My Favorite Things of 2012: The Kitchen Sink Edition
I’m the kind of person who likes lists.
Particularly lists that are organized by category.
But sometimes there just aren’t really enough things to GO into that category, so you end up having to make a list of things that don’t really relate to each other.
This is what I have dubbed The Kitchen Sink List.
I’ve already told you about my favorite books of the year, as well as my favorite TV/Films. And today I tell you about all of the OTHER things I’ve liked, but that are kind of random.
Because I’m kind of random.
Comics
Now, okay. I didn’t include comics on my literary edition list, and I now realize that probably was a giant mistake. So by including them here, I am not at all saying that comics aren’t literary. So. Don’t yell at me in comments.
Mind the Gap (Image Comics)
Alright, so this is a beautiful comic about a MURDER MYSTERY. A girl is in a coma, so she is trying to solve her own murder from a sort of coma purgatory, but also people in non-coma world are also trying to figure out who wanted to kill her, but there is lots of cover up! And family plotting! And pay-offs! And confusion! It’s very exciting and there is no way in hell I’m smart enough to figure out the mystery, which I kind of like. I mean, half the fun is coming up with your own theories and stuff, but, I really like riding it out too. But, Mind the Gap is really great and really great looking and it makes me happy when a new issue comes out.
Angel & Faith (Dark Horse Comics)
Okay, so! When Buffy ended on TV, it actually continued in comic book form. Which is great for people like me who are obsessed with Buffy. But! For me, this year, the comic book I’ve enjoyed more than Buffy is the Angel & Faith spin-off. I was very very very very very dubious about this at first. BUT. (Okay, I’m going to do my best to not spoil anything but some CRAZY SHIT has gone down in the comics, so SORRY if I spoil something.) What I love about it is that a lot of the comic is actually centered around GILES. Now, there had been some talk by the Buffy Powers-That-Be about maybe doing a spin-off TV series or mini-series or SOME KIND OF SERIES about Giles’s Ripper days. (I KNOW, RIGHT.) But, that never came to fruition, so a lot of the Giles stuff in Angel & Faith is actually flashbacks about Giles’s life, including his Ripper stuff. Which is AWESOME for nerds like me who love Giles. But there are also other really great, brilliant, creative, plot-twisty things going on in Angel & Faith (Drusilla has a cult following! AH!!) and I dearly love it.
Blogs
This blog has been around for quite some time, but I didn’t start following it until recently. If you’re not familiar, it’s run by two very funny ladies who comment on celebrity fashion. I know that sounds boring, BUT IT IS NOT. IT IS NOT AT ALL. They are hysterically funny and sometimes write AS the celebrity (Kanye West, for example) and it is brilliant and inspired and perfect.
This is a food blog. It has lots of yummy recipes for lots of nommy things. But the lady who runs it is very funny and doesn’t just write about food. So, despite the fact that you’re looking at a recipe, she may or may not be talking about watching TV and/or traveling and/or other people’s children. I don’t know. I like her. I get her. I think we’d probably be friends. She brings happiness to my Google Reader on a basically daily basis, so YAY THIS BLOG.
Sundries
Dry Shampoo
A coworker of mine introduced me to dry shampoo, like, last week. BUT ALREADY I am in lurve with it and think it is brilliant and perfect and The Best Thing Ever because I am lazy and do not enjoy washing/drying/styling my hair every day. That shit is exhausting. But dry shampoo—you spray it on your dirty hair, let it sit, brush it through your hair, and then, LIKE MOTHERFRACKING MAGIC, your hair looks and even feels clean. And then you style it and you’re good to go. Because I have discovered dry shampoo and I am able to stay in my comfy, comfy bed longer in the mornings. I’m pretty sure the people who create dry shampoo should win some sort of prize. Like, a big one.
Pinterest is amazing. End of story.
So, Fishs Eddy is this very random store a little north of Union Square that I sort of wandered into with some friends of mine one day. We stepped inside and were like THIS WAS MADE FOR US. Basically, it’s a store full of dishes.But CHEAP dishes. And if you’re not picky and are okay with owning things with imperfections you can get some really great products for RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP. Like, I bought 4 plates, 3 bowls, a creamer, and a butter dish for, like, $17. Yeah. I know.
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Lava Cakes
Y’all. These frozen cakes THAT CAN BE MICROWAVED are delicious and perfect and so so so good. And cheap! Because Trader Joe’s knows what I need and want and desire. And then they make it. FOR CHEAP. The only thing I would change, is that they only come 2 to a box, so I have to buy, like, 4 boxes each week. Because I have no shame.
My Favorite Things of 2012: On-Screen Edition
I have the biggest too-much-caffeine headache in the world. IN THE WORLD.
It’s also the day before the last day of work before THE WEEK EVERYONE TAKES OFF FOR THE HOLIDAYS, which means things are a little, well, nutty.
BUT.
Today I’m talking about two of my favorite things that are not books: film & TV.
Now. I do not pretend that I have some sort of great knowledge of either of these things. I like them both, and I’m kind of a hermit, and so I watch a good amount of movies and TV shows. But I don’t have any sort of high-brow expertise. I mean, I technically *d0* because I have a degree in writing about the arts. But, c’mon. I watch more shows on The CW than probably all of the Television Critics Association combined. So I’m not gonna front.
So without further ado, I am pleased to present, in no particular order, the movies and TV shows of 2012 that I enjoyed watching a whole bunch.
The Big Screen Side of Things
Safety Not Guaranteed
This has Aubrey Plaza, whom I adore, and Jake Johnson,whom I adore, and maybe a little KBell, whom I adore, all in one movie, about a weird (real!) classified ad published in Seattle. It’s funny and adorable and just a lot of fun.
Pitch Perfect
So, I have a massive girl crush on Anna Kendrick. She seems awesome and I just want for us to be friends. So when I saw she was in this move, I was in. And then I went to see it, and Skylar Astin just won me the hell over. All in all, there are some things I don’t like at all about this movie, but Anna + Skylar + Rebel Wilson + Singing = I CAN GET OVER THOSE THINGS.
(Skylar is the one who sings “It Feels like the First Time.” He was also in Spring Awakening. So. YOU KNOW.)
The Avengers
There aren’t really words to express how happy I am about the success of The Avengers. Just. WHEDON FOREVER.
First Position
I’m a little in love with dance, ballet in particular. So when I found out about the documentary First Position, about children/teens competing at the Youth America Grand Prix in hopes for a scholarship to a prestigious dance school/a contract with a company, I knew as I was in. Luckily, I live in New York and was able to see it in theaters. It is lovely and thoughtful and very respectful of the fiercely competitive ballet community. It’s also streaming on Netflix!
Cabin in the Woods
It’s been a great year for Whedonites. Also Thor is in this. As is Fran Kranz, who is one of my pop culture boyfriends.
Also, I feel like it’s pertinent for you to know that I watched this movie during Hurricane Sandy while all of my neighbors were out of power, but I inexplicably had power, and they were all staring out of their windows at my TV, forced to watch Cabin in the Woods.
The Small(er) Screen Side of Things
Scandal
This is a Shonda Rhimes show. She’s the lady who is the creator/showrunner for Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and, I think Bunheads. Nope, not Bunheads. I just IMDb’d and she was totally a writer for Princess Diaries 2, which a) AWESOME and b) I apparently confuse that with Bunheads, which is blasphemy. I blame the caffeine.
ANYWAY. Scandal is a political thriller/romance about a really ballsy lady “fixer” named Olivia Pope who is also the mistress of the mother-effing President. It’s soapy and has really fast dialogue and there’s a lot of backstory involved and also a lot of crying. But it’s really fun and well worth your time if you’re looking for a D.C.-based show that has some political intrigue, but isn’t, you know, POLITICAL.
Arrow
Arrow is the CW adaption of DC Comics Green Arrow, a comic I’ve never read or really know anything about. But I like superheroes and I like The CW because I’m in that “new adult” age group everyone seems to be targeting right now, so I gave this a shot. At first it didn’t really hold my interest. I found the lead actor to be, you know, pleasing to my eyeballs, but also stiff as a board. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) But I kept watching and it’s getting really, really good and there are really great guest stars from BSG and Torchwood and shows like THAT. So it’s really fun and it’s hitting it’s stride and you should totally watch it.
Girls
Shut up, I like it.
Awkward
So, okay. Technically this show debuted in 2011, but I didn’t start watching it until this past year, so I’m including it here because this is my list and you can’t stop me. I EFFING LOVE THIS SHOW. It is smart and funny and kind of poignant and so, so, so true of what the high school experience is if you let yourself look back on it honestly. And there’s a DILF.
So those are the things that I enjoyed watching this year. I do realize I’m not including web-series and that’s because I don’t really watch them, which is probably a giant, giant oversight because I hear things like Misfits and Husbands are really great. I’ll get around to it.
Eventually.
My Favorite Things of 2012: Literary Edition
Well hello.
I know I’ve been a tidbit absent from my blog updates lately. The reasons behind this are that 1) I got lazy, 2) I’m revising a book that I hope will one day be finished, 3) I blog about TV twice a week, 4) There isn’t a four. What it boils down to is that I got lazy and uninspired and that was, as they say, that.
So I let my little bloggy blog lapse into silence and now I realize that because of that I haven’t really talked about some of my favorite things from this year. So instead of putting them all into one giant post that no one will actually read, I’ve broken them down into categories.
Since books are basically my entire world (including the reason why I get paid—thank you publishing world!) let’s kick it off with my favorite books of the year, shall we?
1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
I cannot say enough good things about this book. The main character is essentially Buffy meets Elizabeth Bennett, BUT SHE’S A TRAINED ASSASSIN. The setting is a medieval fantasy world and there are hot, confusing boys and a high stakes assassin competition and really, really nuanced backstories and I just loved everything about it.
2. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Laini Taylor is a golden writing goddess. She just is. I loved loved loved the hell out of the first book in this series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and was completely drawn in by the rich, warm world of magical realism that Taylor created about a naturally lapis-haired, polyglot of a girl who has a neverending supply of money and is always hunting for teeth to give to her chimaera boss. And then she meets Akiva, an angel, and everything changes. The first book is just amazeballs. And the second is too. It’s a story of war and prejudice and loyalty and heartbreak. It’s beautiful and incredible and—a word of advice—you probably shouldn’t read it on a plane. Crying on planes isn’t always the best.
3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
This is a book that took me by complete surprise. I receive a very fancily-packaged ARC of it at my office and was like, “Well I guess I’ll read this since Scholastic sent me a very fancily-packaged ARC.” I’d never read Stiefvater before, so I truly had no idea what to expect. The writing is superb, the eponymous Raven Boys are engrossing, their Arthurian quest is just…yes please. The book is this incredible blend of magical realism without feeling, well, magical. This book is more grounded in the real that it is the magical or paranormal or supernatural or however you want to qualify it. But, part mystery, part quest, part contemporary teen read, The Raven Boys is well worth your time.
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Outside of The Fanfiction Series That Made Random House So Much Money That Every Employee got a $5,000 Bonus, Gone Girl has probably been the most read and most talked about book of the year. I decided to expand my reading horizons and venture out of YA for a bit this year (I also read all of A Song of Ice and Fire to date. Yes. I did.) and read Gone Girl, which punched me in the brain. The book is twisted in the best possible way—which for me is a terrifyingly realism that is smart and obsessive and creepy and completely fucked, but somehow still—somehow—understandable. It’s a book that will keep you guessing and when you realize what it is that is actually going on, you’ll be both blown away and feeling a little dumb. But don’t worry—everyone else who read it felt dumb too. Because there is NO WAY that anyone saw THAT TWIST coming. (And if you say you did, you’re a liar.)
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Okay, so I kind of feel like a cheater for including this because I’m, um, still reading it at this moment. BUT Y’ALL. It is a giant nerdgasm of a book! SO NERDY. SO POP CULTURE-TASTIC. SO, SO ADDICTIVE THUS FAR. Seriously, I want to read it all day under my desk, but I work at a book publisher and SOMEONE would totally catch on to what I’m really doing, so I don’t do that. But, the book is set is the 2040s, when the world has gone to shit, and most people live their lives via OASIS, a virtual reality system that incorporates every game/MMORPG/TV series/film/sci-fi anything you can think of within it. When the reclusive man who built the game dies, he launches a worldwide quest for his hidden Easter Egg within the game. The person who finds it wins his fortune of billions. GAME ON.
6. The Selection by Kiera Cass
This is a book that I read in one sitting and loved from cover to cover. The story of America, a girl living in the not-too-far future when the U.S. we know today has collapsed and is replaced with monarchy and caste system, begins when she is selected to enter the long-awaited and much-obsessed after beauty pageant/reality show in which eligible young women vie for the prince’s hand, is imaginative, fun, sometimes heart-wrenching, and a lotta bit swoony. The Selection is a smart YA sort-of-fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed and plan to read again.
7. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Pushing the Limits is one of those books that stayed with me months after I read it. The story of two emotionally fragile, but also very tough teenagers who have lived through things I can’t imagine going through, this book is extremely emotional, realistic, and romantic. McGarry does a magnificent job of showcasing that sometimes growing up is realizing that you need to ask for help. But it’s also a book about forgiveness, emotional strength, and the power of moving on with your life. Overall, this is a very powerful book featuring characters who are frustrating, funny, and fantastically readable.
8. Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
I’ve always heard about The Bloggess, but I’d never actually read her blog. And then one day I told a friend of mine that I really wanted to read “smart, funny, lady books” (I still haven’t read Bossypants. Shut up.) and after recommending several (including Bossypants), said, “You know. You’d probably really like Jenny Lawson. You’re both neurotic.” And so I read it. Y’all. Ms. Lawson is so open and honest about her neuroses, social anxiety, depression, and general crazy that you cannot help but love and respect her. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened talks about everything from her childhood growing up in rural Texas as the daughter of a taxidermist to her blasé attitude toward her wedding to her trouble cultivating friendships. Lawson is a person whom I think many women can relate to (I know I can), except for the fact that she is maybe the funniest writer I’ve ever read. Her wit is sardonic and cutting and wry and I just adore her. READ THE BOOK.
9. Defiance by C.J. Redwine
I’ve really been into fierce, fearless heroines this year, and Rachel Adams, the main character in C.J. Redwine’s Defiance is exactly that. This book is a racing adrenaline rush full of agony, resolve, and determination. Rachel goes through the emotional ringer early in the book, and if I were her I’d crawl up in a ball and just cry forever. Luckily this book isn’t about me, and Rachel decides to do channel her pain and suffering into righting wrongs, avenging deaths, and proving that women are more than dutiful wives. YES PLEASE.
10. Destroy Me by Tahreh Mafi
A companion novella to Shatter Me, one of my favorite books of last year, Destroy Me is told from the perspective of Warner, the teenage despot who finds and comfortably imprisons Juliette, a girl with lethal powers who had been kept locked away from the world. Though Warner was portrayed as a sympathetic villain in Shatter Me, you get the lonely, desperate, insecure side of him in Destroy Me. Mafi’s writing abilities are showcased here, and between this novella and the first novel, her talent shines with each word. If you haven’t read it, definitely check it out before you delve into Unravel Me next year!
So those are my favorite books of the year! Obviously there are MANY books I haven’t read because there is only so much time in a year, but if there’s anything I missed out on or that you think would be up my alley, please do chime in, in the comments!
Review: Unspoken
Title: Unspoken (Lynburn Legacy #1)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Format: ePub from NetGalley
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?—from Goodreads
Alright, so, let’s just get this out of the way: Sarah Rees Brennan is a fantastic writer. I didn’t love this book.
In theory, it’s right up my alley: Set in the U.K., main character is a strong, determined girl detective who aspires to be an investigative journalist, supernatural murdery-type things going down, a town mystery, and two telekinetically connected teenagers. This seems like ALL OF THE THINGS, right?
Yet, somehow, this didn’t work for me.
The main character, Kami, is a cross between Harriet the Spy and Veronica Mars, but without Veronica’s ballsy, sardonic sass. Because Kami leans a little more toward the Harriet the Spy territory, she comes off as precocious and I found her to be highly annoying.
And then there’s the Lynburgs, the mysterious family that essentially rules the town, but has been absent since before Kami was born. And when the Lynburgs arrive back in town, they have two teenage boys, Jared and Ash, with them. Sounds promising, right?
I disliked them both.
I found neither of these boys swoon-worthy and was not feeling them at all. I completely understood the relationships between Kami and both of the boys—particularly Jared—but I wasn’t rooting for any of them to be together in a romantic way. In fact, I was more rooting for Kami and her best friend’s older brother, which wasn’t even really a possibility that was set up by the book. Okay, maybe it was a remote possibility. BUT STILL.
However, the characters I did like were Kami’s two female friends, Angela, the misanthrope, and Holly, the plucky, charming sex-pot who might know more about the town mystery than she’s letting on. For me, these two were the saving graces of the book and I found myself far more interested in what was happening on their sides of the story than I was in Kami’s.
Additionally, I really loved Kami’s relationship with her family and deeply enjoyed the scenes in which she interacted with her younger brothers. As a person who never really knows how to act around kids, I found some inspiration in Kami and her witty antagonizing.
Despite the fact that this book didn’t really jive with me, it cannot be denied that Sarah Rees Brennan is a wonderful writer, who is very in command of her storytelling. When you break it down, the book is solid. The pacing, the scene-setting, the character development, all of the tools that you want a writer to have through and through are present here.
I just didn’t connect with the main characters and that made this book fall a little bit flat for me.
However, if you’re looking for a gorgeously written book that is set in modern day U.K., but feels otherworldly and has a supernatural component, then Unspoken is definitely a book to check out.
Review: Speechless
Title: Speechless
Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Format: ePub from NetGalley
Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can’t keep a secret
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she’s ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there’s strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she’s done. If only she can forgive herself.—from Goodreads
Alright guys.
Remember how much I loved Saving June last year?
It was a lot.
A LOT.
So, when I heard about Miss Hannah Harrington’s newest book, I was immediately psyched, but also a little wary. I was concerned that because I loved Saving June SO MUCH, I would have expectations that were far too high for Speechless and would only be disappointed with it.
That was not the case.
Speechless, centers on Chelsea, a gossipy sophomore girl who lets the wrong piece of information slip and then takes a vow of silence as a sort of penance/self-punishment. In many ways, I loved that Chelsea took this kind of stance. When you realize there’s a bad habit you need to break, the best thing to so to better yourself is to stop doing that thing, right? But in this specific situation, the bad habit—talking—is kind of essential when trying to communicate with, you know, your parents and authority figures and bitch-asses.
So, in a way the vow of silence seemed selfish and, at times,cowardly. Often, it works to Chelsea’s disadvantage because she’s stuck being the brunt of bullying or is unable to stand up for herself to others. But in the end, Chelsea learns when it’s most important to use your voice, and when it’s smarter to keep your mouth shut.
But there are some really fun features about this book too—one of which is an art project dedicated to the work of Charles Schultz, which made my Peanuts loving heart so very very happy. (I swear to you, my mom’s ringtone is “Linus and Lucy.” My love for the Peanuts is a little absurd.) And Chelsea meets some really great people along to way—diner owners Dex and Lou (who could be the grown-up versions of a couple characters out of The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Asha, the most self-aware and happy outcast imaginable, and Sam.
Oh Sam.
Sam skateboards and works in the diner and argues with NPR and is generally fantastic. He TOTALLY sounds like a guy I would have fallen for in high school. Or, you know, now. He doesn’t necessarily have his life figured out, but he’s wise enough to be able to forgive, to know the difference between curiosity and nosiness, and when to use his voice to stand up for others. So, a fantastic person.
Overall, this book is about finding happiness and a new identity in the midst of feeling as if you’ve lost everything in life. Although that seems a bit dramatic, losing friends and realizing most people think negatively of you is a big deal, especially for a high school sophomore. But, because Chelsea is a sophomore, the realization of who she truly is and wants to be gives her time to still really enjoy high school and become comfortable with who she is before going to college, where she’d probably just go through another identity crisis of some sort anyway.
Bethany Larson 
