January Loves

I love getting recommendations for almost anything; I think that you have to feel strongly about something to recommend it to your best friend or mother.  That's how I've found some of my favorite books, restaurants, stores, products and so many other things.  At the end of every month I'll be posting my "loves of the month", my favorite books, music, movies, food, and anything else I think you just shouldn't live without knowing about.

I spent a lot of January reading and I was trying to get away from the young adult books (since I'm about 10 years out of that age bracket), but I read some great reviews about the book Divergent by Veronica Roth so I decided to give it a try.  I had that book and the sequel, Insurgent, done in less than a week and found myself sad that I'd have to wait months for the third book.  The book has a very Hunger Games feel and similarly has a dystopian setting.  For me, the book was an insightful look into community, finding oneself, and an ultimate choice between right and wrong and it was a nice change from some of the other young adult books that have one main focus.

If you're looking for something a bit more serious, I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff is also a great read.  I was sucked into this book as well and found myself on the couch reading whenever I had a free minute.  This book ultimately dealt with the impossible choice when a parent must pick which child to save.  Entertwined through the book are stories of family relationships, dealing with the past, and moments that change lives forever.

Lastly I have some amazing music to recommend.  I downloaded The Lumineers album for my flight home over Christmas and I fell in love with it instantly.  The Lumineers are a folk rock band although most people would probably label them alternative.  Once mainstream music picks up alt songs that's usually about the time I become sick of them, but I'm still in love with this album, even the very overplayed song Ho Hey.  This has quickly become the playlist I throw on when I'm cooking and I seem to find a way to play it almost daily even when I'm not cooking.  The songs are catchy but soulful and the album has a very unique feel; going from sweet with the cello playing the background to a rockish feel that always seems to lead to me dancing in the kitchen with Coconut or a spatula (Coconut gets sick of dancing with me sometimes).  

If you have any books, music, unknown movie, amazing website, or anything else you'd like to recommend, I'd love to hear about it!  You can always share your recommendations in the comments section or on my blog facebook page and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the books or album if you give them a shot :)