Best of 2009

Best new song. Okay I don't have one. I have to admit that most of the NEW music I listen to is brought to me by Alex so my choices are limited by her tastes. Right now she is in love with Taylor Swift. Her songs are catchy and fun. Perfect for mother-daughter sing at the top of your lungs for no reason sessions, but I have to be honest. They all kind of blind into each other. I can't tell the difference between Stephen and Drew so I'll just say that in 2009 we danced and sang to Taylor Swift.

My favorite song of 2009 I will put as The Ugly Bug Ball by the Sherman Brothers and sung by Beryl Ives. I know its old and I didn't first hear it in 2009, but this was the year that I finally owned it on CD. I have always loved that song and now I can listen to it with out watching Summer Magic.

Favorite books: I have to start with Elizabeth McCracken’s heartbreaking but thoughtful An Exact Replica Of A Figment Of My Imagination. If you only read one book next year, read this one. The best spiritual/religious books I read this year were Richard Rohr's Things Hidden:Scripture as Spirituality and the one I just finished by Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Eli Wiesel's two volume masterpiece All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs and And the Sea Is Never Full: Memoirs, 1969-. Also, 2009 was the year I finally picked up a book by P.G. Wodehouse and it was love at first read. I love, love, love the British sense of humor. I have often heard various British artist I admire gush about how absolutely fabulous he is, and they were all utterly and completely correct. I am now resolved to read everything the man ever wrote. Oh and Meg Cabbot's Allie Finkle series has to be the best thing written for tween girls since Beverly Cleary pined the Romona series.

Now movies. I will add my disclaimer that I don't see adult movies in the theater. If I am going to pay the high price of admission I am going to take Alex and call me a stuck in the mud, but I don't take my child to see anything rated R. That said, my favorite movie this year was UP. It was absolutely wonderful. Not just for kids. I would argue that adults get way more out of it then the children do. As I just saw and reviewed Princess and the Frog, that one goes on this list too. Its not a master piece, but a solid mid-level Disney classic none the less. 2009 was a disappointing year for family film. There was a lot offered for families this year, but I'm sad to report that most of those movies sucked. Planet 51 was one of the better movies, but I think that is also because I payed $5 a ticket and didn't have to wear 3D glasses to see it. Can we STOP with the 3D already?

Movies I saw that probably didn't come out in 2009 were The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. All I can say without writing an entire post is WOW. Grand Torino was a movie I didn't expect to like, but did. Oh and I would remiss if I didn't mention Little Miss Sunshine. I reviewed it elsewhere on this blog, so I will just leave it at that. If you are looking for a good documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated is very entertaining and very educational. If you have ever seen a movie in the USA you need to see the film so you can fully appreciate the fact that everything is censored by a secret panel for your own good.