Hello! I wanted to thank you all for reading and supporting Currents!  It has always meant so much to me. 2024 was an intense year. For possibly the first time in decades, I don’t have clear end of the year reflections. I’m still trying to make sense of what happened to me and the world around me and I’m choosing to believe that’s not a bad thing. That being said, the year was full of good food, moments with loved ones and tiny adventures, it wasn’t all that bad. (I wrote this draft in December but ended up sending it in January. Failed attempt to be on time 😭)

🌊 Hi, I’m Sachi, and this is Currents, a newsletter talking about books, life, and more. If you want to unsubscribe, the link is at the bottom. If you like this, share it with someone or leave a response.

Best of 2024

Here is my yearly best of the year list!

Books (Fiction)

The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante - Ferrante’s series follows two friends, Elena and Lila, from childhood to well into adulthood with the backdrop of a violent neighborhood in Naples in a politically charged Italy. These books portray female friendships in great depths and never diminish any character to an easy archetype. The writing is dense but each book has a good payoff in the end. I’ll write an essay about this soon.

Special mention - Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin - Giovanni’s Room is a 20th century masterpiece. This slim book will take you through every possible feeling. October’s newsletter was about this incredible book.

Books (Non Fiction)

Status & Culture by W. David Marx - Marx dives deep into the building blocks of culture and how they are intertwined with status and class. He also covers culture before and after the internet and how culture spreads and evolves. It’s a dense but very interesting read. 

Special mention - River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks - This is a collection of essays talking about human creativity, memory, time, consciousness, and how we experience the world woven with stories about scientists that led to an understanding of those concepts. I loved it. It sparked my interest in things I took for granted in a slow and dark time.

Movies

The Substance - I wrote an essay about the Substance and why I liked it so much. The Substance is such an intense and impactful movie. It is fast paced and doesn’t give you pauses. It is over the top and makes sure you get the point the director is making. It asks the question of what you’re willing to pay for youth and beauty.

Perfect Days - I write about Perfect Days and other similar themes in this essay. Perfect Days by Wim Wenders will show you the realest depiction of what it means to enjoy every little thing in life. It follows the life of Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner, the little delights of his daily life and his choices in life even when it means going against what your family wishes.

Laapataa Ladies - Laapataa Ladies, like the Neapolitan Quartet, succeeds by defying stereotypes and adding depth to each character. It is the story of two young newly-wed brides who get exchanged during a train ride (yes, this happens)  to their husband's homes. I loved this movie so much. 

TV Shows 

I watched an unusually large number of anime this year so I’ve added some of the shows I liked here.  If you feel like watching anime at any point and want a recommendation, let me know!

In no particular order -

Solo Leveling (Action)

Kaiju No 8 (Action/ Sci Fi)

Apothecary Diaries (Drama)

Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master (Drama/ Thriller)

Death Parade (Drama/ Thriller) (I wrote about this show more in this essay)

Oshi No Ko (Drama/ Thriller)

Mr. Villain’s Day Off (Slice of Life)

Barakamon (Slice of Life)

Wild Cards 

Mononoke : The Phantom in the Rain (Film - 2024) - (Available on Netflix) - With a dizzyingly stunning visual style, Mononoke thrills and delights you. You could watch it several times and notice something new every time. You can watch this without the show Mononoke (also on Netflix) but I would recommend watching it. It is horror but not in a traditional ghost-in-the-basement kind of way. The soundtrack and visual style make it worth it.

Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris - (Available on Mubi) - A walk with James Baldwin and a shockingly rude director and as he reflects on his life, racism and what it means to be Black in Europe. Baldwin is brilliant, as expected.

Dandadan - (Available on Netflix & Crunchyroll) - A supernatural, horror, romance, comedy anime at once! Be warned, it has its fair share of disturbing scenes but overall, it is a breath of fresh air.

Music - AAA by HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster

Here’s hoping you had a great beginning to the new year and may 2025 be better than we expect.

Until next time,
S