50 Books in 2016

I'm continuing to challenge myself to read 50 books a year. I made it to 48 this year. Not bad!

One of the best books I read this year was The Orphan Master's Son *****, which was theoretically about North Korea. Although slow, it was extremely thought-provoking. For months, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I wouldn't mind reading it again.

Another interesting book was The Luminaries ****, which just had an interesting structure. The plot itself was meh, but the structure was incredibly impressive.

After re-reading A Monster Calls, I read a bunch more by Patrick Ness:
A Monster Calls *****
The Rest of Us Just Live Here ***
More Than This ****
The Ask and the Answer ***
The Knife of Never Letting Go *****

I was also on a Rainbow Rowell kick:
Attachments ****
Landline ***
Fangirl ****

I got in a few non-fiction books this year (including one I couldn't finish):
In Cold Blood ****
Pushout ***
Mindset * (1 star means unfinished)
Between the World and Me ****
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind *****
Behind the Beautiful Forevers ***

But mostly I read YA fantasy series:
          The Infernal Devices (Embarrassingly, I love this author)
                     Clockwork Princess ****
                     Clockwork Prince ****
                     Clockwork Angel ****
          The Selection
                    The One ***
                    The Elite ***
                    The Selection ***
          Daughter of Smoke and Bone
                    Dreams of Gods and Monsters ****
                    Days of Blood and Starlight ****
                    Daughter of Smoke and Bone ****

I actually am not much of a fan of fantasy series, so this is annoying. Also, I didn't read much real literature this year - a fact I hope to remedy in 2017.

Here are the rest:
Epic **
If I Stay **
The Bluest Eye **
One Second After **
Parrot in the Oven ***
Maus I ***
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend ***
A Trick of the Light ***
Next ***
The Husband ***
The Wonder ***
Tell the Wolves I'm Home ***
The Underground Railroad ***
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet ***
Fever 1793 ***
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ***
Station Eleven ****
The Supreme's at Earl's All You Can Eat ****
Please Ignore Vera Dietz ****
The Truth about Forever ****
Monster ****
We Were Here ****
Mexican Whiteboy ****

Selfie with the 'Rents

Michael's Favorite Albums of 2016

I usually buy 2-3 albums a month with maybe 15 of them being new releases each year. So I thought I'd write a blog post about my favorite albums from this year and see if I can remember to do it next year to make it an annual thing.

So here they are, in reverse order:

#3 - Peaceful Ghosts by Nada Surf

I've been listening to Nada Surf since high school when they started out more punk driven. Peaceful Ghosts is a live album they recorded with a full orchestra and some back story between each song. It's a nice wide look at their entire catalog going back to 1998. My biggest complaint is that they didn't include any songs from their debut album High/Low. They mellowed out on subsequent albums and I know they aren't totally happy with their first album and how it was received, but I think it would have given this album a nice kick to have at least one heavier song with the orchestra. But it's still a great album with some neat arrangements.

This is The Fox with some nice the timpani and chimes.

#2 - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere by Thrice

For some reason, I didn't really get into Thrice for most of their career. It wasn't until their eighth album Major/Minor that I realized I liked them. I've since gone back and bought all of their previous albums with The Artist and the Ambulance and Vheissu being heavy favorites when I'm looking for some high energy music. This album comes after a 4 year hiatus where the band members took some time for family and other projects.

This is Black Honey, the first single from the album and one of my kids' favorites. It gets everyone singing along when we are in the car.

#1 - Joy, Departed by Sorority Noise

This is a new band for me and I checked them out after seeing other folks recommend them. I was really sold after watching their full session on AudioTree. It's a nice combination of poppy songs with good melodies, loud spacey guitars, introspective lyrics by normal folks who are looking to create good music, not become rock stars.

This is Art School Wannabee (my favorite on album would be a tie beteween it and Your Soft Blood, but since this is poppier I picked it). Unfortunately they don't have any official embeddable videos, so we get this instead. But definitely checkout out the AudioTree session for more songs done live.

Honorable Mention: Integrity Blues by Jimmy Eat World and Standards by Into It, Over It.

Christmas at the Peters

Christmas in Kentucky

We're in Kentucky celebrating Christmas!

And of course, the highlight of the trip has been holding Kellie's new baby Maggie Sue!

Funny Facebook 2016

November 25 ·

Rylan, ordering at a restaurant: "I'd like the kids chicken ravioli. Can you tell me about the special sides? Okay, I'll do the French fries, and I'll have the 1% low fat chocolate milk."

Server: "Wow, that was impressive."

I think the kid has been out to eat a few more times than I had at his age.



October 2 ·

After eating buckeyes, Cole says, "If someone were to call me on the phone right now and ask me who shot Alexander Hamilton, I'd be like, 'Awun Buh! Awun Buh!'" #gotmilk



September 6 ·

Me: My legs hurt.
Rylan: Maybe you're getting polio.



July 28 ·

Me, complaining about having to shave my legs
Eli: Why do girls shave their legs?
Me: Because apparently boys like girls' legs better when they're shaved.
Eli: I do? I didn't know that about myself. I'm always learning new things about myself.



June 23 ·

Rylan's response when I asked if I should go running even though it looks like rain: "Yes, because YOLO."



June 17 ·

Rylan telling us about his book Uranus and the Bubbles of Trouble: "Cronos chopped up Uranus and threw the pieces in the ocean." Lots of little boy giggles, including mine.



April 16 ·

The Art of the Insult:
Me: These towels smell like they need to be re-washed.
Eli: YOU smell like you need to be re-washed.
#makeamotherproud



March 23 ·

Rylan says: "I showed Ms. Leonard a noise I can make, and she said, 'I don't know how your mom can handle three boys.'"



February 3 ·

This just happened.
Rylan: What is 29 × .24?
Me: That's too complicated to do in my head.
Cole: It would be... (spouts off a couple of numbers, adds them in his head)...6.96

January 30 ·

Me: Wanna hear a funny joke? Why did Adele cross the road? To sing "hello from the other side."
Rylan: It's not that funny.



January 13 ·

Cole: Cookout always makes me sick. I love it and think it's wonderful and won't stop eating it, but I always feel sick afterward. #storyofmylife