Media recommendations
Originally written .
Table of contents
Here are a number of books I've read, films I've watched, and video games I've played, in no particular order, which I recommend that too you engage with.
Books
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Die Verwandlung by Franz Kafka. Probably my favourite German fiction book. I imagine it resonates with anyone who's had some sort of disability. The alienation and rejection Herr Samsa experiences is one that is still very much relevant today; an experience anyone who falls outside of the core of society will be familiar with.
- Available at Project Gutenberg.
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Die Philosophie der Erlösung by Philipp Mainländer. It's very hard to recommend this to anyone who at least doesn't have a passing familiarity with pessimism and German philosophy, since even if you are inside that world, Mainländer can be pretty heavy. He also wasn't available in English for a long while, although I do believe there's been a volunteer project working on that front.
- Available at the Internet Archive.
- Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber. I'm not 100% convinced that the problems he lays out in his book are as big as he makes them out to be, or at least not in the way he makes them out to be, but he gets at a core issue that society has chosen to ignore rather than actually tackle. A problem I believe we probably have to tackle in some capacity in the not too distant future, lest we end up with a bit too many people either not working at all, or working jobs that don't actually produce any meaningful value for society, all thanks to a broken labour market.
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Мы by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Russian dystopian sci-fi fiction sure is a vibe. Even if the One State is in theory benevolent, is sure doesn't act like it.
- Available at Lib.ru.
- Winnie ille Pu by Alexander Lenard. Latin children's literature is a rare thing, and at the same time, both oddly charming and good practice.
- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin. Probably my favourite short story. A great exploration of a big problem with regular utilitarianism. I hope we can find better ways to solve our problems.
- I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. This one is a close second. Don't be sad because your friends are no longer with you. Be happy they are no longer suffering.
Films
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. Probably my favourite Miyazaki film. The aesthetics are amazing; watching it, even disconnected from the plot and dialogue, is a pleasure. It's just one long continuous piece of art. The English dub is also pretty good for once (Patrick Stewart was the perfect pick in my eyes).
- Star Wars: The Despecialized Edition by Harmy et al. In a world where George Lucas and Disney won't give us a proper high-definition version of the original trilogy, Harmy et al. are doing God's work. It's amazing what they've done, and it's also amazing how well the original trilogy holds up.
- Quinten Tarantino's films, just in general. Christoph Waltz' performances in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained are incredible, and with Tarantino's direction, the tension is palpable and the story is thrilling. The Hateful Eight is another favourite of mine for the same sorts of reasons.
- Treasure Planet by Walt Disney Pictures. Probably my favourite Disney movie, and of course it's the red-headed stepchild of the family. The story, soundtrack and animation is way too good compared to the success it actually achieved, and I expect nothing else from Disney.
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty Python. English comedy and parodies just gets to me. It's a special kind of humour that I never really get sick of.
- Flåklypa Grand Prix by Ivo Caprino. The quintessential Norwegian film, and with good reason. It's probably the only Norwegian film I don't mind rewatching, at least of the top of my head. It's very 70s, packed with great dialogue, jokes and gags throughout. There's no doubt about it; it still holds up just as well, if not better, at any later viewing. I'm still finding new gags in it after probably the 10th time I've watched it!
- Corpse Bride by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. Probably on of the best non-live action films outside of the big names, at least in the west. Relatively short, uncomplicated plot, and surprisingly compelling.
- The Death of Stalin by Armando Iannucci. Stalin and his entourage are a set of caricatures who deserve to be satirised, and this film does that wonderfully. It's a horribly serious topic, and that's exactly why it deserves to be laughed at. If we can't laugh about serious matters like this, we'd only be more depressed than we already are.
- The Matrix and its sequels by the Wachowskis. Yes, even the sequels. I was always gonna be hard to live up to the masterpiece that was the original, but I find plenty of joy in the sequels too, although that might just be me skipping around the films for the good parts after having watched the whole thing many times by now. You can skip Resurrections though. That thing is naught more than the spasms of a dead series. The other parts though undoubtedly all have artistic merit.
- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Aardman Animations. Wallace & Gromit is a classic, and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the peak at least for me. It's a shame Shaun the Sheep doesn't scratch the same itch, although it's a perfectly competent show on its own merits. I wish I could have more Wallace & Gromit, since it has brought me so much joy, but I will have to make due with the gems we already have.
Shows
- The Joy of Painting by Bob Ross. If you just need something comfy to put on in the background, it's really hard to go wrong with Bob Ross. The joyful yet quiet mood is infectious, and does wonders whenever you just need to take a moment off everything.
- Clarkson's Farm. Jeremy Clarkson is not the kind of man who'd you expect to take to farming and enjoy it, and you'd definitely not expect him to give a reasonable picture of what farming is actually like, but his portrayal of it, showing the hardships and challenges farmers have to go through just to do their very important job, is truly incredible.
- Chernobyl by Craig Mazin. Obviously it's not entirely true to life (what dramatisation is?), but it puts the whole disaster into perspective, while renaming believable. It also gets a lot of things right. The choice of actors was perfect. If you weren't already interested in the Chernobyl disaster before you watched the show, you sure will be after.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation by Gene Roddenberry. It's sometimes hard to recommend TNG, because it does take its time to grow its beard. You can probably skip straight to season 3 if the first few episodes don't grab you. But once it's found its footing, TNG does a great job not only exploring space, but humanity. Picard is probably my favourite Star Trek captain; always wise, so often kind, with a strong sense of duty, always trying to do the right thing in an imperfect world; always human (except that one time).
- Star Trek: Voyager by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. After having watched all of TNG and still wanted more, I don't think I could reasonable expect more than what Voyager gave us. Janeway is a really close second to Picard. She's really good as a captain; very believable in context. I have nitpicks with Voyager compared to TNG, but on the whole, most of the show (that I can remember at least), does reach the same level that TNG was on.
- Makta by NRK. A surprisingly good and compelling political drama. It's not entirely true to life if you want to believe the people involved in the events and their colleagues, but I find it funnier to reject that reality and substitute in the one in the show.
- Stargate Atlantis by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. Atlantis is my favourite Stargate series. The premise is amazing, but SG-1 rarely delivered to the same degree that Atlantis did in my eyes.
- Once Upon a Time... Man by Albert Barillé. Explicitly educational, yet surprisingly good. There's not much plot, but gags and character interactions make up for that. Even as someone who knows most of what they're talking about, having churned through all the Wikipedia articles about any old random topic they're covering, it's still fun and interesting to watch every time.
- Deutschland by Anna Winger and Jörg Winger. Cold war drama is compelling. Cold war drama from the perspective of an East German spy is even more compelling. It being in German is just the cherry on-top.
- House by David Shore. I swear, this show is carried entirely by Hugh Laurie's fantastic performance. House is an asshole, but at least he uses his abilities for good in the show. Also, nobody can't convince me that House isn't autistic. It isn't mentioned in the show, but it makes way to much sense to not be true, and I'll take the implicit autism representation of House any day over the explicit autism representation of many other things.
Animes
- Neon Genesis Evangelion by Gainax. Do I really need to tell you to watch Evangelion? Hopefully not, since you've already watched it. It's a fucking masterpiece, and if you haven't watched it, drop what you're doing, and go watch it, now.
- Lucky Star by Kyoto Animation. If I ever need to relax and just have something to put on, and I'm feeling like I want to watch some anime, Lucky Star is what I end up putting on. It's nice, it's easy and it's comfy.
- Taisho Otome Fairy Tale by SynergySP. Feeling better and that life is worth it when you feel loved is only natural.
- Laid-Back Camp by C-Station. Yet another comfy anime, and one an I love. The lack of stakes doesn't matter when it's so damn comfy. It's simple, easy to watch, easy to get into, and perfect to take in the simple pleasures of life.
- Re:Zero by White Fox. Subaru's story where he's thrust powerless into an unfamiliar world, with his only extraordinary ability being able to try again if something fails by dying, is one of persistence. He never gives up, because he can always try again. It's also story filled with compelling and interesting characters, in an, at least for the most part, dark and problematic world. It can be a bit heavy at times, but that just goes to show how well it's pulled of.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood by Hiromu Arakawa. It isn't quite a masterpiece on the same level as Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it's up there for sure. Easy to get into, thrilling while you're there. It's hard to not get invested, and with a story that's perfectly laid out, and thus easy to follow.
Mangas
- Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma. I never get sick of reading Yotsuba. Fun for all ages; always deeply human.
- Love's in Sight! by Uoyama. A delightful story about how love can transcend both sight and type. There's a lot to figure out in love, then there's the fact that they're young on-top of that, and then there's another few layers on-top of that. It's hard, but they make it work, and I want nothing else but for them to be happy.
Video games
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Katawa Shoujo by Four Leaf Studios. This was my first visual novel, and if I wasn't so emotionally dead inside, I would have cried. People are different, and yet we are all human. I want nothing more than for them to be happy.
- Available on Steam for free.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by Bethesda. I'll preface this by saying that if Skyrim doesn't hook you within the first hour or so, then don't bother beyond maybe finishing the main story or whatever else you feel like. If it does get you like it got me, with hook, line and sinker, you'll have a lot to do. I've played Skyrim on and off since it came out in , and with some mods to iron out the kinks, I am still enjoying it.
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osu! by peppy. If you want to play a rhythm game, osu! is the one to play. End of story. Bonus points for playing great on Linux with Lazer!
- Available from its own website for free.
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes by Steel Crate Games. A great collaboration game that's easy to grok, even for people not into video games. You do need someone who can easily read, although not understand, Morse code, since if you don't, you tend to hit a wall about half-way through the game.
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Cookie Clicker by Orteil. If you're gonna play an idle game, you might as well play the original. Or at least original to me. The gameplay is surprisingly deep, and it's a very nice game to be able to just jump into every now and then, with progress always being made in the background, not needing constant attention.
- Available from its own website for free, although I prefer the Steam version.
- Journey by thatgamecompany. This game is, unequivocally, a work of art. It's a shame the main gimmick doesn't reliably work any more, but even in a vacuum, the game is short, simple, yet amazing experience.
- Battlefield 4 by DICE. Battlefield 4 is probably the peak Battlefield experience in my eyes. Huge, yet good maps. Varied set of weaponry. Great fun with vehicles. It's a shame DICE hasn't managed to recapture the magic they had back in the day.
- Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. Atlus has just nailed the JRPG as far as I can tell, with compelling and emotional stories that just make time pass so quickly. I've probably played these games for over 1000 hours cumulatively, and these are games which are, notionally, games where, when you've played the story, you're not gonna make any big new discoveries, and yet, these games just keep me playing.
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock by Neversoft. Guitar Hero III was my first foray into rhythm games, and with a pretty large set of good music, I'm never disappointed when I go back.
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare by Infinity Ward. Call of Duty 4 holds a special place in my heart, being my first Call of Duty. It's the first thing that comes to mind when I think 'generic, but good FPS'. I could spend hours in lobbies still if matchmaking was still a thing on the PC version, and cheaters weren't a problem. I still drop by the servers every now and then, but it's not quite the same experience as I first had on my PS3. It's still good, but it's different.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops by Treyarch. Only because of the Zombies mode. Most of the maps are good, and always enjoyable. I fell off that particular ride when Black Ops II came out. The music is also incredible. I still have plenty of songs from the Zombies mode on my playlists to this day.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games. I did not really like Modern Warfare 2, at least not with time. 3 on the other hand, fixed the stuff I didn't like, and added plenty of new stuff to freshen things up. This is probably the thing closest to a generic Call of Duty™ experience that I actually enjoy.
- Super Hexagon by Terry Cavanagh. Visually compelling, yet confusing, at least at the beginning. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a challenging and engaging, yet simple game. The music is just the cherry on-top.
- Europa Universalis IV by Paradox. I apparently have spent over 7000 hours playing this game, a fact which scares some people, probably not without reason. Once you get going, it's very easy to have the outside world just no longer exist, and instead have your focus utterly and completely directed at whatever you're trying to achieve, be that restoring the Roman Empire, colonising the whole New World just for yourself, or beating up much more powerful enemies just to show them who's really the boss around here.
- Hearts of Iron IV by Paradox. After I fell of the EU4 bandwagon for a while, I apparently managed to jump onto the HOI4 one instead. It has the same problems as EU4 in that the learning curve is pretty steep, but once you get past it, there's nothing else that can scratch that it's. It's only a question of time before I'll have played this one for 5000+ hours too.
- Half-Life: Alyx by Valve. VR isn't quite there yet, but Half-Life: Alyx puts that statement into serious doubt. The only problem being that it took Valve's polish and development to make a VR experience that wasn't seriously compromised (not to say that there aren't any compromises), and that's not something we can expect to get from any random game developer, especially when it comes to something as niche as VR.
- Nier: Automata by PlatinumGames. Nier: Automata hit me like a tonne of bricks, and I really didn't expect it too. Robots exploring humanity (the emotional kind, not the biological kind) is not exactly a new idea, but it's just pulled of so well. I can't remember if it was Yoko Taro or someone else involved in the development of Automata, but I remember this anecdote from someone who stated that they didn't necessarily wanted it to be the best or most groundbreaking game, but just one you'd remember; remember in the same way to remember an ex-girlfriend and your good moments together, and to be honest, that's a very admirable goal, and exactly how I feel about Automata.
- Peggle by PopCap Games. You've probably played Peggle, and even if you haven't, this suggestion might seem like a bit. But it's actually a pretty decent and simple game; easy to get into, brain-dead simple to play, and yet surprisingly compelling.
- Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga by Traveller's Tales. Or either of the two earlier Lego Star Wars games. It's simple, it's familiar, it's kid-friendly, it's stupid simple fun.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora. Smash Ultimate is probably the best party game around for modern console, in my eyes. Mario Kart 8 is a close second, but being something a bit more strategic than a kart racer, and being able to play up to 8 players, makes Smash Ultimate my pick. Even if you're not very good at it, it's still pretty fun game, with wacky shenanigans very possible with items turned on, which you have have turned on outside of competitive matches. And heck, the fact that it can be a competitive game with deep mechanics and such a wide set of characters, it just the cherry on-top.
- Fallout: New Vegas by Obsidian Entertainment. The amount of choice, options and content in Fallout: New Vegas continues to astound me to this day. Obsidian seems to have considered damn every single loop hole and contingency the player could use to break the game somehow in being given a free choice in everything, and yet, the game just makes it work. You're in control, and it's clearly on show. Obsidian's work on the story, dialogue and quests goes to show Bethesda's incompetence in those same areas. I wish we could have more games like this, but instead we get Starfield.
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 by Westwood Studios. Red Alert 2 was one of the first games I played on the PC, and is always a joy to go back to, not to mention it's expansion pack. Unfortunately, I never quite got into other RTS games, instead finding joy in grand strategy games, but hey, if I'm still enjoying going back to it after 20 years, they must have done some things right?
- Papers, Please by Lucas Pope. The fact that being a immigration officer can be turned into an interesting and compelling experience goes to show the power of video games as a medium, and Pope's talent.