The Wool Omnibus series by Hugh Howey. It is everything that science-fiction should be. Attention to every little detail, a sense of realism and connection to a world fundamentally different than ours, and developed characters with believable thoughts and actions. The writing impresses me in part because it was self-published through Amazon Kindle Direct. The story's success could indicate a shift in the way we are exposed to new literature, which is exciting.

A band I recently saw that blew me away was JaccoGardner. One really friendly guy from Amsterdam writes some amazing music, sings, and plays the synth while 3 other Dutch dudes jam along. Very original sound and completely open to everyone interested in chatting.