I’ve started The Eye of the World tonight, and I couldn’t help noticing… Is that Nicolas Cage on the cover? I guess he’s a shoe-in if a movie is ever made…
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NB: I meant to post this yesterday, but spent most of the day in bed feeling crummy.
So, um, Happy New Year!
2011 was a bit of a schmozzle for the world, but I had a pretty good year. Highlights included Markus, Spring in London, Fun in the Desert and watching Trevor morph into big boy school attending hockey player. I didn’t bike as much as I wanted to, but that’s OK. For a more complete run down, see My Sweet’s blog, as she beat me to it!
I look forward to 2012, as I have decided to form better habits than I now have. Hungry? Instead of reaching for chocolate bars (why do we have chocolate bars?) reach for raw veggies, that sort of thing. So, here are my plans for the year:
- I am taking eight weeks parental leave: January 23rd to March 18
- I am going to EuroCon 2012 (aka SFEraKon 34) in Zagreb April 26-29
- I am going to bike to work every day of the eight weeks I am home alone
- I am taking twelve weeks LIA in the summer (maybe a bit less, haven’t fully decided)
- Four weeks I’ll dedicate to the Adriatic
- Two weeks I’ll dedicate to a super secret plan that I’ll discuss once everything is in place
- I will take part in Hugo voting again this year. I enjoyed the experience last year, and despite not being present at the awards ceremony, I nevertheless felt connected to the process.
- I am going to try to be active every day. At lunch I’ve played CoD:MW for the last year or two, I think instead I’ll take a walk. Those audiobooks won’t listen to themselves, you know!
- I am going to write every day. Back before I went for my B.Eng, I worked in a pharmacy, and I read this article. It stuck with me, but I never put it into practice. Note that I don’t think I’ll stop at exactly 500 words :).
- To aid this, I am going to go to bed earlier, so I can wake up before the kids. I have tried to write after everyone is in bed, but that usually puts me starting at 10:30, and I’m too zonked to use a computer other than to refresh Next Band Name.
- In the fall, I want to plant enough apple and/or pear trees to ensure fruit production. I will use this fruit to make my own cider and/or perry (whenever they start actually producing enough fruit to do so).
- And, of course, I’m going to read The Wheel of Time, as previously mentioned. Just as a reminder, look at this!
This is what I would call SOME PILE OF BOOKS! It just doesn’t seem possible, does it? But there you are… you can see for yourself. (I obviously have read Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry just a bit too many times the past year… 😉 ).
Shocking! I hit a new low for film viewing this year. I managed to see only fifteen movies, five of which were Hugo nominees, and hence watched so that I could vote in the category. Part of this is by not going on my annual pilgrimage to the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, where I usually pack a dozen movies into a weekend, part is by not having the wherewithal, I guess. Surprising, as 2011 was the year I caved and got Netflix. I mostly use it for TV shows though, not having cable.
I did see five in the cinema this year though (two in Europe, (woo!) and one last night (double woo!)! ), compared to three non-Fantasia visits last year, so that’s something. I also finally went to see a film in (oo0) 3D, something I haven’t done since Jaws 3D (not dating myself, as I saw it on the TV four years or so after it was in cinemas, go blue-red glasses!). Since I’ve already ranked my Hugo movies here, I won’t repeat myself, and will focus on ranking my “in the theatre” and my “on the couch” movies. They can only be top fives, of course, since I only have five of each.
Top Five in the Theatre Movies
- Midnight in Paris
- The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
- TRON: Legacy
- Anonymous
- Sucker Punch
The last two disappointed me. I had such high hopes. Oh well. The first two, if you haven’t seen them, I suggest you go look for them, because they are well worth watching.
Top Five on the Couch Movies
Hilariously, only one of these movies came through Netflix. Go OPL again!
My local rink is in the base-building phase! Soon enough!
NB: This photo is 2 years old, but I’m at work and it’s all I had on Flickr.
So, remember back in July when I posted this picture:
I have whittled it down to this:
Not bad! Though I admit that I didn’t finish Reap the Wild Wind by Julie Czerneda; I just couldn’t get into it. You might also note that there are two books there that weren’t there in July, to which I say, “Hey, Christmas happens!” and “Thanks, Sweet!”. Also, while the Fuller Memorandum still isn’t in the picture, I have ascertained its location, so life can go on. The iPad is no longer there as I read all the books in it that I had mentioned. Mr. Monster and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (which I did end up buying, BTW) are in my “currently reading” pile, and I shall finish them by New Years (I read the first third of Mr. Monster waiting for my car’s software update (!!!), so I’m confident I’ll be done), so I will include them in my numbers.
I use LibraryThing to catalog my books and track my reading, so I will point you to my list there instead of copying and pasting it here. I will break down the stats and intangibles here though, for both yours and my pleasure.
There are 38 books there, somewhat surprising given that I have so many offspring. But I read fast, and I had a few trips this year. The 38 broke down like so:
- 12 graphic novels (another way to get through this many, I guess)
- 9 books that I read specifically to vote for the Hugos (Blackout/All Clear don’t count as I had them already)
- 12 e-books (other than Destiny’s Blood, these came from either the Hugo Pack or LibraryThing Early Reviewers)
- 4 non-fiction, including 1 memoir, 1 sociological essay, and two books on writing
- 3 audiobooks (almost 4. I’m 2/3 of the way through Moby Dick at the mo. It is heavy lifting, even in audio format)
- 13 library books (Go OPL!)
- 13 of the 21 books I listed in my July reading list (plus 2 that I read that weren’t part of that list)
In general, the books that I read this year amused me, or captured my attention (or were contractually obligated on me), and due to the time crunch I have, if I didn’t like something, I just stopped reading it. Sorry Julie. The only exception to this was The Overton Window, by the great Patriot, Glenn Beck. I got through this with the howlingly derisive commentary found on Shakesville. Read a chapter, read Deeky’s take on the chapter. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I don’t think I could have stomached it otherwise.
I would recommend any of the books that made it to 3 1/2 stars. Real stand-outs are The Dervish House, Blackout/All Clear, and the Laundry series of books.
Don’t know if I’ll get to book three of the Laundry anytime soon, as I’m cracking open The Eye of the World on Jan 1. Wish me luck!