Tonight, we’ll say goodbye to another year and begin not only a new year but a new decade. Reflecting on the first decade of this century has been, well, fun for me.
From 19 to 29, sleeping on friends’ sofas to owning my own home, single and unfit to be a parent to married with a baby girl, weighing 175 lbs. to… hmmm… ok maybe it hasn’t all been fun to think about.
As I thought about the last 10 years, I started making a ‘best of’ list. It’s my superlatives of entertainment for my twentysomethings, the things I consider the best I’ve experienced in the last 10 years.
And of course, lists such as these are so subjective. Yours may differ greatly, and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Here we go…
Books
- Best Book on Leadership for Twentysomethings: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin. It’s such an easy read, and Seth will change the way you think about those around you and your role in your ‘tribe.’
- Best Book to Change Your View of God: Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper and Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. Desiring God wasn’t written in the last 10 years, but I read it in the last 10 years.
It’s pretty heavy, but it will change the way you view joy and God’s glory in the world. Simply Christian is almost a modern day version of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. - Best Fiction Book: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. I’m still finishing this one up, but the story is captivating, especially if you’re a man. They are making it into a movie soon.
- Best Book about a Dead President: John Adams by David McCullough and The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. I love reading about dead presidents. [You may also want to get the John Adams mini-series if you like Presidential history.]
- Best Non-fiction Book: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. This book is about a serial killer, so be warned. It’s also about the 1904 World’s Fair. It gives you really good insight into that time in history with a crazy story interwoven into it.
Music
- My Favorite Albums of the Decade (in no particular order): For brevity’s sake, I will only list 7. There are hundreds that could make this list… just so you know.
- The Crane Wife by The Decemberists: Colin Meloy can tell a story in a song better than anyone I’ve ever heard.
- Parachutes by Coldplay: This album shows just how good songwriters these guys really are.
- (Untitled) by Sigur Rós: I used to go to sleep to this almost every night.
- Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams: This record is so sad and so beautiful. It makes you think a lot about life when you listen to it, seriously.
- She Must and Shall Go Free by Derek Webb: A one-way theological symposium with a little reckless abandon thrown in. I love the songs on this record.
- Time (the revelator) by Gillian Welch: I listened to this record over and over in my early 20s. Gillian Welch, what a voice.
- O by Damien Rice: With few instruments and an amazing voice, Damien Rice put out a masterpiece with this record.
- Band of the Decade: Coldplay. Sometimes when a band is so popular and radio plays them over and over, you forget how good they are. I don’t think any band came close to being as big as Coldplay over the past decade.
Movies
- Best Movie with No English Speakers: The Return. This Russian film is about a father and his sons. If you’re into foreign films, this one is good to check out.
- Best Movie that I Fell Asleep During (Twice): Stay. I still have yet to see this one all the way through.
- The Movie I Enjoyed but Told My Friends I Hated: The Break-Up. I know, I know…
- Best Comic Book Movie: Batman Begins and The Dark Night. It was a tie. And, did you notice there were a lot of comic book movies in this decade?
- Almost My Favorite Movie of the Decade: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I couldn’t pick a favorite, so I went with an ‘almost’ favorite. Others that could have made it are: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, O Brother Where Art Thou, Man on Wire and many others.
What do you think? What are some of your favorites that I didn’t mention?
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I’ve never felt more uncool and old in my entire life. Probably because I’ve never been this old and uncool.
Most of your albums sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher to me…I will say though I loves me some Coldplay.
And wasn’t Blue Like Jazz this decade? I thought I’d see that one on there, it’d be on my list.
I love it that you think this thoroughly…keep it up, I’ve forgotten more than I remember about the past 10 years
Mother-in-law, you’re the coolest mother-in-law I know. I’m making you a mix!
Blue Like Jazz almost made it. If I hadn’t read Simply Christian, Blue Like Jazz would have been on there. It’s in my top 10 of the last decade for sure.