2012 Media Consumption

Last year I posted the first of my Media Consumption overviews.  It detailed all the things I "consumed" during 2011.  If you haven't seen that post, check it out here: 2011 Media Consumption.

Now that you've got that out of the way, here is my Media Consumption for 2012.  For purchases, it lists every album, book and game.  For consumption, every book I read, game I finished (or quit) or movie I saw.  I've added "quit games" because although I try to complete everything I acquire, sometimes I just don't like the game and don't want to finish it, or there's some other issue that prevents me (a glitch, perhaps).

Like last year, I've left out a list of the movies I've purchased, because I just don't buy movies anymore (only got 2 in 2012, both at Christmas from someone else).  I've realized that most things (aside from albums) I only consume once, then never touch it again.  So I rarely feel the need to buy DVDs or Blu-rays these days.

Probably the biggest change to purchasing activity this year is that I got into the Humble Bundles.  Many of those games include soundtracks, so that boosts both game and album purchases.  Going forward I'm not going to list that I bought all on the day I purchase a bundle... I'll just be adding it to purchases when I play it, because some I may not play... usually I purchase a bundle for a few games only.

Behavioral Changes
Compared to last year, I read a lot more books this year.  In fact, I read more last year than I had since 2005.  I estimate word count for everything I read (counting novels is no good, as they vary in size).  Below are my stats since 2001.  As you can see, I used to read short stories quite a bit (I had a subscription to the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction for a long while), but now mostly I only read them as collections in novel form.

The changes were due to a few things.  One was re-reads of The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire (prompted by the Game of Thrones HBO show) and my ongoing David Eddings retrospective.  Another was the discovery of the Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove, which I devoured.  I also started The Malazan Book of the Fallen again, in hopes of actually finishing it this time.

Something else I thought might be interesting would be to look at how my media consumption habits have changed over the years.  Data is only from 2004 forward, as I have tracking for all media only from that year forward.  I did not get back into gaming until 2006.

For consumption, instead of straight "# of X read / seen / completed," I converted them into estimated hours, which allows me to compare apples to apples.  For my analysis, I went with these averages for each, based on my experience:

Games = 25 hours
Movies = 2 hours
Books = 11 hours

Albums
The change in albums bought can be explained by the fact that I was in a band back in 2004 (Raising Water by Fire, more info here).  After we broke up in 2007, number of albums bought declined as I got more into gaming and I wasn't getting as much music from bandmates and other bands.

Books
Books bought has stayed pretty consistent, despite my efforts to stop buying them (pretty much impossible).  Even worse is the ease of availability of eBooks.  In terms of reading, I used to read a lot back in the early 2000's - I was single and had a lot of time on my hands.

Movies
I bought a lot of movies back in the early 2000's as well, but that has dropped to nothing, as I mentioned earlier.  I also used to do Netflix a lot when I was single, sometimes renting up to 10 a month.  Now I only watch a couple a month, usually on the weekends.

Games 
As you can see, gaming now takes up most of my time, mainly because they take so much longer to complete on average.

I could do more analysis, perhaps on formats (moving from physical to electronic / downloadable), but I'll leave that for next year.  Now that you know how much of a dork I really am, let's go ahead and move on to the lists for 2012.  Top picks of the year are highlighted pale yellow.

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Every Album I Purchased
01/08 Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy (2011)
02/12 Shaidar Logoth - Chapter I: The Peddler (2011)
02/12 Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (2010)
02/12 Ulver - Wars of the Roses (2011)
02/23 Adele - 21 (2011)
02/23 The Contortionist - Exoplanet (2010)
02/25 Shattered Skies - Reanimation (2011)
03/14 Animals as Leaders - Weightless (2011)
03/14 Arch / Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance (2011)
03/28 Gorguts - The Erosion of Sanity (1993)
03/28 The Makai - The End of All You Know (2007)
03/28 Wild's Reprisal - Cascadia Rising (2012)
04/01 Emery - We Do What We Want (2011)
04/11 Solar Fields - Mirror's Edge (2009)
04/18 Jim Guthrie - Sword & Sworcery LP - The Ballad of the Space Babies (2011)
05/17 Tenacious D - Rize of the Fenix (2012)
06/05 Fear Factory - The Industrialist (2012)
06/05 Lisa Miskovsky - Still Alive: The Remixes (2008)
06/05 Pro-Pain - Pro-Pain (1998)
06/05 The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)
06/12 Rush - Clockwork Angels (2012)
07/02 Enslaved - Mardraum (2000)
07/02 Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods (2011)
07/02 Enslaved - Thorn (2011)
07/05 Asia - XXX (2012)
07/07 Asia - Phoenix (2008)
07/09 Asia - Alpha (1983)
08/02 Queen - Flash Gordon (1980)
08/07 Asia - Omega (2010)
08/07 Testament - Dark Roots of Earth (2012)
08/16 Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol (2012)
08/22 Cradle of Filth - Evermore Darkly (2011)
08/22 Flying Colors - Flying Colors (2012)
08/22 OSI - Fire Make Thunder (2012)
08/22 Sieges Even - A Sense of Change (1991)
08/28 Evan LE NY - SpaceChem (2010)
08/28 Gaijin Games - Bit.Trip Beat (2010)
08/28 Introversion Studios - Uplink (2006)
08/28 Martin Straka - Spirits (2012)
08/28 Subatomic Studios - Fieldrunners (2012)
09/21 Subsignal - Touchstones (2011)
09/25 Francisco Cerda - Jamestown (2011)
09/25 Gaijin Games - Bit.Trip Runner (2011)
09/25 Jean Chan - Wizorb (2012)
09/25 Lifeformed - Fastfall (2012)
09/25 Markus Kaarlonen - Rochard (2011)
09/25 Matt Uelmen - Torchlight (2009)
09/25 Module - Shatter (2010)
09/25 Steve Finney - S.P.A.Z. (2011)
10/08 Fates Warning - Night on Bröcken (1984)
10/08 Ihsahn - After (2010)
10/09 Enslaved - RIITIIR (2012)
10/12 Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (2012)
11/03 As I Lay Dying - Awakened (2012)
11/06 Phil Collins - Face Value (1981)
11/14 Sony Computer Entertainment - Datura (2012)
12/13 Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)
12/22 Pentatonix - PTXmas (2012)

Every Book I Purchased
01/05 Son of Heaven (2011) Wingrove, David - Kindle
01/07 The Thorn Boy and Other Dreams of Dark Desire (2002) Constantine, Storm - Trade Paperback
01/20 Knife of Dreams (2005) Jordan, Robert - Kindle
01/28 Wine Wherever: In California's Mid-Coast & Inland Regions (2011) McKowen & McKowen - Trade Paperback
02/03 Gardens of the Moon (1999) Erikson, Steven - Kindle
02/09 The Middle Kingdom (1989) Wingrove, David - Paperback
02/09 The Broken Wheel (1990) Wingrove, David - Paperback
02/09 Beneath the Tree of Heaven (1993) Wingrove, David - Paperback
02/10 The White Mountain (1991) Wingrove, David - Paperback
02/10 The Stone Within (1992) Wingrove, David - Paperback
02/14 Days of Bitter Strength (1995) Wingrove, David - Trade Paperback
02/16 White Moon, Red Dragon (1994) Wingrove, David - Trade Paperback
02/16 The Gathering Storm (2009) Jordan & Sanderson - Kindle
02/22 The Marriage of the Living Dark (1997) Wingrove, David - Paperback
03/15 StandOut (2011) Buckingham, Marcus - Hardback
04/03 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981) Schwartz, Alvin - Paperback
04/03 More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1984) Schwartz, Alvin - Paperback
04/03 Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (1991) Schwartz, Alvin - Paperback
04/12 New Spring: The Novel (2004) Jordan, Robert - Kindle
04/27 Daylight on Iron Mountain (2011) Wingrove, David - Kindle
05/08 A Clash of Kings (1999) Martin, George R.R. - Kindle
06/02 The Phantom Tollbooth (1961) Juster, Norton - Trade Paperback
06/29 Deadhouse Gates (2000) Erikson, Steven - Kindle
07/14 The Book of Atrus (1995) Miller, Miller & Wingrove - Trade Paperback
07/14 The Book of Ti'ana (1996) Miller, Miller & Wingrove - Trade Paperback
07/14 The Book of D'ni (1997) Miller, Miller & Wingrove - Trade Paperback
08/05 Historical Cats (1996) Gethers & Stiles - Hardback
08/05 Ilium (2003) Simmons, Dan - Hardback
08/20 Son of Heaven (2010) Wingrove, David - Trade Paperback
08/20 Luka and the Fire of Life (2010) Rushdie, Salman - Trade Paperback
08/20 Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990) Rushdie, Salman - Trade Paperback
09/15 Catwings (1988) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 Catwings Return (1989) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (1994) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 Jane on Her Own (1999) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 Voices (2006) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 Lavinia (2008) Le Guin, Ursula K. - Paperback
09/15 The Monstrous Regiment (1990) Constantine, Storm - Paperback
09/15 Hermetech (1991) Constantine, Storm - Paperback
10/05 The Middle Kingdom (2012) Wingrove, David - Kindle
10/07 A Storm of Swords (2000) Martin, George R.R. - Kindle
10/12 Zoo City (2011) Beukes, Lauren - eBook
10/12 Stranger Things Happen (2001) Link, Kelly - eBook
10/12 Pump Six and Other Stories (2010) Bacigalupi, Paolo - eBook
10/12 Pirate Cinema (2012) Doctorow, Cory - eBook
10/12 Magic for Beginners (2006) Link, Kelly - eBook
10/12 Invasion (2006) Lackey, Libbey, Lee & Martin - eBook
10/28 Clockwork Angels (2012) Anderson, Kevin J. - Hardback
11/17 Sign for the Sacred (1993) Constantine, Storm - Paperback
11/24 A Feast for Crows (2005) Martin, George R.R. - Kindle
12/09 A Dance with Dragons (2011) Martin, George R.R. - Kindle
12/18 Daylight on Iron Mountain (2011) Wingrove, David - Trade Paperback
12/20 Ice and Fire (2012) Wingrove, David - Kindle
12/23 The Ecolitan Operation (1989) Modesitt, Jr., L.E. - Trade Paperback
12/23 The Ecologic Secession (1990) Modesitt, Jr., L.E. - Trade Paperback
12/26 Memories of Ice (2001) Erikson, Steven - Kindle

Every Game I Purchased
01/06 Back to the Future: The Game (2011) - Playstation 3
01/06 Swords & Soldiers (2011) - Playstation 3
01/09 Lucid (2011) - Steam - PC
02/21 Hamster Ball (2010) - Playstation 3
02/21 Inferno Pool (2009) - Playstation 3
02/21 Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (2009) - Playstation 3
02/21 The UnderGarden (2011) - Playstation 3
02/21 Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars (2008) - Playstation 3
02/21 Shift 2: Unleashed (2011) - Playstation 3
03/06 Journey (2012) - Playstation 3
04/03 Shank 2 (2012) - Playstation 3
04/03 Canabalt (2011) - PSP
04/10 Quell (2012) - Android
04/18 Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (2012) - Steam - PC
04/22 Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - Playstation 3
04/22 The Simpsons Arcade Game (1991) - Playstation 3
04/22 Far Cry 2 (2008) - Playstation 3
05/02 Battle Fantasia (2009) - Playstation 3
05/02 Trine 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
05/02 Castlevania Chronicles (2001) - PSP
05/18 Velocity (2012) - PSP
05/18 Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims (2012) - PSP
05/18 Knight Fortix 2 (2012) - PSP
06/07 Choplifter HD (2012) - Playstation 3
06/07 inFamous 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown (2012) - Playstation 3
06/07 LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Just Cause 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010) - Playstation 3
06/07 Hard Corps: Uprising (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Sideway: New York (2011) - Playstation 3
06/07 Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone (2011) - Playstation 3
06/13 M.O.Z.O.X. Space Salvager (2011) - PSP
06/13 Kaleidoscope (2011) - PSP
07/04 Sonic CD (1993) - Playstation 3
07/05 Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (2010) - Playstation 3
07/16 Wizorb (2012) - Steam - PC
07/16 Waves (2011) - Steam - PC
07/16 KrissX (2010) - Steam - PC
07/20 Titan Attacks! (2012) - Steam - PC
07/20 Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (2012) - Steam - PC
08/15 Spirits (2012) - Steam - PC
08/15 Uplink (2006) - Steam - PC
08/15 SpaceChem (2011) - Steam - PC
08/15 Fieldrunners (2012) - Steam - PC
08/15 BIT.TRIP BEAT (2010) - Steam - PC
09/06 Bloodrayne: Betrayal (2011) - Playstation 3
09/06 Zen Pinball 2 (2012) - Playstation 3
09/12 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) - Playstation 3
09/12 Double Dragon Neon (2012) - Playstation 3
09/15 MiniSquadron (2011) - PSP
09/15 One Epic Game (2011) - PSP
09/15 Ronnie O'Sullivan's Snooker (2012) - PSP
09/17 Dustforce (2012) - Steam - Mac
09/17 Rochard (2011) - Steam - PC
09/17 Shatter (2010) - Steam - PC
09/17 Space Pirates and Zombies (2011) - Steam - PC
09/17 Torchlight (2009) - Steam - PC
09/17 Vessel (2012) - Steam - PC
09/22 Borderlands (2009) - Playstation 3
09/25 Anomaly: Warzone Earth (2011) - Steam - PC
09/25 BIT.TRIP RUNNER (2011) - Steam - PC
09/25 EDGE (2011) - Steam - PC
09/25 Gratuitous Space Battles (2009) - Steam - PC
09/25 Jamestown (2011) - Steam - PC
10/26 inFamous: Festival of Blood (2011) - Playstation 3
10/26 AMY (2012) - Playstation 3
11/14 Resident Evil 5 (2009) - Playstation 3
11/14 Quantum Conundrum (2012) - Playstation 3
11/29 Super Hexagon (2012) - Steam - PC
12/21 Sequence (2011) - Steam - PC
12/23 El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (2011) - Playstation 3
12/31 Retro City Rampage (2012) - Playstation 3

Every Book I Read
12/28-01/08 iWoz (2006) - Wozniak & Smith
12/19-01/17 Crossroads of Twilight (2003) - Jordan, Robert  [Retro]
01/09-01/20 Mockingjay (2010) - Collins, Suzanne
01/20-01/31 Son of Heaven (2011) - Wingrove, David
02/01-02/16 Knife of Dreams (2005) - Jordan, Robert  [Retro]
02/18-02/24 The Middle Kingdom (1989) - Wingrove, David
01/21-03/11 Reamde (2011) - Stephenson, Neal
02/29-03/18 The Gathering Storm (2009) - Jordan & Sanderson  [Retro]
02/04-03/23 Gardens of the Moon (1999) - Erikson, Steven
03/26-04/03 StandOut (2011) - Buckingham, Marcus
03/30-04/04 Last Guard Out (2010) - Albright, Jim
03/24-04/12 Towers of Midnight (2010) - Jordan & Sanderson  [Retro]
04/06-05/03 A Game of Thrones (1996) - Martin, George R.R.
04/15-05/09 New Spring: The Novel (2004) - Jordan, Robert  [Retro]
04/16-05/09 The Broken Wheel (1990) - Wingrove, David
05/09-05/16 Daylight on Iron Mountain (2011) - Wingrove, David
05/16-05/27 The White Mountain (1991) - Wingrove, David
05/28-06/15 The Stone Within (1992) - Wingrove, David
06/21-06/24 Pawn of Prophecy (1982) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
06/15-06/29 Beneath the Tree of Heaven (1993) - Wingrove, David
06/29-07/17 White Moon, Red Dragon (1994) - Wingrove, David
07/09-07/26 Queen of Sorcery (1982) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
07/17-08/06 Days of Bitter Strength (1995) - Wingrove, David
08/06-08/12 The Marriage of the Living Dark (1997) - Wingrove, David [Commentary]
08/17-08/22 Three Sheets (2010) - Lamprey, Zane
08/22-08/28 Magician's Gambit (1983) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
06/27-09/03 Deadhouse Gates (2000) - Erikson, Steven
09/09-09/16 Castle of Wizardry (1984) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
09/03-09/22 The Planiverse (1984) - Dewdney, A.K.
10/01-10/01 Paperhouse (2012) - Wingrove, David
05/18-10/06 A Clash of Kings (1998) - Martin, George R.R.
10/02-10/11 Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990) - Rushdie, Salman
09/08-10/15 Just After Sunset (2008) - King, Stephen
10/08-10/15 Enchanter's End Game (1985) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
10/14-10/21 Luka and the Fire of Life (2010) - Rushdie, Salman
10/21-11/07 Blackwood Farm (2002) - Rice, Anne
11/07-11/12 Blood Canticle (2003) - Rice, Anne  [Commentary]
11/12-11/12 Catwings (1988) - Le Guin, Ursula K.
11/13-11/13 Jane on Her Own (1999) - Le Guin, Ursula K.
11/13-11/13 Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (1994) - Le Guin, Ursula K.
11/13-11/13 Catwings Return (1989) - Le Guin, Ursula K.
10/07-11/24 A Storm of Swords (2000) - Martin, George R.R.
11/12-12/02 Guardians of the West (1987) - Eddings, David  [Retro]
11/25-12/09 A Feast for Crows (2005) - Martin, George R.R.
12/02-12/11 The Hobbit (1937) - Tolkien, J.R.R.
12/09-12/28 A Dance with Dragons (2011) - Martin, George R.R.
12/12-01/03 The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1975) - Le Guin, Ursula K.

Every Game I Completed (or Quit)
12/30-01/08 All Zombies Must Die! (2011) - Playstation 3  [GotM]
12/25-01/09 Orbit (2011) - PSP
01/25-01/28 God of War: Chains of Olympus (2007) - Playstation 3
07/27-02/13 EA Sports Active 2.0 (2010) - Playstation 3
01/28-02/24 God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010) - Playstation 3  [GotM]
03/06-03/06 Journey (2012) - Playstation 3
01/10-03/14 Back to the Future: The Game (2011) - Playstation 3
02/07-03/15 VVVVVV (2010) - Steam - PC  [GotM]
03/01-03/30 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) - Playstation 3
04/03-04/03 Canabalt (2011) - PSP
12/26-04/12 Sports Champions (2010) - Playstation 3
04/08-04/12 Shank 2 (2012) - Playstation 3  [GotM]
10/05-04/13 Peggle (2008) - Playstation 3
04/10-04/18 Quell (2012) - Android
01/09-04/20 Lucid (2011) - Steam - PC
04/21-04/21 The Simpsons Arcade Game (1991) - Playstation 3
04/03-04/21 Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (2009) - Playstation 3
04/26-04/26 Inferno Pool (2009) - Playstation 3
04/29-05/17 ModNation Racers PSP (2010) - PSP
04/27-05/22 Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008) - Playstation 3
05/21-05/25 Knight Fortix 2 (2012) - PSP
07/05-05/31 Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar! (2011) - PSP  [Review]
05/18-06/01 Velocity (2012) - PSP  [GotM]
05/31-06/07 Trine 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
03/21-06/08 Age of Zombies (2010) - PSP  [Review]
06/13-06/13 M.O.Z.O.X. Space Salvager (2011) - PSP
06/11-06/17 A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks! (2010) - PSP
06/18-07/06 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One (2011) - Playstation 3
04/23-07/19 Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (2012) - Steam - PC
07/11-07/26 Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (2010) - Playstation 3
03/17-08/15 Blast Factor (2006) - Playstation 3
12/06-08/22 Lightfish (2011) - Steam - PC
09/06-09/06 Zen Pinball 2 (2012) - Playstation 3
04/28-09/13 Zumba Fitness (2010) - Playstation 3
09/15-09/19 Fieldrunners (2012) - Steam - PC  [GotM]
08/06-10/14 inFamous 2 (2011) - Playstation 3
10/12-10/17 EDGE (2011) - Steam - PC  [GotM]
10/19-10/26 Sideway: New York (2011) - Playstation 3
09/25-10/28 Shatter (2010) - Steam - PC
10/30-11/05 AMY (2012) - Playstation 3
12/07-12/14 Comet Crash (2009) - Playstation 3  [Review]
11/29-12/20 Super Hexagon (2012) - Steam - PC  [GotM]
12/15-12/29 Rochard (2011) - Steam - PC

Every Movie I Saw
01/21 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) - TV
01/21 Tropic Thunder (2008) - TV
02/03 Conviction (2010) - TV
02/10 127 Hours (2010) - TV
02/12 Hugo (2011) - Theater
02/24 The Town (2010) - TV
03/23 The Brothers Grimm (2005) - TV
04/07 V for Vendetta (2005) - TV
04/13 The Hunger Games (2012) - Theater
04/20 Toy Story 2 (1999) - TV
04/27 Get Him to the Greek (2010) - TV
05/04 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) - TV
05/18 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - TV
06/01 The American (2010) - TV
06/16 Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Theater
06/28 Larry Crowne (2011) - TV
07/03 Unknown (2011) - TV
07/06 Rio (2011) - TV
08/03 Robin Hood (2010) - TV
08/17 Horrible Bosses (2011) - TV
09/14 The Order (2003) - TV
09/30 Looper (2012) - Theater
10/12 Love and Other Drugs (2010) - TV
11/02 Argo (2012) - Theater
11/18 Cloud Atlas (2012) - Theater
11/23 Lincoln (2012) - Theater
12/07 Taken (2008) - TV
12/21 Sucker Punch (2011) - TV
12/22 50/50 (2011) - DVD-Redbox
12/24 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - Theater
12/29 Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) - TV