2012: A Year in Review

With the close of another year, I wanted to take some time to think about and review 2012. It may not have been the best year, but it’s been pretty good in the end.

Best Books

I’ve rated four books with five stars on Goodreads this year. Out of 30 books read, I feel that four books as the best is a good proportion. Ape House by Sara Gruen, The Help by Kathrynn Stockett, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni were the top books for the year. I have a review of Ape House and a discussion of The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family planned for the beginning of this year. You can read my review of The Last Lecture here and my comparison of The Help movie and book here.

I’ve had, in my opinion, a pretty good year of reading, and I can only hope that the next year is even better.

Best Movies

I obviously really enjoy watching movies (and TV), and I’ve watched plenty of good and plenty of bad movies this year. The good movies that I enjoyed the most this year for the first time were 21 Jump Street, The Lorax, Super 8 and Hatfields & McCoys. Sometimes I’m nothing if not varied in my tastes.

Some Favorite Parts of the Year

Despite being unemployed and stressed for a while, I have experienced a number of highlights this year, including the following:

Election Results: four more years for Obama, no Constitutional ban on gay marriage in Minnesota and 20 women senators total.
Having a wonderful kid who turned two in April, loves books, and gives the best hugs.
Moving was stressful, but I believe it was a good idea for us, providing us access to family, shopping and lots of fun things to do.
Watching Claire get excited about Santa coming.
Surprising my husband with a 30th birthday party.