Not a Best-Of.

So... Everyone else is doing best-of lists. For 2010, for the decade, whatever.

I have a secret reason not to do these: I can't remember the dates of anything.

No, seriously. That, and also, I tend to hear/see/read stuff late. So, for example, a best-of for albums for 2010 for me would include such excellent works as Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest by As Cities Burn and The Book of Secrets by Loreena McKennitt. So this is not a best-of.

That said...

It is definitely a best-of.

Just five each, though, okay? Maybe?

Music
- The Book of Secrets, Loreena McKennitt (though I hear she's got a new one out -- which, of course, I have not heard).
- Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest, As Cities Burn (now defunct -- of course).
- Hunting My Dress, Jesca Hoop (which actually did come out this year).
- Lustre, Ed Harcourt (lousy Pitchfork review notwithstanding).
- Becoming a Jackal, Villagers (which is a very excellent album, for fans of early Bright Eyes [which, of course, I am]).
Honorable Mention:  Recovering the Satellites, Counting Crows. Yes, Counting Crows. This album is entirely underrated and is awesome.

Movies
- Legends of the Guardians:  The Owls of Ga'Hoole (I haven't read the books, but this movie was the cutest thing ever).
- Inception (Was this movie hard to follow? It didn't seem like it to me).
- How to Train Your Dragon (again, I haven't read the books. I really want to now. This takes the prize as one of my new favorite children's movies ever).
- He's Just Not That Into You (I only just saw this movie a month or so ago. It was very sweet, and I enjoyed it immensely).
- Where the Wild Things Are (I know it was self-indulgent and all that; I still liked this movie a lot).
Honorable Mention:  The Darjeeling Limited, which was certainly one of the loveliest films about sibling relationships I have ever seen.

Books
- Mystical Theology and the Divine Names, Pseudodionysius. (It was written 1700 years ago -- and yet, somehow, portions of it echo modern mathematics. What gives?)
- A Game of Thrones/A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin. (Like Suetonius, in the middle ages, WITH DRAGONS.)
- The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. (I've been going around pretty much all year, apologizing for bashing this series for so long.)
- Le Jouer, Fiodor Dostoïevsky. (Sad, frantic, terrible, beautiful. 'Course, that could describe pretty much any Dostoevsky, but this was something else.)
- L'Orthodoxie, Serge Boulgakov. (Although sadly available to only a limited degree in English, this was a singularly excellent and very interesting look at Orthodoxy for the theologically-minded.)
Honorable Mention:  The Napoleon of Notting Hill, G.K. Chesterton. (Dear old Chesterton. He is actually happy to be here -- and is wonderful at expressing it.)

So... There's the best-of. That's all. Happy New Year. See you there.