Here we are, on the cusp of a new year, tingling with the thrill of a successful year past and ready to leap into 2017 like a foal gamboling for the first time through a glen of wildflowers…
… or at least we would be, if it weren’t already halfway through January.
Anyway, the time for gamboling has passed, and I’m a little later with this post than I hoped to be, but that’s okay. It’s time for my world-famous roundup post covering my favorite memories and accomplishments from 2016.
2016 was a phenomenal year. A whole lot happened throughout the year, too much to sum up in one post, so I’m going to try to stick to some basics.
Major Accomplishments
I lost 70 pounds.
I got a lot better at cooking and discovered some cool new recipes and foods.
I finished the second draft of my first novel and made great progress on the final draft.
I wrote more than 85,000 words on my second novel.
I took a trip with the Allreds to California and two trips home to Utah plus a weekend in DC with Sarah.
I turned 26.
I thoroughly explored downtown Provo by eating food from every single restaurant while Sarah and I lived there.
I moved to Pittsburgh.
I started a new job as a legal writer.
I started my master’s program in English Linguistics at Birmingham City University.
And for the fun stuff: I read 53 books, watched 115 movies, listened to 783 albums I’d never heard before, and attended a Coldplay concert, an Irish festival, and my first comic convention.
Yeah, pretty great year overall. Of course, Sarah helped me tremendously with all of this, as did my family and my friends. So thanks, guys, for your help.
Now for a photo gallery.
At Burgatory, one of our favorite new restaurants, with my dad.
The Coldplay concert's light show.
After the Coldplay concert (Sarah got a new shirt).
Ohiopyle State Park on a long weekend.
Apparently my hair is curly now. And long.
The Wolf and Red Riding Hood for Halloween.
On a shopping trip. I've discovered a new love for beanies.
I've also discovered a new love for cheese. So much cheese.
And this is what my hair looks like straight.
Traveling back from Utah after Christmas. Note my favorite new shirt.
A display of the generosity shown by family and friends for me at Christmas. I'm incredibly grateful.
I’ve put together a couple of lists of the top entertainment releases of 2016 (according to me). I didn’t get to listen to everything that was released in 2016, though you can see that I made it through a lot of 2016 albums in my list below, so if I revised this list six months down the road, it might look different. But here are the lists as they stand now.
Top 30 Albums That Were Released in 2016
- The Naked and Famous - Simple Forms
- Postiljonen - Reverie
- School of Seven Bells – SVIIB
- Against the Current - In Our Bones
- blink-182 - California
- Broods - Conscious
- Silent Siren - S
- Rie a.k.a. Suzaku - Seven Seas
- Scandal - Yellow
- Yellowcard - Yellowcard
- Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues
- Amaranthe - Maximalism
- Sirenia - Dim Days of Dolor
- Serenity - Codex Atlanticus
- Epica - The Holographic Principle
- HÆLOS - Full Circle
- Goo Goo Dolls - Boxes
- Lights - Midnight Machines
- Seán Keane - New Day Dawning
- Octaviagrace - Outward Resonance
- Empire of the Sun - Two Vines
- Dragonette - Royal Blues
- Hands Like Houses - Dissonants
- Rhapsody of Fire - Into the Legend
- Simple Plan - Taking One For The Team
- Babymetal - Metal Resistance
- Avantasia - Ghostlights
- Brian Fallon - Painkillers
- Sound Storm - Vertigo
- Tarja - The Shadow Self
Top 15 EPs That Were Released in 2016
- Crystalyne - Follow EP
- Gabrielle Aplin - Miss You EP
- BAND-MAID - Yolo EP
- Ujico* - Dream Castle EP
- KiWi - The Scene of Ordinary EP
- Nina Nesbitt - Modern Love EP
- River Oaks - River Oaks EP
- Sleep On It - Lost Along the Way EP
- Tigertown - Lonely Cities EP
- Jetty Bones - Crucial States EP
- Stellar - Sting EP
- Tarja - The Brightest Void EP
- Angels & Airwaves - Chasing Shadows EP
- Maty Noyes - Noyes Complaint EP
- Woodes - Woodes EP
Top 30 Movies That Were Released in 2016
- Rogue One (Gareth Edwards)
- Kubo and the Two Strings (Travis Knight)
- Arrival (Denis Villeneuve)
- 10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg)
- Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson)
- Star Trek Beyond (Justin Lin)
- Captain America: Civil War (Anthony & Joe Russo)
- Moana (Ron Clements, John Musker)
- Passengers (Morten Tyldum)
- Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them (David Yates)
- Zootopia (Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush)
- The Little Prince (Mark Osborne)
- Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder)
- The Huntsman: Winter's War (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan)
- The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau)
- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Tim Burton)
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Burr Steers)
- The Legend of Tarzan (David Yates)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (Bryan Singer)
- Gods of Egypt (Alex Proyas)
- Finding Dory (Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane)
- The Boy (William Brent Bell)
- Nerve (Henry Joost, Ariel Shulman)
- Suicide Squad (David Ayer)
- The Finest Hours (Craig Gillespie)
- Warcraft (Duncan Jones)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson)
- The Forest (Jason Zada)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (James Bobin)
Boldface indicates that I saw the movie in theaters.
Top 3 Books That Were Published In 2016
- Emperor of the Eight Islands – Lian Hearn
- The Dispatcher – John Scalzi
- Velvet, Vol. 3: The Man Who Stole the World – Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting
Yeah, there are only three, and one’s a short story and the other’s a comic book. I didn’t read many 2016 releases. Hoping to change that this year.
Top 11 Podcasts of 2016
- Lexicon Valley
- The Tolkien Professor
- Speculative Grammarian
- The World In Words
- The Allusionist
- Dear Hank and John
- Unattended Consequences
- Lead Singer Syndrome
- Revisionist History
- Song Exploder
- The Sporkful
It was too hard to eliminate one of these podcasts, so it’s 11. Sue me. Also, obviously most of these podcasts are not exclusive to 2016, and I’m not saying I listened to every episode they released in 2016. But I listened to multiple episodes of each and would recommend them (with a few qualifications for language, for some of them) to anyone.
Christmas Wrap-up
I wanted to say a couple words about Christmas, because it was great. Sarah and I spent the week in Utah (thanks to generous help from my parents), and we got to spend time with lots of friends and family. The gifts I received were perfect and very generous: board games, books, awesome clothes, a hand-painted LOTR silhouette scene, plenty of candy and snacks. We saw Rogue One and Passengers with my family; loved them both. We also ate lunch at Tucanos, a New Year’s Day tradition, and spent a couple hours browsing in Barnes & Noble as a gift from my dad. We played lots of games, spent hours with friends reminiscing and having a great time, and got a chance to remember why we love Provo so much. (Cheap access to authentic tacos is the main reason, FYI.) Overall, it was a great vacation for the holidays, and we made it back to Pittsburgh safely with our luggage trailing only two days behind us.
Favorite Discoveries of 2016
In my adventures, I discovered a lot of great new things. Here they are.
- Comic books. More of a rediscovery. But I really got into comics this year. Favorites include Wolverine, Batman, Spider-man (especially the Spider-Verse event), and Wonder Woman. Really excited about the Thor and Doctor Strange volumes I’ve got waiting for me under my desk.
- Moving across the country is challenging (and expensive) but definitely lots of fun.
- The Fairyland novels by Catherynne M. Valente. I listened to the first one on Audible, then purchased it and the second volume (which I haven’t read yet) in hard copy because I was so impressed.
- Brandon Sanderson writes great short stories and novellas. (I knew I loved his novels already, of course.)
- If I eat less food, I’ll lose weight.
- Michael Moorcock is a fantasy legend for a reason.
- Tons of amazing new bands and musical artists, including Screaming Orphans, School of Seven Bells, Broods, Rie a.k.a. Suzaku, Silent Siren, Scandal, HÆLOS, Avantasia, Rhapsody of Fire, Sound Storm, Jóhan Jóhansson, and probably a hundred other bands I can't recall right now but are on the list.
- Cooking is really fun and I’m actually pretty good at it.
- Science fiction is great and I should read more of it (another rediscovery).
- Literary fiction can be surprisingly impactful and I should also broaden my horizons here.
- Keeping track of my goals in a daily planner is super effective as long as I make them reasonable.
- Pomelo, barley, blood oranges, and tumaca sauce are delicious ingredients.
- Podcasts and audiobooks are great for commute & the gym, and even though I like physical-copy reading better, I’m now a staunch fan of audio and digital reading.
- Hitchcock is an even better director than I remembered.
- The library is wonderful. I currently have 47 items checked out. :O
- The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is more fun than I thought on my original playthrough (rose in the rankings), and Twilight Princess is just as good as I originally thought.
- If I step outside what I know, I’ll discover some great new things (e.g. Japanese-themed fantasy novels, animated Irish films, dramas, weird Belarusian music, tasty new foods).
Most Anticipated of 2017
- New albums from The xx, You Me At Six, Lights & Motion, Xandria, and Acceptance. Plus lots more I don’t know about yet. Seriously, release dates need to be announced already.
- Hitting my goal weight (180) and then focusing on body recomposition and muscle gain.
- Getting new clothes that fit right once I’m finally at a healthy weight.
- Finally not eating at a deficit. (!)
- The LEGO Batman Movie, Beauty and the Beast, Ghost in the Shell, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wonder Woman, Despicable Me 3, The Mummy, Spider-man: Homecoming, Dunkirk, War for the Planet of the Apes, The Dark Tower, Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Star Wars Episode VIII. And more.
- Submitting my first novel for publication.
- Playing a ton of videogames that are piling up in my backlog.
- Learning to speak Japanese.
- Reading a bunch of novels and comics that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. This includes my backlog plus a bunch of new authors. (My list of authors to read in 2017 includes Sanderson, Hearn, Valente, Scalzi, Burroughs, Tolkien, Parks, Erikson, Jordan, Howard, Sinclair, Riggs, Brooks, Goodkind, McKiernan, King, Rowling, Portis, Alexander, Mitchell, Gaiman, Moorcock, Gladwell, Cavell, Jemisin, Lackey, Lovecraft, Poe, Bradbury, Irvine, Snicket, Colfer, Carey, Pratchett, Card, Gemmell, Weeks, Lawrence, Kirkpatrick, Bakker, Clemens, Sullivan, Staveley, Lawhead, Rothfuss, Weis, and Weeks, and that’s saying nothing of the comics series.
- Getting a dog!
- Going to a handful of concerts.
- Feeling fully settled in at work and in Pittsburgh and exploring more of the surrounding states.
- Finishing my second and third novels.
- Making lots of progress on my master’s degree (I probably won’t finish until 2018, but we’ll see).
- Feeling more confident with my Welsh language ability.
- Catching up on television shows that I’ve let stack up for a while, including a bunch that I’ve wanted to watch for a while that are finally on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime.
- Expanding my cooking abilities and trying new foods. Also keeping track of what I cook with photos. I didn't do a great job of that this year.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I am SO excited for this.
Overall, 2016 was a fantastic year. I had great experiences with great people and I learned a lot. I’m really excited for 2017 and I hope to continue to share what I experience via my blog with friends and family.
If you have any comments on what I’ve written, including recommendations for or from me or critiques of my taste in media, please let me know either here or on Facebook!
Love you all. Cheers to a happy new year in 2017!
—Justin
Below are a couple of master lists of what I listened to and read this year, just for reference. No need to read through them.
All Albums/EPs From 2016
(ignore the numbers; they’re a holdover from my complete list and not worth the effort to delete manually)
014. David Bowie – ★ [2016] +
084. Panic! at the Disco – Death of a Bachelor [2016] ++
098. Tigertown – Lonely Cities EP [2016] ++
110. Postiljonen – Reverie [2016] ++
111. Simple Plan – Taking One For The Team [2016] ++
121. Safe, So Simple – Too Close To Closure EP [2016] +
131. Serenity – Codex Atlanticus [2016] ++
139. She Is We – War [2016] ++
140. Tonight Alive – Limitless [2016] +
141. Jetty Bones – Crucial States EP [2016] ++
143. Låpsley – Long Way Home [2016] +
152. HÆLOS – Full Circle [2016] ++
153. Light Up The Sky – NightLife [2016] ++
157. Brian Fallon – Painkillers [2016] ++
161. Hands Like Houses – Dissonants [2016] ++
163. From Ashes to New – Day One [2016] ++
190. Babymetal – Metal Resistance [2016] ++
215. Fiestar – A Delicate Sense EP [2016] +
217. Stellar – Sting EP [2016] ++
222. Grayling – Everything That Burns EP [2016] +
240. Sunrise Skater Kids – Friendville [2016] ++
247. Sleeping With Sirens – Live & Unplugged [2016] +
253. Avantasia – Ghostlights [2016] ++
286. The Lumineers – Cleopatra [2016] ++
291. Goo Goo Dolls – Boxes [2016] ++
292. Lights – Midnight Machines [2016] ++
293. Nemesea – Uprise [2016] ++
294. Adia Victoria – Beyond the Bloodhounds [2016] +
297. M83 – Junk [2016] +
305. Rhapsody of Fire – Into the Legend [2016] ++
312. Dustin Kensrue – Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood [2016] *
314. Blaqk Audio - Material [2016] +
315. Saosin - Saosin [2016] ++
316. Against the Current - In Our Bones [2016] ++
318. Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness [2016] ++
322. Christoffer Franzén – Wide Awake [2016] ++
323. Thrice – To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere [2016] ++
345. Molly's Revenge – Lift [2016] ++
348. I See Stars – Treehouse [2016] +
350. Sherwood – Some Things Never Leave You [2016] ++
356. letlive. – If I'm The Devil... [2016] +
361. Denial – Cemetery EP [2016] +
362. Ujico* – Dream Castle EP [2016] ++
363. Northern Lights – Poet from the northern sea [2016] ++
364. KiWi – The scene of ordinary EP [2016] ++
365. Takahiro Kido – The New World EP [2016] ++
375. blink-182 – California [2016] ++
376. Broods – Conscious [2016] ++
382. Crystalyne – Follow EP [2016] ++
388. Good Charlotte – Youth Authority [2016] ++
390. Dan Gibson's Solitudes – Lost in a Daydream [2016] +
392. Dan Gibson's Solitudes – Moonlight Shadows [2016] +
393. Dan Gibson's Solitudes – A Mid Summer's Evening [2016] +
405. Reachback – Hello Paradise EP [2016] ++
406. Relient K – Air For Free [2016] ++
411. Crown the Empire – Retrograde [2016] ++
413. Sabaton – The Last Stand [2016] ++
415. Bastille – Wild World: The Complete Edition [2016] ++
416. Lindsey Stirling – Brave Enough [2016] ++
424. A Day to Remember – Bad Vibrations [2016] +
433. Scandal – Yellow [2016] ++
449. Tarja – The Brightest Void EP [2016] ++
450. Tarja – The Shadow Self [2016] ++
457. Silent Siren – S [2016] ++
458. Bon Iver – 22 A Million [2016] +
460. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION: Side B [2016] ++
461. Taking Back Sunday – Tidal Wave [2016] ++
463. Lauren Mann – Dearestly [2016] ++
467. Hannah Georgas – For Evelyn [2016] ++
469. Letters From The Fire – Worth The Pain [2016] ++
471. Angels & Airwaves – Chasing Shadows EP [2016] ++
472. Delain – Moonbathers [2016] ++
473. Famous Last Words – The Incubus [2016] ++
474. Yellowcard - Yellowcard [2016] ++
476. Rachel Platten – Wildfire [2016] +
482. Green Day – Revolution Radio [2016] +
483. Sum 41 – 13 Voices [2016] +
484. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty [2016] +
507. The Naked & Famous – Simple Forms [2016] ++
513. Jimmy Eat World – Integrity Blues [2016] ++
514. Amaranthe – Maximalism [2016] ++
523. Lewis & Leigh – Ghost [2016] +
526. Epica – The Holographic Principle [2016] ++
530. Bridear – Baryte [2016] ++
535. Ben Lee – Freedom, Love, and the Recuperation of the Human Mind [2016] ++
536. How To Dress Well – Care [2016] +
537. Lady Gaga – Joanne [2016] +
538. Tove Lo – Lady Wood [2016] ++
539. Empire of the Sun – Two Vines [2016] ++
549. Goldroom – West of the West [2016] ++
554. Goldroom – It's Like You Never Went Away EP [2016] ++
562. loren north – Starlight EP [2016] +
563. Relient K – The Creepier EP...er [2016] +
564. The Temper Trap – Thick As Thieves [2016] ++
569. Ruaile Buaile – This Very Moment [2016] ++
581. Cardiknox – Portrait [2016] ++
586. Elyose – Ipso Facto [2016] ++
589. Jóhan Jóhannsson – Orphée [2016] ++
594. Sirenia – Dim Days of Dolor [2016] ++
608. Memphis May Fire – This Light I Hold [2016] ++
613. Dragonette – Royal Blues [2016] ++
615. Lifted Bells – Overreactor [2016] +
616. Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost [2016] +
618. Michael Giacchino – Doctor Strange OST [2016] ++
620. Pinegrove – Cardinal EP [2016] ++
640. Issues – Headspace [2016] ++
656. Nina Nesbitt – Modern Love EP [2016] ++
662. Lauren Aquilina – Isn't It Strange? [2016] ++
669. Axelle Red – The Songs (Acoustic) [2016] ++
671. Hélène Segara – Amaretti [2016] ++
674. Foxes – All I Need (Deluxe) [2016] ++
691. She & Him – Christmas Party [2016] ++
695. Scavenger Hunt – Shapes & Outlines EP [2016] ++
696. Scavenger Hunt – Shapes & Outlines Remixes EP [2016] +
701. Basement – Promise Everything [2016] +
709. River Oaks – River Oaks EP [2016] ++
710. Jóhan Jóhannsson – Arrival OST [2016] ++
711. Octaviagrace – Outward Resonance [2016] ++
716. Rie a.k.a. Suzaku – Seven Seas [2016] ++
726. Seán Keane – New Day Dawning [2016] ++
751. dodie – Intertwined EP [2016] +
752. Stream of Passion – Memento [2016] ++
758. That Poppy – Bubblebath EP [2016] +
762. Powerwolf – The Metal Mass: Live [2016] +
763. Sabaton – Heroes on Tour [2016] ++
765. Gabrielle Aplin – Miss You EP [2016] ++
768. Sleep On It – Lost Along the Way EP [2016] ++
770. Woes – Woes EP [2016] +
771. Bright Green – The Highs Are Getting Lower EP [2016] +
772. Us the Duo – Public Record EP [2016] +
774. Shane Harper – Like I Did EP [2016] +
775. I Prevail – Lifelines [2016] ++
777. Ruelle – Madness [2016] ++
778. Maty Noyes – Noyes Complaint EP [2016] ++
779. Sound Storm – Vertigo [2016] ++
780. Tengger Cavalry – Cavalry in Thousands [2016] +
781. Francobollo – Wonderful EP [2016] ++
782. BAND-MAID – Yolo EP [2016] ++
783. Woodes – Woodes EP [2016] ++
Books Read in 2016
January
01. Old Man's War – John Scalzi [2005]
02. The Killing Joke – Alan Moore, Brian Bolland [1988]
03. Coraline – Neil Gaiman [2002]
04. The Hobbit: Dramatized Audiobook – J.R.R. Tolkien, Ensemble Cast [2007]
February
05. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe – Cullen Bunn, Dalibor Talajić [2011]
06. Fantastic Mr. Fox – Roald Dahl [1970]
07. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making – Catherynne M. Valente [2011]
08. Whistling Past The Graveyard – Susan Crandall [2013]
09. The Emperor's Soul – Brandon Sanderson [2012]
March
10. Masters of Atlantis – Charles Portis [1985]
11. The Knight of the Swords – Michael Moorcock [1971]
12. Dragons Love Tacos – Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri [2012]
13. Year One – Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli [1987]
14. The Queen of the Swords – Michael Moorcock [1971]
April
15. The King of the Swords – Michael Moorcock [1971]
May
16. Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson [2009]
June
17. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan [2013]
18. Perfect State – Brandon Sanderson [2015]
19. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs [2011]
July
20. A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs [1912]
21. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From The Making Of The Princess Bride – Cary Elwes [2014]
August
22. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English – John McWhorter [2008]
23. The Martian – Andy Weir [2014]
24. The Illyrian Adventure – Lloyd Alexander [1986]
25. The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George [2013]
September
26. Wonder Woman, Vol. I: Gods and Mortals – George Pérez, Len Wein [2004]
27. Emperor of the Eight Islands – Lian Hearn [2016]
28. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry [1943]
29. Black Orchid – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean [1988]]
30. Wolverine, Vol. 1: Hunting Season – Paul Cornell, Alan Davis [2013]
October
31. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope – Alan Dean Foster, George Lucas [1977]
32. Velvet, Vol. 1: Before the Living End – Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting [2014]
33. Wolverine, Vol. 2: Killable – Paul Cornell, Alan Davis, Mirco Pierfederici [2014]
34. Haunt, Vol. 1 – Robert Kirkman, Todd McFarlane [2011]
35. All You Need Is Kill – Nick Mamatas, Lee Ferguson [2014]
36. The Gods of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs [1963]
37. Superman: New Krypton, Vol. 1 – Geoff Johns, James Robinson [2009]
38. The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Vol. 1 – Yoshiki Tanaka, Hiromu Arakawa [2014]
39. Wolverine: 3 Months to Die, Vol. 1 – Paul Cornell [2014]
November
40. The Dispatcher – John Scalzi [2016]
41. Kimi ni Todoke, Vol. 1 – Karuho Shiina [2006]
42. Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls – Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo [2012]
43. The War of Art: Break Through the Block & Win Your Inner Creative Battles – Steven Pressfield [2003]
44. The Hangman's Daughter – Oliver Pötzsch [2010]
45. Velvet, Vol. 2: The Secret Lives of Dead Men – Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting [2015]
46. Blink – Malcolm Gladwell [2005]
December
47. Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter – Richard Parks [2013]
48. Baba Yaga's Assistant – Marika McCoola, Emily Carroll [2015]
49. Wolverine: 3 Months to Die, Vol. 2 – Paul Cornell, Kris Anka, Pete Woods [2014]
50. The Amazing Spider-man, Vol. 1: The Parker Luck – Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos [2014]
51. Velvet, Vol. 3: The Man Who Stole the World – Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting [2016]
52. The Amazing Spider-man, Vol. 1.1: Learning to Crawl – Dan Slott, Ramón Pérez [2014]
53. Batman, Vol. 2: The City of Owls – Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo [2013]
Happy New Year!
—J
