Read This, Not That

As promised, here are some of the most interesting/amusing/engaging books and movies I read and watched in 2017.

Book (nonfiction)

Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber (Daniel Charles) – If you’re a ChemE, you’d better know about the Haber-Bosch process¹. Turns out Haber was a very interesting person. He was German and Jewish, took part in developing chemical warfare during WWI, had a conflicted personal life, often struggled to gain recognition, and, yes, figured out the reaction to synthesize ammonia. [Bosch did the scaling up to the full industrial process.]

Promised the Moon (Stephanie Nolen) – Noteworthy because it looks at a different aspect of the space race. Instead of starting with the Mercury Seven and going through the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo programs, this book is about why/how women didn’t get to go into space.

Called Again (Jennifer Pharr Davis) – It’s about a woman trying to break the speed record for hiking the Appalachian Trail. Of course I had to read it.

Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine (George Taber) – The Judgment of Paris is the event that is regarded as the first time California wines were officially ranked more highly than French wines. While the Judgment itself is only a small portion of the book, the rest is a fascinating narrative of the development of wine production in California.

Soccernomics (Simon Kuper/Stefan Szymanski) – There aren’t many books about soccer, and while this book focuses mainly on the economics of the Premier League (I’d have liked to see more about MLS, but the league’s only 20+ years old now, so there’s much less data), there are a lot of interesting points about picking players, the effect of coaches, fanbases, and much more.

Book (fiction)

Attack of the Theater People (Marc Acito) – Shenanigans abound as a group of aspiring actors struggle to find work in New York City.

City of Tranquil Light (Bo Caldwell) – Loosely based on the author’s grandparents’ experiences as missionaries in China during the early 1900s.

The Cardturner (Louis Sachar) – From the author who brought you Holes comes a book about . . . bridge. No knowledge of bridge necessary. And yes, a book about a card game played largely in senior centers is interesting.

Movie (musical)

Into the Woods – I was pleasantly surprised by Disney’s adaptation of Sondheim’s musical. The set provides another dimension to the performance that can’t be achieved on stage and they manage to insert some lighter scenes into what could be a very dark second act. There are some roles and songs that are cut or reworked, but not so that Disney can insert their own material, so I’m not mad about it.

Rent – Another solid movie adaptation of a stage musical. [Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t particularly like it (46%), but they seem to mainly be complaining about the director. IMDb likes it fine (7/10), and Amazon really likes it (4.5/5).]

Movie (live action)

Pitch Perfect – I finally saw Pitch Perfect last year. It’s got college shenanigans + a cappella. What more could I ask for?

Hidden Figures – Snuck this one in on the last day of the year while I was home. Again, this looks at the space race from a different perspective than the typical progression to the moon. Instead, it highlights the roles three women played at NASA behind the scenes. They play up the dumb white male a bit at times, but I don’t mind. This movie also contains what might be my favorite quote from a movie I saw last year, spoken by Octavia Spencer’s character Dorothy Vaughn: “FORTRAN is a new and exciting language used by programmers to communicate with computers. It is exciting as it is the wave of the future.” Yes, Dorothy, I agree completely.

Movie (rewatch)

Mary Poppins – It’s a classic. Nothing else to say.

Fantasia – This is the movie that every elementary/middle school music teacher puts on for movie day in music class. I think this was my first time actually watching the whole thing.

Movie (animated)

Wreck-It Ralph – A bit of a different take on the idea of having the setting be inside a video game. It’s not all about gathering points or advancing through levels; there’s an actual plot besides that. I liked the characters, the animation is fun, and there’s even a bit of a twist at the end. Good job on this one, Disney.

Sing – The premise of the movie is American Idol for animals, and you can guess most of the plot from there, but the point of it isn’t the plot. Sing contains over sixty songs, ranging from opera and classical to 2016’s top 40 hits, and they’re incorporated well, which is really the strength of this movie. There are also a couple really funny scenes.

Moana – Yet another retelling of the classic Disney princess story, but it’s done well, and there’s a chicken in it.

(because animation) The Good Dinosaur – Plot is straightforward for a Pixar movie, but the soundtrack and animation are fantastic.

(because it’s Pixar) Finding Dory – It’s Pixar. There are a couple really great moments in the film, but the disregard for physics in some of the scenes is nearing Hobbit goblin cave levels.

¹3H₂ + N₂ ---> 2NH₃, in the presence of a metal catalyst and at high temperature and pressure.