2012 Favorites

So, I don’t think entertainment in 2012 was particularly great. Or at least not the stuff I was exposed to, which was mostly the mainstream stuff everyone else was exposed to. Not being a book, film, or music critic, I didn’t get to read, see, or listen to every book, film, and album/song put out this year. Also, because I’m not a critic, these are “favorites” not “bests.” Bold titles are my most favorite.

MOVIES
My film list includes two 2011 releases that I didn’t see until 2012.

Your Sister’s Sister by Lynn Shelton 
Hugo by Martin Scorsese
Young Adult by Jason Reitman
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson
Safety Not Guaranteed by Colin Trevorrow
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Skyfall by Sam Mendes
Lincoln by Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell

Possible 10th Place (aka films still playing that I want to see)
Looper
Argo
Les Miserables
Anna Karenina

Thanks to Brewvies Film Buff Night and Tower Through Time I saw plenty of old(er) movies on the big screen. Here are five favorites:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell
Harold and Maude by Hal Ashby
When Harry Met Sally by Rob Reiner
True Romance by Tony Scott
The Apartment by Billy Wilder

BOOKS
I read just over 30 books this year, slightly lower than my yearly average, but I still had a hard time scrounging up 10 of them to fill out this list. Mostly NOT from 2012.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller 
In One Person by John Irving
A Gay and Melancholy Sound (currently reading) by Merle Miller
American Fascists by Chris Hedges
Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

MUSIC
Favorite Ten Nine Songs of 2012

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men 
It’s Time by Imagine Dragons
Andrew in Drag by The Magnetic Fields
I Love It by Icona Pop
All the Rowboats by Regina Spektor
Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson
Lights by Ellie Goulding (so, yeah, it was released in 2010—whatever)