The 50/50 Challenge: 50 Movies and 50 Books in 2012
A couple nights ago, I was reading a blog by Twin Cities librarian The Floating Lush, who discussed joining the 50/50 Challenge. The challenge involves reading 50 books and seeing 50 movies in 2012 (yeah, it’s halfway through January–I’m a little late to the game). Like the Floating Lush (not her real name), I easily read many more than 50 books in a year (not boasting, just telling it straight. I mean, I’m no Rory Gilmore, but still, it’s what I do. There’s a reason I chose the English major). The Floating Lush has decided to only count books she reads at work towards the challenge, so with that in mind, I’m going to put a restriction on the books I include on my list: for me, it will only be nonfiction. I devour fiction books (good books, graphic novels, teen books, books I’m curious about, books I’d be embarrassed to mention on the blog), so I won’t be counting fiction books, like novels, short story collections, or the Laura Ingraham book I checked out of my school the library, towards my 50 (although I will count books in another language regardless of genre because it’s hard work, dammit). I generally read a fair bit of nonfiction, and I’m trying to read more. Fifty seems a good goal (just over four nonfiction books a month).
As for movies, I really have no idea how many I see in a year. I don’t see all that many in the theater these days (especially living in the suburbs as opposed to a city with indie theaters), so this is more of a tracking method. Also, luckily for me, since getting wifi through the cable company, I have free movie channels for a bit (HBO, Cinemax, Starz, IFC, Sundance, TMC). So, I’m counting movies I watch at home on Netflix or movie channels. I’m genuinely curious how many movies I watch. I may have already forgotten some I’ve seen in January.
My movie rules:
Movies of any genre can count.
I’m going to count movies I’m re-watching only if it’s been ten years or more since I’ve seen it.
I will not count movies that I only see parts of or that are on in the background while I work. (For example, Scorsese’s Cape Fear is on right now but I’m not counting it because I’m not really watching it.)
The 50/50 guidelines allow for counting long books as two; I won’t be doing that, but along the same lines, I’ll reserve the right to count action movies or movies with a lot of violence as two because they are hard for me. They’re taxing and draining in a way that even the most emotionally manipulative dramas are not.
January so far
Books:
- Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert
A truly lovely book, but it’s more of an autobiography. (I believe a memoir discusses a specific event or topic in a person’s life; this book is several memoirs and even a few standalone essays in one large, beautiful book). Ebert talks about his childhood, alcoholism, cancer and surgeries, travels, career, and the people he’s known and loved with heart but not over-sentimentally.
- This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
Some sections, like the bit about the author’s experiences on Second Life, seemed to be padding, but overall it’s an interesting book with good points about how libraries have changed to keep their relevance along with the transition universities have made from offering library science degrees to information science. There’s also a nice section on the ballsy Connecticut librarians who challenged the Patriot Act when they wouldn’t hand over patrons library records (never mind that they didn’t even have said records).
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
I can’t even begin to describe how amazing this book is. From Skloot’s site:
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.
The book combines the science behind the HeLa cells, the story of how they were collected and multiply and the author’s experience in attempting to track down her family (and then the challenges in getting them to talk to her). It’s beautifully written and painstakingly researched (and one of the best books I can remember reading).
Now reading: Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox
Movies (those with an asterisk I saw in the theater):
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Midnight in Paris
- Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol*
- Moneyball
(Note: I saw Young Adult on New Year’s Eve so it can’t count toward this challenge, but I reviewed it (with spoilers) recently.
Are you doing the challenge, too? Tell me in the comments, and link to your blog, too. We can cheer each other on!
