2015 Favorites
I made a video entitled "State of the Sparkler" that talks about my 2016 goals and how I reacted to 2015, but here are my favorites, because I love a good list.
2015 Favorites
Books
You can see every book I read in 2015 right here on my goodreads. It was a good year of reading for me. I read books by many "diverse" authors and many books that were just plain good. Here are my five favorites.
5.
4. 11/22/63 by Stephen King: This is the first Stephen King book I've ever read and, while it wasn't his usual genre, it was incredible. His writing is amazing, and he still manages to give you chills while going through this love story that transcends time.
3. Wit by Margaret Edson: Oh man, where to begin? My story with this book starts in high school in my AP Lit class. After we exhausted seniors had finished taking the AP exam, my professor decided to start a new unit on John Dunne. It was a short one, probably took just two classes, but my appreciation for the poem "Death Be Not Proud" was immense after that life-changing class. Then, my teacher brought in the movie Wit with Emma Thompson, and it has remained in my mind ever since. I finally bought it a few weeks ago on an impulse while at the Strand, and this play was just as perfect as the film. I fell in love with Vivian Bearing all over again, and fell even more in love with poetry.
2. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson: Apparently I really love fiction that has to do with poetry. "Hope is the thing with feathers" is my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson, so when I saw that there was a children's book based on it by Jaqueline Woodson, I had to get it. This book is equally about being a naive child and about race, and while the poem doesn't feature as heavily as I initially thought, it serves to remind us all that there is always hope in the face of negativity.
1. Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob: I made a video on this book already, which you can watch here, but in short, this book owned my heart. The way the timelines worked and the writing just made the story more compelling.
TV
These are the best TV shows I saw in 2015.
5. The Mindy Project: I have a long love for Mindy, both Kaling and Lahiri, and it only got better with the newest season of The Mindy Project, with Mindy learning how to be independent and Danny being nothing short of an asshat. Too much fun to watch.
4. 30 Rock: Thanks to my former roommate Erica, the Tina to my Amy, I got addicted to 30 Rock. I tried it years before, but couldn't stomach the first two episodes. But after getting through those two painful episodes, I watched as Liz Lemon and Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney brilliantly tried and failed at creating a weekly live show. So much fun to watch.
3. Parks and Recreation: This only comes in third because I'm too upset that it's over. But the final season was the best send-off of any show I've ever seen, and truly honored this brilliant show.
2.Great British Bake-Off: Or, at Netflix likes to call it, "The Great British Baking Show." This show is elegant and beautiful and makes me want to bake. I've watched a lot of food reality shows, but this one takes the cake. I only saw the season that was on Netflix, where Chetna and Martha were robbed of the title. In America, this would mean a food fight or something, but in British TV, this just means hugs and kisses to other deserving contestants. I love it.
1. Please Like Me: This Australian comedy is brilliant. I watched it on Hulu because someone on Tumblr suggested it to me, and it quickly took over my life over winter break. Saying anything more about it will probably spoil it, but I'm extremely tempted to actually buy the third season on Amazon because I'm that obsessed. And I never buy anything if I can wait.
Music
These are the top 5 albums I listened to in 2015. But they didn't necessarily come out in 2015.
5. Earth Sick by Oh Land: This 2014 album by Oh Land is incredible.
4. Son of Evil Reindeer by Reindeer Section: This album by Snow Patrol's supergroup was released in 2002, but it only recently got on iTunes and I'm addicted. Snow Patrol has been my favorite band since the sixth grade, and while this album has a completely different sound, it's still perfect. It's great for chilling with some hot cocoa while watching three feet of snow fall outside of your house, which is what I'm doing right now.
3. Magical Girl by Gunnarolla: This got me through finals hell in December. I've loved Gunnarolla for a long time, but this album is perfect background music for just about anything. It's magical and soft and lovely.
2. Bajirao Mastani soundtrack: Sanjay Leela Bhansali has done it again, folks. From the playful Pinga to the quietly dramatic Deewani Mastani, every track on this album is a delight.
1. Hamilton soundtrack: I think you all understand why. This album left me so satisfied that I listened to it for pretty much three weeks straight. It tells a story while maintaining amazing music and lyrics. And I am extremely proud of the fact that I can sing along to Satisfied and Wait for It perfectly.
Hope you guys enjoyed and enjoy watching/reading/listening to these.
2015 Favorites
Books
You can see every book I read in 2015 right here on my goodreads. It was a good year of reading for me. I read books by many "diverse" authors and many books that were just plain good. Here are my five favorites.
5.
4. 11/22/63 by Stephen King: This is the first Stephen King book I've ever read and, while it wasn't his usual genre, it was incredible. His writing is amazing, and he still manages to give you chills while going through this love story that transcends time.
3. Wit by Margaret Edson: Oh man, where to begin? My story with this book starts in high school in my AP Lit class. After we exhausted seniors had finished taking the AP exam, my professor decided to start a new unit on John Dunne. It was a short one, probably took just two classes, but my appreciation for the poem "Death Be Not Proud" was immense after that life-changing class. Then, my teacher brought in the movie Wit with Emma Thompson, and it has remained in my mind ever since. I finally bought it a few weeks ago on an impulse while at the Strand, and this play was just as perfect as the film. I fell in love with Vivian Bearing all over again, and fell even more in love with poetry.
2. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson: Apparently I really love fiction that has to do with poetry. "Hope is the thing with feathers" is my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson, so when I saw that there was a children's book based on it by Jaqueline Woodson, I had to get it. This book is equally about being a naive child and about race, and while the poem doesn't feature as heavily as I initially thought, it serves to remind us all that there is always hope in the face of negativity.
1. Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob: I made a video on this book already, which you can watch here, but in short, this book owned my heart. The way the timelines worked and the writing just made the story more compelling.
TV
These are the best TV shows I saw in 2015.
5. The Mindy Project: I have a long love for Mindy, both Kaling and Lahiri, and it only got better with the newest season of The Mindy Project, with Mindy learning how to be independent and Danny being nothing short of an asshat. Too much fun to watch.
4. 30 Rock: Thanks to my former roommate Erica, the Tina to my Amy, I got addicted to 30 Rock. I tried it years before, but couldn't stomach the first two episodes. But after getting through those two painful episodes, I watched as Liz Lemon and Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney brilliantly tried and failed at creating a weekly live show. So much fun to watch.
3. Parks and Recreation: This only comes in third because I'm too upset that it's over. But the final season was the best send-off of any show I've ever seen, and truly honored this brilliant show.
2.Great British Bake-Off: Or, at Netflix likes to call it, "The Great British Baking Show." This show is elegant and beautiful and makes me want to bake. I've watched a lot of food reality shows, but this one takes the cake. I only saw the season that was on Netflix, where Chetna and Martha were robbed of the title. In America, this would mean a food fight or something, but in British TV, this just means hugs and kisses to other deserving contestants. I love it.
1. Please Like Me: This Australian comedy is brilliant. I watched it on Hulu because someone on Tumblr suggested it to me, and it quickly took over my life over winter break. Saying anything more about it will probably spoil it, but I'm extremely tempted to actually buy the third season on Amazon because I'm that obsessed. And I never buy anything if I can wait.
Music
These are the top 5 albums I listened to in 2015. But they didn't necessarily come out in 2015.
5. Earth Sick by Oh Land: This 2014 album by Oh Land is incredible.
4. Son of Evil Reindeer by Reindeer Section: This album by Snow Patrol's supergroup was released in 2002, but it only recently got on iTunes and I'm addicted. Snow Patrol has been my favorite band since the sixth grade, and while this album has a completely different sound, it's still perfect. It's great for chilling with some hot cocoa while watching three feet of snow fall outside of your house, which is what I'm doing right now.
3. Magical Girl by Gunnarolla: This got me through finals hell in December. I've loved Gunnarolla for a long time, but this album is perfect background music for just about anything. It's magical and soft and lovely.
2. Bajirao Mastani soundtrack: Sanjay Leela Bhansali has done it again, folks. From the playful Pinga to the quietly dramatic Deewani Mastani, every track on this album is a delight.
1. Hamilton soundtrack: I think you all understand why. This album left me so satisfied that I listened to it for pretty much three weeks straight. It tells a story while maintaining amazing music and lyrics. And I am extremely proud of the fact that I can sing along to Satisfied and Wait for It perfectly.
Hope you guys enjoyed and enjoy watching/reading/listening to these.