I have to say, I really can’t pick just one author, so I’ll break it down a bit.
As a kid, I devoured books by Beverly Cleary. The Ramona Quimby series was my favorite. And when I read Ramona Forever and the Quimby family cat, Picky-Picky, died, I was devastated. I couldn’t believe their beloved cat died; I really thought he’d live forever. I think I was so upset in part because, if memory serves, Picky-Picky was an orange tabby, like my cat, Morris. So I projected a lot of what I felt about Morris onto Picky-Picky’s death. That was the first time a book made me cry.
As an adult, one of my favorite novelists is the late Sidney Sheldon. That man knew how to tell a story (Bloodline is my favorite). My autographed copy of Nothing Lasts Forever is one of my most cherished hardcovers; I only wish I’d been the one to meet him in person to get his autograph.
As a parent, I love all of the books I read to Coraline, even when I don’t actually love the book. Her love of books is just so wonderful to behold, so it makes every book enjoyable (she’s very into her Olivia books these days). That said, one book I really do love reading to her is No Matter What; I’m always disappointed when she shakes her head and says “no” when she’d rather hear another story. It’s just such a sweet, seemingly simple story about how even on our bad days or when we feel unlovable or when we want to be left alone, the people who matter most to us still love us — no matter what.
It’s four days into 2012 and I’m just now getting around to talking about some of my favorite pop culture things from 2011. For me, that’s not too bad.
Books
Seeing as how I didn’t read nearly as many books as I would’ve liked, I won’t bother discussing those. Except to say that I had to quit reading An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New Englandhalfway through — I hated the protagonist SO MUCH I couldn’t finish the book. But, lord, how I tried. I really did. I do, however, hope to read a lot more this year.
If you read my post from yesterday, you already know how little time I have to stay up on my beloved TV shows these days. I just finished an almost two-week marathon catching up on Leverage, which I love. (And which makes me want to embark on a thrill-a-minute life as a con artist/thief/grifter. But I digress.) About the only shows I managed to stay up to date on were Happy Endings (uneven but very funny); American Horror Story (a train wreck I couldn’t ignore); Modern Family (still cracks me up); The Middle (relatable and hilarious); Desperate Housewives (yeah, yeah, I know); Ringer (entertaining soap opera); Fringe (praying Fox doesn’t kill it); and Community, which is literally the high point of my TV-watching each week. I think it’s the smartest, most hilarious show on the air right now. Which is why if NBC pulls a Britta and cancels it, I will cut a bitch.
I tried watching Up All Night, which I found cute, occasionally funny, and a bit disappointing; I can take it or leave it. I wanted to like New Girl, I really did, but it was so painfully unfunny, I cut my losses after 1 1/2 episodes. What I’ve caught of Suburgatory has been funny and interesting; I’ll have to catch up on that one online.
Music is the one thing I was kind of able to stay current on thanks to the Sirius XM subscription that came with my Elantra. Thanks to the magic of satellite radio, I discovered bands and artists I never would’ve heard on our local stations. Here in no particular order are some of my favorite songs of the year.
Oh Land, “Son of a Gun”*
Deadmau5, “Raise Your Weapon”
Afrojack featuring Eva Simons, “Take Over Control”
Lloyd, “Dedication to My Ex” (the CLEAN version)
Young the Giant, “My Body”
The Cab, “Bad”
Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks”
Iffy the Badman, “Do You” (which I blogged about a while back)
Of Monsters and Men, “Little Talks”
Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
The Airborne Toxic Event, “All I Ever Wanted”**
*Released in late 2010, but it was new to me in 2011!
**Rich and I FINALLY got to see The Airborne Toxic Event in concert back in November. After 22 months of waiting to see them, it was essentially a religious experience for me (I’ll explain at another time). If you’re a fan, go — go see them now!
