Thanks to recent travels and a boom in Season finales and season premiers, there’s a lot to discuss here this month…

Books

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line– I’m not saying this is high art, BUT if you’re a fan of the TV show (and maybe backed the movie and went on opening day…) then you’ll love the book. It reads just like an episode of the show, and does a good job of making sure new to the world folks know who’s who. A very fun airplane read last week!

The Fifth Wave– I’m still reading this book and really enjoying it. They jump around through a few characters dealing with a post apocalyptic kind of world. My dad claims it’s his favorite YA Post-apocalypse book after The Hunger Games…I’m sold!

Music

Nickel Creek – wow I didn’t realize how much I missed this band! I saw them in concert years ago, and loved their previous release. Their new album A Dotted Line is pretty fantastic great work music.

I still can’t get enough of the new Pharrel album and every time I hear Fitz and the Tantrums I like them more and more…

TV

The Americans- good grief this show is great. You need to be watching it. I’m loving this season!

Mad Men – It’s Back! While some are complaining that they don’t care about the office drama, I trust Matt Weiner that as with every other season, this will end up that every random thing we see has its place.

Game of Thrones- This season is off to a great start! The final scene in Episode 2 did exactly what you always want a show to do, but they won’t do. It’s pretty fantastic. My only request? More dragons!

Parks & Rec- Hands down my favorite show on TV. I like the pregnancy twist this season, triplets are a little unnecessary, but I’m curious for the season finale this week that includes Michelle Obama and my bet is that job in Chicago comes back into play…

Alright- what’s are you reading, listening to and watching this month? The sunshine on Easter made for a great excuse to sit outside and read, I’m looking forward to summer!

I know it’s April First, and no this isn’t a joke, I was on vacation last week, and wanted to wait till after I got caught up on a few pop culture things before letting you know what I loved about March. So, as per the usual, here’s what’s made me happy in Pop Culture this month!

Music

Pharrell Williams- Girl. WOW this album is amazing. I’ve  liked Pharrell for years, and this album does NOT dissapoint. Move beyond Happy, which is so dang catchy, and the rest of the album is the perfect driving music (or sitting by the pool in Vegas with your family…)

TV

We’re now at the season finale portion of the year, and two great ones happened this month…

Brooklyn 99- this show is so funny, and although I didn’t think it deserved the Golden Globe for best comedy, it has proved its own this season. I loved the cliffhangers they left us with, and look forward to it’s season return in the fall!

The Walking Dead- okay what happened on Sunday? Cannibals? Holy cow that was a great cliffhanger- I’m just mad I have to wait 6 months for it to return!

Books & Comics

Visitation Street– Okay, I actually kind of hated this book. It’s a great premise of two girls who float off on a raft and one girl goes missing, and the other doesn’t know what happened. It didn’t keep my attention and then wrapped up a little to neatly for my taste…

Ms. Marvel– this may be my new favorite comic book. It’s only 2 issues in so still time to catch up easily. A Muslim female super hero- I can get behind this!

The Illegitimates– What if a James Bond-esque character died? What if 5 of the women he slept with had kids who possess dad’s skills? I really am enjoying this new series from Taran Killiam (of SNL)!

February is a great time for Pop Culture- you’ve got awards season in full swing, TV shows returning from winter hiatus, and spring seasons about to start up. It’s also cold and wet outside so staying in with a good book or show is always the right answer. Here’s what I’m loving this month…

Music

The Civil Wars- I love this duo, and when I heard last week they put out an EP of covers, I was all over it. You can quickly guess which one is my favorite I’m sure.

I was just asked to join the Whitworth Forensics Team in Tennessee this year for the International Public Debate Association National Tournament (I went last year in Arkansas you may recall…) this year, it’s at Middle Tennessee State and we have one night in Nashville on the way home. You can’t imagine my excitement- so I’ll be beefing up my singer/songwriter playlists in the next few weeks!

Books

Hyperbole and a Half- My dad gave me this great graphic novel for Christmas, and it’s pretty easy to pick up and read and put down for a week or two. I’m really enjoying it, her drawings are very simple, but the stories about her dog make me laugh REALLY hard.

Visitation Street- I read about this book last summer and picked it up for my Kindle when it was on sale a while back. I’m about a third of the way through- and need to pick it up again, hopefully with a few flights in the next two months I’ll finish it up!

TV

The Walking Dead  is back! Hooray! I am liking the diaspora situation they have going on, but can’t wait for them all to get back together. And so glad to have Carol back, AND Abraham’s Army has finally arrived!

House of Cards- it is SO HARD to not binge watch this show. Holy crap this season is crazy. It was the perfect Valentine’s Day gift – my husband and I watched 3 episodes on the 14th.

The Winter Olympics- okay, so maybe my favorite part is watching Bob Costas battle pink eye, but I LOVE the Olympics. The weather challenges have been fun to watch as well. As an indoor kid, watching people in the cold race down a mountain makes me grateful I’m on the couch.

Justified- I was sad to hear that next season will be their last, but if it will strengthen the story for the next season and a half, I’m all in. The Raylan/Art relationship is one of my favorites on TV.

Sherlock- I finally got caught up on this series and just watched the S3 finale this weekend. I sure didn’t see the twist coming, and Christmas with the Holmes family was one of my new favorite things ever.

The Americans- okay, so it doesn’t return for another week, BUT I rewatched the S1 finale this weekend to get my ready- I can’t wait. This show is SO GREAT. I had watched the finale before, knew how it ended and STILL was stressed out!

Evidently I’m watching a lot of TV lately- what Pop Culture have you been indulging in this month?