The 2023 Index

The Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage

The New York Times 36 Hours: Europe by Barbara Ireland (editor)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Last Gangster In Austin by Jessee Sublett

My Year Of Rest And Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Book Eaters by Suniya Dean

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Rules of Civility by Amon Towles

Platonic: How the Science Of Attachment Can Help You Make — And Keep — Friends by Marisa Franco, PhD

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

You and I Eat the Same by Chris Ying (editor)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré

The City And The City by China Miéville

An Army At Dawn by Rick Atkinson

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

Emotional First Aid: Healing, Rejection, Guilt, Failure And Other Everyday Hurts by Guy Winch, Ph.D

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novak

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Dating by the editors of The School of Life

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Exceeded 2022 benchmark

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Rules of Civility by Amon Towles

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Consider The Fork by Bee Wilson

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

Tropic Morning News by The National

Pepper (Acoustic) by Death Cab For Cutie

Character Development by Allison Ponthier

$20 by Boygenius

Paper Machete by Queens of The Stone Age

Grand Junction by The Hold Steady

Monsters by The Dave Matthews Band

Say It Like You Mean It by Sleater-Kinney

Dawns by Zach Bryan ft. Maggie Rogers

Radio by Margo Price ft. Sharon Van Etten

Everywhere I Go I Bring The Rain by Caroline Rose

Summertime by Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson ft. Willie Nelson

Middle Of The Morning by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Apples & Oranges by Jenny Lewis

Every Day’s A Lesson In Humility by Suki Waterhouse ft. Belle & Sebastian

Your Arms by Birdy

Where My Wild Things Are by Ryan Bingham

For Your Soul by Josh Ritter

Maestro (Tears Don’t Lie) by Wilder Woods

Dear John by Wild Child

All I Really Want To Do by Devon Gilfillian

Dummy by Portugal The Man

Hello by Grouplove

Just To Keep You Satisfied by Inhaler

Kid by The Revivalists

No Reason by Sunny War

Ride On by The Nude Party

Find Yourself by Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real

Lighthouse by Caroline Spence ft. Sarah Jarosz

Evicted by Wilco

Homesick by Noah Kahan

Angry by The Rolling Stones

Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party

Circles by Of Monsters & Men

The Way by Manchester Orchestra

In Your Love by Tyler Childers

White Horse by Chris Stapleton

An Arrow In The Wall by Death Cab for Cutie

Fear Of Living by The Lemonheads

Mother Nature by MGMT

Spirit by The Killers

Weird Goodbyes by The National ft. Bon Iver

The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink by Andrew F. Smith (editor)

The Paris Review Book of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love, Betrayal, Outsiders, Intoxication, War, Whimsy, Horrors, God, Death, Dinner, Baseball, Travels, the Art of Writing, and Everything Else in the World Since 1953 by George Plimpton (editor)

Troy / Heroes / Mythos by Stephen Fry

The Lost Decade: Short Stories from Esquire, 1936–1941 by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Cambridge Edition)

The Collected Stories by Ernest Hemingway (Everyman’s Library)

The New York Times Book Review: 125 Years of Literary History by Gilbert Cruz (editor)

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volumes 1-3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Esquire’s Big Book Of Fiction by Adrienne Miller (editor)

Lonely Planet’s The Food Book: A Journey Through The Great Cuisines Of The World

Southern Food by John Egerton

Shaya by Alon Shaya

Israeli Soul by Michael Solomonov

My Life In France by Julia Child

Lilly Hiatt, Walking Proof (new), Waterloo Records [hard to find, discounted]

Kacey Musgraves, Star-Crossed (new), Barnes & Noble [hard to find, deeply discounted]

Amanda Shires & Jason Isbell, Sound Emporium (new), Waterloo Records [hard-to-find RSD edition]

Amanda Shires, Live From Studio A (new), Waterloo Records [hard-to-find RSD edition]

Caroline Spence, Mint Condition (new), Waterloo Records [deeply discounted]

Percy Fath And His Orchestra, The Columbia Album of George Gershwin (used), Half-Price Books

Various immaculate .99 orchestral music records from Percy Faith and Andre Previn (used), Waterloo Records

Wagner, Great Orchestral Music From “The Ring” (used), Half-Price Books

Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition / Night On Bald Mountain (used), Half-Price Books

Rilo Kiley, Under The Black Light (new), Waterloo Records [RSD edition]

Sir Woman, Sir Woman (new), End Of An Ear Records [hard to find]

New Movies

Avatar 2

Knock At The Cabin

Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Living

Cocaine Bear

Operation Fortune

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods

John Wick 4

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Chevalier

Polite Society

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3.

Fast X

Past Lives

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

The Flash

Asteroid City

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

Theater Camp

Barbie

The Meg 2

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

A Haunting In Venice

The Creator

Killers Of The Flower Moon

The Marvels

Godzilla Minus One

Old Movies

Bullitt

The Fellowship Of The Rings: Extended Edition

The Two Towers: Extended Edition

The Return Of The King: Extended Edition

Singing In The Rain

Casablanca

On The Waterfront

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Director’s Cut)

The Misfits

Tenet

Dr. Strangelove

Stop Making Sense

Metropolitan

Barcelona

Little Shop Of Horrors

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Bell, Book And Candle

The Hudsucker Proxy

Living

Chevalier

John Wick 4

Past Lives

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Asteroid City

Barbie

A Haunting In Venice

Willow on Disney+, S1

Secret Invasion on Disney+, S1

The Mandalorian on Disney+, S3

Ashoka on Disney+, S1

Loki on Disney+, S2

Kaleidoscope on Netflix, S1

The Recruit on Netflix, S1

Pressure Cooker on Netflix, S1

Ozark on Netflix, S4

Inside Man on Netflix, S1

Bake Squad on Netflix, S2

Indian Match Matching on Netflix, S3

Jewish Match Matching on Netflix, S1

Love Is Blind on Netflix, S4 & 5

Great British Baking Show on Netflix, Collection 11

The Ultimatum on Netflix, S2

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+, S2

Poker Face on Peacock, S1

American Auto on Peacock, S1

Night Court on Peacock, S1

Mrs. Davis on Peacock, S1

Top Chef on Bravo, S20

Project Runway on Bravo, S20

Taste The Nation on Hulu, S2

Only Murders In The Building on Hulu, S3

The Bear on FX, S2

Welcome To Wrexham on FX, S2

Not Dead Yet on ABC, S1

Hell’s Kitchen on Fox, S21 & S23

Next Level Chef on Fox, S2

MasterChef on Fox, S13

Kitchen Nightmares (2023) on Fox

Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars on Fox, S1

Crime Scene Kitchen on Fox, S2

Animal Control on Fox, S1

Eva Longoria: Searching For Mexico on CNN, S1

Tournament of Champions on Food Network, S4

Ciao House on Food Network, S1

Bobby’s Triple Threat on Food Network, S2

Outchef’d on Food Network, S2

Beachside Brawl on Food Network, S2

Rock The Block on HGTV, S4

Battle On The Beach on HGTV, S3

Bargain Block on HGTV, S3

Motel Rescue on Max, S1

Problem Spaces on Max, S1

Shrinking on Apple TV+, S1

Silo on Apple TV+, S1

High Desert on Apple TV+, S1

Platonic on Apple TV+, S1

Schmigadoon on Apple TV+, S2

Ted Lasso on Apple TV+, S3

Foundation on Apple TV+, S2

Slow Horses on Apple TV+, S3

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters on Apple TV+, S1

Last Week Tonight on HBO, S10

Succession on HBO, S4

Barry on HBO, S4

The Gilded Age on HBO, S2

Bosch on Freevee, S2

San Antonio (3)

Kerrville

Houston

East Side Pies (Burnet) ⭐⭐⭐

El Raval ⭐⭐⭐

Cosmic Saltillo ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Radio East ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Side Eye Pizza @ Radio East ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐

Pho Saigon ⭐⭐⭐

The Kabob Shop ⭐⭐⭐

Diner Bar w/ Ashley ⭐⭐

Paper Route Bakery w/ Ashley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Little Wu @ Fareground ⭐⭐⭐

The Grey Market ⭐⭐

Carriqui (San Antonio) w/ Ashley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mañana Dos w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐

Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors ⭐⭐⭐

Spokesman Coffee - Highland ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bennu Coffee - Highland w/ Bambi ⭐⭐

InterStellar BBQ w/ Tom ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ziki w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Palomino w/ Mandie ⭐⭐⭐

Other Side Deli ⭐⭐⭐

Civil Goat Coffee - Guadalupe ⭐⭐⭐

Ida Clare (San Antonio) w/ Ashley ⭐⭐⭐

Jo’s Coffee - Stassney ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Revolución Coffee + Juice - Broadway (San Antonio) ⭐⭐⭐

Agora (Houston) w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐

Local Foods & Market - Rice Village (Houston) w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Winfield’s Chocolate Bar - Rice Village (Houston) w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Burger Joint (Houston) w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Van Leeuwen - Montose (Houston) w/ Nikki ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loopy Fruit “Cereal” Ice Cream @ Lick

Las Calabasas Hash; Huevos Divorciados; Joel’s Happy Plate @ Eldorado Cafe

Mitica Sardo (Sheep) & Menage (Sheep/Cow/Goat) Cheeses @ Antonelli’s Cheese House

OmNom’s Milk Chocolate & Caramel Bar, Dark Forest Salted Milk Chocolate Bar & Beyond Good Orange Zest Chocolate Bar @ Antonelli’s Cheese House

Salted Strip Steak; Crab Puff w/ Tabasco & Paprika @ Maie Day

Brisket Kolache; Achiote Chicken w/ Burnt Ends, Charro Beans & BBQ Carrots @ Carriqui

Suadorado (horchata plus housemade cold brew) @ Eldorado Cafe

Peach Tea-Glazed Pork Belly, Chopped Brisket w/ Red Sauce & Burnt Ends Beans @ InterStellar BBQ

Chicken Zurrito & Baklava @ Ziki

Orange-Glazed Pork Belly w/ Sesame Seeds from 2M @ TM BBQ Fest Top 50 Picnic

Candied Pork Belly & Moist Brisket from Killen’s @ TM BBQ Fest Top 50 Picnic

Corn Soufflé & Pots de Creme from Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue @ TM BBQ Fest Top 50 Picnic

“Crunchy” Chicken Sandwich @ Local Foods

Filet mignon w/ bleu cheese compound butter, mashed potatoes & a wedge salad

“Big Nasty” breakfast sandwich (fluffy folded eggs, cheddar, bacon, smashed avocado & croissant)

Key Lime pie

Chocolate pecan pie

Death Cab for Cutie w/ Momma @ ACL Live!, Night One

Death Cab for Cutie w/ Momma @ ACL Live!, Night Two

The Unity Show (Graham Weber, Graham Wilkerson, Gordy Quist, Jonathan Terrell, Jessie Dalton, Grace Rowland, Goldie Pipes, KVN and Buffalo Hunt) @ The Haute Spot

Weyes Blood w/ Vagabond @ Stubb’s

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w/ Amythyst Kiah

The Smile w/ Robert Stillman

Rhett Miller w/ Grady Spencer @ The 04 Center

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band ft. Shawn Colvin w/ Hayes Carll

UT Jazz Combos @ Mozart’s (X2) w/ Larry

Fever Candlelight Presents A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics @ AFS Cinema

Sir Woman @ Palmer Events Center

Fever Candlelight Presents A Holiday Special @ AFS Cinema

First Aid Kit, Live @ The Fillmore Philadelphia

Morgan Wade @ ACL Music Fest

Suki Waterhouse @ ACL Music Fest

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ ACL Music Fest

The Postal Service & Death Cab For Cutie @ The Arizona Financial Theatre

Print Austin’s 5x5 @ Link & Pin

Lovebroke @ ICOSA Gallery

Face to Face: Portraits By Chicano Artists @ The Blanton Museum Of Art w/ Garrett

Day Jobs @ The Blanton Museum Of Art w/ Garrett

Drawing The Motion Picture @ The Harry Ransom Center w/ Mom & Dad

Still Brewing @ San Antonio Museum of Art w/ Ashley

Words Into Worlds: Creating Place In The Theatre @ The Harry Ransom Center

Art In Worlds: Prints From The 20th Century To Today @ The Harry Ransom Center

Yayoi Kusama: Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity @ Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston w/ Nikki

Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence @ Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston w/ Nikki

Robert Frank and Todd Webb: Across America, 1955 @ Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston w/ Nikki

Rembrandt to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the Armand Hammer Collection @ Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston w/ Nikki

Chryssa & New York @ The Menil Collection w/ Nikki

Nestor Topchy: The Iconic Portrait Strand @ The Menil Collection w/ Nikki

Longing, Grief, and Spirituality: Art Since 1980 @ The Menil Collection w/ Nikki

Hanne Darboven: Writing Time @ The Menil Collection w/ Nikki

2023 HCP Fellowship Awards: Oji Haynes & Kaima Marie Akarue @ The Houston Center for Photography

Austin Cullen: Dust Watching @ The Houston Center for Photography

Flatstock 84

Austin Studio Tour

Blue Genie Holiday Bazaar

Chocolate & Cheese @ Antonelli’s

First Anniversary Party @ Maie Day

Ludicrous Speed Book Club (Occasionally)

Austin Silent Book Club (Occasionally)

NW Silent Book Club (Occasionally)

Open Books Discussion Group (Monthly)

Round Rock Express vs. Albuquerque Isotopes w/ Tom

Austin Coffee Festival w/ Madison & Friends

Austin Record Convention - Fall w/ Larry

TM BBQ Fest - Top 50 Picnic w/ Tom

Dinner For 4 Meetup Group (Occasionally)

Texas Book Festival

Austin Shakespeare’s El Cid @ The Long Center

The Long Lives Of Very Old Books @ The Harry Ransom Center

The 12 Days of Smoked Meat @ Stiles Switch BBQ (Gumbo [Day 6], Briscuit Sando [Day 7] & Tamales [Day 12])

Winter Wanderland @ Austin Motel

Armadillo Christmas Bazaar

Literary anthologies

Magazines

Book discussion groups

Yurts

Tiny homes/ADUs

Scouring the Internet for used book deals

Gretch Streamliner guitars / Epiphone Casino guitars

Classic menswear

Cloisonne pins

Stickers/tees from local businesses

Analog watches

Shopping for cheap 4K Blu-Ray discs and Criterion Collection Blu-Rays

Lanoo Publishers’ Visit Before You Die series

Europa Editions’ The Passenger series

Maple, a Husky mix

Gary, a German shepherd mix

Neighborhood cow cat, name unknown

Nash and Crosby, tabby kittens (and brothers)

My cousin Garrett’s visit

My parents’ visit

Missing The Lone Bellow show @ The Paramount because I forgot about it

The Hold Steady and First Aid Kit shows getting rained out

Losing a long-time client right before the holidays

Continue Writing World's Fare: Eats & Drinks Made Famous By The World's Fair

Improve my financial security

Buy a new car

Spend time with family

Keep programming my life with interesting activities

Read more books, watch less TV

Continue to establish & strengthen friendships

Date with intention

Travel as much as I can (and see friends along the way)

Write World's Fare: Eats & Drinks Made Famous By The World's Fair

Spend time with family

Keep programming my life with interesting activities

Read more books

Continue to establish & strengthen friendships

Date, but not serially

Travel (and see friends along the way)