I don't think 2011 was my best reading year. First of all, I only read 31 books, which was significantly lower than my 2010 total of 43. I think I had less time to read because I spent my free time blogging, writing scripts, and working on my freelance projects. I realize that no one of those activities took up all that much time, but they kind of tended to absorb those pockets of time where I would have previously picked up a book.
But in addition to, or perhaps because of, the small quantity of books I read, I just didn't think I read a lot of books of great quality this year.
Still, there were some gems, and I have determined a favorite:
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is the story of a young woman who ages out of the foster system, and is able to eke out an existence through her own floral business. The book deals with the Language of Flowers, a secret code used in the Victorian era to convey messages through the exchange of specific flowers. Obviously this book appealed to me because of my interest in flower-arranging, but I also thought it was an interesting, well-written story.
Favorite book runners-up:
- The Sisters by Nancy Jensen: Two BFF sisters become estranged after a misunderstanding. One of those books that follows different characters through many decades.
- If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman: This is a two-part YA series about a young girl who is the sole survivor of a car accident that kills the rest of her family. The characterization is just wonderful.
- Bossypants by Tina Fey: As everybody knows, this is Tina Fey's humorous memoir. It perfectly blends interesting peeks into the world of celebrity with humorous Everyday Jane sort of observations.
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova: A harried have-it-all working mother is forced to re-examine her priorities after a head injury leaves her with a condition where she can't perceive the left side of anything.
I saw more movies in the theater this year than I did the previous 3 years combined. I saw two with Nathan: Cars 2 and The Muppets. I loved The Muppets so, so much, it's like I never wanted it to end. Cars 2 was sort of a drag for me, and I thought the plot was weirdly complicated, but it appealed to young children's love of watching cars race around. I will say I loved the purple car, Holly, and she was so cute that I considered buying a toy version of her just for myself.
Bill and I saw two movies, and they were both superhero films. I didn't really like Thor. Vikings just aren't my thing, and I didn't think the lead character was at all good-looking. X-Men: Beginnings, on the other hand, was jam-packed with hot actors, and had an interesting storyline.
I Don't Know How She Does It was sort of a meh chick-flick that I saw with my friends. I enjoyed going out with my friends and eating movie snacks, but the movie itself was just so-so.
Oh, and we saw Tin Tin with my parents yesterday. Loved the campy 30s feel to it, and loved the dog. Mostly enjoyable, although a bit too long.
I'm declaring my favorite seen-in-the-theater film of 2011 to be:
The Help, which I saw with Katie in August. Not a surprising choice, since The Help was my favorite book of 2009. I got the DVD for Christmas.
Television
I only watched the following shows regularly in 2011:
- Community: Joel McHale's hotness makes the show worth watching, but it's getting super weird, and I'm not at all devastated that the show has been put on hiatus.
- Parks and Recreation: Solidly funny, not my all-time favorite but still consistently good.
- Modern Family: This show gets better and better as they get a bigger budget/win more awards. What I like is that each character is quirky, but never over-the-top.
- 30 Rock: Always awesome, always the best, except I missed it this fall during Tina Fey's (obviously well-deserved) maternity leave. Looking forward to the season premiere on my birthday.
- The Daily Show: Every episode is clever and hilarious. And I am willing to admit I'm one of those people who gets most of my news from Jon Stewart.
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