FEBRUARY ROUNDUP

There was an extra day to try and cram in as much pop culture as possible this year...and I spent last night not doing much of anything. Heck, I didn't even manage to get this post done. Ah well.

I read 4 books in February (The Dragons of Babel; Inside Straight; Like You'd Understand, Anyway; and Hunter's Run). I actually read those books in a 20 day period, from the 3rd to the 22nd. That brings my total on the year to 8, which keeps me on pace for 48 in 2008. Last February I only read one book and part of another, so I was much more productive this year.

I read 16 stories in February. The stories came from the Jan. 2008 issue of F&SF and Like You'd Understand, Anyway, a short story collection by Jim Shepard. I read 3 fewer stories this month and my year's total is 35. Last February, I read 22 stories, so I was a bit less productive this year.

I read 14 comics in February, of which only one was a trade (Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol. 1). This doubles my January reading and gives me 21 comics read on the year (5 trades). Last Febrauary I read 17 comics (2 trades and 1 OGN included), which isn't too much more than this year.

I bought 3 CDs and downloaded 5 more, for a total of 8 new CDs in February. I also downloaded two songs, both by Tokyo Police Club ("Your English Is Good" and b-side, "Swedes in Stockholm"). That brings my total on the year to 15 CDs and 3 songs. Last February I got 6 new CDs, so I'm at about the same pace.

I did not see any movies in the theater in February, which marks the 7th straight month that has happened. I didn't keep accurate track of when I saw movies until later in the year but I don't think I saw any last February (Zodiac was in March, wasn't it?).

I had 4 separate DVD viewings in February - 2 movies (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and Justice League: The New Frontier) and 2 commentaries (from The Simpsons Season 9). That's about 1 viewing a week and brings my year's total to 14 viewings. I did not keep track of DVDs last year.

I watched 62 episodes of TV shows in Feburary (4 that ran for 2 hours; 34 that ran for 1 hour; and 24 that ran for a half hour). Again, I do not keep track of sports and news. Those episodes came from 12 different shows (Mad Men; Life on Mars; Friday Night Lights; Doctor Who; Torchwood; The Simpsons; Biggest Loser; Breaking Bad; Lost; The Wire; In Treatment; and Girls Next Door). The show I watched the most episodes of was In Treatment, with 21 (it helps that it's on 5 nights a week). I watched about 2 shows a day on average and more than doubled my January viewing. I did not keep track of TV last year.