Shakermaker

Some people have been recommending The Road by Cormac McCarthy. While it is indeed a good book, it isn't his best in my humble opinion. That would be Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West. A friend of mine advised me to read it to get in the mood for Red Dead Redemption earlier this year and it sure as hell did. The book is about a young boy who by accident joins a gang of scalp hunters. While the theme is quite gritty the story is written almost like a Greek epic. Thoroughly enjoying. The clip below is one of the best parts of the book.
 
  

Minecraft has been the indie game with the biggest impact this year, so it gets my vote.

" I smoke a cigarette and get on the net. "

The only game with real longevity so far this year was TF2. As it has been for the last three years. I have played a fair bit of new releases, some even up to double digit playing time: Starcraft 2, Civ 5, ModNation Racers, Just Cause 2 and RDR. But after a while everything gets boring, while TF2 never seems to wear out on me. 

If you don't like Darkstar and you don't like the X-series, buying Freespace 2 on GOG and downloading FS2Open is basically your only viable alternative. And to be honest, FS2 leans more towards the X-series than Freelancer. 
 
EDIT Microsoft should make Freelancer 2. 

"  I proudly show my appreciation with this gold medal. "

It was about time I signed up here. I tend to lurk a lot before I join a site. Bad habit.