Well, it’s the end of the year. Which means…time for wrap up posts! Wheeeee!
So, let’s just jump into my list of favorite books, music, kdramas, movies, etc. of 2017!
Favorite Books by genre:
So, I actually made a video talking about my favorite books. I don’t know if it’s the holiday season or just 2017-syndrome, but I got a little emotional talking about my faves. If you want to watch me almost cry then click below!
Favorite Books of 2017 | Top 5+ Wednesday I’ve been wanting to post my favorite books of 2017, and today’s Top 5 Wednesday is Top 5 Faves. BUT I’m going to cheat and do my top 9 Favorites.
Favorite Sci-fi
Rebel Seoul (2017)
I have written a THOUSAND reviews and done a THOUSAND videos about why this is my favorite of the year. So I’ll link you to all of them. But TL;DR: bromance, giant robots, swoony romance, awesome kdrama and manga influences!
Fantasy (Tie!)
Daughter of the Burning City (2017)
Another book that I’ve talked my HEAD off about all year. I love the dark carnival setting. The found family aspect. The strong female lead in Sorina and how she cares so much about her family. I also really like how Foody doesn’t hold back with some of the creepy details. She makes a world that would scare me to live in, but I’d totally want to visit at the same time.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (2017)
Loved this Chinese retelling of the Evil queen from Snow White! Gorgeous world building. Evil AF main character that I can’t tear my eyes away from! I was taken on an emotional rollercoaster by Xifeng. She is not one to let your heart settle before she makes another questionable decision. Also, she might EAT your heart, so be careful!
Contemporary (Tie!)
Saints and Misfits (2017)
A very personal and emotional journey of one muslim girl’s journey to find courage after a traumatizing event. You really get steeped into Janna’s life and heart. She places people into three categories: saints, misfits, and monsters. The problem is that the monster she knows is someone no one in her community would guess and you can imagine that really weighs on her throughout the book.
The Inexplicable Logic of my life (2017)
This book DESTROYED ME. I swear my eyes were leaking the whole time! I loved the concepts of friendship and family and acceptance. It’s hard to know who you are or who you want to be when you’re in high school. It’s even harder when you tack on labels that other people insist on using to look at you through. For our main character that’s stuff like having a mother who died when he was a baby, a biological father he never knew, and a loving adoptive father who is gay. None of these things should matter, but of course they do in Sal’s life. Good thing he has his best friend Sam. But, of course, life is never a straight line journey. And things happen in both Sal and Sam’s life that make them take a hard look at who they are and what family means to them.
In Verse
Long Way Down (2017)
I am NOT someone who reads books in verse. I’d heard a lot of great things about Long Way Down and I was lucky enough to snag an ARC. So I decided to read it randomly one night while I was on a trip with my family. I was up until 3AM finishing it. It was such a powerful read. Every word had weight. I admire Jason Reynold’s talent so much that he can make one word mean so many things and have such an impact on me. I literally had goosebumps reading this book. Even if you don’t read in verse, you should pick this up.
Humorous
I Believe in a Thing Called Love (2017)
I love Maruene Goo’s humor! I was SO EXCITED when I heard about a book about a Korean American girl who uses Kdramas to find love. But it was so much more than that. Desi could have BEEN me as a teen. She is a girl who analyzes her world and has found success in school and extracurriculars by being meticulous. So when love never goes her way, she decides studying something where love always work is the key. So she watched Korean dramas and maps out the path to love. Oh Desi, you poor misguided dum dum. But seriously, I can imagine this being something I’d have tried at 17, lol. I mean, she goes a bit far at some points and I can’t imagine I’d have put anyone in danger to find my one true love in high school. But, I can totally understand why Desi wants to figure out why she’s such a klutz at romance. I just want to hold her close and tell her everything will be okay and also smack some sense into her.
Middle Grade
The Gauntlet
Such a fun middle grade adventure! I loved the strength of the main character. She wasn’t like in-your-face Katniss shooting and arrow style. But she was smart and passionate and she was trying to save someone she loved. And I love those motivations especially in middle grades. I also liked that the book had an awesome muslim girl as the protagonist. And that her culture was an ingrained part of who she was. Yes, she was trapped in a mechanical Jumanji-like game, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still a multi-faceted person.
Favorite Music:
BTS – Spring Day
BTS (방탄소년단) ‘봄날 (Spring Day)’ Official MV BTS (방탄소년단) ‘봄날 (Spring Day)’ Official MV Music video credits: Director : YongSeok Choi (Lumpens) Assistant Directors : WonJu Lee (Lumpens) Director of Photography : HyunWoo Nam(GDW) Gaffer : HyunSuk Song (Real Lighting) Art Director : JinSil Park (MU:E) Producer : Emma SungEun kim (GE Production) BigHit Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Wanna One – Beautiful
Wanna One (워너원) – ‘Beautiful (뷰티풀)’ M/V (Performance ver.) 워너원, 하나가 되기 전 우리들의 이야기. 데뷔앨범 ‘TO BE ONE’의 프리퀄 리패키지 앨범 『1-1=0 (NOTHING WITHOUT YOU)』 Beautiful 은 혼자였던 과거의 두려움과 간절한 그리움 그리고 미래에 대한 갈망을 담았으며, 워너원의 한층 성숙해진 감성을 담은 곡이다. ‘TO BE ONE’ Prequel Repackage album 『1-1=0 (NOTHING WITHOUT YOU)』 The title track ‘Beautiful’ talks about the fear and longing for the past and the yearning for the future.
G-Dragon – Untitled
G-DRAGON – ‘무제(無題) (Untitled, 2014)’ M/V Available on iTunes @ smarturl.it/GDRAGON_KWONJIYONG Available on Apple Music @ smarturl.it/KWONJIYONG_GDRAGON #GDRAGON #지드래곤 #GD #지디 #권지용 #KWONJIYONG #Actlll #무제 #無題 #Untitled2014 #OUTNOW #COMEBACK #NEWRELEASE #YG More about BIGBANG @ http://ygbigbang.com/ http://www.facebook.com/bigbang http://www.youtube.com/BIGBANG http://iTunes.com/BIGBANG http://sptfy.com/BIGBANG http://weibo.com/bigbangasia http://twitter.com/ygent_official
Lee Hyori – Seoul
[MV] Lee Hyori(이효리) _ Seoul (Feat. Killagramz) MV] Lee Hyori(이효리) _ Seoul (Feat. Killagramz) *English subtitles are now available. 😀 (Please click on ‘CC’ button or activate ‘Interactive Transcript’ function) [Notice] 1theK YouTube is also an official channel for the MV, and music shows will count the views from this channel too.
Harry Styles – Kiwi
Harry Styles – Kiwi Harry Styles’ self-titled debut album is available now: http://hstyles.co.uk/music iTunes: http://smarturl.it/HS-iTunes Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/HS-AM Spotify: http://smarturl.it/HS-Spotify Limited edition CD: http://smarturl.it/HS-LtdEd-CD White vinyl: http://smarturl.it/HS-WhiteVinyl Photo editions: http://smarturl.it/HarryStylesStore Target: http://smarturl.it/HS-Target Amazon MP3: http://smarturl.it/HS-AmazonMP3 Deezer: http://smarturl.it/HS-Deezer Best of Harry Styles: https://goo.gl/UzwxNi Harry Styles – Harry Styles (Album 2017) https://goo.gl/z1GUVh Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/6UDD4P Director: Us Exec Producer: Morgan Clement Exec Producer (usa): Sheira Rees-Davies Producer: Steve Overs DoP: Ben Fordesman Artist Stylist: Harry Lambert Costume Stylist: Sharon Long Art Director: Dan Betteridge Casting: HammondCox Casting Editor: David Stevens @ The Assembly Rooms Colourist: Simone Grattarola @ Time Based Arts Production Company: Academy +
Favorite KDramas
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
So much heart! Great acting by the two leads. The friends were cute and really helped to boost up the main characters and highlight who they were. I especially loved Bok Joo’s relationship with her two best friends. The older brother fell flat for me, but I also felt like he was just there as a plot vehicle to cause growth in Bok Joo (Not sure how I feel about that, but I really enjoyed Bok Joo’s character arc and it wouldn’t have been what it was without him).
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo – Trailer | Lee Sung Kyung & Nam Joo Hyuk 2016 Korean Drama Full episodes of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo available at https://www.viki.com/tv/32634c-weightlifting-fairy-kim-bok-joo Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo 역도요정 김복주 – Trailer | Lee Sung Kyung & Nam Joo Hyuk 2016 Korean Drama 2016 Korean Drama ‘Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo Summary What else could there be to life than barbells and heavy weights?
Dokkaebi (Goblin)
SO EMOTIONAL. LOVE Reaper and Goblin relationship. Wasn’t as into the relationship with Ji Eun Tak. I was very invested in Reaper and Sunny’s relationship. Reaper was probably my favorite character. I wish they utilized Sungjae more , though 🙁
GOBLIN – Trailer #1 | Starring Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun | DEC 2 on DramaFever! GOBLIN 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神-도깨비 | Starring Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun | December 2 on DramaFever! Be the first to watch! Sign up for episode alerts ➤ http://bit.ly/2eON3WT === Goblin (쓸쓸하고 찬란하神-도깨비) Starring Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun Gong Yoo (Coffee Prince), Kim Go Eun (Cheese in the Trap) and Lee Dong Wook (Blade Man, My Girl) star in a supernatural romance that proves love can find its way past anything, including death.
Hwarang
Love Park Hyung Sik. New crush. It could have done way more with the bromances especially between Park Seo Jun and Park Hyung Sik. However, I loved watched Hyung Sik so much, that I was happy and entertained most of the time watching it.
Hwarang – Trailer | Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Min Ho 2016 Korean Drama Full episodes of Hwarang available December 19 at https://www.viki.com/tv/29810c-hwarang Hwarang 화랑 – Trailer | Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Min Ho, & Kim Taehyung 2016 Korean Drama 2016 Korean Drama ‘Hwarang’ Summary History is often made on the backs of truly passionate, talented young people.
While You Were Sleeping
I LOVE LEE JONG SUK. Also, this drama…kinda…it kinda made me like Suzy as an actress. There! I said it! I’m not taking it back! Listen, she might have been a log of petrified wood before, but she bloomed under the love of Lee Jong Suk. THAT IS HIS MAGIC! This drama also had such great tie ins between all the characters and story lines. It was kind of episodic in that there were different court cases that needed to be solved and different dangers for our three leads. The supernatural elements of the prophetic dreams was handled really masterfully and I like how they delved into the concept of cause and effect of our actions and how they change the flow of destiny/fate.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING – OFFICIAL TRAILER [Eng Sub] | Lee Jong Suk, Suzy, Shin Jae Ha ➡ Watch full episodes of While You Were Sleeping: http://bit.ly/WatchWhileYouWereSleeping About While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에): Why is she starting to have these bad dreams and can they be stopped? Nam Hong Joo (Suzy) is an unemployed journalist who lives with her mother and puts little energy into trying to find gainful employment.
(also, Jung Hae In = new crush)
Favorite Movies:
Thor
Before I get into it, I’ll say it. This movie was a complete 180 from the tone of the other Thor movies. I had a hard time believing that Thor was suddenly so hilarious and witty. But that aside, I really enjoyed this film. I loved Taika Waititi‘s What We Do In The Shadows, which is a mockumentary about vampires in New Zealand (if you haven’t watched it then GO WATCH IT NOW, I’ll wait). So, I totally got where the new humor came from. Taika Waititi is hilarious and I loved him as the rock monster. I think that the ladies got to step it up in this film and I was so happy with that. Valkyrie is my new girl crush for sure! And they really did a nice job of taking advantage of the complicated relationship between Loki and Thor that was set up by the other films. I love Loki because of how morally ambiguous he is. And the fact that Thor still wants to believe in his bother is one of the things I actually have always liked about Thor (even when he was a pompous bore).
Spider-Man Homecoming
I wasn’t really that into Spider-man anymore about the bajillionth reboot, but I honestly thought this version was a great reboot of the franchise. It seemed more genuinely teenage to me. The school life Peter had and the way he interacted with his friends seemed really appropriately awkward for who Peter Parker is. And I actually really liked that I didn’t have to rewatch him get bit by a spider and “discover” his powers all over again (this isn’t a spoiler, since this Spider-man appears in Civil War this takes place after that and he obviously had his powers in that film). We just got into the meat of him BEING spider-man, which is probably what helped give the faster pacing of this film
Other things:
Stranger Things Season 2
Three words: Season Two Steve. (May be spoiler-ish stuff in the below video, but it doesn’t really give anything away about the plot)
Stranger Things Season 2 Steve Harrington’s Best Moments Babysitter Steve is the best Steve Harrington. TV Guide’s official YouTube channel brings you behind-the-scenes access to your favorite shows and interviews with your favorite celebs!
Brooklyn 99
This show is so funny and clever and sharp! It also does not shy away from addressing issues like racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. I loved the nod to the growing pains of the publishing industry in the Male Fantasy Author episode.
We should all try to find the confident Gina Linetta inside of all of us:
Gina’s One-Liners: The Human Form Of The 💯 Emoji | Season 4 | BROOKLYN NINE-NINE Check out some the Gina Linetti’s best one-liners from the FOX series, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE.
Hamilton!
I know this show isn’t new in 2017, but I watched it for the second time this year with a huge group of my critique partners and I cried so hard! I don’t know why the second viewing hit me so hard. I do theorize that it’s because of who I went to see it with and because the political climate in America is trash right now. I maybe long for a time where people fought for ideals and country above selfish greed.
The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) Official music video for Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) by K’naan featuring Residente, Riz MC & Snow Tha Product Donate $10 to Lin-Manuel’s Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition at: http://bit.ly/2tOfD3A and win a chance to attend the Los Angeles opening of Hamilton Buy/Stream The Hamilton Mixtape Here:
That’s it for my 2017 faves! If you have any favorites from this year I’d love to hear about them!