End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives of 2012

Photo credit: jafPix on Flickr

Incredibly, today is the last day of 2012. 2013 is literally just a handful of hours away (more or less, depending on where in the world you are situated), which can only mean one thing here on Writability: it’s time for the five top fives of 2012.

So without further ado, here is my summation of the year in terms of writerly/bloggerly/book(erly?) goodness.

Top 5 Most Popular Posts (On Writability) 

Calculated very scientifically with Blogger’s uber-sophisticated page view count, these are my most popular posts of 2012:

1. Why Write Blog Posts Consistently?
2. Writers: Start Acting Like Professionals
3. Do You Listen to Music While Writing?
4. Ten Indisputable Signs That You’re a Writer
5. Why Writers Must Read

Top 5 Most Active Commenters 

As explained last year, Disqus has this very handy little widget that sits on the side of my blog and keeps track of how many comments each commenter makes. While I don’t think it’s 100% foolproof (if you sign into the comments with more than one account, for example, the comment count is distributed amongst the accounts and thus not recorded accurately) these five awesome readers are some of the most active members of the Writability community, and for that they get a little extra recognition. Thank you!

1. Daniel Swensen
2. RoweMatthew
3. Margaret Alexander
4. J.A. Bennett
5. Chihuahua Zero

Top 5 Favorite Tumblr Blogs of the Year (in no particular order) 

I really amped up the ante with this tumblr thing this year, and I’ve found that now that I understand the site a little better, I really enjoy using it. For those of you who have tumblr accounts, or are considering creating one, I highly recommend checking out these five awesome tumblr blogs:

1. YA Highway
   
   If you’re a writer and you haven’t yet checked out YA Highway’s non-tumblr blog, I can’t recommend it more. The ladies of YA Highway consistently create amazing posts with writing tips, interviews, Field Trip Fridays and Road Trips that I always look forward to in my reader, and their tumblr is just as fantastic, if not more so because I love the extra writing links, humorous posts, writing and reading related pictures and tidbits that they reblog.


2. Quote Book
   
   What can I say? I have this thing for quotes and Quote Book has proven to be a fantastic resource for interesting, thoughtful, funny and beautiful quotes. If you like quotes even half as much as I do, definitely check them out.
    


3. Title To Come
   
   If you’re a writer and you don’t have a tumblr account, I would recommend making one just to follow Title To Come. Words cannot accurately describe the hysterical awesomeness that comes out of Title to Come’s tumblr blog, so I’ll just direct you to this, and this, and this (and this, and this too).


4. The Right Writing
   
   Writing prompts, great tips, and fantastic bite-sized writing-related posts makes The Right Writing a must-follow for writers who frequent tumblr.


5. Writer’s Relief, Inc.
   
   Writer’s Relief posts a really nice mix of amusing (writing related) photos and charts, helpful tips and articles related to writing or the publishing world, and wonderful pictures of books and what-not. If you’re looking for a nice mix of writing tumblrness, I definitely recommend them. 

Top 5 Favorite Books That I Read This Year (in no particular order) 

It was difficult to choose just five books because I’ve read some really incredible books this year, but it came down to these five. I’ve reviewed all of them except for The Sanctuary (as I just finished that one a couple days ago), but they’re all amazing books that you really must read. Immediately.

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (My review here). 
2. A Million Suns by Beth Revis (My review here). 
3. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (My review here). 
4. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (My review here). 
5. The Sanctuary by Ted Dekker
   
   As I mentioned above, I didn’t review The Sanctuary yet, so I’ll rave a little about how fantastic it is here until a proper review is posted. The Sanctuary is a sequel to The Priest’s Graveyard (my review here) and it was a book that I simply could not put down. Dark and definitely captivating, I caught myself thinking about the book between readings and wondering what was going to happen next. If you like thriller-paced novels, I absolutely recommend The Sanctuary. 

Top 5 Favorite Favorites (in no particular order) 

And finally, a collection of my favorite miscellaneous social media goodies that I wanted to share with you guys.

1. @Janice_Hardy & @elizabethscraig
   
   For all of you writers who are on Twitter, I highly recommend following these two ladies. They both consistently post links to some fantastic posts and articles on writing, publishing, etc. and they’re an invaluable resource to writers. Highly recommended.


2. Vlogbrothers
   
   I don’t watch very many vlogs, but I make a point not to miss the vlog of John and Hank Green (yes, the same John Green as the author mentioned above and his equally insightful brother). Their videos are often funny and nearly always thought-provoking. Sometimes they’re related to writing and sometimes not, but I’ve always found them to be interesting and relevant nonetheless.


3. Between Fact & Fiction
   
   Between Fact & Fiction is author Natalie Whipple’s blog. While she doesn’t post as often as some, I’ve found her posts to be particularly insightful and thoughtful. If you’re looking for a blog with some writing-life related advice, or a peek into the soon-to-be-published life of a traditionally published author, I definitely recommend her site.


4. Sam Spratt
   
   So this isn’t writing-related at all, but I also really like art and Sam Spratt’s illustrations are my absolute favorite. If you’re a fan of art, portraiture or illustration of any kind, I recommend checking out some of his work.


5. The Bookshelf Muse
   
   The brainchild of the ever fantastic Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, which I can’t recommend enough for writers), The Bookshelf Muse is a great resource for all of you writers out there. If you haven’t already taken a look at their wonderful blog, take some time to do so. You won’t regret it. 

And that concludes my yearly round-up! There are some very exciting things coming to Writability soon (just around the corner, in fact), so don’t forget to check back in. Happy New Year!

Those are my five top fives—now it’s your turn. What are your favorite blogs (tumblr or otherwise), books and social media goodies of 2012?

Top Five Favorite Harry Potter Moments

It’s a bittersweet time for Harry Potter heads. With the final movie at long last released, it feels like a decade of magical moments has come to a close.

But! Do not despair, my friends! A group of totally awesome Harry Potter fans such as myself have put together a ridiculously awesome blog hop this week, all featuring Harry Potter posts! *GASP* What’s more? There are prizes! A scavenger hunt! And a Twitter hashtag! OHMYGOODNESS!

So! You should totally check it out because the prizes are super fantabulous and technically you’re already checking it out since this is the first blog post of this week’s Potter blog hop (ooo, tricked you a little there. I know, sneaky.)

Err, anyway, back to the blog post…

Although there may not be any new moments to look forward to, there are certainly moments that will live on forever on the page and on the screen. In honor of the closing of an era, I’ve amassed my top five. Originally it was ten but…the post was just too long.  

(*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven't read the books OR seen the last movie yet then...GO WATCH THE MOVIE AND/OR READ THOSE AWESOME BOOKS and come back. :D)

So! In chronological order! 

1. "Yer a Wizard, Harry.” The moment it all began. How could I not include this in my list of favorite HP moments? Not only was our introduction of Hagrid epic, not only is Harry given his first glimmer of hope in over a decade, but by the end of the chapter, Dudley has a (well-deserved) pig tail. COME ON.
2. Welcome to The Burrow. You’re probably wondering why the introduction of The Burrow is on here and our first look at Hogwarts isn’t. Don’t get me wrong—reading about Hogwarts for the first time was incredible. A magical castle hidden way where lucky little wizards and witches get to live ten months of the year? Epic.
   
   
   But The Burrow gave us a glimpse of normal wizarding life. We learn about the chores of the magical folk (like de-gnoming the garden), we watch Mrs. Weasley put together a dinner with flying pots and pans and magically boiling sauces and—best of all—the Weasleys are so accustomed to it they consider it absolutely normal, while Harry (and the rest of us) flourish in its specialness.
   
   
   I think it’s easy to see why The Burrow is one of Harry’s favorite places. I know it’s definitely one of mine.
   
   
3. The map’s message to Snape. There’s really not much explaining on this one. This is one of my all-time favorite Harry Potter moments. I read Prisoner of Azkaban four times and I laughed every time I reached this part. It really speaks for itself:
   
   
   “'Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.'
   Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn’t stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
   'Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.'
   It would have been very funny if the situation hadn’t been so serious. And there was more ...
   'Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.'
   Harry closed his eyes in horror. When he’d opened them, the map had had its last word.
   'Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.'” (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban—Chapter 14—Snape’s Grudge) 
   
   
4. Fred & George vs. Umbridge. I think everyone remembers this moment, even if you only watched the movies. Fred and George have never been more epic.
   
   
   “So!' said Umbridge triumphantly. Harry realised she was standing just a few stairs in front of him, once more looking down upon her prey. 'So--you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?'
   
   'Pretty amusing, yeah,' said Fred, looking up at her without the slightest sign of fear…
   …'You two,' she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, 'are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school.'
   'You know what?' said Fred. 'I don't think we are.'
   
   He turned to his twin.
   
   
   'George,' said Fred, 'I think we've outgrown full-time education.'
   'Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself,' said George lightly.
   'Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?' asked Fred.
   'Definitely,' said George.
   
   And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together:
   
   'Accio brooms!'
   
   Harry heard a loud crash somewhere in the distance. Looking to his left, he ducked just in time. Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg with which Umbridge had fastened them to the wall, were hurtling along the corridor towards their owners; they turned left, streaked down the stairs and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor.
   
   'We won't be seeing you,' Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.
   'Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch,' said George, mounting his own.
   
   Fred looked around at the assembled students, at the silent, watchful crowd.
   'If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley--Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes,' he said in a loud voice. 'Our new premises!'
   'Special discounts to Hogwart's students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat,' added George, pointing at Professor Umbridge.’” (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix—Chapter 29—Career Advice).
   
   
5. Dudley’s goodbye. This by far is one of my favorite moments in the entire series, so I was a little disappointed they didn’t include it in the movie. Nonetheless! After all the hell Dudley put Harry through over the years, I was astounded (and thoroughly amused) by this final goodbye in book seven.
   
   
   “Dudley raised a large, hamlike hand to point at Harry.
   ‘Why isn’t he coming with us?’
   Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia froze where they stood, staring at Dudley as though he had just expressed a desire to become a ballerina.
   ‘What?’ said Uncle Vernon loudly.
   ‘Why isn’t he coming too?’ asked Dudley.
   ‘Well, he—he doesn’t want to,’ said Uncle Vernon, turning to glare at Harry and adding, ‘You don’t want to, do you?’
   ‘Not in the slightest,’ said Harry.” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Chapter 3—The Dursleys Departing)
   
   
   What makes this moment even better is that just a little while later, Dudley admits he doesn’t think Harry is a waste of space and *gasp* shakes his hand. Brilliant.  
   
   
   
   
6. Neville kills Nagini. Ok, so I lied. There’s six. But I just couldn’t leave this out. What made this so epic was that Harry didn’t deliver the final blow to the Horcruxes—Neville did. And who deserves to be a hero more than Neville? Let me answer that for you: no one.
   
   
   From scared, chubby little first year to rebel leader and horcrux-killing hero, Neville wins MVP in my book. 
   
   

 So that’s it guys, my top six. What are your favorite Harry Potter moments?