#2014 faves

Great God Pan by Sd Laika.

ABBY'S FAVORITE KPOP SONGS/VIDEOS OF 2014

in alphabetical order (except catallena bc it's my #1 forever)

♥♥♥ "catallena" - orange caramel ♥♥♥

"1, 2, 3" - purfles

"200%" - akdong musician

"ain't nobody" - ha:tfelt

"baechu bossam" - pungdeng-e

"bank" - puer kim

"b.b.b." - dalshabet

"candy jelly love" - lovelyz

"come back home" - 2ne1

"domino game" - kiss&cry

"give love" - akdong musician

"good-night kiss" - hyosung

"hair short" - wings

"happiness" - red velvet

"i swear" - sistar

"i'm different" - hi suhyun

"i'm in love" - secret

"kiss kiss" - ladies code

"like a cat" - aoa

"mamma mia" - kara

"mr. ambiguous" - mamamoo

"mr. chu" - apink

"pit-a-pat" - laboum

"red" - hyuna

"red light" - f(x)

"sugar free" - t-ara

"thank u very much" - bestie

"truth or dare" - gain

"up & down" - exid

"what about you" - laboum

"whatcha doin' today" - 4minute

"why did you come to my home" - minx

"you don't love me" - spica

Yay thanks for asking :)

a. Book read

hmm that’s a though one there are too many good books! Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is definitely among my favorite books now! Also Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. And The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick. And Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. And so many others that I can’t think of right now but the question said one book and i already named four…

f. Joke heard

"We don’t need feminism" 

… ok i’m sorry, here’s a joke one of of my law professors told the entire class last semester:

what would a law student say when asked to memorize the phone book?

…

"when is it due?"

l. News story

Conchita Wurst winning the Eurovision Song Contest :D (#proudaustrian)

t. Selfie taken

Because being a day late is my MO, and who doesn't love fave lists with half-assed one-sentence reviews?

Also by category, because I like things organized (ha, whoops, try to guess which genre I had too many favorites in):

Fave Non-fiction: Wounded, Emily Mayhew.

A quiet, unexpectedly personal collection of stories about British medicine and medical workers in World War 1.

Fave Memoir: The Empathy Exams, Leslie Jamison

Deserved all the hype it got and then some. A great exploration of pain, "wound-dwelling," and of course, empathy. (btw, I'm counting it as memoir, but it's a collection of personal essays).

Fave Grown-up Novel: I'll Be Right There, Kyung-sook Shin

Thoughtful, sweet, deliberately-paced, and completely devastating story about college students protesting, hurting, and falling in love during the politically turbulent 1980s in South Korea. ALSO, Kyung-sook Shin is the first woman and first Korean to win the Man Asian Lit Prize.

Fave Graphic Novel: This One Summer, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

Beautiful art and complex characters in a deceptively simple coming-of-age story.

Fave Graphic Novel, YA:  Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll

Masterfully creepy graphic fairy tales by one of my favorite living artists.

Fave Comic series: Lumberjanes (duh), Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, Brooke Allen

Oh my Agnodice, y'all, this series is the most fun you've had in a while.

Fave YA fantasy: Teeth, Hannah Moskowitz

Eerie story about magical fish and a romance between a heartbroken older brother and the hilarious mermaid boy he meets? Why do I like this again? Also it was so hard to pick between this and Fiendish by Brenna Yovannoff

Fave debut YA: Far From You, Tess Sharpe

Mystery, sorrow, and stellar prose, featuring a realistic portrayal of disability, addiction, and being bisexual.

Fave YA contemporary: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, Meg Medina

Funny, terrifying, triumphant, and still so, so sad. Medina doesn't take the easy way or offer any pat answers to issues of bullying and prejudice. Also one of the most genuine YA voices I've read in a while.

Fave YA historical: In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Cat Winters

Deliciously creepy and well-researched, at times both claustrophobic and wild in the best way. Maybe my fave YA heroine of the year, too.

Fave re-read (coincidentally, also my fave audiobook): The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson

I will never not recommend this book.

Oh! And Fave Romance/Erotica, since that's what this publr is supposed to be about: Captive Prince, Vol. II , C.S. Pacat

Or, soon to be re-published by Penguin as Prince's Gambit!  Hilariously, or not, this is genre I have the least personal experience in, despite my current job. Captive Prince was recommended to me by a great friend and was the first "erotic romance" I'd read personally since those crazy Ancient Egypt fantasy books I accidentally read when I was 9 because the librarian told me they were historical fiction (maybe he was new? maybe he was drunk).

As mainstream music becomes increasingly tepid and independent artists continue to abandon imaginative storytelling and effective political mobility in favor of market share viability, I find myself overwhelmingly jaded about the state of the music industry. Nevertheless, this is a list of 10 songs (minus every track from Kimbra's Golden Echo album) that I did find infectious, fun, and overall repeatable this year.

Usher - "Good Kisser": It felt good to hear Usher return to R&B this year, even if it didn't result in a full album.

Nicki Minaj - "Anaconda": I know, I know. But you have to understand: "Baby Got Back" is one of my favorite songs (I was born during its 5-week stint at number 1 on Billboard), and Nicki's command of this track is just...everything.

Sia - "Chandelier": Love Sia. Love the beat. Love the video. So catchy.

Beyonce - "7/11": It's so great hearing/seeing Bey just have fun. I've been saying "wave your hand side to side" to myself like a broken record for the past two months.

Luke James - "Exit Wounds": Luke has a beautiful voice and the melody on this one really shows it off.

Tinashe featuring Schoolboy Q - "2 On": I love a good AAVE-ridden, #carefreeblackgirl anthem in the vein of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody."

Coldplay - "Magic": Elegant lyrics and production, though, Brandy's cover is the only true version of this song in my book.

Elle Varner featuring A$AP Ferg - "Don’t Wanna Dance": I really like Elle. Like Usher's, I was hoping her new album would get a street date this year, but since not, here's my favorite single released so far. 

T-Pain - "Drankin’ Patna": Believe it or not, T-Pain is one of my favorite artists. It was nice to get a "Buy You a Drank" redux, for old times' sake. 

Kendrick Lamar - "i": Timely, timely, message. Thank you, Kendrick.

Faves in 2014: Under The Skin Dir: Jonathan Glazer

1. Big Hero 6

2. The Maze Runner

3. What If...

4. The Lego Movie