Monday, January 03, 2011

A List for Last Year

Farewell 2010 - a very fine year, even though I passed through another decade. Here's a short list, no particular order, of some favorites from last year:

Favorite "Vintage" Romance I Read for the First Time: Harvard's Education by Suzanne Brockmann (originally 1998 but reissued in a two-novel collection this year).

Memorable Spam Offer: Encourage Your Winky.
Fave Romantic Suspense: Body Heat by Brenda Novak.

2010 Winter Olympic Event I loved more than expected: Curling!
Fave Cake from Mr. Richland: the Lego Articulated Bus.
Don't-Miss-Regencies of 2010: Soldier's Lady by Susanna Fraser (Carina Press) and In For a Penny by Rose Lerner.
Best concert with children: Great Big Sea at Woodland Park Zoo. Try a little Canadian Celtic rock with Excursion Around the Bay. You'll want to hoist a fizzing drink and jump around, remembering sticky floors you stomped sometime in the '80s (me) or '90s (Kate). Concert without children: Pink Martini at Chateau St. Michelle. Try Dosvedanya Mio Bombino from Hey Eugene! or the two-song piece from Splendor in the Grass. Her version of the breakup is And Then You're Gone. He sings But Now I'm Back. There's a romance novel in six and a half minutes. And I have no idea how to add song links to Blogger so find them yourself.
Most extreme contrast between my real life and my writing life: the "Dirty Laundry" miniseries at Carina Press. Plenty of that in my basement except ... well, you don't have to be over 18 to tackle my pile of socks and towels.

Share your favorites from 2010 or comment on mine. Here's hoping more great books, music and cake come our ways in 2011. (Um, and an agent and book deal too, please).

5 comments:

Amy said...

I have to say I'm going to miss this Olympics not being around for another couple years. I always get so invested in them! My favorite this past Games was skiing, of any variety. And of course, figure skating, cuz I'm just sappy like that. :-)

Anna Richland said...

Amy, I clicked on your photo of stacks of books and I am awed, in the classical sense of the word. I'm searching for a term immense enough to describe my wonderment. You can't just use that photo as your avatar without some EXPLANATION.

(And out here the Vancouver Olympics isn't over until the little people grow out of their clothes).

Kate Diamond said...

Thank you for posting! I've been hit by the head cold from hell. Hard to focus on anything except phlegm right now. Ugh.

Anna Richland said...

Eww, thank you for that image while I sit in a coffee shop trying to invite editors and agents to our 2011 conference!

Amy said...

That picture, unfortunately OR fortunately (however you may look at it), is my TBR. Of course it's amassed to that size over several years. I'm just not organized enough to get them on, like, bookcases. *shudder*