…). PTA is a virtuoso director whose films leave you breathless. There’s no release date yet but I hope it’ll come out this year as I believe filming wrapped a while back. Maybe it’ll get released during the Oscar rush.
And finally, the movie adaptation of my favourite novel. Cloud Atlas was the last book I read where, when I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. It’s more than a novel; it’s a blueprint for human behaviour. Its six stories span several millennia and are unstoppable in their momentum; literary, entertaining and thought-provoking. Simply put, it’s amazing. If you haven’t read it, you should. And at the end of the year the film is coming out. Written and directed by The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) it’s reportedly weighing in at over three hours long but that’s music to my ears (there could be an intermission – the structure is perfect for a halfway pause). The concept art for the future Seoul looks awesome and Tom Hanks (he’s in it) says it’s going to be adult filmmaking on a grand scale.
So that’s about it for this blog. Happy new year everyone and I hope 2012 treats you kindly. Let’s hope those pesky Mayans were wrong…
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