Thursday, December 31, 2009

Best of 2009!

Just what the world needs.  Another 2009 best of.  I'll keep it short and sweet:

Books:

  • LIAR by Justine Larbalestier - Best use of unreliable narrator I've read yet.
  • THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO by Patrick Ness - Hands down best animal in a book ever.
  • THE ASK AND THE ANSWER by Patrick Ness - The first book was so good I had to order the sequel from England because I couldn't wait.
  • CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins - Do I need a reason?
  • GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray - Best use of gnome and mad cow disease by an author.
Music:
  • Florence + the Machine - Just really amazing.
  • Dave Matthews Band - Best album in years (and the concert rocked too)
  • V.V. Brown - A blast from the past on steroids
  • Janelle MonaĆ© - Robot girl with bluesey sensibility? Hell yeah.
TV:
  • GLEE - Need I say more?
  • Friday Night Lights - I still can't believe no one watches this show but they watch NCIS. WTF?
  • Vampire Diaries - I admit it, I got sucked in (haha). Their willingness to kill main characters shows they mean business.  Plus, the cool kids call it VD.
  • Misfits - A little known BBC show, it rocked my socks off.
  • Dollhouse - Yeah, it's cancelled, but the second season may just be the most brilliant stuff of Whedon's career.  
Movies:
  • Sunshine Cleaning - Amy Adams? Crime scenes? I'm in.
  • Where the Wild Things Are - The best kids movie NOT for kids.
  • Drag Me To Hell - Granny smack down involving dentures and a stapler.  'Nuff Said.
  • Julie & Julia - I should really just say, "Any movie Amy Adams is in."
  • (500) Days of Summer - Never has pessimism looked so optimistic.
  • Zombieland - I was prepared to hate this movie, but Woodie won me over.  Also Bill Murray's cameo made me wet my pants.
  • Star Trek - I fully admit to being a trekkie.  I don't do conventions but I love the franchise.  That said, I was prepared to hate this movie too.  Instead, I fell for the franchise all over again.  Beam me up for the sequel.
So, tell me:  What were your favorites of 2009?

4 comments:

  1. Well, not in terms of 2009 release, but favorite books I read in 2009 (in order):
    Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Catching Fire is next on my list)
    Maze Runner, by James Dashner (think "Cube" for teenagers, with a lot of cool twists)
    Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (the man's, well, "the man")
    The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch (wife gave it to me, and it was inspiring and motivated me to get through those "walls" when it comes to getting published)
    Spanking Shakespeare, by Jake Wizner (humor galore, and pretty nostalgic for me)

    Most Disappointing:
    Savvy, by Ingrid Law (really liked the description and the hook, but stopped reading after giving it half the book...too many alliterative sentences that seemed silly to me)
    Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer (OK, I'm a junior high ELA teacher and I read this one for my female students...was determined to read the entire book 1 and it was painful, or should I say incredibly, amazingly, everything"ly" horrible)
    The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo (it was cute, but incredibly short and lacked the action I crave)
    King Dork, by Frank Portman (OK, I thought it was decent, but a bit of a rip-off of Mizner's Spanking Shakespeare...too similar IMHO)

    3 Most Anticipated 2010 Releases:
    Deathday Letter, by YOU (looking forward to it)
    Scorch Trials, by James Dashner (sequel to aforementioned Maze Runner)
    Hunger Games: Book 3, by Suzanne Collins (I'm anticipating the fact that I'll love Catching Fire)

    Have a great New Year's and an even better 2010! Peace.

    - Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, not in terms of 2009 release, but favorite books I read in 2009 (in order):
    Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Catching Fire is next on my list)
    Maze Runner, by James Dashner (think "Cube" for teenagers, with a lot of cool twists)
    Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (the man's, well, "the man")
    The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch (wife gave it to me, and it was inspiring and motivated me to get through those "walls" when it comes to getting published)
    Spanking Shakespeare, by Jake Wizner (humor galore, and pretty nostalgic for me)

    Most Disappointing:
    Savvy, by Ingrid Law (really liked the description and the hook, but stopped reading after giving it half the book...too many alliterative sentences that seemed silly to me)
    Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer (OK, I'm a junior high ELA teacher and I read this one for my female students...was determined to read the entire book 1 and it was painful, or should I say incredibly, amazingly, everything"ly" horrible)
    The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo (it was cute, but incredibly short and lacked the action I crave)
    King Dork, by Frank Portman (OK, I thought it was decent, but a bit of a rip-off of Mizner's Spanking Shakespeare...too similar IMHO)

    3 Most Anticipated 2010 Releases:
    Deathday Letter, by YOU (looking forward to it)
    Scorch Trials, by James Dashner (sequel to aforementioned Maze Runner)
    Hunger Games: Book 3, by Suzanne Collins (I'm anticipating the fact that I'll love Catching Fire)

    Have a great New Year's and an even better 2010! Peace.

    - Mike

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have a separated at birth twin, in a bookselller/rep in Charlotte. He, too, loved Manchee in Knife, and ordered ASK from the UK because he couldn't wait. When your book comes out, you need him on your side! Frazer Dobson at Park Road Books. I'm a Patrick Ness fan, too, because of Frazer, and I'm a Candlewick rep!! We have a discussion group on FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109855269768&ref=search&sid=689754530.651295694..1 if you'd like to join. We'd love to have you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mr. Winch: I can't believe I forgot to add Spanking Shakespeare to my list! Also, I have the Maze Runner sitting on my desk, staring at me. Now I'm definitely going to have to read it. Thanks for the anticipation ;)

    Teresa: I will definitely have to go check out that FB Group!

    ReplyDelete

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