This is my first time doing an end of year round-up of my favorite things. I haven't been watching many TV shows or movies lately, so none will appear here. I started the year hoping to watch all of Joel Haver's 2024 movies, but only got 3 movies in before life got in the way. This year I hope to keep reading books that interest me, to watch more movies, and to create music of my own. In any case, here is my list of media favorites from this year:
YouTubers
Kathleen Illustrated She makes videos about thrifting, crafting, fashion, and creativity in general. The production value on her videos is top-notch, her personality is cute and inviting, and her videos are so cozy to watch.
Prickly Alpaca She creates costumes and clothing, does drawing challenges and a broad assortment of creativity-related videos. Incredibly talented artist and maker, such a joy to watch the things she makes.
Lizard Leigh Cosplay and fandom focused creator. Their videos seamlessly intertwine their cosplay build process with lore about the franchise their cosplay is from. Video production and storytelling here is off the charts.
Brittany Broski's Broski Report The Broski Report is so relatable, so funny, and feels like listening to a hilarious friend ramble for an hour.
CJ the X Beautifully-written philosophy-adjacent videos. I haven't watched all of their backlog, but the 6 Shapes of God is a really good one.
Books
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard Intense and fascinating book where the unusual setting and its implications hooked me immediately.Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers The two books in this series are very short, but very comfy reads. I really loved reading the author's vision of a post-capitalist, solarpunk society.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers These are both part of the same series by Becky Chambers. The first one gives Firefly/Serenity vibes, and the second one follows a different set of characters than the first, with some crossover. Each of Becky Chambers' books I've read has given both an interesting perspective on humanity and vivid imagining of some kind of future, and these are no exception.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White Gothic fantasy horror. Pretty gory, too.
Music
Pony by Orville Peck I know this one came out a few years ago, but it's so good.
songs with the volume on by Dev Lemons Musician/youtuber Dev Lemons has a series of videos where she remakes popular songs on her computer, while her computer is muted. Mostly these on-mute songs sound hilariously bad, but every once in awhile she accidentally puts something really beautiful together. These songs are those beautiful bits, extracted and reworked into whole songs in their own right. So freaking good.
I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU by JPEGMAFIA I always find JPEGMAFIA's production and writing style to be strangely inspiring. He takes weird ideas and runs with them, and it works.