Top Two...Albums

So, in the latest installment of this wonderful series, I'm going to share my favorite albums. As in, records. As in, LPs. Let's get to it then. 


1. The Life of the World to Come, by The Mountain Goats


Each song on this record is based on a verse from the Christian Bible, and they are breathtaking. Well, in actuality the verses are just jumping-off points; John Darnielle (the only real member of The Mountain Goats) spins ridiculous, whispered, heartbreaking tales on every single track. It is wonderful. 


2. It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright!, by Mewithoutyou 


I love Mewithoutyou. They are my favorite band. There is no contest. This album is incredibly different than their others, but it is just so incredible. The lyrics are reflections on Bawa Muhaiyaddeen teachings, and they are beautiful, humbling, and quite honestly, life-changing. Check it out. 

Top Two Poems.

I do not pretend to understand poetry, but I love it. I really do. As such, I thought I would share my two favorite poems with the three of you that regularly read "Readingwithcats." I'm not even going to share my thoughts, because I don't want to tarnish your reading experience. Hah. Hah. See:

Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelly

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away". 



An untitled poem by Emily Dickinson

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee-- 
One clover, and a bee, 
And revery. 
The revery alone will do 
If bees are few. 





Anyway, I really hope you like them as much as I do. Which is quite a bit, really.

Top Two Movies

So next up in the series we have my two favorite movies. (I realize that absolutely no one cares what a I think. Seriously.) Anyway, I don't really watch very many films, but there are a couple that I really, really enjoyed:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Claymation? Check. Incredible story line, humor, and acting to boot? Checkity check check. What a wonderful wonderful movie.

2. Godspell

I love everything about Godspell - the musical is also my favorite musical. (If that makes sense.) The acting is endearing, the singing is wonderful, and so is just about everything else. Go watch it.

So there you go. I genuinely hope you watch both of these movies, and love them as much as I do. Bye!

Top Two Books

My two favorite things is a new series I am going to try to do. It is rather self-explanatory, but here we go: I will list two of my favorite things. Let's get started? Books first, since I feel like I need to update my list for you guys; my first post conceded the same thing and it sorely out-dated.

Two favorite books:

1. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
2. Cloud Atlas

Both books were written by David Mitchell, who I honestly believe is the cleverest, talentedest, and briliantest (oh yeah, those are totally words) author writing today. You should read all of his books, because they are wonderful.

Later gator.

Let's Change it Up.

Favorite television programs. It certainly isn't literature related, huh? Ha-ha. Nevertheless, we proceed on through the tumultuous waters of the moving pictures on the small screen. I currently watch two shows on television:

1. Parks and Recreation
2. Face-Off

They are so different, and so great. So, so great.

Parks and Rec is a "spin-off" of The Office. However, it should not be known as such; it is superior to its original in every way (at least in my opinion. Which, granted, isn't a very significant opinion at all). Every character on the show is wonderful, from Ron Swanson to April Ludgate. And it is hilarious. So hilar.

Face-Off is the stupidest show ever, but seriously it is so good. It is pretty much a poorly-made American Idol, but the contestants don't sing - rather, they apply special effects make-up. And let me tell you, it is crazy. The stuff they make is so amazing (and terrifying), it is incredible. But also so, so, so stupid.

Anyway, there are my favorite television shows. What are yours?

The Man Booker Prize

So I have been reading a ton of book by David Mitchell, who is an English author (although he lives in Ireland...or maybe Japan. He is very mysterious). Anyway, as I started each one of his novels, they all seemed to have something in common - they were all nominated for the Man Booker Prize. I had never heard of this literary award before, but being the wiki-pro I am (oh yeah), I quickly found the details.

Spoiler alert: The Man Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious in literature, and is awarded for the best novel written in English, authored by a citizen of Ireland, Zimbabwe, or the Commonwealth of Nations.

Anyway, I am about to read a book called The Sisters Brothers which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. The weird thing: it was written by a Canadian author. His name is Patrick deWitt, and The Sisters Brothers (a comic western...oh yes I am so excited) is only his second novel. Even so, it has been getting wonderful reviews, and I am immensely excited to read it.

My Favorite Nine.

My favorite albums of 2011 -

9. Mutemath, Odd Soul

8. Son Lux,We Are Rising

7. Seryn, This is Where We Are

6. Gungor, Ghosts Upon the Earth

5. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy

4. John Mark McMillan, Economy

3. The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow

2. Josh Garrels, Love & War & The Sea In Between

1. James Vincent McMorrow, Early in the Morning