Stories From 2019~ In Which We Talk About Books, Movies, And The Stage

Seasons greetings, chums!

Apparently the year is almost over. My calendar tells me it is so, and my calendar hardly ever lies. I therefore conclude that it is true.

These things always seem to sneak up on me. Bother.

As it is my customary method of bidding the year farewell, I have decided to reminisce on all the glorious stories I discovered in the year 2019. Basically we have movies, books and the delightful mystery that is theatre.

Possibly not in that order, because I like to keep you guessing.

Let us begin.

Movies

Apparently I watched too many superhero movies this year. Oh well.

Also, there was THIS:

Image result for a series of unfortunate events season 3

…at midnight on January 1st. Yup. I couldn’t wait another moment longer.

(I love this show so much.)

And THIS:

Image result for Stranger Things

Yes, I finally watched Stranger Things and I have adopted the Byers family.

Image result for byers family stranger things
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I loved the first two seasons, but season 3 was kind of a mixed bag for me and I kind of wish it didn’t exist. Though I did relate to Will on a spiritual level for pretty much the whole season.

Image result for will byers season 3 castle byers
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But evil Russians? And making everything MORE disgusting, and MORE horrific? There just wasn’t really a point, folks. Who forgot to tell TV shows that they should quit while they’re ahead?

I should probably stop now.

This kid though:

Image result for dustin henderson season 1
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Okay, I’m done.

Apparently I watch too much Netflix these days.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, have you all seen this beautiful Pixar SparkShort????

Image result for kitbull
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It’s on YouTube. You have no excuse not to watch it. Here is a link:

Kitbull

It will take less than ten minutes of your life. You’re welcome.

Theatre

Since I don’t really pop over to Broadway much, the theatre section is a bit thin. But I did discover some stellar cast recordings! There are a few songs that I would particularly like to share with you.

First off, we have this German one from Artus Excalibur:

Schwert und Stein

Then there’s this lovely little ditty from this year’s Tony winner for best musical, Hadestown:

Wait for Me

And lastly, my most recent discovery and the best of them all, this powerful ballad from Matilda: The Musical. This song makes me weep:

Quiet

In addition to musical recordings, I got to see a few community theatre productions, including Little Women and The Wizard of Oz. Live theatre is a blessing.

I also participated in a couple of shows myself, which was great fun indeed.

And I got to see a PBS Great Performances production of Red by John Logan, starring Alfred Molina and Alfred Enoch. It was quite excellent.

Image result for red pbs
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Books

I also rediscovered the joys of picture books this year. Specifically in the form of Jon Klassen and Sandra Boynton books.

Such as-

Image result for we found a hat

And-

Image result for fifteen animals

Do not underestimate the brilliance of these books. Jon Klassen and Sandra Boynton are geniuses.

Epilogue

And now the year is basically over and I am trying not to freak out about the rapidity with which Time rushes onward. Is anyone else weirded out that we have almost reached the year 2020?

I hope that you had a good year, and I hope that your next one is even better! Happy Christmas, and a Sumptuous New Year!

Image result for Stranger Things byers
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(My sister was inspired by Joyce Byers and decorated our hallway with Christmas lights like this.)

What stories did you discover in 2019? Did any of them surprise you? Are you eager for 2020 to arrive, or does the prospect terrify you? I would love to hear about your year in the comments!

Until next year,

~The Story Sponge~

22 thoughts on “Stories From 2019~ In Which We Talk About Books, Movies, And The Stage”

  1. This year was a great year for superhero movies!! So satisfied with Endgame!! Another Stranger Things fan!! My brother introduced me last fall. So good!
    I actually liked season 3 better then 2 as the whole mall and fourth of July felt lighter. 😊
    I’ve read a few of those books, and the rest sound amazing, especially the Curious Case of the Dog in the night time one. I’ll have to put it on my ever growing TBR list.

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    1. Haha, yeah, so many superhero movies came out this year, and several of them were actually quite good!
      That is interesting that you preferred season 3 to season 2 and actually thought it was lighter. Now that you mention it, I can see how the mall and fourth of July thing could make it seem lighter, even though it didn’t particularly strike me that way. It’s so interesting how different things strike people in different ways!
      Always glad to aid the growth of a TBR pile. 😉

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  2. YES YES ALMOST ALL THOSE MOVIES AND THE BOY THAT STEALS HOUSES AND WATERSHIP DOWN AND ALL THE STORIES AHHHHHHHHH!!! I just started Stranger Things and it’s so gooooooood. <33 Also, that's AWESOME that your hallway is decorated with Christmas lights. X'D A Merry CHristmas and a Happy New Year to you!!! <33

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    1. Childhood books are so special. There are so many books that I can’t help but scream about a little bit because they embody my youngest years. There’s a special place in my heart for those that nothing else can occupy.
      YES. I was so pleased with Into the Spiderverse. It was excellent.
      Thanks, so am I. 🙂

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  4. Looks like your year was packed full of wonderful stories! 😊 I hope next year is even better!!
    Ohmygoodness, that short film is so precious! 😭 Certainly a well-used ten minutes of my life.
    And yes, I agree it feels really weird that it’s almost 2020. Like WHAT EVEN???!! 😲
    Merry Christmas!! ❤️

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      1. Yes, it was just adorable!! 🥰 I LOVE cats (and dogs too) so of course I adored it! And the animation was superb.
        It’s always more fun to be weirded out with someone else. 😉
        Thank youuuu! 🤗

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  5. Cute film– I like the animation style. Aside from that, I think the only story on this list I’ve experienced is Klaus… and then only bits of it. I’m going to have to look up some of these books you mention.
    My stageplay tally is thin this year as well. But a local group finally put on Les Mis, starring my cousin, so that was special.
    I look forward to discovering more stories in 2020 (Good grief, is it only less than two weeks away already?!)

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    1. You watched it! I know, right? I thought it was pretty cute.
      If you read any of the books, I would love to hear what you think of them!
      Wow, that is awesome that your cousin got to be in Les Mis! And that you got to see Les Mis. It’s one of my favorite shows.
      Yes, I look forward to the stories I will discover in 2020 as well! (And, yes, it’s less than two weeks away, and I am NOT prepared.)

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  6. SANDRA BOYNTON IS THE BEST. (Whenever I’m babysitting, I always read those books to the kids lol).

    And I agree with you about Stranger Things. The first two were so good, but they had to go and ruin it in s3 :/ Still holding out hope for s4…

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  7. When I first realized that MJ stood for Mary Jane (thanks to my friends), I was weirded out by the inevitable relationship between MJ and Peter. Before I watched the second movie, it didn’t seem like it would work. But it so did!!
    Speaking of C. S. Lewis, I’m planning on reading Mere Christianity in January. So if I drop some of his mind-stretching lines in my comments, that’s what’s happening.
    When it comes to watching Netflix, I’ve watched almost the first two season of Anne With an E in about a week. Ugh, I have cried maybe five times watching it. I am in love with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Do you know what show you will be watching next?
    And I watched Kitbull :))

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    1. Yeah, the MJ/Peter relationship worked strangely well, I would agree with you.
      Ooh, I love Mere Christianity! I haven’t read it in years though. Inserting C.S. Lewis into comments is always appreciated.
      I tried watching Anne with an E, but I couldn’t get into it. I really love the 1980s miniseries version of Anne of Green Gables, and for me Anne with an E strayed from the book too much, but I can understand why a lot of people like it.
      I am trying not to start any new shows, actually. I get way to obsessed with them and I like to re-watch them… In fact, I am currently re-watching Stranger Things because I am showing it to my cousin.
      Yay! I thought Kitbull was really cute.

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      1. Yes, my friend who loves Anne of Green Gables told me that it strayed from the book too, especially the second season. Did you get to the second season? Because as far as I could tell with my limited Anne knowledge, the first few episodes of the first season seemed pretty accurate. Except for maybe the flashbacks?
        Hahaha, I get what you mean. Ohh, nice!

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      2. No, I didn’t get to the second season. I only watched a few episodes of the first season, and it had already started to veer off in ways that I didn’t like, so I didn’t bother continuing. I read some of the episode summaries for later episodes and saw that it just went off on its own story, which is totally fine, just not something I’m interested in.

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  8. AHH The Boy Who Steals Houses and Some Kind of Happiness were some of my favorite reads from last year! I’m currently watching A Series of Unfortunate Events and I’m enjoying it a lot!!!

    Happy 2020!
    Hanne

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