Friday, December 30, 2016

My 2016 Favorites

I can't believe 2016 ends tomorrow. This year has gone fast. While it was not a good year for dying celebrities, it was a fantastic year for our family. We traveled, we laughed, we ate a lot, we actually went on dates and adventures, and when it comes to this year my only regret is not keeping a better journal.

I want to share a few of my favorites this year when it comes to books and movies, which are two things I love. I found time to read this year--well over 50 books! That doesn't include the four chapter books I read to Kevin and the hundreds of children's books I read to both of my kids. Maybe it was the two vacations and cashing in credit card rewards for movie tickets, but Scott and I actually managed to go to more than two movies this year. We went to 14 movies in theaters (two of those at a John Wayne Film Festival and the other 12 new releases). Yeah, spoiled.


Rinda's Reads: Top 10 for 2016

Every book on this list is excellent. Every book on this list changed me in some way. Every book on this list is one I want to own. Not all of these books were published in 2016; they just happen to be ones I encountered for the first time this year. All 10 recieve 5 stars for me, but I've put them in order.

 10. Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
9. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
8. The Legendary Inge by Kate Stradling
7. When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
6. A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
5. The 13th Tale by Diane Setterfield
4. Fireweed by Terry Montague
3. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel J. Brown
2.  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
1. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys

Honorable Mentions go to:

  • Immortal Writers by Jill Bowers
  • With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden
  • Etched in Sand by Regina Calcuttera
  • Eleanor & The Iron King by Julianne Daines


Best Movies of 2016

So, we saw loooots of movies this year. We usually make it to one or two. I'm betting I make it to maybe four next year (and at the top of that list is Hidden Figures and, of course, Beauty and the Beast). Though Hollywood might disagree with my pics, the majority of the movies we saw I really liked. So, mostly for my records, here is a list of the 2016 movies we got to see (the additional three we saw via VidAngel. We love VidAngel.) and my rating for each.

  • The Finest Hours (*****)--so intense, but such a great story. It's on Netflix, check it out!
  • The Jungle Book (***)
  • Angry Birds Movie (***)
  • Finding Dory (****)--I am not a fan of Finding Nemo, but I surprisingly enjoyed this one
  • Sully (***)-- this movie could have really taken off or tanked, but it just kind of...floated. 
  • The Legend of Tarzan (*****)--my favorite of the year!
  • Me Before You (***)
  • Rogue One (**)---how many hours and no stinkin kiss? Me=not a fan.
  • Eddie the Eagle (****)
  • Sing (****)--saw this one today. The whole family LOVED it!
  • Storks (**)--my family really liked this one, it just wasn't my favorite
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (***)--I liked this one, but was highly disappointed that the characters were changed so much from the original books
  • Zootopia (****)
  • Secret Life of Pets (*)--this movie had such a great trailer but was so not worth my time
  • Allegiant (***)--Scott and I finally watched this Series via VidAngel and Amazon Prime. We are behind, I know. 

And just in case you were interested...

Top 5 Blog Posts of 2016 (According to Me)

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