Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 5
To be consumed: Problematic movies about problematic men
Elena (2011, Russian) - I can’t seem to write one of these newsletters without mentioning an Andrey Zvyagintsev film. Zvyagintsev’s Elena...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jul 26
Mission Impossible kinda sucks, so consume this stuff instead…
Films Daughters of the Dust (1991, USA) This is one of the most surprising movies I’ve ever watched. It's about a group of...
Ken Ilgunas
- Feb 8
Two Months of Consumption: Why We Need Daredevils and the Problem with Pixar
Movies I’ve watched 18 movies in 62 days. If it was up to me, I’d be watching a movie a night, but two a week is not bad for a house...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 7
My favorite films, books, and shows - 2022
Movies The White Ribbon (Germany, 2009) - Director Michael Haneke may be making the case that Germany’s descent into 20th Century...
Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 31, 2021
Best books I read in 2021
The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (1978, *audio*) I’m not sure if The Sea, the Sea is a good book. It’s a haphazard, crazy, bonkers book....
Ken Ilgunas
- Dec 30, 2020
Best Books I read in 2020
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer (1960) This is one of the best history books I've ever read. It relies almost...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jun 29, 2020
Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
History lovers, I highly recommend the comprehensive, 1,280-page, and irresistible The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 4, 2020
Best Books I Read in 2019
[I only read 21 books in 2019, my lowest total in the fifteen years I've counted the books I've read. But, of these few, I was lucky to...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 25, 2019
Book Review: "Sabrina"
Nick Drnaso's Sabrina is the most 2019 book you could possibly read. It's about conspiracy theory culture, suburban malaise, and how the...
Ken Ilgunas
- Nov 23, 2019
Book Review: "The Problem with Everything"
Meghan Daum is one of my favorite memoir writers and her latest, The Problem with Everything, is very good. It’s a...
Ken Ilgunas
- May 9, 2019
Book Review: American Nations
Colin Woodard’s, American Nations, is one of the best books on American history I’ve ever read. It urges you to think of America less as...
Ken Ilgunas
- Apr 25, 2019
Book Review: Prisoners of Geography
I really enjoyed "Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall. It's a great introduction to modern-day geopolitics, which I was terribly in...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jan 1, 2019
Best Books I Read in 2018
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel (2017) The book is a comedy, tragedy, and...
Ken Ilgunas
- Aug 23, 2018
What I’m consuming #3
Listening The Wilderness – Jon Favreau the former speechwriter for President Obama, gives a history of the Democratic party, a diagnosis...
Ken Ilgunas
- Aug 6, 2018
Book review from Adventure Journal
Some book-review love for This Land Is Our Land from Adventure Journal: “My dad, a law-abiding rural county detective, always surprised...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jul 19, 2018
What I’m consuming #2
Listening Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin? Seasons 1 & 2 – This podcast is full of good, practical relationship advice. (One helpful...
Ken Ilgunas
- Jul 2, 2018
What I’m consuming #1
If I can find the self-discipline, I’m hoping this will become a regular blog series that’ll give me a place to record, reflect on, and...
Ken Ilgunas
- Apr 20, 2018
Best Books Syllabus (updated)
I’d love it if someone, whose tastes are similar to my own, would give me a syllabus of decent books to read, to save me the trouble of...
Ken Ilgunas
- Mar 11, 2018
Book Review: “Grant” by Ron Chernow
It's a great book. Some thoughts... 1. Grant’s story is pretty close to a real rags-to-riches story, and watching his climb is such fun....
Ken Ilgunas
- Mar 5, 2018
Book Review: Stranger in the Woods
This is a fun, delightful read about a hermit who lived in the Maine woods for 27 years. The hermit, Christopher Knight, stole food,...