BOOKS!
Last year, I read 11 books. I don't consider this particularly impressive (in 2011, I read 33 books!), but toward late December it looked like it might have been only 9 and I would have considered that pathetic. So, in the end, I was pleased. In 2012, I read:
Parade's End by Ford Maddox Ford
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
In the Woods by Tana French
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
The Believers by Zoë Heller
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
I got really stuck reading The Museum of Innocence - it took me nearly four months to finish and put me in a reading slump throughout the summer. This was particularly disappointing because with no school over the summer, I had expected to get a lot of reading done. In the end, I actually liked the book, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort to get there. I probably should have given it up in June. 2666 was definitely my favorite book that I read during the year with Parade's End a close second. The Believers was a fascinating read for me, because the biography of a central character was, I am almost certain, based on the life of William Kunstler, whose daughters I grew up with. Some parts of the book were eerily familiar. (To clarify, the story is not his and the family that surrounds the character are not his, but the basic biography of a central character seemed to be borrowed from Bill's life.)
MOVIES!
In theaters, I saw 18 movies:
Young Adult
A Dangerous Method
My Week with Marilyn
The Secret World of Arrietty
Voyage to the Moon
Damsels in Distress
Magic Mike
Searching for Sugar Man
Wuthering Heights
Looper
The Master
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Cloud Atlas
Skyfall
Central Park Five
Argo
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Amour
I can't say this was an exceptionally good year for movies (at least the ones I saw). Amour stands out, and not solely because it's what I saw most recently. I really enjoyed Looper, Damsels in Distress, Young Adult, Skyfall, and Django Unchained. Seeing Magic Mike on opening night at the UA Court Street was a hilarious and memorable experience.
OTHER!
I saw a few operas in 2012:
Faust at the Met
Götterdämmerung at the Met
La Traviata at BAM (NYC Opera)
Manon at the Met
The Barber of Seville at the Met
I also traveled (for pleasure) a bunch in 2012. I went to Park City, Utah in February; California (the Bay Area and Napa) in April; Spain and Portugal in July; and Montreal and Quebec City in August.
And I ate some incredible meals (many of them on my travels) in 2012. Notable meals of 2012 include dinner at Ilili in January; dinner at the Riverhorse in Park City, UT in February; dinner at Commis in Oakland, CA in April; dinner at French Laundry in Yountville, CA in April; dinner at Mission Chinese in San Francisco, CA in April; the Monday crab prix fixe dinner at Kin Shop in May; the Lomo Saltado at Coppelia on more than one occasion (including once in June); dinner at La Mucca in Madrid in July; dinner at Book in Porto in July; dinner at Gwynnett St. in August; Cafe le St. Malo in Quebec in August; Lunch at Totonno's in August (it was my first ever visit - good thing I got there before Sandy!); dinner at Prime Meats in September; dinner at Barboncino in September; dinner at St. Anselm in October; ramen at Chuko twice; and I can't leave out the many many slices of pizza I've picked up at King's Pizza on Fulton Street since it reopened earlier this year.
And then there was school. The end of 2012 marked the approximate 2/3 mark of my graduate program. All I can say is that it is a relief to have what's behind me over and I look forward to being completely done in July. I guess I can also say that it has been an interesting and mostly rewarding experience and that I've made some good friends.
Finally, I did a lot of biking last year. My biggest accomplishment of 2012 was riding approximately 105 miles in the NYC Century on September 9. Go me!
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
I got really stuck reading The Museum of Innocence - it took me nearly four months to finish and put me in a reading slump throughout the summer. This was particularly disappointing because with no school over the summer, I had expected to get a lot of reading done. In the end, I actually liked the book, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort to get there. I probably should have given it up in June. 2666 was definitely my favorite book that I read during the year with Parade's End a close second. The Believers was a fascinating read for me, because the biography of a central character was, I am almost certain, based on the life of William Kunstler, whose daughters I grew up with. Some parts of the book were eerily familiar. (To clarify, the story is not his and the family that surrounds the character are not his, but the basic biography of a central character seemed to be borrowed from Bill's life.)
MOVIES!
In theaters, I saw 18 movies:
Young Adult
A Dangerous Method
My Week with Marilyn
The Secret World of Arrietty
Voyage to the Moon
Damsels in Distress
Magic Mike
Searching for Sugar Man
Wuthering Heights
Looper
The Master
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Cloud Atlas
Skyfall
Central Park Five
Argo
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Amour
I can't say this was an exceptionally good year for movies (at least the ones I saw). Amour stands out, and not solely because it's what I saw most recently. I really enjoyed Looper, Damsels in Distress, Young Adult, Skyfall, and Django Unchained. Seeing Magic Mike on opening night at the UA Court Street was a hilarious and memorable experience.
OTHER!
I saw a few operas in 2012:
Faust at the Met
Götterdämmerung at the Met
La Traviata at BAM (NYC Opera)
Manon at the Met
The Barber of Seville at the Met
I also traveled (for pleasure) a bunch in 2012. I went to Park City, Utah in February; California (the Bay Area and Napa) in April; Spain and Portugal in July; and Montreal and Quebec City in August.
And I ate some incredible meals (many of them on my travels) in 2012. Notable meals of 2012 include dinner at Ilili in January; dinner at the Riverhorse in Park City, UT in February; dinner at Commis in Oakland, CA in April; dinner at French Laundry in Yountville, CA in April; dinner at Mission Chinese in San Francisco, CA in April; the Monday crab prix fixe dinner at Kin Shop in May; the Lomo Saltado at Coppelia on more than one occasion (including once in June); dinner at La Mucca in Madrid in July; dinner at Book in Porto in July; dinner at Gwynnett St. in August; Cafe le St. Malo in Quebec in August; Lunch at Totonno's in August (it was my first ever visit - good thing I got there before Sandy!); dinner at Prime Meats in September; dinner at Barboncino in September; dinner at St. Anselm in October; ramen at Chuko twice; and I can't leave out the many many slices of pizza I've picked up at King's Pizza on Fulton Street since it reopened earlier this year.
And then there was school. The end of 2012 marked the approximate 2/3 mark of my graduate program. All I can say is that it is a relief to have what's behind me over and I look forward to being completely done in July. I guess I can also say that it has been an interesting and mostly rewarding experience and that I've made some good friends.
Finally, I did a lot of biking last year. My biggest accomplishment of 2012 was riding approximately 105 miles in the NYC Century on September 9. Go me!
