My Top 2010 Things

My husband and I love End-of-the-Year lists, so I decided to make one of my own. I've discovered so many great things this year - new music, books, and a great network of librarians and educators. So, here we go - my top 5 favorites of 2010:

1. Laurie Halse Anderson - The discovery of this amazing author is very old hat to most, but I read my first LHA book only this year.  As an assignment for a graduate course, I was creating a Unit of Study about the Revolutionary War for 7th Grade American History(see accompanying Glogster from my presentation), and when I searched for fiction books to use, I immediately found 'Chains'. Being a former Teen Programmer at a public library, I had heard of LHA before, of course, had read countless reviews in SLJ and had even recommended 'Wintergirls' once to a sadly emaciated young lady who came in 'to do research on eating disorders'. However, I had never picked up one of her books on my own until this year, and it was because of a class project. Holy. Effing. Mother. 'Chains' knocked my socks off. A book I had chose to read for school had me up at 3am, sobbing so hard that I accidentally woke my poor husband. After that, even though I was at my peak stress time for the semester, and really didn't have time for recreational reading, I was rabid for 'Forge', which had luckily just been released. I devoured it in much the same state of deep emotional attachment to Curzon, Isabel and little Ruth. I am eagerly awaiting 'Ashes', and have my sights set on 'Fever 1793' for the immediate future. After following her on Twitter, I have found LHA to not only be an amazing writer, but just an all-around interesting lady. I can't believe that it took me that long to read one of her books, but am I ever glad that I did!  
2. The Big Bang Theory - My husband and I are late comers to this show, and we quickly made up for this serious transgression by purchasing the first three seasons on DVD after deciding on a whim to check out the show via Netflix. We binged on BBT episodes until we were completely caught up and ready for the fourth season, totally in love with Sheldon, and wondering what took us so long to find this gem. BAZINGA!
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 - Best. Movie. Of. The. Year. Period. I'm a little biased, because I am an admittedly HP uber-geek, but I thought that this movie was really well done, visually and emotionally. The strained period of Harry and Hermione wandering in the wilderness was done so well as to not be tedious and drawn-out. The glimpse of Dumbledore was heartbreaking. It was all incredible. Swoon!
4. Twitter - I started really using Twitter only this year, and I like it so much more than Facebook. It is equal parts informative and non-intrusive. It has also been the gateway to finding a new network of librarians and teachers that have taught me tons in just a few short months. And all in 140 characters or less!
5. My husband's mad cooking skills - I began graduate school in the latter part of this year, and due to my much busier schedule, my husband has had to take over the previously shared duty of cooking. Over the course of this year, I have watched him evolve from making only safe and predictable favorites to experimenting with recipes and really enjoying himself through cooking. It's been wonderful because I love it when my husband finds something he enjoys, and I get to reap the tasty benefits.

2010 has been wonderful to my family and I, and I couldn't be more thankful. Here is to 2011!