This Year in Content: 2019 Edition

Hello, you. You, right here. You have an unlimited capacity to love and be loved as no one else can.

Isn’t that beautiful?

It’s one of the most simplistic and life-altering things I’ve learned this year. I got it from a book, one that I’ll be recommending to you in just a moment.

How extraordinarily blessed are we to be able to consume content that encourages us, challenges us, moves and holds and haunts us. Can you believe we get to live in a world as wonderful as that?

I stocked up on content this year. I basically binged it. There are so many great stories out there right now, many of which I ran out of time for in 2019… but that aside. We have a whole new decade ahead of us!

Before we wave goodbye to what can only be called an era, I’d like to spread a little love and share with you my top favorite books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and songs of 2019. No lengthy explanations… just a giant virtual hug from me to these artists.

And, of course, to you. Enjoy this year in content (and tell me about yours in the comments)! xo

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My Favorite Books of 2019

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This is the book of my spirit. The book that gets me. The story of a college freshman who thinks like me and walks like me and gets lost in fictional worlds like me. Cath gets broken, and then she gets brave. She loses, and then she finds real love. I’ve read a lot of books (like, a lot, a lot), but this is the only one whose negative reviews actually pain me. Fangirl is hilarious and breathtaking and honest and kind and hopeful. It’s something good. It’s everything good. Even if you’ve never opened your heart to fandom, there’s something here for you. Quality. content.

2. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

This is the trilogy I didn’t know I needed in high school. Lara Jean Song Covey discovers and grows and loves with such extravagant generosity. I had to declare snack breaks just to take it all in! This is a first love story, but it’s also a forever family story, an evolving friendship story, and a beautiful tribute to baking as a mindfulness practice. Lara Jean and Peter K. always. Song Girls forever. And all the heart emojis just for fun.

3. Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi

“In art, the purpose is in the creation, not the result. Grow as you build.” Permanent Record is what happens when a woman who refuses to beat around the bush writes a book about new adults. And how we think, and feel, and act. And it’s extraordinary. It is not cute; it’s not fluffy. It’s not even all that romantic. But, like Emergency Contact, it’s raw, and it’s real. It’s honest. To the point of being agonizing. But like, necessarily. Mary H. K. Choi doesn’t waste words. Bring snacks (and plenty of them).

4. Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

In a heroic feat, Blankman combines fact and fiction in a jarring duology about family, faith, freedom, and truth. Enter the complex maze of Hitler’s mind from the perspective of his “niece,” Gretchen, as she wrestles with her hazy past and even hazier future with Jewish reporter, Daniel. But be forewarned: You didn’t learn this stuff in middle school, and you can’t un-see it once you do. Content is powerful, friends.

5. Whatever Arises, Love That by Matt Kahn

Is that… nonfiction? On Aquinnah Bree’s website? That’s right, friends. I wrapped up Whatever Arises, Love That earlier today, and I’m still reeling. No spoilers (It’s too profound!), but I will say that this is the book I mentioned in the intro above. *wink*

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My Favorite Movies of 2019

1. Walk the Line

I don’t think I’d ever seen a Reese Witherspoon movie until this year, which is a crime in and of itself, but I’m so glad I started with this one. Who knew I’d enjoy a film about the life and times of Johnny Cash this much?! It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and redemptive and full. Plus, it’s so interesting to watch fashion trends develop over the course of the story. All I’m saying is I hope the new Elvis movie is this good.

2. The Rainmaker

I know, I know, I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it either! As far as movies go, this was definitely a catch-up year for me, and it was bliss. This might be my favorite Matt Damon film next to Good Will Hunting, which is saying a lot because Matt Damon is in nearly every film with this aesthetic. I will show myself out.

3. Killers

… is possibly the only movie on this list that didn’t make me cry. The cover is misleading, the plot is breakneck, and I laughed until it hurt to breathe. Picture Spy Kids but… without the kids. Then replace the spies with assassins. Then add a car chase, a pregnancy test, and Tom Selleck. And actually, just don’t try to picture it.

4. School Ties

Nineties Matt Damon aesthetic but make it preppy. This one tackles the religious inequality in America, following the Holocaust. It has a sharper edge than I was expecting, especially toward the end, and it’s over too soon. I love to hate when movies do that.

5. The Edge of Seventeen

… has no logical place on this list? I watched it in the middle of the night because I was having trouble sleeping. I, therefore, failed to grasp that it’s a comedy until about halfway through, at which point my laughter could’ve woken the neighbors. This movie is painful, but it’s also refreshingly honest. My half-asleep self found it both hysterical and uplifting. 10/10 would watch again (and probably should because who knows what I missed).

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My Favorite TV Shows of 2019

1. Sherlock

Because TV is secondary to reading, okay? (But also, if they don’t renew at some point, I will cry. That ending really did me in. STORYTELLING AT ITS FINEST.)

2. Good Omens

… received an award just for the theme song, so what does that say about it? All. good. things. I can’t wait to read this book in the new year. Aziraphale and Crowley made my entire summer brighter. I could watch the Noah’s Ark scene about a zillion times and never tire of it. I mean, after all this time, it’s nice to know what happened to the unicorns.

3. World of Dance

Y’all know how much I love World of Dance, so… I won’t even start.

4. The Good Place

Everybody else was watching it. *shrug* But seriously, I loved this show. There’s nothing quite like hearing Kristen Bell say “mother forking shirt balls” in her princess voice. I can’t wait for the final season to hit Netflix.

5. Friends

This one is more of an honorable mention because truth be told, I’ve seen every episode of Friends at least three times. However, it’s leaving Netflix in ten days (!!), so I’m introducing my little brother to as many episodes as I can before it’s gone. We’re on Season 7. What are the odds we make it through the entire show? (Just kidding. Sort of.)

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My Favorite Podcasts of 2019

1. Wolf 359

Audio storytelling at its best and most hysterical, this sci-fi adventure has served as a much-needed break from reality. I love the monologues so much that I’ve started choreographing mini dances to them. If you haven’t already, definitely check it out.

2. Hey, Cool Life!

Hey, Cool Life! is a micro-pod by the author of Permanent Record, Mary H. K. Choi. It’s all about mental health and creativity, and her episodes regularly make me cry. Choi is so honest, so talented, and the world is a better place with her in it.

3. Criminal

The out-of-place-on-this-list one. I cannot adequately describe my love for this podcast. I also can’t explain it. Though I’ve been known to quit halfway through an episode because I have zero tolerance for the creeps, I keep coming back for the redemptive stories. The content that haunts me because it’s almost too good to be true. This is the show that made me a podcast addict, and I’ll never forgive it.

4. Neighbors

… has a new season coming in 2020!? I’m ecstatic. I spent a good chunk of this summer catching up on past content, and I can’t wait to listen in real-time. This is “a show about what connects us,” and it never fails to breathe light and love into even the darkest of places.

5. The Walk

The best content puts you in the middle of the action, right? This show is like a sci-fi audiobook, but–PLOT TWIST–you are the main character. I finished it over the summer and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

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My Favorite Songs of 2019

Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash