Hello, friends!

The first month of the year was excellent in terms of content consumed. This is especially due to the new streaming service Discovery+ (non-spon). I’ll get into that more later. To the stories!

honorable (forgotten) mentions

I remembered a few titles from past months I’d forgotten to mention in previous posts. Here they are.

Penguins

I watched this documentary a while ago, possibly as far back as October or earlier. I think it got lost in the amalgamation of all that I had consumed in my last Stories post, so I’m mentioning it now. This was a such a cute documentary by Disneynature, that follows the story of a penguin named Steve and his trials of love, loss, and life. It was extremely nerve-wracking, as many nature documentaries are, but without tragedy. Overall, it was super sweet and precious. It’s also voiced by Ed Helms, which brings a lot of personality to the story. If you have Disney+ and like to get emotional about adorable animals, this one’s for you.

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City of Ember

For my class pre-break party, we had a movie day and watched City of Ember, since one of the small groups read the book. Having never read it or seen it, I was really excited for the movie. I thought it was really well-done, as a viewer and not a reader. It executed a very strange concept in a way that was engaging (at least to me). Obviously, they upped the action, the stakes, and even the ages of the characters, for the sake of Drama. But I felt like it worked pretty well. As a dystopian lover, I enjoyed it.

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21 Jump Street & 22 Jump Street

I don’t even remember when I watched 21 Jump Street with Ray and her sister, but it was a while ago. I’m not even sure if I mentioned it, possibly because I’ve seen it before. But I’m mentioning it now because it’s hilarious, and I watched the second one. I thought 22 couldn’t possibly top 21, but I was quite impressed. It’s definitely on par, in my opinion. I love how self-aware these movies are, I love their stupid humor, and I love that they still manage to include surprisingly heartwarming moments of character growth. The only unfortunate part was the end credits, showing all the movies that could have (and should have) been.

to read

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

My cousin gave me this book for Christmas, and I absolutely devoured it. I almost finished it in December, but managed to save the very ending for the beginning of January. The story is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope that follows two feuding assistants at a book publishing company as they vie for the same promotion and battle their feelings for each other. The narration by the main character is witty and easy. As it is an adult book, there is definitely some spice to it. I had never read much adult fiction, let alone adult romance, but this book has easily changed my mind on the subject. I highly recommend to both longtime and skeptical romance fans alike.

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City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

After watching the movie City of Ember, I knew I had to read the book. Normally, my philosophy is to read before watching, and that definitely would’ve helped in this case. The book was good and created a really interesting concept. It was challenging to return to a middle grade reading level after The Hating Game. I also struggled with staying focused as I read, since all I could do was picture the movie. I often felt like I was rushing the author along as I wanted her to keep going because I’d seen much of it already. Maybe that speaks to the movie’s ability to interpret the world remarkably well. There were some glaring changes from book-to-movie, such as aging up the characters, altering some backstories to increase the stakes, adding more action, and increasing the role of Doon’s father. But overall, I felt like the two stories were very similar in heart.

to watch

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Snowball Express

Since I celebrated Christmas with Ray’s family on January 1st, I was able to squeeze one last Christmasy movie into January. Snowball Express is a family Christmas tradition. It’s cheesy, it’s old Disney, not all of it aged well, but it’s always a fun time.

Anastasia

Now that Anastasia is on Disney+, you know I had to watch it. I wanted to watch it in December to be on theme with the songs, but it ended up being a January watch. I know the story of the missing princess is a fiction and that this version is especially fictional, but it’s still super fun. I also really enjoy the Broadway musical version, that is a little more realistic. Either way, the music is excellent, the story is exciting, and I always wanted to name a child Anastasia, if I have one. Or more probably a pet.

Ratatouille: The Musical

Probably the weirdest thing I watched this month is the Ratatouille Tik Tok musical. I had seen the videos on Tik Tok suggesting a musical based on the classic movie, and the songs were pretty catchy. I was personally very surprised to learn there was a group planning to make it into an actual virtual musical with real celebrity talent as the cast. Of course, I watched it. The run time was only about an hour, and considering how quickly it was put together, it was pretty good. It was strange to watch the actors interact on a screen with different backgrounds and inconsistent costuming. It was super cool to hear the Tik Tok songs sung by real singers. The story definitely seemed a little rushed, and it felt more like a mini episode than a full show. But I think it definitely could be the groundwork for a full show one day.

The Crown

I’ve been watching episodes of The Crown off and on for a few months, but while quarantined in January, I was able to finally finish season one and start season two. It’s a fantastic show, whether it’s dramatized or factual. I’m a sucker for any shows to do with royals, and I love a period drama, so this show is perfect for me. The content is a lot to handle at once so I haven’t really binged it. But I’m enjoying making my way through it slowly.

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WandaVision

In other news, WandaVision debuted on Disney+ and is easily one of the best shows I’m watching right now. The show follows Wanda and her (spoiler) reanimated husband Vision in a fictitious reality she created to get the life she wants. Every choice is so intentional, from the cinematic and thematic choices, to the costuming, setup, and dialogue. I love that it’s paced like a real show so I have something to look forward to each Friday. Even though the episodes leave me screaming, it’s amazing to watch something so engaging, especially from Marvel, which has become pretty formulaic in its content in recent years. If you haven’t watched it or you started it and weren’t impressed, give it a chance. It builds on itself in such a genius way. I’m obsessed.

Discovery+

I want to give a shoutout to the new streaming service Discovery+. It has some of the best cable channels, like HGTV, TLC, Travel, ID, and more. The amount of shows, movies, documentaries, and original creations is astounding. There’s even live channels for shows like House Hunters and Fixer Upper so you can turn it on and watch just like TV (but without commercials). Since the day it premiered, I have been subscribed and bingeing. Turns out some of my favorite HGTV shows from childhood are not so amazing as an adult (looking at you, Curb Appeal). But I have managed to find plenty of other things to watch. Here are a few!

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Tiny House Hunters

While I was waiting for regular House Hunters to come to the service, I got really into Tiny House Hunters. It’s truly one of the most frustrating shows and I love it. Literally everyone on this show says they want to downsize and then they complain the options are too small. There’s not a single likable person on this show, except the exasperated realtors. I feel like it would make a great drinking game if you took a sip every time you get annoyed. Still, it is a refreshing version of the typical house hunter style, since many of the buyers end up designing their own homes based on multiple places they’ve seen.

Living Big Sky

Another great house-hunting show is Living Big Sky, which follows families who move to Montana to live in the beautiful countryside. While I don’t see myself living in Montana (too cold), I do have a dream of owning a farm. I love seeing all the different styles of farmhouses and everything that goes with it. This show is also a little refreshing in style, since they often see more than three houses and sometimes end up buying land to build on, instead of picking one of the options. It definitely gets my home-design inspiration revved up.

Dance Moms

A great show for drama is always Dance Moms. Many years ago when I was in middle school, I watched the first several season of this show over the summer. Now that it’s on Discovery+, you bet I dove right back in. There’s currently only seasons 1, 6, 7, and 8 available. Ray and I started with season 6, since there’s no point getting sucked into the early drama when there’s such a big gap. It’s been a steady guilty pleasure over the past month and we only got through the first half of the season. Can’t wait to keep up with the drama.

to listen

Truthfully, I’ve been in a bit of a music rut the past month. I haven’t been able to stop listening to Evermore by Taylor Swift, but I have switched it up a little by listening to playlists that include both Lover and Folklore as well. Moving forward, I am actively aiming to diversify my music taste and find new sounds. Until then, Taylor Swift dominated my January.

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As I said, great month for content. I’m honestly impressed I’ve been able to read and watch so much already. Looking forward to the rest of the year and hoping to keep up this streak.

What stories have you enjoyed this January? Have you read or watched any of the things I mentioned? Tell me your thoughts! Feel free to like and follow as you see fit.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!