So Long, 2017 (and thanks for all the fish): Basically A Summary Of The Stories I Consumed This Year

Greetings, brethren (including sisteren and crustaceans also)!

Well, December is rapidly approaching its demise. And we all know what that means. (Assuming that we realize that December is the last month in the widely accepted calendar.)

THE YEAR IS ENDING.

This is a totally normal phenomenon and no cause for panic.

As each year comes to a close, it is customary for many of us to look back and reflect upon our accomplishments. For me that pretty much means: What amazing stories did I discover this year?

First of all, I must let you know that I don’t exactly live in just one year at a time, meaning that most of the books, movies and Broadway shows I am about to mention did not come out in 2017. I am part turtle and I discover some things many years after they were first introduced to the world. I enjoy doing things this way.

When I set out to write this post I figured I had two options. Rant about all the disappointing things, or focus on what I actually liked. I decided to go with the latter option so that this post didn’t end up being the size of a small walrus. You’re welcome.

Now that we’ve gotten through the preliminaries, LET US BEGIN.

Broadway

This year was a spectacular one for Broadway because I ACTUALLY WENT THERE.

I know, I am still rather stunned about it myself.

Spring of 2017 I went to New York with my choir. We were there for three days and I saw two Broadway shows during that time.

 

I had seen Phantom once before on tour and I am a lifelong fan of the Aladdin movie, so I was already extremely familiar with both of these shows, but I really enjoyed the experience of seeing them in New York. I really geeked out about the theatres as well.

The Majestic Theatre (Phantom of the Opera)

New Amsterdam Theatre (Aladdin)

The theatres in New York are all so small and old and gorgeous and I LOVE them.

Broadway on TV

Aside from the glory of live theater, I also got to see the live recordings of both Newsies and She Loves Me (2016 revival).

Newsies is a wonderful show and the recording is great, but Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Keenan-Bolger will never be Jack and Crutchie to me.

She Loves Me was completely new to me, and I thought it was hilarious. Georg Nowack (Zachary Levi), Amalia Balash (Laura Benanti), and Arpad Laszlo (Nicholas Barasch) were my favorite characters. The cast was strong and the set was charming and all around it was just a really fun show. I got the Broadway cast recording for Christmas and I am so happy.

Speaking of cast recordings…

Broadway cast recordings

End of May or early June… I started listening to Dear Evan Hansen.

And I didn’t like it.

I wasn’t really listening to the words. I just heard a lot of twanging guitar and I was unimpressed. My sister and I were actually folding laundry and we were making fun of how it sounded.

Then ‘Words Fail’ came on.

We suddenly went really quiet.

At this point I am totally in love with the recording and practically every song fills me with great emotion.

This year I also obtained the Anastasia cast recording and it is wonderful.

I recently started listening to songs from Bandstand, and the song ‘Welcome Home (Finale)’ brought tears to my eyes the first five times I listened to it without fail.

But this post is not just about Broadway, so maybe it’s time to move on.

Television Shows

This is the weirdest heading for me because before 2017, I didn’t watch TV shows. Nor was I interested in them. Now I have watched (and become obsessed with) a grand total of three:

 

So many problems. So many inconsistencies. So much aggravating Barry. But Cisco though.

I still can’t believe that they got this right. But they did, and I have been waiting an eternity already for Season 2.

I love this show, but not the dead bodies. Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch are brilliant.

Thank you, Netflix.

Movies

 

I adore every person on this poster. That is not normal for me.

Music. Life. Tears.

Conor, my child, let me give you a hug.

DESMOND YOU ROCK.

Sophie Nelisse is precious.

So much pain. So much stinkin’ good acting.

Starts like a Hallmark movie, ends in tears.

Scary but quirky. Also Wybie is my son.

SO good but SO SAD.

An alien movie that doesn’t revolve around explosions. Thank you.

Far better than The Good Dinosaur but still no Monsters Inc.

Chess is awesome.

Visually unique and charming movie about the power of stories.

What it lacks in plot it makes up for in Gal Gadot.

Three stunning actresses playing three stunning women from history. Where’s the downside?

I watch a lot of movies, and I don’t keep a written record of them so I may have forgotten something extremely important, but oh well.

BOOKS

MY CHILDREN.

Actually, to be honest I am an exceedingly picky pickle and I did not discover any books this year that made the ‘child’ list. That being said, there were several that made the niece/nephew list. That is to say, I enjoyed them immensely and I am quite fond of them, but I do not adore them with a manic intensity. Perhaps that is healthier anyway.

 

I love this story, but at times the book lacks cohesion. Can I give book-Conor a hug as well though.

Ponyboy is a relatable narrator and the story is simple but moving.

The characters are endearing (especially Friedrich!) but I wanted more climax.

The formatting of this book is brilliant and it was written from a place of experience, but the writing itself leaves something wanting.

This poor child. The book is slow moving but Aron is a tragic muffin that you can’t help but love.

So stressful. But Joe is a resilient little cracker and we love him.

A beautiful spark of imagination. Also there is a turtle. Unfortunately no climax to speak of.

The characters are lovable and the story is good, but at times the writing style strays on the basic side.

I liked the style of this book, but the plot was kind of wonky.

I am next to impossible to please, so even though these books are not my children they are pretty good if I remember that they exist. Also I don’t want to burn them and boil their ashes in tooth paste, so that’s pretty good too.

Personal Accomplishments (AKA did I actually write anything this year?)

I have a phobia of goals, so at the end of 2016 I did not create a massive list of goals for myself. I made just one goal, and it was rather tentative.

The goal was to finish the first draft of a story that I  started four years ago and then kind of abandoned. I felt pretty stuck and I wasn’t sure that I could destroy the oppressive Writer’s Block that loomed over me.

But guess what? I DID. I finished the first draft of this (still unnamed) story in October. Yay me.

I also wrote several scenes for other half-baked projects. But I haven’t started another novel. Maybe starting and finishing a new novel can be my goal for 2018… *sweating and nervous laughter*

Blogging

Well, as is fairly evident, I started a blog this year (at the end of June). And it is STILL ALIVE. I am a wonderful parent.

Not counting this post, I have published twenty-five posts thus far and I have thirty-nine lovely followers. You are all fantastic and I appreciate you muchly! I just want to give a shout-out to a few of the bloggers who have made me feel especially welcomed into the blogging community:

Sari @ Penumbra Reviews

Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink

Violet Daniels @ A Color of Her Own

R.J. Sheffler @ essays from a reading writer

Annie Xia @ Zoelogist

Thank you all for the kind attention you have shown to a sponge!

My most popular post (by far, holy cow) is my second Beautiful People post, in which I inflict the reader with random facts about the protagonist of my previously mentioned novel.

I hope to continue blogging throughout 2018. Because the world obviously needs to know what my opinions are on pink leggings in movies and space-tea. I won’t abandon you to work out these things on your own.

 

In Conclusion

As I come to the end of the year and my seventh month of blogging, I have just one more thing that I feel I must share with you.

If I were to sum up how I feel about this year in 19 seconds this would pretty much be it.

Well, thanks for reading and I hope to see you all in 2018!

How did 2017 go for you?  Did you read a lot of books and discover new children and grandfathers? How was blogging, and life in general? Did you write like a steam locomotive or a cautious turtle? Did you listen to any Broadway recordings five million times? Did you make inspiring goals for yourself for 2018? Let me hear all about your year in the comments, or if you did a 2017 recap post, send me a link!