2011: My Year in Entertainment

I haven’t really taken a look back at all the things in 2011 that entertained me and what I liked best. Before we get too far into 2012, I wanted to share some of my thoughts from the past year.

Music:
I didn’t really listen to much on the radio, as I had CDs to keep me entertained. When I did choose the radio, I went with the country station or a classic rock station. I got to learn about new music from “Glee” though. As much as I don’t like Lady Gaga or songs that mention the word “Jesus,” I found “You and I” to be really catchy. I think “Glee” made me like it more because Idina was singing it on one episode. I also have Spotify on my laptop and will check out some new artists there, but nothing has really charmed me lately. The two CDs I listened to the most in 2011 were “21” by Adele and The Band Perry (self-titled debut). I still listen to them a lot now!

Movies:
I didn’t see as many movies this year as I normally do. When I did see a movie, it was usually a comedy or chick flick. Very few movies that I saw in 2011 stand out to me all that much. I really liked “The Muppets” and am glad I got a chance to see it in the theater. And this is not only because of Jason Segel’s involvement. It was cute and entertaining the whole way through. I love a good musical too. :) Some of the funnier comedies I saw were “Bridesmaids” (Melissa McCarthy totally deserved her Oscar nomination for this one),  “Due Date” and “Horrible Bosses.” I also saw “Source Code” which was more suspenseful, but had a good storyline. It had a “Matrix” feel in some ways. Towards the end of the year, I saw "Midnight in Paris," which was cute and clever, deserving of its Oscar nomination.

TV:
If you don’t know of my addiction to “How I Met Your Mother” by now, then where have you been?!? That show ruled 2011 for me. I preferred 6-8 episode marathons to watching movies throughout the year. I’m still watching “Modern Family” (had some lousy episodes but is getting back on track now), “Desperate Housewives” (it’s the last season and crazier than ever), “Glee” (it’s better this season, except for the Christmas episode) and “90210” (I just can’t get enough of it). I gave up “The Office” after Steve Carell left. It’s just not the same. I haven’t really started on any new shows. “The Glee Project” made my summer more entertaining though. I loved the theatrics and all the music. I was thrilled that they picked Damian, even though it was a tie with Samuel.

Books:
Seeing that I run a book blog, it’s pretty obvious how much I’ve read in the last year. Some standouts for me were “What Alice Forgot” by Liane Moriarty, “Before Ever After” by Samantha Sotto (which I even got my husband to read), “The Violets of March” by Sarah Jio and “Spin” by Catherine McKenzie…just to name a few. I also got advanced copies of “Home Front” by Kristin Hannah and “These Girls” by Sarah Pekkanen, which I devoured towards the end of 2011. On the non-chick lit front, I finally read “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana DeRosnay and thought it was amazing. I don’t think I could see the movie though. It’s such a sad premise.

It will be interesting to see what exciting things in the field of entertainment come out in 2012. I'm excited to see "Smash" (TV), as the pilot episode was fantastic! There are a bunch of movies I'm sure I'll want to see at some point. :) (There are already two with Jason Segel that I have my eye on. ;) ) I also want to see "Brave," the new Pixar film. I already read the latest Sophie Kinsella novel, "I've Got Your Number," and loved it. I know a lot of my favorite authors are putting on books this year. My shelves will be full by year's end! As for music, I'll just wait and see what "Glee" deems worthy enough to perform. Speaking of which, I am excited about Idina Menzel's "Live Barefoot at the Symphony" CD coming out this spring. I'm also looking forward to Adam Lambert's next CD.