"Five volumes of sheer bliss. There’s almost nothing fiction can offer that isn’t in this book: an 18th Century, post-modern, Zen, worldly, otherworldly, gorgeous, funny, sorrowful, gripping, saga of a large, staggeringly wealthy Qin Dynasty family. Stunningly well translated, (the first three volumes by David Hawkes, the final two by John Minford, Hawkes’ son-in-law). It takes a while (or it did me) to keep the many, many characters straight, but it’s definitely worth the trouble."

"Light and sky. Rain and wind. Sea and smoke. These are the fearsome natural elements that Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” explores, creating a modern cinema that manages to look both backward and forward. Backward, to an almost square format and to the visual sorcery of Bergman and Dreyer, of Herzog and Lang. But forward as well, to Eggers’ own imagining of a peculiarly American past, and toward his own brutal conception of masculinity in a death match with itself… "

"One of the scariest, most pessimistic modern horror movies, dressed as a romance. Roeg never had the elements come together the way they do here. Pino Donaggio’s score is unforgettably lush, and a reminder of how vital a collaborator movie music is. Christie and Sutherland are chic in deserted Venice. One of the most shocking climaxes ever—dread-filled and bloody. One of Paramount’s big Christmas films of 1973—today you can only marvel at that."

"I’m a big fan of police procedurals, and when it comes to bringing the steps of a labyrinthine investigation to life, Tana French is up there with the very best. However, in her Dublin Murder Squad series she does so much more than this. Her exquisitely drawn characters combine to peel back the surface of modern Ireland and give us a fascinating and vivid glimpse into the culture—both good aspects and bad—that lies beneath."

"Yeezus is probably one of the best albums ever made. I’m on the Kanye train. I think he is one of the main modern geniuses of our generation. I think that album especially is full of so much rage, and experimentation, and courage. I just think that if every rapper had that much courage, we would have the greatest generation of music of all time. I just think he is taking risks that not everybody are taking."