JANUARY ROUNDUP

I don't want to sound like an old person...but where the heck did January go? Wow. Anyway, I'm keeping track of my pop culture intake once again this year with a few new categories. Let's get to the numbers...

I read 4 books in January (Gentlemen of the Road; Dreamsongs: Volume II; Zeroville; and Bridge of Sighs). Actually, I had read those books by the 23rd and have spent the time since reading other things. The 4 books puts me on pace for 48 read this year, which is my goal. So far, so good. By way of comparison, I read only 2 books last January.

I read 19 stories in January. These stories came from Dreamsongs: Volume II; the Jan. 2008 issue of Asimov's; the Jan. 2008 issue of F&SF; and the Dec. 17, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. By way of comparison, I read 29 stories last January.

I read 7 comics in January, 4 of which were trades (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1: The Long Way Home; Ex Machina Vol. 6: Power Down; The Walking Dead Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life; and The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1: The Lords of Luck). By way of comparison, I read 16 comics (of which 3 were trades) last January.

I bought 2 CDs and downloaded 5 more, for a total of 7 new CDs in January. I also downloaded one song ("Ladies of Cambridge" by Vampire Weekend). By way of comparison, I got 9 new CDs (7 downloaded) last January.

I did not see any movies in the theater in January, which makes this the 6th straight month without going out to the movies. I didn't keep accurate track of the dates I saw movies until later in the year in 2007 but I know I saw one movie last January.

I have decided to start keeping track of DVDs again, a stat I didn't stick with last year. I had 10 separate DVD viewings in January - 5 movies (The Bourne Identity; The Bourne Supremacy; The Bourne Ultimatum; Runnin' Down A Dream - on two discs; and 3:10 to Yuma), 1 concert (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: The 30th Anniversary Concert), 1 episode of The Simpsons Season 9, and 2 commentaries with delted scenes (also on The Simpsons Season 9). That's about 1 every three days.

I have also decided to keep track of my TV viewing, though I have not kept track of any news, sports, or combinations of the two (which basically covers stuff like The Sports Reporters). I watched 30 episodes of shows in January (4 that ran for 2 hours; 19 that ran for 1 hour; and 7 that ran for a half hour). Those episodes were from 13 different shows (Biggest Loser; Doctor Who; Life on Mars; The Wire; Friday Night Lights; Amazing Race 12; Girls Next Door; 30 Rock; The Simpsons; My Name Is Earl; Chuck; Breaking Bad; and Lost). The show I watched the most episodes of was Biggest Loser, with 5 episodes. I watched about one TV show a day. I do have shows on the DVR going back 11 days; I watched the shows live, recorded on the DVR, and On Demand.