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HTML5 Cookbook by Christopher Schmitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A good book. Well-written with helpful examples. It looks like they tried to make things a lot better with HTML5.

The book does a great job of explaining HTML5 features. It presents everything in the form of a problem and a solution. It shows features that are widely supported, features that are supported by some browsers, and features that aren’t supported by any browsers yet. You get workarounds for pretty much every feature just in case the user is using a browser that doesn’t support the feature.

Rule 34 by Charles Stross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the latest Sword & Laser pick. It’s based around the Internet meme Rule 34 that says if it exists, then there’s a porn for it. The book is set in the near future in Scotland and there’s a police force set up to make sure people aren’t doing anything illegal in this regard. Overall, I thought the book was okay. It’s definitely not my favorite S&L pick.

Most of the book is told from the point of view of one of 3 main characters. As you get further into the book, more characters are introduced. Just like the A Songs of Ice and Fire series, the name of the point of view character for that chapter is at the beginning. The problem is that I didn’t care for most of the characters. And didn’t care for the author’s writing style either.

An odd thing about this book is that it’s mostly written in the 2nd person point of view. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book in this point of view before. Made up example: “You wake up. You get out of bed, take a shower, and put some clothes on. You grab your keys and head out the door.” Weird, isn’t it? The “you” isn’t the reader, it’s the point of view character for that chapter. I got used to it, and it didn’t bother me after a while.

Something that did bother me was the Scottish dialect/vernacular. I’ve always hated reading dialogue written in the vernacular because it’s makes for slow reading. In this book, there were words written in a Scottish accent and words that I didn’t know the meaning of. Annoying.

I suggest passing on this book unless you’re a fan of the author. I’ve heard that his earlier work is better, so check that out instead.

CSS: The Missing Manual by David McFarland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got to refresh my memory and hopefully learn something new, which I did. It’s a good book. I didn’t read everything in detail, but I skimmed through the whole thing. The humor in this book wasn’t funny to me, but it’s easy to ignore it.

One benefit of working at home: It’s been about a month since I filled my gas tank and I still have a little under a quarter of a tank left.

One drawback of working at home: I’m going a little stir crazy. Other than trips to the gym and to the grocery store, I haven’t gotten out much lately. I’ve probably said this before, but this town is so boring. I’m glad to be leaving.

I think I’m going to the movies this weekend. Haywire looks really good and it’s getting good reviews. I’m interested in Red Tails as well. Watching the Golden Globes this past weekend made me realize that I slacked off on movies last year. That’s partially because a lot of movies I’m interested in don’t play in Starkville, but it’s also because it’s a lot easier and cheaper to stay home. Maybe I’ll go to Columbus and do some shopping as well.

CSS3 For Web Designers by Dan Cederholm

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not a design person, but I learned a lot and I think I’ll get a lot of use out of what I learned. It gives a good overview of CSS3 features that can be used now, even though CSS3 isn’t finished yet (as far as I know). It focuses on non-critical aspects of the experience layer so that people using browsers that don’t yet support these features won’t know that they’re missing anything. It’s short, to the point, and even funny in a lot of places. Definitely worth checking out.

P.S. – I don’t feel bad about including this type of book in the 20 I want to read for the year. I did read this book all the way through and I plan on reading a couple of trilogies that are counted as 1 book on Goodreads.  3 down, 17 more to go.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally got around to reading some Dresden Files. I really enjoyed the TV show and I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not to read the books.

I’m not big on urban fantasy but I liked this book a lot. I don’t the 1st person perspective, the way that some points were repeated too many times, and some aspects of the magic system. However, I did like the story and the character, especially Harry Dresden. This book sets up the world nicely. I’m pretty sure I’ll be reading more in this series and re-watching the TV show.

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good end to a great series! All fantasy fans should read this trilogy!

It’s been about 2 years since I first started this book, but it didn’t take long to get back into it. My only issue is that the climax went on too long. Other than that, it was great. I wouldn’t mind reading other books set in this world.

Here’s my list for 2012. Hopefully I’ll have an even better success rate than I did in 2011.

• Listen to music more. I want to try to get back into music like I used to be.
• Read 20 books. I read 17 this year according to Goodreads. 20 should be doable.
• Go to a Halloween party. I’ve never been to one or even dressed up for Halloween. That needs to change.
• Go to a Christmas party. I’ve never been to one of these either.
• Buy new clothes. I shouldn’t have any excuses not to this year. I want to buy a few nice things while I’m at it.
• Meet new people. I should meet plenty of new people in Portland.
• Do social gaming. Whether it’s board games or online video games, I want to game more with other people. Playing with by myself gets old after a while.
• Start buying collectibles. I want to grow my collection of geeky items. I have Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Dexter-related items, but I want more.

On the last day of the year I like to look at my last.fm profile to see what I was into musically the previous 12 months.  Since I listen to most of my music on my computer or iPod, it gives a pretty accurate account of what I listened to that year.

Top 10 Artists
1. Revision 3 [podcasts]
2. Pearl Jam
3. Michael Giacchino
4. Arcade Fire
5. Jay and Jack TV [podcasts]
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. Murray Gold
8. The Smashing Pumpkins
9. Foster the People
9. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Top 10 Tracks
1. Foster the People – “Helena Beat”
2. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
2. Katy Perry – “Firework”
2. Arcade Fire – “Modern Man”
2. Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
6. The Naked and Famous – “Young Blood”
6. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
6. Arcade Fire – “Ready to Start”
9. Arcade Fire – “Rococo”
9. The Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Did I Let You Know”

With everything going on lately, I had kinda forgotten that Christmas happened this year. Since neither my mother and nor my sister were in Jackson this year, I didn’t even go home. It’s the first time I’ve ever spent Christmas alone.  I wasn’t completely alone.  Reese is always here, but you know what I mean.

What did I get this year?  I got Darksiders on the Xbox 360 and the first book in the Dresden Files series from a friend.  I got usual movie theater gift cards from my boss at MSU before I left there.  I got the Dresden Files TV series from a kind friend on Twitter. I participated in Twitter Secret Santa again this year and got an awesome USS Enterprise pizza cutter.  I don’t think I’m going to use it.  I think I’ll keep it as a collectible.  If last year is any indication, my sister will probably find the time to send her gift to me around February.

Overall, I just wasn’t into Christmas this year.  I hope it’s different next year.  I hope that whether I’m in Oregon or Mississippi I get to spend Christmas Day with people I care about.