Books and Movies of 2013

Here are the books I read and the movies I saw in the theater in 2013. (Previous years: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006)

My favorite non-fiction reads were Zealot and Benjamin Franklin. My favorite fiction reads were Gaudy Night, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and Evel Knievel Days (Gaudy Night was especially fantastic).

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest by Jack Nisbet
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Booth Who? A biography of Booth Gardner by John C. Hughes
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow
The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton
Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie
The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian by Heather Ewing
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson
Life Class by Pat Barker
Dead in the Water by Dana Stabenow
Evel Knievel Days by Pauls Toutonghi
May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
Midnight to the North: The Inuit Woman Who Saved the Polaris Expedition by Sheila Nickerson
Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
Cecil Andrus: Politics Western Style by Cecil Andrus
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
A Cold-Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow
Land of the Blind by Jess Walter
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
Honoring Juanita by Hans Ostrom
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth

IN PROGRESS: Play with Fire by Dana Stabenow and The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

The few movies I saw this year were great!

Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Brian
Rear Window
Francis Ha
Much Ado About Nothing
The Way, Way Back
20 Feet from Stardom

Books and Movies of 2012

Here are the books I read and the movies I saw in the theater in 2012. (Previous years: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006)

I some great books last year. I especially enjoyed Mocking Jay, Steve Jobs, Murder Must Advertise, Unfamiliar Fishes, Await Your Reply, and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. But, Gaudy Night was by far my favorite (even though I technically finished it in 2013).

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks
The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
In the Image by Dara Horn
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (re-read)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall
The Con Before Christmas by Erik Hanberg
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Moor by Laurie R. King
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (in progress)

For whatever reason, I didn't see many movies this year. But, they were all great and the soundtrack from The Descendants has been on a constant loop since I saw the movie.

The Descendants
Jeff Who Lives at Home
The Avengers
Liberal Arts
Looper
Skyfall
Lincoln

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this series. Collins never went for the easy way out of anything. Nothing is black and white. Issues and relationships are complex. I loved seeing the evolution of Katniss' feelings towards the rebels and being the mockingjay and the evolution of the rebel movement itself.

See the full review here.

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My 2011 - Books, Movies, and Travel

For the last few years I have been reviewing my year of movies and books each January (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006). For the second year, I'm going to include a few notes on travel too.

For some reason, I saw very few movies this year and didn't do much better with my reading.

BOOKS AND MOVIES (books titles are underlined and only movies seen in the theater are included)

January
True Grit

February
Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

March
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

April
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

May
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Colony by Jillian Weise

June
Meek's Cutoff
Inglorious by Joanna Kavenna

July
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Bridesmaids
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
Beginners
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

August
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

September
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

October
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists by Mike Veseth
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

November
The Muppets
The Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
The Way

December
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Muppets (2nd time)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Marinara Murders by Erik Hanberg
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

At the top, I mentioned that I hadn't read much this year, but I did read some great things. It was definitely a year of Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery series. I'm at various points in King's Mary Russell series and Sayers' Wimsey series (the first includes Holmes as a character, the second is really more aware of Holmes than "inspired" by). Both series are a lot of fun (in very different ways).

I also read the first two books of the Hunger Games (and am currently reading the third) and I have loved them. Great characters, great story. But, what I love most is the avoidance of black and white story telling. Collins is really great at exploring the grey areas and complexities of the political issues and the characters' feelings. The Colony, which I read earlier in the year, was in a similar vein, and was equally great.

As far as non-fiction goes, you really must read Edmund Morris's Teddy Roosevelt trilogy. I read the final book this year and it was just as great as the first two. I also really loved The Ghost Map (a medical mystery set in Victorian London).

You can find me over at Goodreads.

Somehow, I only managed to see six movies in the theater this year. Luckily, all six were enjoyable. I loved The Muppets so much that I saw it twice.

TRAVEL
These stats are probably more for my own silly record-keeping than anyone else's potential interest.

• States Visited: 6 (nothing new here: WA, ID, CA, MN, MO, KS...also visited BC)
• National Park Properties Visited: 5 (Mount Rainier NP, North Cascades NP, Whitman Mission Historical Site, Lewis & Clark NHP, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial)
• Washington Counties Visited: 32 of 39 (I only missed Mason, Wahkiakum, Clark, Ferry, Stevens, and Asotin).
• Washington State Parks Visited: 13 (Moran and Deception Pass were favorites this year)
• BC Provincial Parks Visited: 2 (camped at Juan de Fuca and loved it)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, apparently I need to immediately read the third book.

I thought the first book stood on its own and didn't need sequels, but this was great.

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So great.

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The Marinara Murders by Erik Hanberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun book and a quick read. And, set in Minnesota!

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Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not my favorite Wimsey book. Too repetitive. Too long. Not enough Parker and Wimsey (although I did like the Scottish characters).

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Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, as always. Looking forward to more Harriet Vane.

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American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating, controversial president. The middle third of the book was the best part for me. The expansion of presidential powers and the formation of the presidency as we know it today is spun out as Jackson battles Calhoun, Clay, and congress. However, to get to this part of the book, you have to endure the never-ending battle over John and Margaret Eaton. Frustrating and boring. Frustratingly boring. Meacham does a good job, but he has some writing quirks that got annoying at times. It also seemed like the Indian Wars and eventual removal weren't dealt with as fully as I would have liked.

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A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a bit up and down for me, but I still loved the main characters. And, it was entertaining enough to pull be right along. A fun read.

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Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, The Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists by Mike Veseth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great read. Veseth doesn't get snobbish about wine or deep into economic theory. It is essentially the story of the global wine market, but the cultural/sociological component of the tale was the most interesting part to me. Learning about grocery giants like Costco and Trader Joe's was fascinating. He writes in a conversational style and suggests wines for you to taste along the way. I learned a lot and I feel a little more confident about approaching the wine wall at the grocery store!

Full disclosure: Veseth is a professor at the college where I work.

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Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know, after all the hubbub surrounding Weiner's criticism of the media's coverage of Franzen's Freedom, it is interesting how similar these two books are. I've always been a fan of Weiner and bristled a bit about the chick lit label (which she has completely embraced). Weiner and Franzen write about similar things. A couple going through life's troubles and how it impacts their families and friends. Fly Away Home is called chick lit and Freedom is called a great American novel. Go figure.

p.s. I liked both books.

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The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lot of fun. A Sherlock Holmes story told from the perspective of his new, female partner. Very engaging, great characters. I'll definitely continue to the second book in the series!

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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great intertwined stories of a major public project (the World's Fair in Chicago) and an insane serial killer. Creepy and awesome. And a true story, too!

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The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this one.

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The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban development, cartography, rogue science, medical mystery, Victorian London. All with a killer epilogue relating it to the world of today (and the future). Loved it.

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Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Have to quote Sarah's review on this one:

"Fun stuff (aside from of-the-period racism and unaddressed lesbian subtext.)"

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