Facts and opinions.

2006 is ending just when I got used to writing it.

Favorite book, written and read in 2006: On Beauty, by Zadie Smith.
Favorite books, written before 2006 but I only got around to reading them now: 1776, by David McCullough; Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy.
Book that was the biggest surprise: Heavenly Flirtations and Other Dates, by Alexander McCall Smith. I picked this up because I wanted beach reading and it was on sale. I expected fluff; I got poignant and well-crafted stories about post-colonial Africa. This is a really good collection!

Favorite movie, made and seen in 2006: Quinceañera.
Favorite movies, made before 2006 but seen now: The Squid and the Whale; Tsotsi.
Biggest movie disappointment: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The first in the series was surprisingly enjoyable. This was just sad.

Favorite TV show, new: Big Love.
Favorite TV show, continuing: The Sopranos; The Office.
Reality show worth watching: Project Runway.
TV show that I miss the most: Arrested Development.
Best continuing show but newly discovered by me early in the year: Battlestar Galactica. This show is better than it has any right to be.

Favorite album: Math and Physics Club, by Math and Physics Club
Favorite source of new music: KEXP
Best live music experience, of which there were fewer than usual in 2006: Belle and Sebastian/The New Pornographers

Miles run in 2006: 1,785
Favorite race: Hood to Coast relay
Running shoes of choice: Saucony Grid Tangents, original model. And now they've done a shoe upgrade and I'm scrambling to find them.

Biggest change: Buying a house. It turns out that it's kind of overwhelming.
Most surprisingly impactful change: Jake and Ella!
Best holiday experience: Thanksgiving.
Best/only vacation: Maui/Big Island.

Hope you all had a great year, and best wishes for the next one.