2026 Solo Book and Movie Club

Dan Hoeye
Dec 24, 2025
2 min read

Just the other day, my art major middle daughter told me that I’m a snob and should learn to appreciate all degrees of art: the great and the not-so-great. Apparently, I’ve been a little too vocal in my get-off-my-lawn approach to the so-so arts for her taste. I think she just likes supporting her fellow art students. I think they create more bad art than good (not her, of course, she’s a master). But she does have a point; I like to be inspired. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people making art, good and bad. MAKE ART! Seriously! I just don’t want to see all of it. Give me great art, says I. And get off my lawn while you’re at it.

Okay, maybe her argument has some merit.

I spent a few weeks in London once for work and had a weekend free to wander and explore. I exhausted an entire Saturday at the National Gallery, taking in its vast collection of paintings from European masters like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others. It was one of the most compelling, inspiring Saturdays of my life. Room after room, wing after wing, floor after floor. Great art, indeed.

Speaking of great art, I love great storytelling and the telling of great stories. I’m working my way through a few respected must-read lists of notable literature and recently discovered the American Film Institute’s “Top 100 Movies,” which has me equally intrigued. I’ve read most of the books from the must-read lists and seen most of the movies in the AFI collection, but not all. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve read or watched many of them. I’ve found that revisiting things later in life is almost like experiencing them for the first time. Isn’t life rich? Give me great art, again, says I.

This year, as the founding and sole member of the 2026 Solo Book and Movie Club, I’m committing to reading 18 amazing books and have chosen 24 movies from the AFI’s collection to watch. I’m excited and more than a little inspired by these great works of art, as many experts have them defined. I make this year’s book and movie goals public, here, to keep me on track to accomplish the reading and the watching. I think it’s not so much that I’m a snob—I just want to be genuinely inspired and guided by experiences and art that truly moves me. Or maybe I am a snob. Hmmm…

Here’s to 2026 and great books, great movies, and great art.