Sunday, January 2, 2011

Hello 2011

I'm starting off 2011 right. I think. With The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. So far, so fantastic. I spent most of December reading the Morganville Vampire series. Really good for what it was; the main characters were engaging and flawed but likable. And the action was unending and still managed to be believable and not get old. I also read The Freak Observer. Although it too is YA, it was a bit of a head spinner after reading the Morganville books. There was a lot of depth and psychology in it. Dense I would say; I will need to read it again to make a final judgment.

I'm also in the midst of both season 3 of Friday Night Lights and season 2 of Fringe. Great TV (on DVD)! And I'm excited for new TV to start airing this week.

I also watched The Town and Letters to Juliet this past week, which is more of an ending to 2010, but a worthwhile run up for 2011. The Town was well done, gritty. I enjoyed the accents. And Jeremy Renner's character...yikes. Letters to Juliet had a lot going for it...but the producers should have gone for a less cheesy ending. I still liked it, but a balcony scene wasn't actually necessary even though the name Juliet was in the title. (And I listened/watched to The Untouchables on TV this weekend. Chicago was scary.)

I also recently bought some tunes (Christmas shopping is dangerous!) and now can listen to some classic Nirvana, old Hawk Nelson, and new NeedtoBreath. And I thoroughly enjoyed a Christmas CD that I got as a gift last Christmas of Straight No Chaser. A Capella = awesome.

Also, as a final word on 2010, I just have to say that having an extended family all in one place is a truly awesome thing. My grandmother remarried this fall and decided to gather her family and reaffirm her vows over Christmas--and everyone made it. All of her children and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses, and greatgrandchildren made it from all over the country. It was a special event to be a part of.