Six Top Six Lists for '06

Last year I gave you my top 25 reads of 2005. For the '06 yearly wrap-up I'll share my picks for other topics too ... but don't worry, every single one of these things has librarian written all over it!

Top Six Topics for Two thousand six:

• Podcasts
• Songs
• Web 2.0 Tools
• Movies
• Modern Miracles
  
• Books

Podcasts

Thanks to my surprise iPod, I got into podcasts in a big way this year. I listen to a lot of them once, a few of them every once in awhile, and these six every single time they put out a new one (all links are to the iTunes store, but they're all free, and so is iTunes, so go download it and get your audio on!):

1. Gadgettes from CNET - Kelly Morrison and Molly Wood geek out about gadgets and mercilessly mock the tech industry's insistence that girls only buy "cute" gadgets. Their PINKWATCH segment is priceless.
2. This American Life - I superduper love this radio show, but my NPR affiliate airs it at a pretty inconvenient time slot for me. TAL held out pretty long to make their podcast free, but I'm so glad they finally did ... on demand radio is the coolest.
   
3. Project Runway: Tim Gunn - the oh-so-fabulous host of Bravo's fashion design reality show, dishes some serious behind the scenes dirt.
4. Driveway Moments - the NPR stories so good you stay in your car 'til they're finished.
5. All Songs Considered - online-only NPR this time, and all about music.
6. Discovery Channel Features - geek TV without the pictures ... sharks, mummies, pirates, oh my!

Songs

The iTunes store lures you in with all those free podcasts, but once you're there it's all too easy to start buying songs for a buck a pop! Here are some of the songs (and their albums) that I played on endless repeat this year:

1. Slow Pony Home from Say I Am You by The Weepies
2. Marching Bands of Manhattan from Plans by Death Cab for Cutie
   
3. Casimir Pulaski Day from Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens
   
4. Something Pretty from Loneliness Knows My Name by Patrick Park
   
5. Masterfade from The Mysterious Production of Eggs by Andrew Bird
   
6. Beautiful World from Going Somewhere by Colin Hay

Web 2.0 Tools

As I delved even deeper into "the read-write web" this year, these were the tools that surpassed "that's neat" to become a daily part of my online life:

1. Del.icio.us - I was a late adopter on this one, but now I don't know how I ever lived without a single place to "put" all my bookmarks that also lets me know what other people thought was worth bookmarking
   
2. LibraryThing - you know how I feel about this one, but I needed to mention it again. It really is that cool.
   
3. flickr - another party I showed up to a little late, but it's pretty great when far-flung friends start having babies.
   
4. Open WorldCat - find out which libraries near you have the book you need, with a single search, for FREE
   
5. Kayak - a newer travel metasite with truly useful search options
   
6. online banking - I've been paying bills online ever since you could do such a thing, but this year marked the first time I could pay ALL of them online ... rent's the only check I write now, and all my statements are paperless, and that makes me insanely happy.

Movies

My favorite multiplex experiences of '06, just 'cuz I liked 'em:

1. The 40 Year Old Virgin
2. V for Vendetta
3. Thank You For Smoking
4. The Illusionist
5. Hollywoodland
6. Casino Royale

Miracles of modern technology

Some of the "stuff" I don't want to do without:

1. video iPod - one little deck of cards-sized thingie can play movies, music, and backup my digital camera ... wow.
   
2. Magic Erasers - my clean-freak side thinks these things are the greatest invention since the squeegee.
   
3. living lettuce - if you water it, this'll stay fresh for 2 months in the fridge!
   
4. air purifier - from May to July, I'd be a very unhappy camper without this machine by my bed.
5. Buffalo Linkstation - who doesn't need a 120 gig external networked hard drive?
6. Sony PictureStation - this is the easiest printer I've ever used, and the prints always look great.
   

Books

And, finally, the six best books I read this year (only one of which was published this year):

1. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman - essays about "low culture" Gen X-er obsessions
   
2. A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King - my favorite of King's Sherlock Holmes series
   
3. The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs - an unexpectedly moving memoir about reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
   
4. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - how split-second decisions effect much of our lives
   
5. King Dork by Frank Portman - a geek comes of age
   
6. Ambient Findability by Peter Morville - easy-reading analysis of how people find things online
   

There you go: 36 things to think about until I get around to updating my blog again!