I don’t generally do top ten lists or lists of favorites, because let’s face it, I have the attention span of a fire ant, and all my favorites are likely to be from November and December, and maybe October if something in that month was truly spectacular. But I do have some favorites to share from this year (and yes, two of them are from the past two months, sue me), so I may as well lay them out there.
Favorite book(s) of the year: The Hunger Games trilogy
I can safely say this was my absolute favorite book of the year for two reasons: 1) Books are actually the one thing I keep track of, and looking back over the list from 2010, nothing even compares to The Hunger Games; and 2) I loved these books so much that I bought six extra copies of the first one to give away over Christmas, to try to suck other people into them.
Favorite new blog of the year: Mark Reads
OMIGOD I LOVE THIS WEBSITE SO MUCH! And yes, it’s deeply tied to my favorite book of the year, because Mark happened to be reading and reviewing The Hunger Games when I discovered his blog. The kick is that he only reads one chapter per day, then writes his review/recap, and if you’ve read THG, then you know it’s ridiculously hard to put it down at the end of a chapter, ’cause they all end in cliffhangers. Reading Mark’s journey through the book has enhanced my own memories of reading it, and now, reading his recaps of Catching Fire continues to make me chortle with glee. AND! He’s recapping his second reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! (Which I just reread myself before Christmas.) Seriously, I cannot gush about his blog enough. Go read for yourself!
Favorite song of the year: Hey by Lil Jon & 3OH!3
I listened to this song on repeat for every morning for a week when I first found it, and every time it comes up on my ipod, I still listen to it at least twice. It makes me happy.
Favorite new (to me) TV show: The Vampire Diaries
I’d watched the pilot when it first aired, decided it was too Twilight for me, and gave up on it. Then over the summer, many of my friends whose judgments I trust couldn’t stop talking about how great it was, and how much it improved after the sixth episode. So, I gave it a shot. I Netflixed it in September, and OMIGOD! Fell totally in love. Immediately bought the first five episodes of season two from iTunes, and now I watch in real-time like everyone else. Sadly I have yet to pull my sister in, but I intend to keep trying.
Favorite movie of the year: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
I had to look up the movies of 2010* to even remember what I saw this year, but that means I can definitively say that yes, Harry Potter was my favorite of the year. I thought it did a great job of staying as true to the book as it could, and really benefited from the decision to turn the last book into a two-part movie. Red was a close second (so much fun!), with Hot Tub Time Machine and How to Train Your Dragon vying for third.
And that’s all I’ve got. Not a bad list. I’ll try to keep track of my media choices over 2011 so hopefully I do this again next year. 😀
*Beware the many popups on that link.
