I love lists and during this time of year, I especially love perusing everyone else’s summaries of the year. I offer mine because maybe I got to see or read things you didn’t or maybe to be another voice lauding a particular feat of creativity this year. Thus, without further adieu and in no specific order: my top tens of popular culture for 2011.
movies
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
2. We Need to Talk About Kevin
3. Crazy, Stupid, Love
4. X-Men: First Class
5. The Help
6. The Muppets
7. Love and Other Drugs
8. Moneyball
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Ides of March
podcasts (all available on iTunes)
1. “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”
2. “Hang Up and Listen”
3. “Cultural Gabfest”
4. “XX Podcast”
5. “Stuff You Should Know”
6. Guardian Book Podcast
7. “Stuff You Missed in History Class”
8. NPR Book Podcast
9. “WTF With Marc Maron”
10. “This American Life”
tv shows
1. The Big Bang Theory
2. Downton Abbey
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Modern Family
5. The Hour
6. The Good Wife
7. Parenthood
8. TrueBlood
9. Homeland
10. Game of Thrones
As far as music and books go, sometimes I’m behind the times. So below are the top ten of each I enjoyed this year, regardless of their year of publication or release.
music
1. Adele
2. Mumford & Sons
3. The Avett Brothers
4. Yo-Yo Ma
5. Ingrid Michaelson
6. Lisa Hannigan
7. Dave Barnes
8. Andrew Peterson
9. Darren Criss
10. Craig Colson
books: non-fiction
1. Terror in the Name of God by Mark Jurgensmeyer
2. Almost Christian by Kenda Creasy Dean
3. After Mandela by Alec Russell
4. The Body Project: The Tortured History of American Girls by Joan Brumberg
5. Sites of Violence, Sites of Grace: Christian Nonviolence and the Traumatized Self by Cynthia Hess
6. Bossypants by Tina Fey
7. Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kailing
8. How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
9. After Shock by Kent Anan
10. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
books: fiction
1. Room by Emma Donahue
2. Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
3. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
4. Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
5. Marcelo In The Real World by Francisco X. Stork
6. Sisterhood Everlasting by Anne Brashares
7. The Submission by Amy Waldmann
8. Cry, the Beloved Country by Allen Patton
9. Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
10. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
~*~
What are your favorites? Is there anything you’ve encountered this year that I simply must add to my list?
