Last year, the way I took in media changed kind of remarkably, considering I hadn't moved house or did anything materially different. All I did was keep a little better track of what it was I was doing.

According to Letterboxd, I watched 113 films last year, which was more than I'd ever seen in one year before this. That makes sense; I've been home taking care of my kid a lot, and my only real job has been to get my mental health in order and to study French, which meant (in part) watching more French films.

But that came at the expense of reading. I tracked that too. Woof.

I only read three books in 2025. Three. Trois. San. Drei.

Geezus.

Not only is that very... unlike what I see myself being, but it's just an alarmingly low number for literally anyone.

So insofar as I have a resolution for this year, it's that. More books. That doesn't mean fewer movies -- I really enjoyed watching & taking notes and learning lighting and script-craft and all of that, and I'm more than happy to go Full Cinephile for a while -- but now that I've found myself back in the habit of getting culture of one kind or another into my eyeballs and earballs, now it's time to be a little more (much as I loathe this word) deliberate.

That's part of what this blogspace is all about too. Just keeping myself accountable, really. Culturally, mentally, psychologically, you know the drill.

Anyway, I'm doing better already. I've read as many books in '26 as I did in all of '25 already, and I've got two on the go, one in English and one in French.

Anyway. I'd love to talk about this stuff, on those sites, or here.

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Tony Hightower’s profile on Letterboxd
Tony uses Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists. 755 films watched. Favorites: PlayTime (1967), Young Frankenstein (1974), 8½ (1963), In the Mood for Love (2000). Bio: New Yorker living in…
https://letterboxd.com/tonyhightower/