Now that we have reached early July, I’ve realized that half the year is over and damn, it went by fast. The beginning of 2012 has brought me many awesome things and there is still so much to look forward to these next six months. So now that I am smack dab in the middle of the year, I figured a nice countdown of some of the fantastic things that the year has already brought me and what I am most looking forward to.

Best Things About 2012…So Far

5. Avengers movie 

The Avengers was an unbelievably amazing movie and of course it would be with nerdtastic Joss Whedon at the helm. It is packed full of action but not in an extremely annoying Michael Bay kind of way. It has drama, it has humor. All the actors do just a fantastic job. And let’s face it, Captain American, Ironman, Hawkeye, Thor and Bruce Banner made very geek girl out there feel a little hot and bothered. Then the awesome Avengers de Mayo party held by the ever fantastic Los Angeles Dumbledore’s Army was superb, especially since my team, Team Hawkeye, won :D

4. The Secret World of Arrietty

I feel like its been ages since a new Studio Ghibli movie has been released so I was dying with excitement to see this one. I would definitely say its one of my favorites (after Howl’s Moving Castle, of course). It’s based on the great children’s book, The Borrowers, by Mary Norton and its sooo much better and more fun than its 1997 counterpart. Although…Tom Felton as a little redhead? Adorable.

3. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

This is the fifth installment of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series and I warn you, if you have not read them all yet, there are definitely spoilers ahead. (SPOILER ALERT!!!). Now, the series is about Clary Fray, a normal teenager who suddenly gets swept up in the world of Shadowhunters, half human, half angel demon hunters. It’s no surprise when it turns out that she has Shadowhunter blood and the story unfolds from there. The series was originally supposed to be a trilogy and the third book ended pretty perfectly, in my opinion. Then the 4th book came out and I absolutely loathed it. The plotline seemed to focus more on whether Clary and Jace were going to have sex or not and less on actual demon hunting. I really debated on getting Lost Souls and I’m glad I did. It doesn’t quite reach the epicness of the first three but it did redeem the series. Now if only Alex Pettyfer was playing Jace and not Jamie Bower…

2. Hunger Games

I love love love LOVE Hunger games and I could not wait for the movie. I couldn’t wait so badly that when it did eventually come out, I saw it three times in one week. And I really liked it. I thought it was a good adaptation. The book centers on a country, Panem, that uses the Hunger Games-a contest to the death featuring the nation’s children-to keep its citizens subdued. Its a sort of brutal idea, kids fighting other kids to the death and the nation watching it on television like a fun reality show. I was impressed on how they did it, portraying the violence but not throwing it in your face so all the young readers could still go to the a movie that wasn’t rated R. The icing on the cake was the epic Capitol party held by the Los Angeles Dumbledore’s Army, where I represented District 4 and partied all night long.

1. Once Upon a Time

I know that the season started in 2011 but it finished in 2012 so pooh on your technicalities. This is the best new show, easily. The cast was perfectly selected and each episode kept me watching. It follows Emma Swan, a 28-year-old bail bondsperson, who meets her son, Henry, for the first time after giving him up ten years ago. She soon gets swept up in the life of Storybrooke, Maine, where cursed storybook characters have been living the past few decades, unaware of their real identities. Of course, Emma is the only one who can save them. It was so awesome to get alternate views of fairy tales and hell, I loved the romance. My pony-wanting, prince-seeking, little girl princess heart loved this.

Best Things in 2012…To Come…

5. Clockwork Princess

Please keep in mind that this is NOT a legitimate cover for this novel. The cover has not yet been released and this is a cover generated by a fan on goodreads.com. Okay, now that that’s taken care of. this is the last installment of the Infernal Devices series, the Victorian age counterpart to the previously mentioned Mortal Instruments. This one follows Tessa Gray, a young girl who gets pulled into the Shadowhunter world when she discovers she has shape-shifting powers. I LOVE this series even more than I love the Mortal Instruments. I’ve been counting down the days til the last novel since the previous one came out this past December. I can’t wait to see how this ends as Tessa battles Mortmain and his robot army and figures out exactly what she is. This will hit stores in December of this year.

Just kidding, I’ve just learned that this has been delayed until March 2013. I’m still leaving it on the list though. I dare you to argue with me :D

4. Once Upon a Time, Season Two

I’m warning you, if you have not watched Once Upon a Time and you plan to (and why wouldn’t you plan to!), I would warn you not to read further. I’m gonna spoil allll of season one for you. So now that I’ve warned you…I seriously cannot wait til season two. Season one ended on a crazy note! Emma finally believes in her destiny, finally breaks the curse, all the fairy tale characters remember who they are. Snow and Charming are back together finally! Belle and Rumple are finally together! Regina is finally going down! What could go wrong? Everything, apparently, as Rumple returns the magic to the land and you see that sly little smile from Regina and then it ends. I can’t wait to see how this changes everything. Regina is obviously not going anywhere and now that the people of Storybrooke know who she is, how is that all going to play out? And I can’t wait to see Emma accept David/Charming and Mary Margaret/Snow as her parents :D. Once Upon a Time seems likely to return in October of this year.

3. Doctor Who, Series 7

Now that I’ve busted my way through the first six series in about a month and now consider myself a Whovian (and I’m considering a Tardis tattoo…hey, why not?), I am dying to have the Doctor back. This season should be great and the previews for it have looked exciting so far. Halfway through this season, the Doctor’s current companion’s Amy Pond and Rory Williams will depart and the Doctor will get a new companion played by Jenna Louise Coleman. I’m looking forward to seeing how awesome Jenna is and I’m dreading the tears that will inevitably come as Amy and Rory depart, in what has been revealed to be a heartbreaking departure involving the freaky Weeping Angels. Rumors are abound as to when it returns but it seems likely to return between September and October of this year.

2. The Hobbit

Its been nearly ten years since The Return of the King came out in theaters. Now, Peter Jackson is likely to impress us once more with his amazingness (and yeah, that’s word. try and dispute that, I dare you, I’ll just ignore you haha). The Hobbit is one of my favorite books, this one is a little simpler than the LoTR series. Where the LoTR is all about saving the very existence of Middle Earth, The Hobbit is about Bilbo going on an adventure. Yes, it’s dangerous and yes, he gets his hands on the one Ring, that leads to the LoTR series, but its more adventurous by far. I’m seriously looking forward to it, and you know I’ll be out there at midnight, cosplaying as a Hobbit or Elf. I’m also really excited to see Martin Freeman as Bilbo because I already love him as John Watson on Sherlock. This movie comes out December 14th.

1. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Now I know its going to be completely different from Harry Potter. I get that. I’ve accepted that. From what I’ve read, its a political thriller about a mysterious murder in a small town and how it reveals a whole web of conspiracy in the town. Definitely in a different realm of wizards and magic. But I’m so excited for it. I love reading mostly everything I can get my hands on and JKR is a phenomenal author. She’s a magician with words. So the fact that this is the first thing she’ll have put out since Deathly Hallows back in 2007 has got me going fangirl crazy. I’m sure that its going to be wonderful and I’m hoping that the millions of HP fans out there will accept it as a separate thing from Harry Potter. Nothing will ever touch HP in my mind and heart but I have every faith that this will be a great novel. I’m counting down the days til the release on September 27th.

So those are the things I’m most looking forward to for the rest of the year, and I’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg of exciting things coming. I mean, there’s a TON of movies coming out, like the new Batman and Leo Dicaprio’s The Great Gatsby and Logan Lerman and Emma Watson in Perks of a Wallflower . There are epic video games coming out and so so so much more. There is so much to look forward to. What are some of the best things about 2012 so far and what are you guys most looking forward to? As always, let me know in the comments. And thanks for reading guys!

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