As the year ends, I put toghether the usual collection of books, movies and podcasts that accompanied me throughout the last 12 months, this time without much comment. Items in bold are not necessarily “favorites”, but rather works that, for one reason or another, gave me more food for thought than others.

Books

I read all sorts of stuff this year. Interestingly, all three books that prompted the most reflection were (arguably) classics, and two of them I had already read in high school. Other than these, the comics were all quite good and most of the nonfiction was definitely worth reading. The literature? A bit more hit-or-miss.

  1. Neil Packer, La parabola del panificio indipendente, Carmelozampa 2024
  2. Niklas Zechner, Betraktelser om ord och deras ursprung, 2024 draft
  3. Crónicas latinoamericanas (antología editada por Michaela Schwermann), Reclam 2020
  4. Racconti italiani del XX secolo (antologia a cura di Judith Krieg), Reclam 2022
  5. Junji Ito, Junji Ito’s cat diary: Yon & Mu, Kodansha 2021
  6. Dennis Yi Tenen, Teoria letteraria per robot, Bollati Boringhieri 2024
  7. Daniel Pennac, Signor Malaussène, Feltrinelli 1995/2007
  8. Jón Stefánsson, Crepitio di stelle, Iperborea 2023
  9. Stig Dagerman, Dagsedlar. Publicerade i Dagstidningen Arbetaren 1944-1954, Litteraturbanken 2025
  10. Mario Lodi e i suoi ragazzi, Cipí, Einaudi Ragazzi 1992 [reread]
  11. Chinua Achebe, Things fall apart, Penguin Classics 1958/2001
  12. Wisława Szymborska, Come vivere in modo più confortevole, Adelphi 2016
  13. Renata Pucci di Benischi, La lingua di pezza, Sellerio 2006
  14. Dario Bressanini, Fa bene o fa male? Manuale di autodifesa alimentare, Mondadori 2023
  15. Daniel Pennac, La passione secondo Therese, Feltrinelli 1999/2001
  16. Daniel Pennac, Ultime notizie dalla famiglia, Feltrinelli 1997
  17. Andrea Berardini, A Stoccolma - da August Strindberg a Stieg Larsson, Giulio Perrone editore 2020
  18. Lucy Knisley, Kid gloves - nine months of careful chaos, First Second 2019
  19. Lucy Knisley, Relish - my life in the kitchen, First Second 2013
  20. Zoe Thorogood, It’s lonely at the centre of the Earth, Image Comics Inc. 2023
  21. Anneli Furmark & Monika Steinholm, Närmare kommer vi inte, Wilbom Books 2018
  22. Tove Jansson, Resa med lätt bagage, Förlaget 1987/2025
  23. Darryl Cunningham, Putin’s Russia - the rise of a dictator, Myriad editions 2021
  24. Giuliano and Larissa Bonfante, The Etruscan language - an introduction, Manchester University Press 1983
  25. David Grossman, Caduto fuori dal tempo, Mondadori 2012
  26. Rek Bell, Wiktopher, Hundred Rabbits 2023
  27. Antonio Gramsci, Lettere dal carcere (1926-1937), Liber Liber 2017 [reread]
  28. Zhu Xiao-Mei, Il pianoforte segreto, Bollati Boringhieri 2018
  29. Liz Prince, Tomboy, Zest books 2014
  30. Clara Törnvall, Vanliga människor - autistens guide till galaxen, Natur & Kultur 2023
  31. Emily M. Bender & Alex Hanna, The AI con - How to fight big tech’s hype and create the future we want, The Bodley Head 2025
  32. Clara Törnvall, Autisterna - om kvinnor på spektrat, Natur & Kultur 2021
  33. Alessandro Manzoni, I promessi sposi (versione “quarantana” 1840-42) letto da Paolo Poli, Emons Audiolibri 2015 [reread (sort of)]
  34. Åke Hodell, Resan till Rom med Gunnar Ekelöf (Rönnells Amtikvariat 2020)

Movies

Somehow I managed not to watch a single bad movie this year, and more than half are really good.

  1. The most precious of cargoes (2024)
  2. Flickorna (1968)
  3. Sima’s song (2024)
  4. Kyiv Soloists (2025)
  5. All we imagine as light (2024)
  6. Trains (2024)
  7. Memoir of a snail (2024)
  8. Pigen med nålen (2024)
  9. Torsk på Tallinn (1999)
  10. Culpa cero (2024)
  11. Non essere cattivo (2015)
  12. Young hearts (2025)
  13. A complete unknown (2024)
  14. Johnny Stecchino (1991) [rewatch]
  15. La vita è bella (1997) [rewatch]
  16. Det var bara en olycka (2025)

Podcasts

I continue to listen to most of the podcasts from last year, minus the ones that have been exclusive to a specific platform, plus a couple new ones. Some honorable mentions, old and new:

  • Il mondo (Internazionale)
  • P3 Dystopia (Sveriges Radio)
  • Radio ambulante (Radio Ambulante Studios, NPR)
  • Språket (Sveriges Radio)
  • Saussure e grida (Irene Lami)
  • Sold a story (APM Reports)