The ‘Bestest’ of 2015

2015, what a year, don’t you think? For us it’s been truly amazing, let us recall: we introduced our new menu this summer and our tostas have proven to be a substantial snack option; we put together Dallas Noir, the first Oak Cliff Literary Festival  (thank y’all our good Noir friends); our cultural program has brought over 75 authors to read at the shop their fiction, non-fiction and poetry works; we’ve started to program readings in Spanish which have been a success in terms of audience; we’ve explored different music styles in our 8 Backyard Shows this year from Afrobeat to Hip Hop; we’ve also started this year to screen movies in our backyard (and more will come next year)… we even have done an olive oil tasting!

But nothing of the above would have been possible without the great and inestimable help of all those people who make The Wild Detectives what it is –from those who work at the shop to those who’ve been collaborating with us during the year– helping us achieve our main goal: to promote an enriched, enlightened and entertained lifestyle around culture. That’s why, as we were working on a piece to highlight the best of the year, we thought that the list wouldn’t be complete without those books, records and movies that have make their 2015 special culture-wise. Here are our and their answers. We hope you discover something amazing among all these titles.

 

At The Wild Detectives:

 

Lucas Buckels

Best Book:
The Martian –Andy Weir

Best Album:
I love you, Honeybear –Father John Misty

Best Movie (calling it now):
Star Wars: Episode VII | The Force Awakens –J. J. Abrams

 

Jean Paul Caron

Best Book:
Meat Smoking Manifesto –Aaron Franklin

Best Album:
Currents –Tame Impala

Best Movie:
Creed –Ryan Coogler

 

Andrés de la Casa Huertas

Best Book:
Speak –Louisa Hall

Best Album:
Echolocations: Canyon –Andrew Bird

Best Movie:
Inside Out –Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen (Pixar)
The End of the Tour –James Ponsoldt

 

Javier García del Moral

Best Book:
Local
Speak –Louisa Hall
English
Academy Street –Mary Costello
Spanish
Después del Invierno –Guadalupe Nettel

Best Album:
Pop/Rock
Songs to Play –Robert Forster
Experimental
Howl –Rival Consoles

Best Movie:
Fiction
Sicario –Denis Villeneuve
Documentary
Red Army –Gaby Polsky

 

Carlos Guajardo

Best Book:
The Story of my Teeth –Valeria Luiselli

Best Album:
Strange Trails –Lord Huron

Best Movie:
Entertainment –Rick Alverson

 

Brent Meador

Best Book:
Modern Romance –Aziz Andsari

Best Album:
Depression Cherry –Beach House

Best Movie:
Love and Mercy –Bill Pohlad

 

Sophie Massie

Best Book:
Between the World and Me –Ta-Nehisi Coates

Best Album:
L​.​P​.​1. aka 14 Year Old High School PC​-​Fascist Hype Lords Rip Off Devo for the Sake of Extorting $​$​$ from Helpless Impressionable Midwestern Internet Peoplepunks L​.​P​.​ –The Coneheads

Best Movie:
The Buzzard –Joel Portycus

 

Sam Villavert

Best Book:
The First Bad Man –Miranda July

Best Album:
Currents –Tame Impala

Best Movie:
Mistress America –Noah Baumbach

 

Paco Vique

Best Book:
The Interior Circuit –Francisco Goldman

Best Album:
Short Movie –Laura Marling

Best Movie:
Cartel Land –Mathew Heineman
Timbuktu –Abderrahmane Sissako

 

 

Our collaborators:

 

John Bradley

Best Book:
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels –Haruki Murakami

Best Album:
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World –The Decemberists

Best Movie:
Man from Reno –Dave Boyle

 

Kelsey Capps

Best Book:
A Little Life –Hanya Yanagihara

Best Album:
Coming Home –Leon Bridges

Best Movie:
Sicario –Denis Villeneuve

 

Mihali Hadjiyianni

Best Book:
We Go to the Gallery: A Dung Beetle Learning Guide –Miriam Elia

Best Album:
Akö –Blick Bassy

Best Movie:
The Wedding Ringer –Jeremy Garelick

 

Ciaran Kennedy

Best Book:
Eggshels –Caitriona Lally

Best Album:
In Colour –Jamie XX
Ones and Sixes –Low

Best Movie:
Timbuktu –Abderrahmane Sissako
The Lobster –Yorgos Lanthimos

 

Michelle Newby

Best Book:
The Unraveling of Mercy Louis –Keija Parsinnen

 

Vicky Sanz

Best Book:
Colorless Tsukuru Takazi and his Years of Pilgrimage –Haruki Murakami

Best Album:
In Colour –Jamie XX

Best Movie:
The End of the Tour –James Ponsoldt
Inside Out –Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen (Pixar)

 

 

Our friends:

 

Katherine Bourne
Shakespeare in the Bar

Best Book:
Station 11 –Emily St. John Mandel

Best Album:
25 –Adele

Best Movie:
Inside Out –Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen (Pixar)

 

Jorge Chavez
Al Día Dallas

Best Album:
Coming Home –Leon Bridges
Fantastic Negrito (EP) –Fantastic Negrito

Best Movie:
Cartel Land –Mathew Heineman
Spotlight –Tom McCarthy

 

Barak Epstein
Texas Theater

Best Book:
Consumed –David Cronenberg

Best Album:
Lost Themes –John Carpenter

Best Movie:
Mad Max Fury Road –George Miller

 

Will Evans
Deep Vellum

Best Book:
Beauty is a Wound –Eka Kurniawan, translated by Annie Tucker

Best Album:
Children of the Night –Tribulation

Best Movie:
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence –Roy Andresson

 

Ben Fountain
Author

Best Book:
Fiction
The Turner House –Angela Flournoy
Non Fiction
Walking with Abel –Anna Badkhen

 

Daniel J. Hale
Author

Best Book:
Daniel must abstain from singling out any book because he’s the General Awards Chair for the 2016 Edgar Awards

Best Album:
Carrie & Lowell –Sufjan Stevens

Best Movie:
Ex Machina –Alex Garland

 

Bill Holston
Humans Rights Initiative of North Texas

Best Book:
Tree of Smoke –Denis Johnson

Best Album:
Pale White Dove –Doug Burr

Best Movie:
Grand Zero –Kevin Oeser

 

Harry Hunsicker
Author

Best Book:
M Train –Patti Smith

Best Album:
Something more than Free –Jason Isbell

Best Movie:
Sicario –Denis Villeneuve

 

Juan Jaramillo
Al Día Dallas

Best Album:
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Best Movie:
Spotlight –Tom McCarthy

 

Kathleen Kent
Author

Best Book:
Between the World and Me –Ta-Nehisi Coates

Best Album:
Coming Home –Leon Bridges

Best Movie:
Birdman –Alejandro González Iñárritu

 

Alex Macon
D Magazine

Best Book:
A Brief History of Seven Killings –Marlon James
Speak –Louisa Hall

Best Album:
Algiers –Algiers
Coming Home –Leon Bridges

Best Movie:
Mad Max Fury Road –George Miller
The Wolfpack –Crystal Moselle

 

Caroline North
Dallas Observer

Best Book:
Speak –Louisa Hall

Best Album:
Magnifique –Ratatat

Best Movie:
Amy –Asif Kapadia

 

Lauren Smart
Dallas Observer

Best Book:
The Argonauts –Maggie Nelson

Best Album:
Poison Season –Destroyer

Best Movie:
Heart of a Dog –Laurie Anderson

 

Tiney Ricciardi
Dallas Morning News

Best Book:
Modern Romance –Aziz Ansari

Best Album:
Coming Home –Leon Bridges

Best Movie Series:
True Detective –Nic Pizzolato (Yes Tiney, series count)

 

Eric Steele
Texas Theater

Best Book:
Go Set a Watchman –Harper Lee

Best Album:
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I just Sit –Courtney Barnett

Best Movie:
Listen to me, Marlon –Stevan Railey

 

Merritt Tierce
Author

Best Book:
Killing and Dying –Adrien Tomine

Best Movie:
Mad Max Fury Road –George Miller
Magic Mike XXL –Gregory Jacobs

 

Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News

Best Book:
The Sellout –Paul Beatty

Best Album:
In Colour –Jamie XX

Best Movie:
He hasn’t decided yet. Y’all can check Chris Vognar best film for the year list on December 20th.