Jury's still out on whether or not Jonathan Safran Foer's experimentation and sentimentality really work for this story or not, but I loved this as a teenager, and it was the first time a novel really taught me about how to use form to tell a story in a more interesting way.

Another classic you just can't go wrong with. Strong characters as expected, an epic scope that actually begins to feel more involving the longer you read, and a plot twist that made my jaw drop as if I was watching it on the big screen.

Scared the living hell out of me. My first-ever dream job was to become a horror writer, and this totally took me to school.

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a little hit or miss with its quirkiness for a while, but by the time you get to number 12 out of 13, you begin to realize that you crossed the line into seriously messed up territory a while back. Real tragedy and a sense of loss I really struggled to come to terms with as a kid; rare to be able to say that about most YA fiction, honestly.

This book did NOT have to go so hard in middle school. Just great young adult fiction with real characters who feel cut directly from reality, and such a fascinating world that has something real to say about how we treat kids, especially those belonging to minority communities whom we think of as delinquent.

First time I ever listened to The Joshua Tree in full was on a long-haul fight, and it felt like an actual religious experience. Where the Streets Have No Name alone just might save your life.

The tension between one's dual nationalities, a history of familial conflict, experiences of racism and misogyny—all distilled into a singular, '90s-influenced rock sound and pop sensibility. In short, one of the most thrilling and eventful full-length debut albums in recent memory.

Recency bias, or truly just one of the greatest K-pop albums ever written? Sejeong's beautiful, expressive voice and the live instruments that form the foundation of this album result in some of the sweetest and most moving songs to come out of the idol industry. You'll never look at letter-writing—or maybe even love itself—the same way.

Arguably the pop star who makes the purest form of pop music today—no drama, no extensive personal information known to the public (as it should be), just excellent, euphoric, playful songwriting that cuts directly to the feeling of yearning for somebody.

If two British teenagers managed to cook up something this inventive and cutting-edge, either we should all find profound inspiration from them, or the rest of us should just pack it up and go home. Incredible, incredible work.

Was thinking of what I could put as my 10th favorite film here, and I realize that Boyhood has become a bit of a punchline for some people (it took 12 years to make!!!), but I'll always remember how genuinely profound it felt for me from that first viewing. A portrait of a life where all we see are the inconsequential moments between all the milestones—and it's these in-betweens that really make life worth it.