Music, Music, Music: What I've Been Listening To This Month

I love music.  It's great to walk to, read to, drive to, and dance to. It adds so much to a movie or tv show.  I can hardly sit in my car without needing music.  Since I've been downloading a lot of music lately, today I wanted to share a list of some of my favorite music I've been listening to lately.

image courtesy of Lorde.co.nz

I played Lorde's new album for almost a week straight and there are only eleven tracks on the album. Like all her music, it creeps up on you until you find yourself humming along when it's not being played.  With a mixture of fun rhythms and soulful background tracks, Lorde's tunes provide a fun art pop soundtrack to life.

image courtesy of imdb.com

I haven't been able to stop listening to this soundtrack since I saw the movie.  Taron Egerton, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and Tori Kelly's final songs are my particular favorites.  These covers of famous songs are very well done and occasionally even catchier than the originals. Speaking of originals, Scarlett Johansson's character sings a really fun original song that is constantly stuck in my head.  I highly recommend both the movie and the soundtrack.

image courtesy ofwikipedia

All of Florence and the Machine's albums are great, but her first one remains my favorite.  Her soulful voice and powerful songs give me a much needed energy boost in the morning.  Tracks I especially like are "Dog Days Are Over," "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," and "You've Got the Love." Another amazing art/indie pop artist, her voice lends a haunting and powerful edge to this genre.

Other artists I can't stop listening to are Regina Spektor, Jewel, and the Cranberries.  Lately I've been drawn to powerful female vocals, fun lyrics, and haunting tracks.  What are some of your favorite artists? What have you been listening to lately?

Book Review: An Inconvenient Beauty

Book Review: An Inconvenient Beauty 

by Kristi Ann Hunter

Cover courtesy of overdrive.com

First Thoughts: "Finally, we get to hear Griffith's story."  "I'm not sure if I'm going to like Isabella." "Sigh, practical Griffith is too practical." "Nevermind, I love Isabella." 

How it made me feel: Hopeful. Encouraged. In love. Joyful. 

Quick Synopsis: Griffith, the Duke of Riverton has decided it is finally time for him to fall in love and marry, so he chooses a bride like he chooses everything else, logically and without feeling.  Enter Miss Isabella Breckenridge, his chosen woman's cousin, who he can't seem to stay away from or keep off his mind.  Miss Isabella Breckenridge has no intention of finding love, just of saving her family, but once she meets the Duke of Riverton she begins to think she can have both. 

More thoughts: I love how this series incorporated the Christian faith into these characters lives naturally.  It doesn't feel forced like other inspirational fiction I've tried to read.  These characters are real and broken but still God-honoring.  That's hard to pull off in fiction.  

     

     We've come to know Griffith a little bit in the other books but it was nice to finally get to hear his thoughts and see how he ticks. As always I adore the healthy friendships this series shows, even if it wasn't as prominent in this book.  Griffith calls on his male friends, brother, and his sisters for advice without shame.  It is refreshing to see a positive family unit.

     Isabella was so sweet. All of her actions were focused on taking care of other people.  She agreed to help her uncle in order to save her family.  When she felt she was pushed too far but was given the option to help her cousin Frederica, she took it.  Even as she was falling in love with the Duke, she pushed him away to protect him due to spoilery circumstances.

     Additionally, the side character of Frederica was a joy to get to know. She was a fun character in her own right, and it was nice for Isabella to have an ally in the messy business that is regency courtship.  She had Isabella's back and was never bitter that Isabella received more attention than she ever did.  There is one particularly good reason for this, but you'll have read the book to find it out. 

Conclusion: This is the fourth book in a series and it is so good. It can be read alone but there are technically spoilers for the other books in the series.  However, the spoilers are just who ends up with whom, which can usually be discovered in the synopsis anyway.  I'd give this series 4 out of 5 stars with this book in particular earning 5 out of 5 stars.  I very much enjoyed reading this series, and I'd highly recommend this book even on its own.  

10 Favorite TV/Movie Adaptations of Books

You guys, it was really hard to only choose 10 of my favorite book to movie (or tv) adaptations.  I didn't even want to attempt to put them in order.  The books on this list had to be one's that I have read. They had to be adaptations I truly enjoyed, nay loved.  I also only listed actual novel adaptations, no short stories or fairy/folk tales.  So without further ado, my ten favorite book to screen adaptations, in no particular order.

1. The Princess Bride

2. The Big Year

3. The Phantom of the Opera

4. Pride and Prejudice (BBC and A&E)

5. North and South

6. Emma

7. Jane Eyre

8. BBC Chronicles of Narnia

9. Lord of the Rings series

10. Anne of Green Gables

There you have it. My top ten favorite TV/Movie adaptions of books.  What are your favorite adaptations?

*Movie covers courtesy of imdb.com