#2020PopCultureResolution - Halfway Point

As we are halfway through the year I thought it would be a good time to check in with my progress on my #2020PopCultureResolution. 

I have so far managed to read every book and watch each movie that I set out to. I am enjoying it so much that it will return in some capacity next year (same format but the genres are changing).

First up are the books I have read so far. Each links to my review if you are interested.



January -  Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina Longworth

February - The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

March - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

April -  Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

May - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

June - All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin

I enjoyed all of them to varying degrees, and could not pick a favourite between Seduction, Catch and Kill and In Cold Blood. They are all captivating reads that will probably make my Best Of list at the end of the year. Only The Devil In The White City stood out as a bit of a disappointment and that was more for my expectations than anything else. It is a well written read that I am sure others will enjoy immensely.

Next up are the movies that I have watched so far. This has widened the list of movies I want to see and introduced me to some actors whose work I want to continue to watch and directors I am looking forward to working my way through their filmography. They all link to my review.

January - A Place In The Sun

February - A Streetcar Named Desire

March - An Affair To Remember

April - Sabrina

May - Niagara

June - Rear Window

Just like when talking about the books I would have a hard time choosing a favourite. Rear Window is, objectively, the best made of all of them, but A Streetcar Named Desire is certainly right on its heels. All of them are worth the watch though and have sparked a renewed interest in classics for me and I cannot wait to experience more of them.

Here are my initial reactions as shared on Instagram:

I cannot wait to see what the next 6 months brings. There are certainly some choices I am very excited about coming up. I look forward to checking in at the end of the year to see if I could possibly choose a favourite from each list but I am fairly certain it is going to be impossible.

Have you read any of these books/watched any of these movies? If so what did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments. If you are also filling in some of your own pop culture blind spots this year let me know what you have been reading/watching/etc.



Half Year Check In

We are already half way done with 2012! Time to check in and see what books have made my top 10 list so far and other bookish goodies.

In no particular order, my top ten reads of 2012 at the half year point are.....

1 Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (goodreads/ my review)
2 This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel (goodreads/ my review)
3 Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siohban Vivian (goodreads)
4 Gilt by Katherine Longshore (goodreads/ my review)
5 Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (goodreads/ my review)
6 Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (goodreads)
7 Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (goodreads\ my review)
8 I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (goodreads/ my review)
9 Cinder by Marissa Meyer (goodreads/ my review)
10 Insurgent by Veronica Roth (goodreads/ my review)

Some of you may recall my Bucket List post. I am going to post it again and scratch off the ones I have completed. I figured this would be a good time to do a check in on that as well.

My Bucket List

1. Annotate and scribble and highlight a book I really loved and send it to the author. I’d mark my favourite quotes. Parts that made me cry and laugh and smile and ache. *this was such an awesome idea I had to borrow it*

2. Send a little thank you gift to a fellow blogger who has helped me (or otherwise made an impact).

3. Leave a note in a book at a bookstore detailing how much I loved the book for the person who purchases it to find. *again, awesome idea Audrey*

4. Browse bookstores, have dinner, drink wine and talk books with a fellow blogger.

5. Obtain some sort of bookcase that will fit all my books and protect them from my cat (she likes to eat books). One I could decorate would be a bonus.

6. Send a book on a “book tour” with some papers inside so that the people who receive it can write something before they pass it along. Eventually I will get the book back with all these notes.

7. Take a tour of a Publishing office

8. Send a thank you basket to a publisher contact for all the awesomeness they do for us bloggers.

9. Have a meet up for Ottawa book bloggers, so we can meet each other *if there are enough of us*

10. Take a book that is set in a real life location and photograph some of the places mentioned in the book (with the book in it of course).

11. Have a birthday cake themed after a book that I love  My awesome Masque of the Red Death cake

So I have managed to cross two items off this list. Looking forward to scratching off more.

My other check in is going to be with my 2012 Debut Author list

1. Gilt by Katherine Longshore (Penguin, May 15)  review
2. Immortal City by Scott Speer (Penguin, April 3)  review
3. Everneath by Brodi Ashton (Harper Collins, Jan 24)  review
4. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Ross (Harper Collins, Jan 3)  review
5. The Selection by Kiera Cass (Harper Collins, April 24)  review
6. What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang (Harper Collins, TBA 2012)
7. Fracture by Megan Miranda (Walker Books for Young Readers, Jan 17)  review
8. Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (Kensington Books, April 24) review
9. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (Penguin, Feb 7) review
10. Slide by Jill Hathaway (Harper Collins, March 27)
11. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (Harper Collins, May 8) review
12. Velveteen by Daniel Marks (Random House, TBA 2012)
13. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett (Tor Teen, TBA 2012)
14. Blind Spot by Laura Ellen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, TBA 2012)
15. Mystique by Shari Arnold (Chronicle, TBA 2012)
16. Pivot Point by Kasie West (Harper Collins, TBA 2012)
17. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown (Random House, June 12) review
18. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (Harper Collins, May 1) review
19. When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle (Simon and Schuster, May 1) review
20. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf (Walker Books, Apr 24)
21. The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams (Simon & Schuster, Jan 3)
22 Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London (Harper Collins, May 29)
23 Cinder by Marissa Meyer review
24 Of Poseidon by Anna Banks review
25 Scarlet by AC Gaughen review
26 Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
27 Crewl by Gennifer Albin
28 Splintered by A.G. Howard
29 Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by R.L. LaFevers review
30 Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
31 Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill
31 Black City by Elizabeth Richards
31 Venom by Fiona Paul
32 The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer
33 Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore review
34 The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg
(Penguin, Feb 21) review

I have read 18 of my 34 that I wanted to read. I am sure that I have other debut author books not on my list and may be changing my list as I go along but I feel pretty good at having read 17 already.

Has the time flown by for you as well? This year has gone by super quickly. I can't wait to see what is to come and what wonderful books I will get to read in the second half of 2012!

Best of 2011 so far....

We are officially half way done 2011. I thought I would share a list of my ten favourite reads so far. I am going to do the same at the end of the year, and in early 2012 do a favourite reads of 2011....it'll be interesting to see how many of these make that final list.

These are are in no particular order. The release date wasn't looked at for this. I simply looked at the 50 books on my read list and selected from there.

1. City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

This is one of my favourit series. I love Cassandra Clare's writing style and this novel set up the next 2 in the series perfectly. Read my review here.

2. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

This is Aimee's debut novel. I was sucked into this world she has created. Henry made me fall in love, and Kate has earned a place on my awesome female protaganist list. See the review here.

3. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

An eerie dystopian future that seemed scarily possible. The dynamic between the characters, and the writing itself are all stand outs. Read the review here.

4. Die For Me by Amy Plum

A unique paranormal aspect, a swoon worthy guy, and one of the more smart heroines in YA made this a favourite of mine. Read the review here.

5. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

So much of this plot is super secret. It really would spoil it to give anything away. Simply put - Mara is awesome, Noah Shaw is the ultimate book crush, and the end twist floored me. I am so glad Mara's story is just getting started. Review to come in September..as I said, it's super secret!

6. Forbidden by Tabithia Suzuma

This story grabbed my heart, held on and didn't let go. It left me in tears, and is one of the most beautifully written novels I've read. Read my review here.

7. Divergent by Veronia Roth

The action, the romance, and the world Veronica has created all suck you in. I am so glad that this is just the beginning for Tris and the sexy and dangerous Four. Read my full review here.

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

The cutest, most sigh inducing novel I've read so far this year. Stephanie captures that "Does he like me?" deliema perfectly. Plus it has Etienne St Clair. Read the review here.

9. Stolen by Lucy Christopher

My first review. I still haven't shaken this book. It stays with you and haunts you. It's beautifully written and the landscape is so perfectly described that it almost becomes a character itself. Read the review here.

10. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I never thought I would be greateful to the guys who broke my heart...until I read this book. It made me so happy I could experience love in all it's forms..a message I still haven't forgotten. Read the review here.

The Iron Fey series came close to making the list but I couldn't just pick ONE of them to put on here.

I have read some amazing books so far this year and am looking forward to the ones to come. I can't believe this year is half over already!