Top 5: Books Of 2012

If you read this blog you already know that I have been cataloging the books I read in 2012.  I don’t necessarily keep up with books released in any given year, so it’s hard for me to do a best of 2012.  I don’t even know if I read 5 books that came out in 2012.  So this list is more of a summary of the stuff I have already written.  Here’s the Top 5 Books I Read in 2012…

5) The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron by Howard Bryant

            It’s not a hidden fact that I am a huge baseball fan, so that probably has something to do with my love of this book, but it is about so much more then baseball.  In a society that has come to expect our heroes to tweet and comment on everything, here is a story about a man that was asked to make strides for his race and did it without great fanfare or publicity.  His reluctance to speak out certainly has hurt his legacy.  As the book shows, Willie Mays will always be considered the better ball player even though in most areas Aaron has the better stats.  Bryant does a great job showcasing Aaron as arguably the greatest baseball player ever, a reluctant hero, and a great American.

4) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

            It’s been pretty documented how reluctant I was to read the Hunger Game books.  I still contend that the frame work was stolen from other stories.  But I quickly fell in love with the characters Collins created and the subtlety and intensity of the relationships they have with each other.  Mockingjay was probably my favorite of the three.  Collins wasn’t afraid to pull any punches and refuses to leave us with a “walk off into the sunset” happy ending.  She created a world where there are consequences for one’s actions and sticks to that theme to the very end.  None of the characters will be the same after the choices they made or the horrors that were forced upon them and, in my mind, that makes this a great novel.

3) The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

            This book is probably closer to a guilty pleasure then a great piece of literature, but I loved it none the less.  It was a great spin on the vampire story, staying away from the tortured soul cliché and just being a wonderful horror story.  It has great characters and solid story telling, all that you can ask for in a book.  If you read vampire books for the romance, you should probably stay away, but if you enjoy a well told horror story this is a must read.

2) The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

            Chuck Klosterman is one of my favorite authors, so it should be no surprise this book made my best of the year list.  Normally an essayist, Klosterman didn’t seem out of place at all writing this poignant novel.  Much like his essays, The Visible Man comments on our society and culture, but does so in a more subtle way.  It’s also an exciting thriller about a guy with an invisibility suit.  The book is a bit darker then one would expect from Klosterman but that only gives the themes he’s exploring more weight.  This is a novel that should probably be read multiple times and is so well written and easy to get through that it won’t be much of a chore.

1)Last Night In Twisted River – John Irving

            I haven’t read a ton of Irving and I haven’t gotten around to any of his “classics” yet, but this book blew my mind.  I was enthralled from page one and couldn’t put the book down for a second.  It’s by far the most personal of Irving’s novels and that is saying a lot since he always seems to pull from his personal experiences and trials.  As would be expected, the characters are beautifully drawn, the narrative is engrossing, and the prose is perfectly constructed.  Even if most of the themes and images are repetitive from other Irving works, this is an amazing and unheralded piece of fiction.

Honorable Mentions: Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson; The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo; The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; Everyone Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge by mark Yarm

New Girl: Table 34

          Was I a little scared tuning in to New Girl this week?  Yes.  Were my fears resolved?  Not necessarily.  All great sitcoms have one thing in common, fantastic will they/won’t they tension between two characters.  And in almost every case, when that tension is taken away the show goes down the tubes.  The one exception is Cheers where the writers were somehow able to make the Sam/Diane relationship so contentious that even when they were together you felt the tension.  When Nick kissed Jess last week I groaned, I audibly groaned because I saw the best comedy on TV make a huge mistake.  They didn’t have to go there yet.  This wasn’t a Jim/Pam situation where the writers had put themselves in a corner they could only get out of with a kiss.  There was plenty of story to develop before these two had a moment, so it really worried me that they jumped right in.  It felt like a classic jump the shark moment even it is only season two.  And Table 34 didn’t do much to make me feel better about the decision.  The two may have spent most of the episode claiming that the kiss meant nothing, but I’m sure none of us believed that and ending the Jess/Sam relationship just feels like another step in the wrong direction.  I love this show, but a Jess/Nick relationship will be nothing short of disaster, especially this early in the game.

            In other news, Winston may be becoming my new favorite character.  They’ve figured the character out and every week he just seems to get funnier.  Even though I was wrong about last week’s girl becoming a semi-regular, I was very happy with the mojo man.  I also loved Nick’s panic moonwalk.  I hope that’s a joke that comes back without mention.  It’s silly yet perfectly describes Nick’s awkwardness in certain situations.

            The Nick quote of the week: “Is there another doctor in the house?”

New Girl: Cooler

     There isn't a new New Girl this week and I'm more then a couple of weeks behind reviewing it, so I'm going to take the chance to go back a couple of weeks and attempt to catch up.  Here's the first of two New Girl posts today, you probably don't even remember the episodes at this point, but oh well...

     After a couple weeks of mediocre episodes the New Girl crew came back full force with “Cooler.”  If I’ve had one consistent problem with the show it has been their handling of Winston.  This episode seemed to address those concerns by finally giving him a storyline.  It’s been a slow build this season from non-existent after thought to funny background player to what now looks like a fully developed character.  It says great things about the show writers that they can address the show’s weaknesses and course correct while still pumping out quality episodes.  I love how Winston wilted when approaching women, even if it didn’t totally jive with what we have seen in the past.  And even though it was obvious the girl was single (why else would she go back to the flat and play American), it was a nice payoff having the two hook up.  I now have high hopes that she will stay around a while and Winston will get some time in the spotlight.

            My favorite moment of the episode was easily the American call back.  I loved that they brought everyone’s favorite drinking game back.  It’s a great joke that works wonderfully as a way to push plot points along.  It feels like something that would have been used on How I Met Your Mother when those guys still knew how to write a funny episode.  I also love the use of “Party At Ground Zero,” anytime a ska song shows up in a TV show or movie, I’m all in.

            And yes… I’m totally ignoring that they may have jumped the shark at the end of the show.  I deal with that at some other time.

            Nick quote of the week: “He’s got a 401k and a sick pack.”

Top 5: Albums of 2012

It looks like I have fallen behind in my blog updates.  It really doesn’t matter why, but I’ve found myself unable to find time to sit down and write the last few months.  Which means… It’s time for me to try catching up!!  I originally planned on having a week of Top 5 Lists dealing with the best of 2012.  That never happened, but I still feel the need to write about my favorite TV shows, books and music from last year, so you’re going to get it now.  Better late then never, I guess.

            I’m going to kick off my belated Top 5 of 2012 lists with Top 5 Favorite Albums of 2012, or CDs if you have no idea what an album is.  I know we live in a world where singles are more important then putting together a full album, but to me, it’s all about being entertained for 30-45 minutes.  A song is a novelty; an album is a creative statement.  Her are my favorite albums of 2012…

5) Go Fly A Kite – Ben Kweller

            Ben Kweller is not pop enough to be mainstream nor avant-garde enough o be considered trendy, so he’s perfect for my tastes.  He’s been cranking out quality album after quality album under the radar since 2002.  This years release was a perfect addition to his catalogue.  Somewhere between the pop rock of On My Way and the alt-country of Changing Horses, Go Fly A Kite is a fun, light, musical romp.  Kweller has a style that’s poignant without being edgy, which makes for great music.

            Favorite Tracks: "Mean To Me", "Jealous Girl"

4) Candy Coated Fury – Reel Big Fish

            If I based this list just on album title, this would be the hands down number one.  And there probably wasn’t much doubt this would make the list, because if you’ve read any of this blog you know how extremely biased I am when it comes to RBF.  But the truth is this album actually had to grow on me.  My first reaction was slight disdain; the lyrics were cheesy (or cheesier then normal for you RBF detractors), the songs were to repetitive, Scott Klopfenstein isn’t on the album.  Slowly, though, I found the songs sticking in my head and caught myself humming horn lines over and over.  It’s not the best RBF album, not even the third best, but it has some great songs and certainly holds up in the RBF cannon.  I might not have loved it right off the bat, but it certainly became one of my favorites of 2012.

            Favorite Tracks: "I Dare You To Break My Heart", "I Know You To Well To Like You Anymore", "Your Girlfriend Sucks"

3) Day Job – Suburban Legends

            This was a good year for ska.  RBF came back to form and the Suburban Legends cam out with probably their best album ever.  Suburban Legends, made up of equal parts ska, pop, boy band, and disco, are one of those bands who I’ve continued to listen to over the years because I know they can write a good hook, but none of their recent albums have done much for me.  Their first album, Rump Shaker, was arguably a third wave ska classic, but everything since has been a little tepid.  They’ve written a few good songs but haven’t put together a full album.  Day Job puts together everything that is fun about the band, their infectious hooks, silly sense of humor and high energy, and maintains it for a full 35 minutes.  It is certainly a throw back to the Rump Shaker days.  They even threw in two of their popular Disney covers.

            Favorite Tracks: "Open Your Eyes", "Love Fair", "Can’t Stop It"

2) Uno – Green Day

            Talk about returning to form.  Green Day, after the totally forgettable 21^st Century Breakdown, released three fantastic albums that brought back the late 90’s with gusto.  Even though all three were solid albums, Uno was the best of the bunch.  There is a small part of me that thinks they would have been better off just taking the best 12 to 14 tracks and made amazing album that would have probably been there all time best, but I’m not going to complain.  Of the three, Uno had the most of my favorite tracks, one of those, “Stay The Night”, is probably my favorite song of the year.  The album is classic hard driving pop punk with a few off beat chances, like “Kill The DJ,” that break from typical Green Day fare without losing the spirit and energy of the album.

            Favorite Tracks: "Stay The Night", "Fell For You", "Oh Love"

1) Some Nights – fun

            This album surprised the heck out of me (it is the only band on this list that I hadn’t heard before this year).  I heard “We Are Young” and didn’t think much of it, but suddenly it was everywhere and was getting stuck in my head.  I decided to give the album a listen and was blown away.  What I like so much about Some Nights is how different it is then anything out there.  It isn’t bubble gum pop or whinny guitar rock or any other style you hear over and over on the radio.  fun is a band that is doing their own thing and doing it really well.  The songs are carried by the amazing vocals and harmonies, something that only brings to mind Queen.  Yet that is where the Queen comparisons stop.  There’s no arena level guitar solos on this album, just well constructed songs that jump all over the musical map. 

            Favorite Tracks: "We Are Young", "Why Am I The One", "Some Nights"

Honorable Mentions: Championship Rock-Japandroids, Blak And Blu-Gary Clark Jr., 2^nd Law-Muse, Anarchy My Dear-Say Anything

New Girl: A Father's Love

     It is really starting to feel like this show has shifted from all about quirky Jess to all about angry Nick.  It's still very much a ensemble show, but even in an ensemble there is the central character that story lines seem to revolve around, Friends was almost always about Ross and or Rachel, Seinfeld was about Jerry, Cheers was about Sam.  New Girl, as the title suggests, started out all about Jess.  Her quirkiness and the world's response to it was the central focus of almost every episode.  But now, half way into the second season, there seems to have been a shift.  I may be a little biased because he is one of my favorite characters on TV, but this season seems to be all about Nick.  A Father's Love is yet another episode that dealt almost exclusively with Nick and the many issues that make up his angry hilarious character.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I love every minute Nick is on screen, it's just interesting to see a young show switch it's focus so early. 
     In all honesty I don't know if they had much of a choice.  As much as they have finally allowed Winston to be funny over the last few episodes, they still don't seem to know what to do with him on a grander scale.  As adorable as Jess is and as funny as her quirkiness can be, they do seem to be traits that ware thin rather quickly.  I'm not sure that the show would have stayed fun if Jess remained the central focus. Schmidt was obviously the break out character, but much like Kramer and Joey, the break out character is never really one that can carry a show.  When you're that big and broad a character it just works better in small doses on the side.  That left Nick, the most down to earth personality with deep complications to explore, who can stay funny and emotionally interesting at the same time.
     This wasn't the funniest Nick episode, but it was still entertaining.  Dennis Farina was wonderful as Nick's con artist father, even though it is a pretty cliche story line.  Schmidt and Robbie were cute, yet a little dull.  As a whole, this episode was more about what the show has become and what it can offer.
     Nick quote of the week: "I am not a successful adult.  I don't eat vegetables and/or take care of myself."

48 in 2012? Update

It's been a long while since I have written a book review updating my 2012 reading challenge.  The holidays got crazy with work and personal obligations and a bout with the flu, so my writing was forced to take a back seat.  I'm sorry to say that I fell one book short of my goal.  That being said, I plan on posting reviews for the books I read but haven't gotten around to writing about.  I also plan on trying again.  Will I reach 48 books in 2013?  I guess we'll have to wait and see...

How I Met Your Mother

Ok, I've been gone for awhile due to holiday craziness, but I should be back full bore soon.  While I was gone the decision to go ahead with a 9th season of HIMYM was made and announced.  I couldn't have been more disappointed.  The idea of writing about this show for an additional 24 episodes after this June left me with a heavy decision of my own.  I can't imagine coming up with any clever or interesting to write about a show that is dying a slow painful death.  The creators have decided what this show is going to be over the next year plus and that isn't something I can respond to in any fresh or interesting way.  So, this will be my last post on HIMYM.  I hope it finds a way to finish strong and end in some sort of compelling manner, but if this season is any sign that is wishful thinking.