NEW FINDINGS OF 2017

I love to babble excitedly about things I'm passionate about -- I mean, who doesn't? 2017 has been a fantastic year for discovering all sorts of epic new stuff. I've been mentioning a few in my monthly highlights throughout the year, but I wanted to consolidate my favorites into one, big post. Here's a list of my new findings (specifically: music, books, and movies) of 2017.

(I wanted to write this later in the year since it's meant for the entirety of 2017... but next month is NaNo and December is my blogging break, so I guess it's now or never. xD)

M U S I C:
(links are going to lead to YouTube, though the songs are available on Spotify)

(pictures in this post are not mine.)

>> ARTISTS <<

aurora
nature boy //  half the world away

Her music is absolute PERFECTION for writing -- especially for fantasy stories! She has a hauntingly beautiful voice and gorgeous, lyrical songs. I find them very calming yet an exceptional background for writing evil scenes. xD

[if you like her music, consider giving a listen to the music artists fleurie and ruelle!]

nf
oh lord // real // know

(technically I discovered his music last year... but I didn't start consistently listening to it until this year, so)

Please let me take a moment to scream because he just released a new album yesterday! *screams* I haven't listened enough to create any concrete opinions, but so far I really like it. I'm partial to the song Know (linked above) just because it has a Twenty One Pilots reference in it. o.o So that's awesome. xD

If you don't usually listen to rappers, still give him a try because his lyrics are just so powerful and emotional. You may find this weird, but I almost always listen to NF's music while writing blog posts. I don't know why?? But there's something about the intense word-spitting that gets my fingers flying across the keyboard. xD

(forgot to mention that he is a Christian rapper and his songs are clean so you don't have to worry about any language or gross stuff like that. :P he's not afraid to talk about heavy themes, though.)

>> SONGS <<

underground

cody fry

THIS SONG. <3 I have a soft spot for simple songs that just tell a story, and this is exactly what Underground does. Ugh, I don't know why I love it so much, but I can't help but smile each time I hear it. This song creates such strong visuals in my mind!

i built a friend

alec benjamin

The first time I heard this song was when a dancer performed to it, and it was so beautiful and heart-touching that I immediately started to cry. IT'S SO MOVING I CANNOT. I recommend watching the dance with the song for the best experience. :P

(also... even though I was crying when I first heard this, I was extremely creeped out because I HAVE A STORY IDEA THAT IS SO. SO. SIMILAR TO THIS. Like, crazily similar. It's like they stole the idea out of my head, switched a few details, and then made it into this epic song. Seriously. It's weird.) 

{other songs}

haze // dreamers // maybe IDK // caught in the middle // we'll grow up another day // waking up again // where were you

B O O K S:

This year I've tried to be more realistic with my book ratings. When I was younger I basically rated every book five stars -- maybe four if I really wasn't feeling it. But now as I scroll through my Goodreads I don't know which books were actually worth five stars. Sigh. So here's the general outline of my rating system:

five stars: WOW THIS BLEW MY MIND I PROBABLY READ IT IN ONE SITTING AND EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG MUST READ THIS BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE.

four stars: It was a really good book! I maybe have one or two problems with this book, or it just didn't have that extra magic of "oh my goodness I can't." o.o

three stars: didn't love it, didn't hate it. 'twas "fine."

two stars: well... I finished it! but... it was a struggle. like trying-to-walk-in-high-heels-on-a-tightrope-over-a-sea-full-of-crocodiles sort of struggle.

one star: most likely didn't finish this book. urghhh. reading this story was like getting bitten by one of those crocodiles in the sea under the tightrope. (okay, that sounded harsh. but... there's probably a reason I'm rating the book one star. xD)

OKAY THAT WAS A HUGE BUNNY TRAIL. Anyway, all of that and describing my system was to introduce my five star reads of 2017. So far I've only read four 5-star books, which is a little disappointing, but I also haven't read as many books as previous years. And I really really love these books. *hugs them to death* I almost think they're due for another reread. ;)

(links will lead to goodreads if you click on the author's name)

midnight at the electric
jodi lynn anderson

I've flailed over this book before, BUT PLEASE LET ME FLAIL OVER IT AGAIN. I randomly picked it up at the library because I thought the title was pretty. I glanced at the back cover blurb, saw the word mars, and knew that I had to at least give it a try.

(advice: don't start book at 11:15pm. you will unavoidably stay up past midnight and suffer from an aching back and tired eyes the next morning)

This is the kind of story I want to write. The author has such a way with words, flowing beautifully and lyrically. It's not a huge action book -- there aren't world ending disasters and explosions. Instead it's about family histories that span generations. It's about loss and friendship and getting to know the hearts of the characters. IT'S JUST SO GOOD.

The mood/aesthetic occasionally gave me Interstellar type vibes? (which makes even more sense as to why I loved this book, haha)

scorpio races
maggie stiefvater

So. Confession: I first picked this book up three or four years ago, gave it a try, and stopped a couple chapters in and decided that it was the most boring book to ever exist. I WAS SO WRONG. I must've been in the wrong mood or something, because I completely adored it when I gave it a second try! One difference is that I listened to it on audiobook this time, so... maybe that's what changed my mind?

But, ugh. Super gorgeous, lyrical writing. <3

angel eyes

shannon dittemore

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this book very much. I've never been the type to be intrigued by books with Christian paranormal elements, but Nadine told me that she read it in one sitting, so I decided to pick it up.

And then I never set it down until I finished it. That's huge, because I haven't read a book in one sitting for a looong time. This book has a little of everything. Action, adventure, mystery, a touch of romance, a touch of humor.

This book is Christian fiction book, and it had some very poignant and thoughtful messages. Usually Christian messages don't strike me as much in books, but this one did. And the angel characters didn't seem odd -- they were done carefully and the author handled it well. :D

real friends

shannon hale

Now as I'm going over my list of five star books, I realize that they all have one thing in common: I've read them in one sitting. (excluding The Scorpio Races, but that was a ten-hour-long audiobook, so.) :P

Real Friends was an extremely quick read -- it probably only took me a half an hour. It was so cute! The majority of the book is actually based on the author's life and her struggles with friendship, which made it extremely heartfelt and relatable. READ IT.

M O V I E S:

spider-man homecoming

I mean... this movie probably doesn't come as a surprise to you, seeing that I wrote an entire blog post about my extreme love for it. So I'll just link to that instead of rambling about it here. xD

dunkirk

*sighs happily* I'm not one for war movies, but I love Christoper Nolan's work, and the trailer was amazing, so I tagged along with my dad when he went to the movie theater to see it. I'm so glad I did. It's a very unique movie and it's hard to put it into words. There's hardly any dialogue, hardly any focus on the characters. << sounds like a horrible idea, right? But it worked so perfectly. It's like the movie was made up of little moments instead of a giant, complex plot. Just go see it -- you'll understand what I'm saying when you do.

{OTHER GOOD MOVIES}

gifted // the theory of everything // the greatest game ever played // rewatched Civil War for the sixth time, hehe // rewatched the Harry Potter series

- - -

PHEW YOU MADE IT TO THE END (presumably. maybe everyone gave up halfway through :P *hands you cookies if you did survive until the end*). I think this was the longest blog post I've ever written. Which makes sense since this took four hours to write and format and edit. *naps for seven years* *or maybe just until NaNo*

<3.
katie grace

what are your new findings of 2017?