I can’t believe it’s 2023!
Looking back on 2022, I have to say it was a pretty good year for me. It was a bit of a year of saying “Yes” for me, by saying “Yes” to more things I wanted to do and things that took me out of my comfort zone, while also saying “No” to things that weren’t for me and getting better at setting boundaries. I got more involved in church this year, including joining the church I started attending in the fall of 2021. (Read more about that here.) I continued meeting and grew closer to some amazing people there. Got involved in small groups and volunteering, etc. and loved it. I got elected to the State Democratic Executive Committee! I’m very proud of that…I loved serving on the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee from 2018-2022, and with this position I get to continue serving on the county committee as well. We had some bright spots in the midterm elections in Alabama, especially here in Jefferson County. I got to travel more in 2022 than I have in a while, including going back to Vegas to see Shania Twain’s “Let’s go!” residency show before it ended. She is as amazing as ever…and I cannot wait for her upcoming album, Queen of Me, which comes out February 3, 2023! I loved the time I got to spend with friends and family as always, and I’m really proud of the work I did in therapy throughout the year. I’m happy to say I don’t have any major 2022 regrets. It’s my hope that 2023 brings each of us joy and peace! Best wishes for the new year. Here’s a look at some pop culture things I enjoyed this year. BOOKS I managed to read 30+ books this year, which I’m super proud of. Here are my five favorites that were released this year. With their third release, Casey McQusiton has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Golden Boys - Phil Stamper I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston Left on Tenth - Delia Ephron Let’s Not Do That Again - Grant Ginder Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt MOVIES I have watched so few movies this year…but that’s pretty much always the case with me at this point in the year. I’ll be watching a ton over the next couple of months to prepare for the Academy Awards and you’ll get all my thoughts on 2022 films in my Oscars blog coming in March. I will shout out a few I did see this year. Shania’s documentary Not Just A Girl from Netflix was remarkable. I highly recommend it, even if you only have a casual relationship with her music. Her music and story are both incredibly inspiring. I did my best to support gay themed films this year – Bros, Fire Island, and The Holiday Sitter were all fun and I’d see them again. I saw some wonderful independent and locally made films at the Sidewalk Film Festival this year, and I also enjoyed the Bob’s Burgers movie. MUSIC New Shania music is coming in 2023 and we got a preview of her upcoming album (Queen of Me), plus a compilation album (Not Just A Girl – The Highlights) and songs from Beauty and the Beast - A 30th Celebration! Taylor Swift’s Midnights was by far my favorite original album release of the year. She continues churning out excellence. Other albums I enjoyed this year were Harry’s House from Harry Styles, Special from Lizzo, and Subject to Change from Kelsea Ballerini. Here are my 22 favorite songs from 2022! “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” - Lizzo “About Damn Time” - Lizzo “Anti-Hero” - Taylor Swift “As It Was” - Harry Styles “Beauty and the Beast” - Shania Twain “Bejeweled” - Taylor Swift “Heartfirst” - Kelsea Ballerini “Karma” - Taylor Swift “Last Day of Summer” - Shania Twain “Late Night Talking” - Harry Styles “Lavender Haze” - Taylor Swift “Light Switch” - Charlie Puth “Love Is A Cowboy” - Kelsea Ballerini “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” - Harry Styles “Not Just A Girl” - Shania Twain “Super Freaky Girl” - Nicki Minaj “Unholy” - Sam Smith and Kim Petras “Waking Up Dreaming” - Shania Twain “Weather” - Kelsea Ballerini “What He Didn’t Do” - Carly Pearce “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve” - Taylor Swift “You’re Drunk, Go Home” - Kelsea Ballerini with Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce TELEVISION There are so many (so, so many) TV shows I need to watch and catch up with. I continued my trend of rewatching some of my favorites (The Golden Girls, Happy Endings, Schitt’s Creek, The West Wing) instead of a lot of newer shows. I’ll get to them when I get to them! There were a few I really loved this year though, so here’s a small sample of my favorites. Abbott Elementary The Gilded Age Grace & Frankie Gutsy Hacks Heartstopper Love, Victor Our Flag Means Death White Lotus What were your favorite pop culture moments of 2022? What kept you entertained this year? Tell me in the comments!
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![]() It's that time of year again -- time to recap my favorite things of 2019! It's been a year of a lot of ups and downs, but isn't that just life?
BOOKS: Another year of not getting around to reading all the things I want to read. There are just so many books! Here are my top ten books that came out in 2019. Bending Toward Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing that Changed the Course of Civil Rights - Doug Jones Call My Name - Heather Wyatt (My best friend has another book out! This is a fantastic book of poetry and you can buy it by clicking here.) Hold My Hand - Michael Barakiva Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - Caroline Criado Perez Isthmus: Poems - Margaret King The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee The Music of What Happens - Bill Konigsberg Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love - Jonathan Van Ness Red, White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston (My favorite novel of 2019 -- I read it twice! You can buy it by clicking here.) Too Much Is Not Enough - Andrew Rannells Here are some honorable mentions: (These are some of the books that have been out a while that I read for the first time in 2019.) China Rich Girlfriend - Kevin Kwan (2015) The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas (2017) In Pieces - Sally Field (2018) Paper Towns - John Green (2008) Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn (2006) MOVIES: You'll get a full recap when I preview the Oscars in early February (aren't you excited?!), but here are a few things I've liked so far: Trading Paint which starred Shania Twain in her first major acting role, and the Mindy Kaling penned Late Night starring Emma Thompson. MUSIC: My favorite album of 2019 is Taylor Swift's Lover. I don't buy or download as many full-length albums as I used to, but Lover is one that I've enjoyed from start to finish. Here are my top twenty songs of the year. “Be Alright” - Dean Lewis “Cool” - Jonas Brothers “Good As Hell” - Lizzo “High Hopes” - Panic! At the Disco “homecoming queen?” - Kelsea Ballerini “I Warned Myself” - Charlie Puth “Look What God Gave Her” - Thomas Rhett “Lover” - Taylor Swift “ME!” - Taylor Swift feat. Brendon Urie “Never Really Over” - Katy Perry “Old Town Road” - Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus “Only Human” - Jonas Brothers “Shania Twain” - Aura Dione “Sucker” - Jonas Brothers “Sweet but Psycho” - Ava Max “Thank U, Next” - Ariana Grande “Truth Hurts” - Lizzo “Want You in My Room” - Carly Rae Jepsen “Wow.” - Post Malone “You Need To Calm Down” - Taylor Swift (My favorite song and music video of 2019! Click here to listen and watch the music video.) TELEVISION: My top fifteen shows of 2019: Big Little Lies BoJack Horseman Broad City Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Crown The Good Place Grace & Frankie Killing Eve The Morning Show The Other Two (My favorite TV show of 2019.) Schitt’s Creek Stranger Things Superstore Veep Watchmen The end of the year means it's time to recap the year and look back on what kept me entertained in 2018! It's been a wonderful year personally -- I will be an uncle again next year, my best friend published her first book and got engaged, and I met a wonderful man who I'm lucky enough to call my boyfriend. I can't wait to see what's in store for 2019! But first, here are my favorite things entertainment-wise from 2018.
BOOKS: I didn't read quite as much as I did in 2017, or quite as much as I wanted to, but these are my Top 5 books from 2018.
Here are some honorable mentions: I just got autobiographies from Michelle Obama (Becoming) and Sally Field (In Pieces), so they didn't make the cut -- but I'm certain I'll love them! Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan A few years old, but I read it in anticipation of the film release and loved it! The Mother of Black Hollywood - Jenifer Lewis This book came out at the end of 2017, but I read it early this year. It is laugh out loud funny, and offers a unique perspective on mental illness. MOVIES: I tend to binge watch movies during award show season, so I won't have my full take on 2018 movies until February just before the Academy Awards. But, so far this year, Love, Simon has been my favorite movie! I also really loved Crazy Rich Asians, Deadpool 2, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and the documentary RBG. MUSIC: By far my favorite musical event of 2018 was the Shania Now Tour, which I was lucky enough to see twice! Now was also by far the album I listened to the most this year, even though it came out in the fall of 2017. As for this year, Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves tops my list of best albums released. It is a magnificent work of art. I also really enjoyed Cher's ABBA covers album, Dancing Queen, and The Greatest Showman: Reimagined. These are my Top 20 singles of the year:
Honorable Mentions: "Beg" by Jack & Jack, "Havana" by Camila Cabello, and "Tequila" by Dan + Shay TELEVISION: My Top 10 shows of 2018: Altered Carbon Brooklyn Nine Nine Fresh Off The Boat Grace and Frankie Insecure Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Queer Eye Real Country Schitt's Creek Superstore 2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS: And finally, here is a list of my favorite 18 winners from the 2018 elections!
Let’s be honest – 2017 was a depressing year, especially after Inauguration Day. It’s been a frightening and sad year with a lot of highs and lows, but luckily I did have things to entertain and inspire me throughout 2017. Here’s a list of what I enjoyed and what kept me going during the year entertainment-wise.
BOOKS I made a goal to read at least 30 books in 2017, which I did! About half of the books I read were new releases, and the other half were older books that had been on my To-Be-Read list for a while. Here are my favorite ten books of 2017.
MUSIC For me, the biggest music event of 2017 was Shania Twain releasing Now, her first studio album in 15 years! I’m still loving all 16 tracks on the epic album and I encourage you to listen to it if you haven’t yet. I also loved albums from Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, and Taylor Swift this year. Here’s a rundown of my 17 favorite songs of 2017.
Honorable Mentions
PEOPLE With the current disaster in the White House, it was important to have other sources of inspiration to look to. Women really lead the charge and the resistance in 2017, and here are 17 women who deeply inspired me this year.
TELEVISION I didn’t watch as much TV as I have in the last few years, but here are my 17 favorite shows of 2017.
Book Review: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo - Amy Schumer Amy Schumer is everywhere these days. She has an Emmy winning television show, Inside Amy Schumer, on Comedy Central. In 2015, she released the film Trainwreck, which she starred in and co-wrote with Judd Apatow. The film was a monetary and critical success, earning over $100 million at the box office in the United States and garnering two Golden Globe award nominations. Schumer also landed her first HBO special, Amy Schumer: Live at the Appollo, which aired last year and was directed by Chris Rock. These feats lead to her being named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015.
Now she’s ventured into the literary world with her first book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, which debuted at number one on The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller list in September. The book contains hilarious and poignant personal essays on a range of topics that include dating, family, feminism, food, friendship, gun violence, introversion, money, sexual assault, and shoplifting. Particularly amusing passages of the book include entries from a diary she kept throughout her teenage years. These entries are updated with present day footnotes in which she often lampoons her younger self in a delightfully self-deprecating manner. Widely known for her raunchy styled comedy, Schumer doesn’t stray from her brand, though she admits that she’s surprisingly only had one true one night stand. She writes frankly about her body and sexual experiences, but it never comes across as gratuitous. We know she’s funny and raunchy. That makes the serious chapters of the book even more meaningful. She implores young women to have confidence, self-esteem, and to stand up for themselves and urges them to get out of abusive relationships. Her advice is eloquent and sincere. One especially emotional section of the book details the aftermath of a shooting that took place in a movie theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana. A gunman killed two women and injured nine others before killing himself at a screening of Schumer’s film, Trainwreck. The incident led her to become more outspoken about the need for gun safety legislation. She has since worked with her distant cousin, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, to advocate for stronger gun safety regulations. While the book does reveal several biographical details, she is quick to point out that it is not a memoir. At 35, she considers herself too young to write a memoir and asserts there is plenty of time left for that. I certainly look forwarding to hearing more of what she has to say and eagerly await reading her memoir or next collection of personal essays. This review first appeared in The Leaf. |
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