As previous two years, I again made a list of the things I enjoyed reading, watching, listening or playing this year, divided in eight different categories: books (fiction and non-fiction), movie, TV series, video game, tabletop game, blog, and podcast. So if you have some free time in between parties and celebrations, I hope these are as interesting and enjoyable to you as they were to me! 🧵
[#]BestOf2024
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Best fiction book of 2024: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicollI can very much be a sucker for a heavy tome of sci-fi or fantasy, but the thing that took me by surprise this year is this little book about an autistic girl living in Scotland and her fight for getting the historical witches of her town be recognized. It’s a sweet and feel-good story, but also has enough bite to make me reflect on the role of Autistic people in society and the importance of learning from past atrocities so we might do better this time.
Previous winners: Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer (2022) and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best non-fiction book of 2024: The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow“Winning tech back isn’t more important than preventing runaway climate change or ending gender-based violence and discrimination, but it’s hard to imagine how we’ll do either - or anything else of significance - without digital infrastructure to hold us together.” This is Cory Doctorow at his finest and punchiest. He makes the case that the Big Tech companies of today got so big through their control of digital infrastructure and closed protocols and software ecosystems. But more importantly, this is a manual for how we can take back this power by lowering switching costs and allowing adversarial interoperability. Honestly, I believe this should be mandatory reading for anyone who uses the internet.
Previous winners: From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want by Rob Hopkins (2022) and Unmasking Autism by Devon Price (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best movie of 2024: Crip Camp: A Disability RevolutionOkay, so I didn’t watch that many movies this year and this is more of a documentary than a movie, but it’s my list. The story is about a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in the 1970s, which was the basis a the much broader push for disability rights that eventually lead to the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Watch it for the lessons about what it means to be disabled and how activism works, but most of all for the gripping and empathetic personal stories that are interwoven with those themes.
Previous winners: Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) and Wolfwalkers (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best TV series of 2024: Tonari No Yokai-sanAs you probably expected if you’ve been following these, it’s anime. Specifically, a slice-of-life anime about a small Japanese village where humans live together with Yokai - mythological creatures from Japanese folklore. As usual in the slice-of-life genre, the story focuses on small-stakes stories about everyday challenges and personal growth. However, there is a greater threat that lurks in the background until the final two episodes where the stakes suddenly get very high. The animation quality is excellent, but the characters and how they grow over the course of the story is what really makes the show shine.
Previous winners: Spy x Family (2022) and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best video game of 2024: Citizen SleeperThis game is about an old space station that was abandoned by its corporate owner and where the inhabitants are left to fetch for themselves. You play as a “Sleeper” whose body requires regular proprietary injections to prevent it from falling apart. So, very cyberpunk and very anti-capitalist. The mechanics are based on rolling dice that you can spend on your daily activities, and continuously force you to make difficult choices between helping others, uncovering mysteries, and ensuring your own survival. It’s only a few hours long and currently 70% off on GOG so if you haven’t played it yet now’s the perfect time.
Previous winners: Omori (2022) and I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (2023)
[#]BestOf2024
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Best tabletop game of 2024: Slugblaster: Kickflip over a Quantum Centipede by Wilkie’s Candy LabSlugblaster is a game where you play as teenagers who are into the popular and highly dangerous activity of slugblasting, where you use your hoverboards to jump through interdimensional portals, fight and/or run away from paradoxical monsters, and try to look cool while doing it to get more viewers and sponsorships. It’s a zany concept but it works. The mechanics of the game are a simplified version of the acclaimed Blades in the Dark rules with some very clever additions. What I liked most about Slugblaster is how easy it makes things for the game master: all the action is driven by the ambitions and personal troubles of the player characters, and all you need to do is come up with reasonable-sounding answers to their questions. If you’d like to learn more about this game, I highly recommend watching the review by Quinns Quest.
Previous winners: Avatar Legends by Magpie Games (2022) and Cantrip by Hipólita (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best blog of 2024: Nicky Case’s blogNicky Case is an extremely cool person who makes things for explaining other things in simple and fun ways such as Nutshell and Adventures with Anxiety and The Evolution of Trust. This year she posted two out of three parts of AI Safety for Fleshy Humans, which in my opinion does a really good job at going beyond the typical dichotomies plaguing the discussions around that topic. If you are sick of reading about AI (and really, who can blame you?) then I recommend her 30 tips for my 13-year old self as a really useful collection of practical life advice (even if you’re not 13 anymore).
Previous winners: Shtetl-optimized with We Are the Gods of the Gaps (2022) and Homo Sabiens with Social Dark Matter (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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Best podcast of 2024: Dice ExploderThis podcast is all about taking different rules and mechanics from tabletop role-playing games and breaking them down to see how and why they work (or don’t). This might be just because I happen to enjoy TTRPGs, but I think there’s also something broader to learn about how the rules of society shape our social interactions and self-images. Also, each episode of this podcast is just plain fun to listen to. I especially enjoyed this year’s mini-series on Dungeons and Dragons, which looks more at the set of customs and rituals around the game than the rules itself. One excellent example is the episode about Rule Zero with Ema Acosta, the rule that “the game master is always right”.
Previous winners: 80,000 Hours with interview with Audrey Tang (2022) and The Way Out Is In with Space, Time, and the Ultimate Dimension (2023).
[#]BestOf2024
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@jesper tip number 13 sure would have come in handy!
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