Best of 2013 – I Have Some Catching Up to Do!

This year has flown by! Wow! Every year I look at the “best of lists” and wonder, “where was I this year?” I feel like I miss a lot of books, songs, movies, podcasts and trends. This year, I know the answer to my question. I was here writing this blog. A lot. That said, here is a quick review of some “bests” or “most populars.” If you are like me, you can catch up on some of these in January and February when it is too cold outside to do anything!

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Best Books of 2013

Ack – in the New York Times Top 10 books of 2013, I have read 4% of 1 of these! I just started Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. And 2.04 of 100 Notable Books. Whoa, this may be a record low for me. Yikes, only 2 from NPR’s list, too. And 1 from Daily Candy’s. Hmmm, I guess Swedish mysteries are not in vogue. I did read and enjoy many books this year. What were your favorites?

Best Movies of 2013

I know I will fall short here. I saw just a few movies this year. I saw American Hustle and Saving Mr. Banks last week and plan to see Her on New Year’s Day. I saw NONE of Salon’s top 10 for 2013 and I saw one of David Edelstein from the New Yorker’s top picks. What were your favorites?

Best New TV Shows of 2013

I pretty much never watch TV so I am not surprised that I have not seen any of these Best New TV Shows of 2013 from Daily Candy. I did read Orange is the New Black and want to see that show. We are almost done with Breaking Bad (Thank goodness – I can’t take much more!) and Damages (same). What were your favorites?

Best Podcasts of 2013

I do listen to TONS of podcasts on the run and commute so I am more attuned to the podcasts on Stitcher’s list. Check out this great by month top podcasts year in review. I would say my favorites this year have mostly been from This American Life. This recent podcast from the Moth took my breath away. I loved it. What were your favorites?

Best Songs/Music of 2013

I am so out of touch with new music other than pop stuff that Richard plays in spin class. I don’t know how I wind up somewhere in 2005 listening to the Killers or 2009 listening to Adele or even further back. I loved checking out the Daily Beast’s Top 13 Songs of 2013. I guess I don’t have to be embarrassed that I love Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop – they do, too! I am going to school myself on this list. What recommendations do you have for me in terms of new music?

Best in Travel 2013

I love to travel and we hit Nicaragua on our big trip, plus NYC, Los Angeles, Austin, Vancouver and a bunch of other US destinations this year. Wow – I did not hit any of Lonely Planet’s top regions, cities or countries this year! None of National Geographic’s either. Nicaragua made the list of 46 Places to Go in 2013 from the NY Times. I have been to about ten of these ever. The gorgeous pics renewed my wanderlust. Where did you go? Where would you love to go in 2014?

Top Fitness Trends 2013

Well, everyone was doing CrossFit and “themed”/mud runs this year. Not me! Neither is up my alley. I did not try any of these workouts from ABC News, but I did try the ViPR and Tabata listed by HuffPost. I tried more than half of the things recommended by Fitbie for this year. What was your favorite new fitness trend?

My Top Blog Posts of 2013 by Pageviews

Wow, you folks love giveaways! I guess I do promote these the most heavily!

(A Few of) My Favorite Less Read Posts of 2013 (by me) I can’t pick favorites from all of the blogs I follow. It would take forever because there are so many I love!

Oh, and Jetpack tells me that my top commenters this year were Marcia, Amy, Debbie, Maggie and Georgiana – Thank you, ladies from the bottom of my bloggy heart!

Well, that’s all for me, for now. I wish you all a happy, healthy and safe new year! Catch you in 2014!