New baby.
Hmm.. I suppose he's not actually "new" anymore. It has been ten months after all. Bah. I don't need to explain. Any parent out there understands that when a new bugaboo is added to the mix there is less and less and less time for mommy (and daddy). Thus, the blog (and many other interests) gets pushed to the waaaay back corner of the broom closet.
I ain't complaining though. My little guy's smile is the best hobby I've ever had. The blog will always be there. But that angel face will one day turn sour with middle school attitude and hoard itself in a bedroom listening to gangster rap.
Oy.
Despite having practically zero time to myself I managed to hold on tight to my two favorite escapes: music and books. That's all I need to keep rolling.
So without further ado ... my BEST OF 2014!
An interesting playlist. I noticed a few things:
- There are almost no women on my list (minus the vintage crooning of Kate Davis). This kind of irks me but whatever. I like what I like.
- Mostly new artists.
- Some heavy hitting back-to-basics rock songs (the world needs more of these).
- A lot of these tracks were released within the latter part of the year so they're still very fresh.
- Any song that has the lyric, "Gonna take you to the sugar shack" has me SOLD. Come on. You know that's so dang good. (*listen to Electric Man above*)
Okay. Now books.
I need to preface this portion by sharing that I had lofty reading ambitions back in January. I declared through Goodreads that I would read 25 books this year. I guess I forgot to factor in the reality of having two kids and that lounging with a book in the middle of the afternoon was simply a thing of the past. Regardless, I refuse to give up on books. I just can't. But my pace is considerably s-l-o-w-e-r.
I only read 11 books. But damn. That's pretty good considering my reading window is from 10:45 p.m. to whenever-my-lids-droop-and-I jerk-awake-sending-my-book-flying-onto-the-floor. I swear that happens every night. It's quite sad.
Here's what I loved: (oh and by the way, this is not a Best of 2014 list because most of these books are older)
A haunting (I still think about it) memoir of Coleman's unorthodox upbringing on a homestead during the 1970's. Compelling, poetic, sad, beautiful.
Love her blog. Love her book. Love her voice.
Stupid, dry humor but deliciously funny and naughty.
The sci-fi book for NON sci-fi people (like me). I'm so glad I branched out of my comfort zone for this one. It was superb. I smell movie rights...
This is my non-fiction pick. I'm actually still reading it and if I finish it before the year ends then that makes my total 12 books, not 11 - YEAH! I'm turning into a history geek as I get older and I find this time in America fascinating. Bill Bryson could write about galvanized steel pipe and I would read it. He's that good.
Okay. I think that's enough nerd talk for one post. I don't want to overdo it or anything.
P.S. What made YOUR lists this year? Share. I'll talk to ya.
