I read 140 books (* not all titles were published in 2025)
I saw 99 plays
I saw 75 movies .
MISCELLANEOUS: (concerts, NT live screenings, streaming (TV)
items are listed alphabetically by title
(I gave up trying to reduce lists to only five titles)
* shout outs !!!
PICTURE BOOKSBroken by X. Fang
Clara and the Man with Books in the Window by Maria Teresa Andruetto; ill. Martina Trach *
Gray by Laura Dockrill; ill. Lauren Child
One Day: A true story of survival in the Holocaust by Michael Rosen; ill. Benjamin Phillips
Punch! A story about kindness by Michael Hall
The Wild Robot on the Island by Peter Brown
PICTURE BOOKS: Canadian
Everybelly by Thao Lam *
I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf by Danielle Daniel; ill. Matt James
Little Shoes by David A. Robertson; ill. Maya Mckibbin
Mad at Dad by Jane Hao
My Street Remembers by Karen Krossing; ill. Cathie Jamieson
Memory Stones by Kathy Kacer; ill. Hayley Lowe
SOS Water by Yayo *
FICTION: Middle Years
Bad Badger by MaryRose Wood
Bunns Rabbit by Alan Barillaro
The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow (also: The First Year)
I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery *
Lost Evangeline by Kate DiCamillo
Old School by Gordon Korman
Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate *
Popcorn by Rob Harrell *
The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner
FICTION: Grown-ups
Air by John Boyne
The Artist by Lucy Steeds
This Bright Life by Karen Campbell
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar *
Clear by Carys Davies
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Hermit by Chris McQueer
My Friends by Fredrik Backman ***
The Names by Florence Knapp
Only Son by Kevin Moffett
The Trees by Percieval Everett
When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen*
NONFICTION: Grown-ups
All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley **
The Heart-Centred Teacher by Regie Routman
Lessons From My Teachers by Sarah Ruhl *
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
Spring: The Story of a Season by Michael Morpurgo
MEMOIRS: Grown-ups
Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller
All The Little Monsters by David A. Robertson (slso: Black Water)
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (Graphic Autobiography; Pulitzer Prize)
How to Share an Egg by Bonny Reichert
I Am! I Am! I Am! by Maggie O’Farrell
I Am Full by Dan Yashinsky (re-read)
Knife by Salman Rushdie *
Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow (also:Low Hanging Fruit)
Shattered by Hanif Kareshi *
THEATRE: In Canada
Ava (Toronto; Mirvish)
Blues for an Alabama Sky (Shaw Festival)
Cock (Talk is Free Theatre)
Goblin Oedipus (Stratford)
Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper) *
Tales of an Urban Indian (Talk is Free Theatre)
Trident Moon (Crow’s Theatre)
THEATRE
Giant (London) *
Hamlet (Teatro La Plaza Peru) *
Liberation (New York) *
Little Murmer (New Victory Theatre) *
Little Bear Ridge Road (New York)
Oedipus (New York)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (New York)
Prince Faggot (New York)
SCREENINGS
The Fifth Step (NT Live)
Inter Alia (starring Rosamund Pike) ‘NT Live
La Boheme (Met LIve)
Macbeth (Donmar / NT Live)f i
La Sonnambula (Met Live)
Vanya (starring Andrew Scott) / NT Live *
MUSICALS
Evita (London)
Gypsy (New York)
Inside American Pie (Toronto; Mirvish)
Just in Time (New York)
The Producers (London)
Ragtime (New York)
MOVIES
Hamnet
Nickel Boys
One Battle After Another
The History of Sound *
Steve (Netflix)
Train Dreams *
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Prime)
MOVIES: International
Cactus Pears (India)
It Was Just an Accident (Iran, France, Luxembourg)
No Other Choice (Korea)
Sentimental Value (Norway)
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia, France) *
STREAMING / TV
Adolescence ***
Heated Rivalry
Somehody Somewhere
Short Story Long
CONCERTS
Michael Feinstein *
Mandy Patinkin
Isaac Mizrahi
Cecile McLorin Salvant (Oscar Petersom celehration) *
MUSIC (CD’s)
Jon Batiste: Big Money
Cecile Mclorin Salvant: Oh Snap!
I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright does Weill by Rufus Wainwright
The Essential Dave Brubek
Kisses on the Bottom by Paul McCartney
The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift
Lionel Hampton: The Essential Recordings
Oscar Peterson; The Classic Verbe Albums Collection