I’ve started thinking about what I’d like to accomplish in 2010.  What goals would I like to complete and reach in the coming year?  To give you, Gentle Readers, a break from the best-of lists (and to give myself a break, also), here’s a peek at what I have in store for 2010.

Fitness/Health:

• Continue doing cardio workouts 5-6 times a week
• Add strength training 3 times a week
• Floss at least 4 times a week
• Only buy candy when at movie theater

Writing/Reading

• Keep lists of all books read and movies viewed
• Write in paper journal at least once a week
• Participate in GoodReads 144 in a year
• Write mini-reviews of books read
• Participate in NaNoWriMo again

Professional Development

• Find permanent teaching job
• Start planning graduate program…er…plan.

That’s basically the gist of it.  I have some specific reading goals that I won’t break down for you all here.  Here’s to hoping for a good 2010.

It’s Monday, What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog to discuss what we are reading this week, as well as books completed the previous week.

Books I Completed Last Week:

The Walking Dead Vol. 5: The Best Defense by Robert Kirkman.  Yep, still tearing through this series.

The Walking Dead Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life by Robert Kirkman.  It’s really compelling.

Revelation by Kate Brian.  I can’t stop with this one, either.

Books I’m Reading This Week:

Nanny Returns by Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin.  I didn’t even know there was going to be a sequel to The Nanny Diaries, but I’m kind of excited about this one.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.  This book is so boring and so irritating that I only get 10-15 pages read before I toss it aside in rage.

The Walking Dead Vol. 7: The Calm Before by Robert Kirkman.  I’m getting close to some huge events happening.

The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman.
So what are you reading this week?

According to Pajiba.  Last post like this for a while?  Probably not, you guys.

Best Films of the Decade

• Of the 20 films listed, I’ve seen 15 1/2.  I’m pretty proud, you guys.
• Mulholland Drive starts out the list, which convinces me that I should probably watch this movie again, because I literally didn’t understand a thing that happened in it.
• I disagree with the inclusion of The Incredibles.  I never got the hype that accompanied this movie.
• You Can Count on Me makes an appearance.  It’s the movie that made me fall in love with Mark Ruffalo (and Laura Linney).  I’m glad this movie made the list.
• I shouldn’t be surprised that There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men made the list.  In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t seen either movie.  They were released during my “I’m tired of seeing movies about men” phase.  I have no regrets.
• The top 3 are The Dark Knight, Children of Men, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Which is, in my own opinion, probably the perfect top 3 for the decade.

Well played, Pajiba.

Okay, y’all, I lied. I’ve got more lists from Pajiba to talk about.  They keep putting out interesting things, I’m going to continue to opine about them.  Deal with it.

10 Best Kids Movies of the Aughts

• Oh dear.  I’ve only seen 3 of the movies that make the list, and I only loved one of them.
• The one I loved?  Monsters, Inc. I don’t know why the ending affected me so much, but I cried hard enough that it made my friend uncomfortable and made some people around us laugh in sympathy (mockery?).
• The one I wasn’t so crazy about?  Penelope, the much delayed Reese Witherspoon produced Christina Ricci movie about the girl with the pig nose. I wanted to like this movie.  I really did.  But in the end, it was uneven and largely unmemorable.  Agent Bedhead writes, “The film’s lesson — about establishing one’s own way in life without necessarily becoming half of a couple — isn’t a disposable one, and in the end, Penelope may just intercept a few impressionable young girls before they fall prey to the homogenized, slut-worthy mindset of today’s Hollywood princesses,” which is a nice thought and message, but the truth is, I don’t even remember that much about the film, and I worry that most other viewers don’t, either.
• I also saw Charlotte’s Web, which I remember liking, but that’s about it.  There seems to be a lot I can’t remember about these movies.  Am I going senile?
• Other movies make the list, like Coraline, which I meant to see but haven’t gotten around to, and Where the Wild Things Are, which I also meant to see but haven’t.

Best Indie Films of the Aughts

• Requiem for a Dream: Holy guacamole, this movie was so hard to watch.  I’ve seen it exactly once, and while it was extremely well done, I don’t think I could ever sit through it again.  When it was over, my best friend and I sat in stunned silence on her couch for a good 15 minutes before either of us could speak.
• Garden State is still a favorite movie of mine.  I don’t care what people say about Braff as a director or the fact that the end of the film feels a little like a tacked-on Hollywood ending.  I love it.
• The Station Agent was one of those movies that was really good as well, but not one I’ve thought of in a long time.
• Juno takes the #1 slot, and I agree with the author (the name isn’t on the article), who writes, “ If you want to be the kind of jackass reject who can’t see the forest for the trees — or in this case the heart for the hamburger phone — and sit around railing about the twee dialogue penned by a stripper, just do us all a favor and choke on a bag of dicks and your better, more authentic script for the Star Trek reboot.”  I loved this movie, all backlash aside.  Since I actually read Candy Girl, Diablo Cody’s “memoir” of her time as a stripper, I’m the first to tell you that her shtick wears thin.  However, this was a gem of a movie, and it deserves to be on this list.

10 Best Comedies of the Aughts

• I’ve seen 9 of the 10 listed, the exception being Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and I’m feeling pretty proud, even if a few of the titles are not movies that would have made my list.
• The two that I feel ambivalent about?  O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Royal Tenenbaums.  I agree that they’re both good movies, but I just didn’t love them, you know?  I’m not a huge Coen Brothers fan, nor do I harbor a great love for Wes Anderson films.  Which probably makes me biased.  But this is my blog, so that’s allowed.
• However, High Fidelity makes the list, and in all honesty, this would probably make my list of Desert Island movies.  I do love it so.
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin also has a place here, and I have to agree.  I like Judd Apatow movies in general, overly long as they might be, but I believe that this movie is his best, and funniest, to date.  I watched most of it on TV not too long ago–and even though it was edited within an inch of its life, I had forgotten how funny it is.
• Shaun of the Dead takes the #1 slot, and again, I agree.  I love zombies, and I love the sense of humor that this movie took with the threat of zombies.  Also, anything with Bill Nighy is okay with me.

For the record, Pajiba also posted a Best Action Movies of the Aughts, but this is not a genre that I generally enjoy, and while I’ve seen a few of the movies, I don’t feel qualified enough to expand on the highlights.  Feel free to do so on your own or in the comments (heh, heh) though.

That’s all for now.  We’ve still got a good while before the end of the year, so I’m sure I’m not done with these lists.

I like to read zap2it.com.  It may not be the most fantastically written pop culture site out there, but I like a lot of the features and recaps that the site pumps out (their recaps are pretty good and a lot shorter than TWoP’s recaps, which is convenient when I’m short on time).  At any rate, they’ve posted a list of the most underrated stars of 2009, and here are some highlights:

• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) is on the list.  I like her.  I think she’s funny.  Remember her in that one episode of The Office where Dwight resigns and ends up working at Staples?  She’s his coworker in that one, and she has a great interview moment where she’s all, “I don’t like him, his giant head, or his beady little eyes.  That’s all I got to say on the matter.”  Awesome.
• Ryan Hansen and Martin Starr (Party Down).  I’ve only seen one episode of this show, and it was pretty funny.  But I love both of these men, and I’m glad to see them getting a bit of press.
• Mark Salling (Glee) also makes the list.  I don’t want to like him, but I do.  He plays douchebag/lost teenager so well that it’s impossible not to hate/like him.  Also, I still giggle when I think about the “Rachel is a hot Jew” monologue he gave several episodes back.  And have you seen him?
• There are a few others mentioned on the list, but these were the ones that stood out to me.

They also compiled a list of the year’s biggest movie bombs (based on total amount grossed).  Some highlights:

• I’m actually proud of myself here, folks.  Of the 20 movies listed, I’ve only seen one (Adventureland.  Which I loved, by the way).
• The majority of the films are not shockers: New in Town, the Renee Zellweger rom-com, the trailer of which was so terrible I couldn’t sit through the entire thing; The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, a movie that I literally had never heard of until I saw a trivia question about it playing over and over again before a movie one night; 12 Rounds, which I still haven’t heard of; and Bandslam, which stars Vanessa Hudgens.
• Things that make me sadder: that Post-Grad, starring Alexis Bledel is on the list.  I didn’t see it and it looked pretty terrible, but I have a special place in my heart for Rory Gilmore.  I wish she’d find better roles.  Work for it, girl.
• Also, Whip It, which I haven’t yet seen but have been told is pretty fun.  I have a lot to say about how movies starring a nearly all-female cast get treated, but now is not the time.
• Still though, I’ve only seen one of the movies, and it’s the one that probably doesn’t deserve to be on the list.  Adventureland was really good, y’all.  It just was marketed the wrong way.

That’s all.

It’s Monday, What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog to discuss what we are reading this week, as well as books completed the previous week.

Books I Completed Last Week:

The Walking Dead Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman.  This series is compulsively readable.

The Walking Dead Vol. 2 by Robert Kirkman. Obviously, I’m unable to put it down.

The Walking Dead Vol. 3 by Robert Kirkman. Even when it gives me nightmares.

The Walking Dead Vol. 4 by Robert Kirkman. On a nightly basis.

Ambition by Kate Brian.  I’m nearly caught up with the series, and I’m more than a little worried about what to read next.  I need my gym books.
Books I’m Reading This Week:

The Walking Dead Vol. 5 by Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead Vol. 6 by Robert Kirkman

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.  Le sigh.

Revelation by Kate Brian.  Seriously, I cannot stop reading this series.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I forgot I had stashed this in the trunk of my car, so I’m going to dive back in this week.

So, what are you reading this week?

Pajiba, one of my very favorite websites in the entire world, has been running a series of Best of Lists in celebration of the decade that was.  I’m sure that you, Gentle Readers, are growing weary of my “Best Of” recap lists, but I don’t really care.  I’m going to keep posting them.  Pajiba’s lists (links below) are fun because they’re a little different and a little bitchy.

The lists and the highlights of said lists are as follows.

13 Best Movie Villains

• You know Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman from American Psycho makes this list.  It’s the obvious choice.  Is it weird that since that footage of Bale screaming at the set person leaked, that’s all I can associate him with?
• Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort from Harry Potter makes an appearance.  Every single picture of Fiennes in the makeup scares the pieces out of me.
• Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill is also on the list.  She’s the only female, which isn’t surprising but kind of disappointing all the same.

10 Best Foreign Language Films

• I’ve only seen 2.5 of the 10 films listed, which tells you that a) I’m dangerously close to being an ugly American and b) I’m not huge on foreign films.
• Amelie is the most predictable choice on the list, but it’s a wonderful movie and deserves to be here.
• City of God comes in at number 1.  This film was so upsetting that I could barely watch it.
• Actually, there are a lot of films on this list that I would like to see.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Pan’s Labyrinth are two that I’ve been meaning to see.
• Oddly enough, Cache doesn’t make the list.  It seems like a strange omission, given that it seems to be topping so many lists these days.  Odd, indeed.

The Greatest Love Stories

• Okay, ya’ll.  I’ve seen 9 of the 10 listed (and the 10th one is something I’ve purposely avoided–I just can’t handle Adam Sandler in a serious movie like Punch-Drunk Love), which gives you a better sense of the kinds of movies I see and love.
• Waitress is one of my favorite movies of all time, and should be higher than #9 on the list.
• Eternal Sunshine makes another appearance (and rightfully so).  Holy guacamole do I love this movie.
• The most surprising movie on the list is probably Away We Go, which I loved but wouldn’t necessarily think about putting on this list.
• Brokeback Mountain comes in at #1.  This is a nice shout-out to a great movie that wasn’t given the proper accolades at the Oscars.

The Best Horror Movies

• I’ve seen 8 of the 10, which is pretty indicative of where my tastes lie.  For the record, I’m partial to zombie-horror, and I don’t care much for torture porn.  Since you asked and all.
• Slither makes the list. That movie is a lot of fun.  The fact that Nathan Fillion is in it makes it even better.
• Saw (the original) makes the list, and I’m glad that only the original and none of the sequels made the list.  I only saw the first one, and it was so disturbing and so scary that I didn’t sleep peacefully for weeks.
• I knew that Drag Me To Hell would be on this list, because Pajiba talked it up so much when it first came out.  I saw it, and I have to say, I didn’t love it.  The weird oral-fixation that the director had and the disappointing ending made viewing it not entirely enjoyable.  However, I can see why others loved it.
• The Descent takes the #1 slot, and I really agree with this because it was absolutely the most terrifying movie.  I had nightmares about the crawlers for months afterward.  When I saw it in the theater, I was so tense that I scratched my face to the point of drawing blood (this was accidental).

The Best TV Shows

• For the most part, I agree with this list.  For the most part.
• Veronica Mars starts off the list, which makes me happy.
• Firefly is included, which is downright necessary.  I’m in the middle of re-watching the series with The Boy, who has never seen it, and I forgot how funny it is.
• Friday Night Lights is pretty stellar, too.
• There are some shows that I never watched religiously but can appreciate.  The West Wing and Arrested Development fall into this category.
• The list loses me when it places The Wire in the #1 slot.  I watched the first few episodes but just never got into it.  Definitely wouldn’t have been my pick.

The Worst Television Shows

• This list is amusing simply because it tries to capture some of pop culture’s darker and more embarrassing moments.
• I haven’t seen most of these shows, but I’ll admit to having watched SOME of Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, simply because I wanted to see if they were really the train wreck the media painted them as.
• American Idol makes the list, which I kind of agree with, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to watching Hollywood Week.
• My Super-Sweet Sixteen rounds out the list.  I’m not a good judge of this one because I’ve never made it through a single episode.  The show makes me physically ill.

The Most Popular Secret Shames

• This list is pretty hit-or-miss, when evaluating it from my own perspective of what I consider my secret shames.
• Bring it On, Love Actually, and Twilight fall into that category for me.
• Crank, Joe Dirt, and several others?  Not so much.

That’s pretty much it for the time being.  I’m still hoping they’ll put out a list of the best films of the year and the best books, but who knows?  If you haven’t done so, I strongly encourage you to check out the site.  It’s completely entertaining.

According to Paste Magazine, that is.  It’s an interesting take on the lists that are out there right now (are you sick of me recapping those lists, gentle readers?), and for the most part, I agree with it.  Some highlights:

• Ellen Page as Juno McGuff makes a somewhat expected appearance.  I’m okay with it because I liked the movie, all Diablo-Cody-backlash aside.
• Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is also on the list, which makes me happy, because this is one of my favorite movies of all time.
• Jaime Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray makes me cry bitter tears, because Jaime Foxx went through a phase where he seemed to think he was ACTUALLY Ray Charles.
• I don’t know why I was surprised that Heath Ledger’s turn as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain was included.  Perhaps I’m not as jaded as I claim to be.
• What’s the opposite of shocking?  Because that’s what is encapsulated in Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow making the cut.  Yes, he was very good and very campy in movies that made less sense the further into the franchise we got.  In a weird way, I actually feel like this role has been over-exposed in lists summing up the decade over the past week.  Did that make sense?  I can’t tell.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote tops the list, and I actually agree with the Paste Magazine compilers on this one.  He was fantastic.  It was nearly impossible to distinguish PSH from Capote.  Well done.

That’s all for now, folks.  Pajiba has been running a whole series of bests of the decade, and I’d like to touch on that at some point this week.  Tune in then.

It’s Monday, What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog to discuss what we are reading this week, as well as books completed the previous week.

Books I Completed Last Week:

Legacy by Kate Brian: I keep trucking on through these books.  What can I say?  They’re like book crack.

I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous and Obscure by Smith Magazine, ed:  This quick read was fascinating and provided a lot of thought about the teens who penned their memoirs using only six words.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer:  Eh.

Books I’m Reading This Week:

The Walking Dead Volume 1 by Robert Kirkman et al: The Boy has been pushing this series on me for a long time now, and I figured I’d throw him a bone and read it before I ask to borrow Y: The Last Man again.

The Walking Dead Volume 2 by Robert Kirkman et al: See?  Told you.

Ambition by Kate Brian: The covers are getting uglier, but I’m still reading them compulsively.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer: It’s so embarrassing.

So what are you reading this week?

Another update on the increasing number of Top 10 Lists being churned out.  First up is Publisher’s Weekly.  The editors of this list elected to post their list without a single female author, which has the blogosphere up in arms (and rightfully so, y’all).  PW’s Louisa Ermelino had this to say:

From more than 50,000 volumes, we valiantly set out to choose 100, and this year we’ve upped the ante with a top 10 list. A usually cooperative, agreeable bunch, we gave ourselves a reason to fight. We wanted the list to reflect what we thought were the top 10 books of the year with no other consideration. We expect you’ll be surprised: there’s a graphic novel, an adventure story, possibly the next Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a delicious biography that could bring Cheever back into the literary firmament. We ignored gender and genre and who had the buzz. We gave fair chance to the “big” books of the year, but made them stand on their own two feet. It disturbed us when we were done that our list was all male.

They claim it was disturbing that they had a sausage fest of a top 10 list, but it apparently wasn’t disturbing enough to evaluate the list and reflect on why it turned out that way.  A bias towards male authors is rampant in the publishing world, Publisher’s Weekly throwing in the “it was disturbing to us” but not working to rectify it is  like saying, “Oh well!”  Or something more clever.

As for the actual list?  It’s been a year where I’ve been reading a lot of YA, and so I don’t recognize a single book on the list.  Meh.

The New York Times also put up their list of the Top 10 for the year, and they have a whole slew of women on the list.  Again, I haven’t read any of them, but Mary Karr’s memoir Lit is something that’s on my list to read.

]]> http://earlynerdspecial.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/book-lists-of-2009/feed/ 0 earlynerdspecial