Let\u2019s do this. Previous years can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I already did my top 10 books<\/strong><\/a> and my opinion there has not changed.<\/p>\n Possibly my favorite review of my novel<\/strong> is Kate Havard\u2019s: \u201cA Paleocon, An Otherkin, And a Saint Walk Into a Bar.<\/a>\u201d (Buy the book here<\/a> yo.)<\/p>\n Best movies seen for the first time<\/strong>: The Fits<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Daisies<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Roger and Me<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n ugh I can\u2019t leave it off, I enjoyed Little Sister<\/em><\/a> so, so much and can\u2019t bear to bump The Elephant Man<\/em> so you\u2019re getting a top six.<\/p>\n The Elephant Man<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The Witch<\/a><\/em> and really this maybe should be third. Math is hard.<\/p>\n Also notable: Barcelona<\/a><\/em>, Birth of a Nation<\/em><\/a> (2016), Casino<\/em><\/a>, Charlie Victor Romeo<\/em><\/a>, Coming to America<\/em><\/a>, The Cramps: Live at Napa State Mental Hospital,<\/em><\/a> Creep<\/em><\/a>, Don\u2019t Bother to Knock<\/em><\/a>, God on Trial<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0 Holy Hell<\/a>, Hunger<\/em><\/a>, The Lobster<\/em><\/a> (and more here<\/a>), The Long Goodbye<\/em><\/a>, Menace II Society<\/em><\/a>, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters<\/em><\/a>, The Sisterhood of Night<\/em><\/a>, Tickled<\/em><\/a>, Tuff Turf<\/em><\/a>,<\/p>\n Movie Fidel Castro<\/strong> can watch when he finally gets out of Purgatory: Behavior<\/em><\/a>. You can watch it now!<\/p>\n Best articles by other people<\/strong>: I always do six here, because one year I forgot how to count.<\/p>\n Patrick Blanchfield, \u201cThe Gun Control We Deserve.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Helen Andrews, \u201cThe New Ruling Class<\/a>.\u201d (I did a quick note on non-meritocratic forms of personal authority here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Dara Lind, \u201cFear is a totally rational reaction to the Donald Trump presidency<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Loftus, \u201cWhen the Neighborhood Changes<\/a>.\u201d Excellent framework for thinking about gentrification; hits a lot of issues in a short space. If you\u2019d like a portrait of a church doing what Loftus recommends, check out Ruben Castaneda\u2019s S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in DC<\/em>.<\/p>\n Amy Welborn, \u201cWomen and the Protestant Reformation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Karen Heller, Against Air-Conditioning<\/a>. I\u2019m not using the headline the Washington Post<\/em> gave it because it\u2019s scolding and she almost certainly didn\u2019t write it. Great aesthetics-driven piece on a subject dear to my heart.<\/p>\n Also this<\/strong> isn\u2019t the same as the other articles so I\u2019m separating it out: \u201cWe Know That We Are Going to Be Killed.<\/a>\u201d An interview with an Iraqi priest.<\/p>\n Best articles by me<\/strong>: \u201cHumiliation and Reconciliation.<\/a>\u201d On public penance, from the 13th century to yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cOrder, Chaos, Peace.<\/a>\u201d I put a lot of myself, & my current intellectual concerns, into this review of a biography of L. Brent Bozell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Right to Look Your Judge in the Eye.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTenderness in Moonlight<\/em><\/a>\u201c: I didn\u2019t actually love Moonlight<\/em> but I wanted to talk about the thing it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n \u201cAmoris Laetitia<\/em> from Where I Stand<\/a>.\u201d This probably also counts as the article by me with which I\u2019m least satisfied<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Best blog posts ditto<\/strong>: \u201cThe Three False Gods of Marriage, Freedom, And Morality<\/a>\u201d and \u201cIf You Don\u2019t Honor Celibacy\u2026<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n \u201cAssisted Suffering<\/a>.\u201d Against assisted suicide. Of which more in the New Year.<\/p>\n \u201cAs They Liked It<\/a>.\u201d I start out by reviewing an early \u201980s Shakespeare acting class and end up ranting about recovery and guilt and eternity.<\/p>\n \u201cFr. Mother, Or, Is there an equivalent to the priesthood for ladies?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n I think my other favorite things I did on Gay Catholic Whatnot were \u201cUnchosen Blessings<\/a>,\u201d \u201cFour Kinds of Argument on True Fulfillment for Gay Christians,<\/a>\u201d and the talks I gave at Hope College<\/a> and Calvin College<\/a>. But the most practical piece is probably \u201cSome Ideas for When Your Church Can\u2019t Handle the Thought of Orthodox Gay Christians<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Best anthology I\u2019m editing<\/strong>, which should come out in late 2017: \u201cStaying Catholic When You\u2019ve Been Hurt in the Church<\/a>.\u201d It may get a better title.<\/p>\n Most unintentionally Christian political slogan<\/strong>: Deplorable Lives Matter.<\/p>\n Holy Fool 2K16<\/strong>: Joanna Rothkopf, \u201cEat, Pray, Tail: I Wore a Tail for a Week and Learned Nothing<\/a>.\u201d Every time I think about this piece I laugh once more.<\/p>\n Photographs of the year<\/strong>: monks returning to St. Aelred\u2019s abbey<\/a>, 500 years after it was destroyed by Henry VIII.<\/p>\n And last<\/strong>: A friend of mine became an American this year so it is, I think, only fitting that on New Year\u2019s Eve I introduce her to this movie:<\/p>\n