Day 4: Reading wish list

I have a lot of books to read before Hugo nominations open. If you read my entry from the 1st, you've seen a pretty good estimate of what I've liked thus far. The things I haven't read yet include the following:

Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
Borderline by Mishell Baker
Dark Run by Mike Brookes
Remnants by Trust by Elizabeth Bonesteel
United States of Japan by Peter Tiervas
Super Extra Grande by Yoss, David Frye translator
Central Station by Lavie Tidhar
Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja
The Vagrant by Peter Newman
Escapology by Ren Warom
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
After Atlas by Emma Newman

Day 3: Wrapping up 2016, TV

We are finally almost finished with Person of Interest, which is available on Netflix. It's seriously one of the best shows I've ever seen. Go watch it if you haven't already!

I've also been watching Bull, Conviction (already cancelled, alas), Pitch, Timeless, and Designated Survivor.

I've also continued watching Elementary and NCIS: New Orleans.

I spent a lovely 17 days glued to Olympics coverage.

Day 2: wrapping up 2016, MOVIES

I saw 50 movies last year, which was far above my original goal of 26, but just under my stretch-goal of 52. I enjoyed quite a lot of them, so this post may run a little long...

My favorite movie, hands down, was Arrival.

After that, in no particular order... (out of the new arrivals in 2016 or very late 2015)
Rogue One
Moana
Zootopia
Finding Dory
Captain America: Civil War
Kubo and the Two Strings
Florence Foster Jenkins
Money Monster
Hail, Caesar!
Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Star Trek: Beyond
Ghost Busters
Snowden

Watching things from previous years, I also really enjoyed
Ex Machina
Zoolander
Magic in the Moonlight
Spy

Day 1: wrapping up 2016, BOOKS

I had a screaming headache all yesterday, so I mostly wrote stuff, moped around on the couch, and went to bed before midnight.

I read 144 books and novellas last year. 67 of them were by new-to-me authors. 14 were rereads, so 130 of them were new-to-me works.

Here's the best of the new-to-me stuff that I read last year...

SF or FANTASY or SLIPSTREAM:
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Radiance by Catherine Valence
City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin
The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric's Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson
Summerlong by Peter S Beagle
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Kingfisher by Patricia Mckillop
The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Feedback by Mira Grant

TEEN or YA:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
If I Stay by Gail Forman 

MYSTERY:
Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves

ROMANCE:
Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh
Artistic License by Elle Pierson
In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

OTHER:
Snobs by Julian Fellowes

So it's almost the end of the year...

... and I have nothing to talk about.

No, really. I don't cover politics here, and talking too much about my professional life would mean disrespecting a lot of peoples' privacy.

I've tried some new recipes, and that's what I'm choosing to remember as the calendar year winds down. I'm also taking occasional classes in Korean cuisine, which has been unexpectedly awesome. So, without further ado, the best new things I've made:

Kimchi Jeon from the NYT: crisp, spicy, not too greasy... exactly what I was looking for in a spicy kimchi pancake.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili from SmittenKitchen: easy, tasty, fairly healthy... a winner in all respects.

Goey Apple Pie from SeriousEats: I love cooking the apples ahead of time, because it means you can pull the pie out of the oven the instant the crust gets golden.

Bosc Pear Cranberry Orange Sauce from USAPears: easy, delicious, and not as intense as pure cranberry sauce. Nicole helped me make this and it was a huge hit at Thanksgiving.

Magic Apple Plum Cobbler from SmittenKitchen: easy, delicious, popular with the students

Sugar Cookies from King Arthur Flour: another thing I cooked with Nicole. These were tasty, easy, and gorgeous.

Spicy Garlic Eggplant and Ground Pork from TwoRedBowls: a bit of bother, but totally worth it on a cold day

Masala Chicken and Vegetable Stew (Nightshade Free) from NourishingMeals: I did an elimination diet this summer. It mostly just sucked, but this recipe was one of the few bright spots.

Shortcut Moussaka from the NYT: I love Moussaka but it's a ton of work, done the usual way. This was delicious, if a little too salty, and took only a fraction of the usual time.

Limeade from SeriousEats: this stuff is AMAZING! Totally worth the work, in my opinion...

Sonnet: Against Entropy

The worm drives helically through the wood
And does not know the dust left in the bore
Once made the table integral and good;
And suddenly the crystal hits the floor.
Electrons find their paths in subtle ways,
A massless eddy in a trail of smoke;
The names of lovers, light of other days
Perhaps you will not miss them. That's the joke.
The universe winds down. That's how it's made.
But memory is everything to lose;
Although some of the colors have to fade,
Do not believe you'll get the chance to choose.
Regret, by definition, comes too late;
Say what you mean. Bear witness. Iterate.

by John M. Ford 

A quick wrap-up of some things...

So the Hugo Awards have been awarded. I was at my older son's concert at the time, so I was sneaking peaks at Twitter in between pieces. I'm pleased with the list of winners even though it doesn't quite match up with my list of preferences.

I've discovered some great new-to-me blogs, which I'm writing down here for anyone looking for interesting stories or great recipes:

Naomi Kritzer
Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher
Pear Nuallak
Lady and Pups
Two Red Bowls
O & O Eats

I spent 17 days glued to the television, watching the Rio Olympics. I'm sorry I never got to see any Modern Pentathlon. Gymnastics was amazing on the women's side, frustrating on the men's side. Equestrian was just insane, particularly the day they were doing Steeplechase in the drizzle. Sandra Boynton's son, Devin McEwan, competed in Canoe Doubles Slalom with Casey Eichfeld and came in 10th.

Also, we went to Canada for a week and I haven't blogged about that at all yet. Next post, perhaps.