The Strangest List You Ever Will Read

My Year in Books

And Music

As accurately pieced together as my memory could manage.

January:

1. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones l Bad Romance, Lady Gaga

2. The Magician's Elephant, Kate DiCamillo l Coin Laundry, Lisa Mitchell

3. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton l Ambulance, Eisley

4. Castle in the Air, Diana Wynne Jones l Flightless Bird, American Mouth, Iron and Wine

5. Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman l The Beacon, A Fine Frenzy

6. House of Many Ways, Diana Wynne Jones l Anyone Else, Ellen Page and Michael Cera

7. Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo l Pagan Poetry, Bjork

8. This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald l O Valencia, The Decemberists

9. The Demi-god Files, Rick Riordan l You Don't Know Me, Ben Folds and Regina Spektor

10. Fire and Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones l Laura Marling, Devil's Spoke

11. O Pioneers, Willa Cather l I Think I Love You, David Cassidy

February:

12. Magic Flutes, Eva Ibbotson l Possibilites, Lykke Li

13. Repunzel’s Revenge, Shannon Hale l Telephone, Lady Gaga

14. The Pearl, John Steinbeck l Mad World, Gary Jules

15. The Ruby in the Smoke, Philip Pullman l Pass this On, The Knife

16. Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson l I've Seen it All, Thom Yorke and Bjork

17. Unexpected Magic, Diana Wynne Jones l Me and my Gal, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly

18. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh l Grow Grow Grow, PJ Harvey

19. Up the Down Staircase, Bel Kaufman l We Get On, Kate Nash

20. The Shadow in the North, Philip Pullman l The New Song, Peggy Sue and the Sea

March:

21. The Tiger in the Well, Philip Pullman l Sunday Kind of Love, Beth Rowley

22. I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith l Romulus, Sufjan Stevens

23. The Tin Princess, Philip Pullman l Smoke Without Fire, Duffy

24. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, GK Chesterton l B, iamamiwhoami

25. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card l Baby, Justin Bieber

26. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald l Hello Dolly, Barbra Streisand

27. Better Days, Brett Matthews l Gold Lion, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

28. Those Left Behind, Brett Matthewsl Vagabond, Wolfmother

29. A Tale of Time City, Diana Wynne Jones l Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns

30. The Country Gentleman, Fiona Hill l We Both Go Down, The Decemberists

31. The Diamond of Darkhold, Jeanne DuPrau l White Demon Love Song, The Killers

32. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury l The Cure for the Pain, Jon Foreman

April:

33. Aunt Maria, Diana Wynne Jones l Where is my Love, Cat Power

34. Girl Meets God, Lauren F. Winner l O, iamamiwhoami

35. The Custom of the Country, Edith Wharton l I Am a Rock, Simon and Garfunkel

36. The Chosen, Chaim Potok l Somebody Told Me, The Killers

37. Law of the Wolf Tower, Tanith Lee l Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot

38. Wolf Star Rise, Tanith Lee l Nothing On You, Bruno Mars and BOB

39. Queen of the Wolves, Tanith Lee l Penelope's Theme, Nathan Johnson

40. The Prophet of Yonwood, Jeanne DuPrau l Paris, Kate Nash

41. Jamacia Inn, Daphne DuMaurier l Roslyn, Bon Iver

42. At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon l The Sea, Corinne Bailey Rae

May:

43. Cotillion, Georgette Heyer l U-1, iamamiwhoami

44. The End of the Beginning of the End, Rockne O'Bannon l Then You Love Me, Lady Gaga

45. The Autobiography of Malcom X, Alex Haley l Chemo Limo, Regina Spektor

46. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Ben H. Winters l U-2, iamamiwhoami

47. Early Candlelight, Maud Hart Lovelace l Sexyback, Corrine Bailey Rae

48. Mating Season, PG Wodehouse l Expo '86, Death Cab For Cutie

49. Flight 714, Herge l Mr Brightside, The Killers

50. Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton l Destino, Dora Luz

51. Strange Detractions, Rockne O'Bannon l Yeah, I Can Get, Say Anything

52. The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh, Evelyn Waugh l Paris Nights New York Mornings, Corinne Bailey Rae

June:

53. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson l N, iamamiwhoami

54. Calamity Jack, Shannon and Dean Hale l OMG, Usher

55. A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor l I Found a Reason, Cat Power

56. The King Must Die, Mary Renault l 59th Street Bridge, Simon and Garfunkel

57. Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor l Young Blood, Norah Jones

58. Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan l Married Life, Micheal Giacchino

59. Christiana, John Bunyan l Theme from a Summer Place

60. Sorcery and Cecelia, Patricia C Wrede l Let's Get Lost, Bats for Lashes

61. Gone and Back, Rockne O'Bannon l Bullet Proof, La Roux

62. Alone in the Universe, Lynne Rae Perkins l Perfidia, Glenn Miller

63. Northward to the Moon, Polly Horvath l X-Files Theme, UNKLE Remix

July:

64. Seth Way, Caroline Dale Snedeker l For Emma, Bon Iver

65. Tristian and Iseult, Rosemary Sutcliff l Hurricane Drunk, Florence and the Machine

66. Though the Darkness Hide Thee, Susan Wise Bauer l Yo Mama, Peggy Sue and the Sea

67. Summer, Edith Wharton l With you in my Head, UNKLE

68. Tales from a Village School, Miss Read l Need You Now, Lady Antebellum

69. Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman l Feel it in my Bones, Tegan and Sara

70. Green Dolphin Street, Elizabeth Goudge l Hey There, Rosemary Clooney

71. Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson l The Police and the Private, Metric

72. The Glimpses of the Moon, Edith Wharton l What is Love, Haddaway

73. Not My Will, Francena Arnold l Agnus Dei, Frank Martin

74. Ghost World, Daniel Clowes l Instrumental Jazz

75. A Hidden Magic, Vivian Vande Velde l Follow Me Down, UNKLE

August:

76. Spindle’s End, Robin McKinley l Candlelight, Relient K

77. Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson l Brodyquest, Neil

78. The Death of Adam, Marilynne Robinson l T, iamamiwhoami

79. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson l Dog Days are Over, Florence and the Machine

80. Heretics, GK Chesterton l Nur Ein Wort, Wir Sind Helden

81. Flowers in the Rain, Rosamunde Pilcher l Marry Me, St Vincent

82. The Dreamer: The Consequence of Nathan Hale, Lora Innes l Teenage Dream, Katy Perry

83. Cannery Row, John Steinbeck l Y, iamamiwhoami

September:

84. The Children of Green Knowe, LM Boston l Hard, Rihanna

85. Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh l Drück die Eins, Annett Louisan

86. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Bryan Lee O’Malley l Scott Pilgrim, Plumbtree

87. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury l Hey She Say, The Gay Blades

88. Home, Marilynne Robinson l Djohariah, Sufjan Stevens

89. The Sorrows of Young Werther, Johann Goethe l Tonight, Lykke Li

90. The Outlaws of Sherwood, Robin McKinley l The Owl and the Tanager, Sufjan Stevens

91. The Blue Bedroom, Rosamunde Pilcher l The End, Best Coast

92. Philosophy of the X-Files, Dean A Kowalski l Something for Us All, Broken Social Scene

93. Mrs. Mike, Benedict Freedman l Barton Hallow, The Civil Wars

94. Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Bryan Lee O’Malley l Boyfriend, Best Coast

95. Love in the Ruins, Walker Percy l Four Floors, Sunday Girl: Diplo Edit

96. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley l Haste to the Wedding, Larry Moser and Mary Nagin

97. Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley l I Know You Wanna, Capra

98. Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Karen Cushman l Waltzer Fur Niemand, Sophia Hunger

99. The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx l Soldier's Joy, Larry Moser and Mary Nagin

100. A Jury of her Peers, Susan Gaspell l No One, Alicia Keys

101. A Tall Dark Stranger, Joan Smith l Can't Get Started, Bunny Berigan

102. Scott Pilgrim gets it Together, Bryan Lee O’Malley l O Shot, The Gay Blades

103. The Loved One, Evelyn Waugh l Little Lion Man, Mumford and Sons

October:

104. Leave it to Psmith, PG Wodehouse l Skinny Bones, The Ditty Bops

105. How the Heather Looks, Joan Bodger l Dancing, Vera Ellen and Danny Kaye

106. Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe, Byan Lee O’Malley l Such Great Heights, The Postal Service

107. Sunshine, Robin McKinley l Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons

108. Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev l Johanna, Jamie Campbell Bower

109. A Glove Shop in Vienna and Other Stories, Eva Ibbotson l I Walked, Sufjan Stevens

110. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley l Madder Red, Yeasayer

111. The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim l Later On, Kate Nash

112. Scorpius: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Rockne O'Bannon l New York, Paloma Faith

113. All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque l Fairytale, Sara Bareilles

114. An Unwilling Guest, Grace Livingston Hill l I Am You, Kim Taylor

115. Miniatures and Morals, Peter J Leithart l Dreams, The Cranberries

116. The Virginian, Owen Wister l Ta Douleur, Camille

117. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov l The Point of it All, Amanda Palmer

118. The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan l Hold Your Hand, The Beatles

119. The Rest is Noise, Alex Ross l Upsidedown, Paloma Faith

120: The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka l Sing, The Dresden Dolls

November:

121. The Road from Home, David Kherdian l Teenage Dream, Darren Criss

122. At Home in Thrush Green, Miss Read l Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old, Broken Social Scene

123. The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis l Leeds United, Amanda Palmer

124. The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad l Reasons to Love, Meiko

125. Wharton: Collected Stories 1891-1910, Edith Wharton l O Children, Nick Cave

126. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon l Last Christmas, WHAM

127. Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper l The New Year, Death Cab

128. Cart and Cwidder, Diana Wynne Jones l Long Long Time, Helen Forrest

129. The Philosophical Act, Josef Pieper l One Day, Hans Zimmer

130. Hidden Rainbows, Christmas Carol Kauffman l In Noctem, Nicholas Hopper

131. The Neumiller Stories, Larry Woidoe l Hell, Tegan and Sarah

132. 97 Orchard, Jane Ziegelman l Impossible Soul, Sufjan Stevens

133. My Hands Came Away Red, Lisa McKay l In Concert, iamamiwhoami

134. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn l Ashes, Dark Dark Dark

135. Dear Emma, Johanna Hurwitz l Give into Me, Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund

136. The Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin l Oh Me Oh My, Abigail Washburn

December:

137. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini l Daydreaming, Dark Dark Dark

138. Superman: Earth One, J Michael Stracynski l Terrified, Katharine McPhee and Zach Levi

139. Wildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier l Tangled Score, Alan Menken

140. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe l Ambling Alp, Yeasayer

141. Papa’s Wife, Thyra Ferre Bjorn l Rolling in the Deep, Adele

142. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke l O Santa, Mariah Carey

143. The House of Spirits, Isabel Allende l I Feel Better, Hot Chip

144. The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley l I See the Light, Mandy Moore and Zach Levi

145. The Time Machine, HG Wells l So This is Christmas, John Lennon

146. Maidens Bequest, George MacDonald l Speeding Cars, Imogen Heaps

147. Madensky Square, Eva Ibbotson l A Fuller Wine, Abigail Washburn

148. The Art of Tangled, Jeff Kurtti l Boxing Day, Relient K

149. Dear Enemy, Jean Webster l Woman King, Iron and Wine

150. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley l North American Field Song, The Innocence Mission

In 2010: Events

Actually, it's been an uneventful year. I didn't see many plays or shows... Kinda sad really.


MoCCA Festival. Where I met Kate Beaton.


The Winter's Tale at the Delacorte. Where I saw my favorite Shakespeare play come to life, and bring me to tears.


Relient K with The Gay Blades and The Narrative. Where I fell in love with Matt... all over again.


German Intensive Language Camp at Millersville. Where "genau" was the word of the day.


Comic-Con Weekend. Where I felt comradery with my brothers in geekdom.


Eisley with Christie DuPree and Ives and the Band. Where I never get bored of Lost at Sea.

In 2010: Albums

My favorite and most listened to albums of 2010 in no particular order.


Crazy for You by Best Coast


The Snow Magic by Dark Dark Dark


Eclipse Soundtrack by Various


Lungs by Florence and the Machine


All Delighted People by Sufjan Stevens


Forget and Not Slow Down by Relient K


The Scott Pilgrim Soundtrack by Various


My Room in the Trees by The Innocence Mission


Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens


The Sea by Corinne Bailey Rae

MUSIC FOREVER

I'm so preoccupied with everything lately the only thing that really gets me feeling grounded is music.


Rolling in the Deep by Adele


Give into Me by Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund


Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson


O Children by Nick Cave


Terrified by Katharine McPhee and Zachary Levi


Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars


Hell by Tegan and Sara

Okay, just thought you should know what I've been listening to the past month... minus 106.7's Christmas tunes which seem to be on somewhere in our house 24/7.

My Story's Play-Mix Thang

So trying to write a book really cuts back on blogging time. Here is a play-mix of the songs I'm drawing inspiration from.


Ta Douleur by Camille


Daydreaming by Dark, Dark, Dark


Auf Dich Hab' Ich Gewartet by Annett Louisan


Long, Long Time by Helen Forrest


Human Racing by St Vincent


A Sunday Kind of Love by Beth Rowley


Speeding Cars by Imogen Heap

Work was crazy this morning, but I do so love getting paid.

So this is (sorta kinda) Christmas

Bad day. I banged my shin at work, and it still hurts. I've got loads of school to do, I'm really tired, I got rained on, and Dad drank my coffee. ;__; What makes it better? CHRISTMAS MUSIC! Here was the day's mix.


Last Christmas, Wham!


Star of Wonder, Sufjan Stevens


Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg


Winter White, A Fine Frenzy


So This is Christmas, John Lennon


It Really is a Wonderful Life, Mindy Smith

I want to go to bed early tonight.

British People Sing Differently

All female British singers have something Americans don't. It's the way they sing around their accents I think.


Rain on my Parade, Duffy


Foundations, Kate Nash


Rehab, Amy Winehouse


Cold Shoulder, Adele


The Fear, Lily Allen


Upsidedown, Paloma Faith

That be all. This bathroom renovation will be the death of me.

Eisley on tour so be there kthnx

So on Thursday my sister and I will be going to our fourth Eisley concert in as many years. We are excite. There are still tickets left and they're cheap and it's such a lovely venue. Come and hang with the DuPrees!


Gramercy Theater in Union Square. Spread the Eisley lurve!

Today was work 6-11, chem lab 12-1 and Hunter tour 3-5. Yawn.

Lovely Folk

Fall = Folk Music.


A Fuller Wine, Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet. Firefly music as my sister calls it.


Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons. Hard core indie folk! Also you really should listen to Little Lion Man by them.


Ashes, Dark Dark Dark. Perfect nautical perfection. Actually check out their entire album.


I Am You, Kim Taylor. Smallville always leads me to the coolest artists.


Across the Black Prairie, Black Prairie. Amazing instrumental folk music, very old-timey and good for day dreaming.

Work went quite well this morning. I have fallen in love with Irish Breakfast tea. There are no interesting school related developments. The end.

Really Epic Songs

Some songs are sagas or stories- massive sensationalist, sometimes spiritual, experiences.


This Is The End (If You Want It) by Relient K. Six minutes. It feels much longer emotionally.
I met the devil and I stared her in the eyes/Her hair had scales like silver serpents, I a statue stood there mesmerized/I took the fire escape and made it out alive/Yeah, I still burn from time to time but I've a healing hand against my side.


Hey Jude by The Beatles. Seven minutes. Lots of repetition but it's awesome.
Hey Jude, don't make it bad/Take a sad song and make it better/Remember to let her under your skin/Then you'll begin to make it better, better, better, better, better, better.


Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie. Eight minutes. Full of beautiful instrumentation.
The rhythm of my footsteps crossing Flatlands to your door/Have been silenced forevermore/The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row/It seems farther than ever before/Oh, no/I need you so much closer/I need you so much closer.


You'd Rather Run by Jaymay. Ten minutes. A definite story being told here.
Maybe we're the same, unabashed and unashamed/Then again, I dunno where you came from/You keep carvin' out names/First Jamie then James/And I can't keep up to restrain you.


Deathbed by Relient K. Eleven minutes. Now here lies an epic song.
I can smell the death on the sheets/Covering me/I can't believe this is the end/I can hear those sad memories/Still haunting me/So many things I'd do again/But this is my deathbed/I lie here alone/If I close my eyes tonight/I know I'll be home.


The Lightning Strike by Snow Patrol. Sixteen minutes. Broken into three parts.
Now it's found us/Like I have found you/I don't want to run/Just overwhelm me/What if this storm ends/And leaves us nothing/Except a memory/A distant echo?


Djohariah by Sufjan Stevens. Seventeen minutes. A guitar jam for single mothers.
There is a time when the lights will arise/For the mother is, the mother is the glorious victorious/The mother of the heart of the world/Go on! Little sister! Go on!/For your world is yours/All the wilderness of world is yours to enjoy.


Impossible Soul by Sufjan Stevens. Twenty-four minutes. Broken into five parts.

Boy, we can do much more together/Gotta get a life, get a life, get a life/Boy, we can do much more together/Gotta get it right, get it right, get it right/It's not so impossible.

After such an awesome weekend today was obviously kinda blah.