2024 has felt pretty uninspired media-wise. I've reread a lot of books and stuck to mostly the same kinds of things: urban fantasy has been the overwhelming theme. I've found it harder to commit to a new book than I used to, preferring so-called comfort reads in an effort to find something good and familiar in the world. I still read as much as usual though, hitting my 100 book goal even when I take out the DNF. I'm also getting more comfortable with DNFing a book, which is great - there is just not enough time to read something terrible.


2024 READING RECAP

103 books total
99 fiction
11 non-fiction
2 in French (this is a bit of a cheat - I DNFed one, and the other was a graphic-heavy non-fic)
I will no longer be tracking books by POC or LGBTQIA+ authors, because I tend to read heavy on that spectrum anyway, and the field is becoming increasingly diverse (yay!)

Breakdown by genre:
52 fantasy (like last year, an overwhelming amount of urban fantasy, between rereading the Kate Daniels series and several Hailey Edwards series this year)
8 YA
1 sci-fi (again, I'd like to lean more heavily into sci-fi)
25 romance (reading more and more of these since they are becoming more available, and Romantasy counts)
3 mystery
11 manga/graphic novels
0 "classics"
6 horror/gothic
8 DNF (not counted towards the overall total read)

22 of my books were rereads, which is actually down from last year. I wasn't expecting that.

the never-ending TBR shelf update: well, I thought I had made some headway in the summer, but it's full to bursting again. That's not a bad thing, I try to view it more as a library of possibilities rather than a chore to be gone through. I've got more fiction than last year, and about the same amount of non-fiction.

fiction: 55
non-fiction: 29


Top Books of the year:

* Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - I've been reading more horror this year and leaning into it. This was a perfect blend of horror, mystery, great characters, and a bonus haunted house.

* Band Sinister by K.J. Charles - the perfect blend of historical romance and utter ridiculousness. Think Pride and Prejudice written by Terry Pratchett. I normally don't like silly things, but I was so invested in the characters that I was able to just laugh along.

* Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers - this took me entirely by surprise. It's a love story about letting go of your expectations, allowing yourself to feel, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love with a complete stranger.

* Bad Cree by Jessica Johns - another creepy horror story, with Indigenous storytelling, great characters, a dark secret, and great plot.

* Funny Story by Emily Henry - I hate to endorse something that is already so hyped up, but I like Emily Henry's writing. Her stories are interesting and well-written, with fun characters, good pacing, and a captivating romance at the heart of it all. Hard not to love it.



MOVIES & TV 2024

Still haven't been to see a movie in theatres! This is getting ridiculous (though I do have the best of intentions to see Wicked on the big screen). I watched a lot more movies at home though, for a total of 20.

* Nimona (2023) - I started watching this as a throw-away background noise movie. I ended up laughing like crazy and being so, so impressed with the characters, the snark, the animation... everything but the plot, really. If you can ignore the morality being pushed down your throat, it is FANTASTIC.

* A Haunting in Venice (2023) - I love a good historical locked-room mystery, so I stuffed down my dislike of Hercule Poirot as a character. Amazing casting, good story (I mean, it's Agatha Christie, of course it's a good story), and great settings.

* Good Grief (2023) - Gotta love Daniel Levy. This was another little gem of a movie that I wasn't expecting. It was emotional, raw, but also healing and lovely all at once.

* Lift (2024) - just a good heist movie all around.

As for TV, I watched and enjoyed all of Schitt's Creek, lots of Great British Baking Show (and it's Canadian equivalent), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 1-2, lots of QI, and I think I watched Blue Eye Samurai this year (though it may have been last year?)

SHOWS & EXHIBITS 2024

- Come From Away at the NAC - I hadn't seen a musical in a long time and this one had gotten good reviews, so I took a chance. I didn't even know what the plot was until it started, and that was probably the right way to go into this, because it hit me emotionally like a ton of bricks. Fantastic show.

- We Call it Ballet: Sleeping Beauty - this is one of those candlelight-type shows, the hype for this one being that it was supposed to be illuminated and glow-in-the-dark. It was held in a small church, which added to the atmosphere but made it hard to see the tiny stage, and the illumination level was pretty sad. There were light-up crowns and skirts with lights, but that was it. It distinctly felt like a B-list of dancers (who were very good, but nothing spectacular) and the lights only went down for about 10 seconds at the very end. Overall, disappointing but glad I tried it.

- Mariana's Trench with opening band LOLO at the NAC - I was looking forward to this for months. The opening band felt like an Avril Lavigne spin-off and must have played their entire album, but the actual concert itself was great. My one disappointment was that they didn't play a single song from the Phantoms album, which is one of my top 5 albums of all time. I'd definitely see them again.

- I was supposed to see Donovan Bailey in concert as well, but it was postponed to February, so that'll be for next year.


MUSEUMS ETC:

- First Royals of Europe exhibit at CMH (which we'll be taking down in a few weeks)
- Olmecs and the Civilizations of the Gulf of Mexico at Pointe-a-Calliere (with the nieces) - as usual, PaC puts on a stunning exhibit design-wise!
- The Heart and Soul of Saint-Henri at Pointe-a-Calliere (with the nieces) - interesting to find out more about the neighborhood


Music
Rather than trying to list top songs or artists (because Spotify was skewed this year, I swear), I'll admit to the following:

- listed to a lot of Taylor Swift, Against the Current/Chrissy Costanza, Mariana's Trench, Jordan Davis, and VOILA
- discovered Friday Pilots Club, Kelsea Ballerini, and Lost Stars
- played Mariana's Trench, Kelsea Ballerini's "Interlude (Full Length)", and the Boyce Avenue cover of "Stick Season" over and over again

2022 has been a struggle from beginning to end. I feel like I dragged myself through the year, so it's only natural that I read a lot. However, apparently I read less than last year, which is a bit surprising. Still hit my 100 book goal (by less than I thought!)

2022 READING RECAP

106 books total
95 fiction
11 non-fiction
0 in French (clearly this needs improvement!)
36 by POC and/or LGBTQI2A+ authors

This is also the first year I look at various genres:
55 fantasy (no surprise there, especially since it's just a wide genre)
13 YA
10 sci-fi (the Tanya Huff series helped with that!)
10 romance (another surprise, but KJ Charles and Ilona Andrews are the main culprits)
7 mystery (Kelly Armstrong series)
5 manga/graphic novels

TBR shelves: I did a quick count as I was boxing them up for the renovation, and came up somewhere in the mid-70s. I'd say it's because I focused on reading more from my own shelves this year, but I also did some cleaning of old series and things from the TBR pile, so that definitely helped (goodbye, 7-volume Kate Elliot series that's been taunting me for over 10 years! If I haven't read it yet, I wasn't ever gonna read it).


This year's favorites were, in no particular order:

* A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. This book is drama-filled, tragic, and emotionally heavy-handed... and I loved every second of it. This is probably the closest I have seen to my own writing and I never wanted it to end.

* Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. A story about community, murder, and identity, I couldn't put it down.

* Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert. Haunting and creepy, this novel captured everything I liked about The Hazel Wood and took it to a new place.

* This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I hate books told through letters or diaries. I am very picky about sci-fi. This... this was magic. My only complaint was that it was too short.

* People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I am surrounded by romance-readers and finally caved. I couldn't put it down and I was thoroughly emotionally invested the whole time. Loved it.

* All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. This book was intense and uncomfortable and wonderful and everything all at once. It was a difficult read but so, so worth it. Probably my favorite read of the year.

* Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles. Oh, my heart. I stumbled across this M/M romance and couldn't resist a WWI veteran bookshop owner as a protagonist... Loved the time period, the characters, the plots, the romance, everything about this was magic. The whole series was great, though I've been disappointed in the other books by this author I've tried since then.


MOVIES 2022

Still haven't been to a movie theatre! I've actually had little patience for TV and movies this year (other than my usual compulsion for food and home renovation shows), so this list is a bit sadder. The highlights include:

* Encanto (2021) - probably my favorite Disney movie in a very long time. The characters are fantastic, the music is good, the representation is well done... and they get bonus points not just for tackling intergenerational trauma and refugees in a kid-friendly fashion, but snapping me right back to the same mentality of denial and survivor's guilt that permeated so many of the Holocaust survivors I've worked with. Absolutely my favorite thing this year.

* Persuasion (2022) - huge points for making a Jane Austen movie that is both true to the original feel and simultaneously snarky and quirky. 100% recommend.

* Knives Out (2019) - ok, I will admit, I actually just watched this a few days ago. It does the murder-mystery genre perfectly, while still giving you something new and interesting. The cast are great and I was thoroughly entertained, can't wait to watch the second one.

* Turning Red (2022) - another great animated movie that manages to tackle puberty and immigrant culture in an approachable, identifiable way for a younger audience. Just lovely.



SHOWS & EXHIBITS 2022

My nieces came to visit for a few days this summer, so I actually got out into the city and did things! It also helps that I now work in a proper museum and can see the exhibits as they open, or even work on them... I even crawled out of my shell and saw two concerts!

- ONE OK ROCK (with You Me at Six and Fame on Fire) @ Club Soda, Montreal: yes, yes, yes. SO GOOD in concert. I am obsessed.

- Olafur Arnalds @ Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa: a lovely show, my first time seeing classical music live (other than a full orchestra). It definitely felt like a different kind of show than I'm used to but it was nice.

- From Pepinot to Paw Patrol: Television of Our Childhoods @ Canadian Museum of History: cute, definitely surreal to see things like Bibi and Passe Partout, as well as some of the old Reading Rainbow and Mr. Dress-up stuff.

- Unexpected! Surprising Treasures from Library and Archives Canada @ Canadian Museum of History: ok, this is cheating a bit since I was part of this project, but I still enjoyed the exhibit, especially the Decadog!

- Haunted Walk tour of Ottawa: great tour guide and lots of fun historical details! Not scary but a great way to pass an evening with two teenagers.

- General Idea exhibit @ National Gallery of Canada: I walked into this one blind (we were visiting the rest of the museum) and I was pleasantly surprised by this foray into modern art (which I don't usually love).




MUSIC 2022

This year I added 274 new songs to my music rotation, about half of what I did the year before. I've felt like I've been in a slump for much of the year, sadly. Even my #wednesdayweeklysoundtrack has fallen mostly dormant.

The highlights for this year were the following:

TOP 5 ALBUMS

* ONE OK ROCK - Luxury Disease
* CHVRCHES - Screen Violence (Director's Cut)
* Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
* All Time Low - Last Young Renegade
* Lights - Pep

TOP 5 SONGS
* Winnetka Bowling League and Sasha Alex Sloan - barcelona
* ONE OK ROCK - Save Yourself
* Tove Lo - No One Dies From Love
* Mother Mother - Hayloft II
* CHVRCHES - Bitter End

December already. It feels like the year lasted forever, yet no time at all.

( December booklist & recap )

My life has sped up quite a bit in the last few weeks, what with starting working and the long-distance traveling. My reading has reflected that a bit: I went on a splurge of rereading books recently, just because I could..

( December booklist & 2014 book recap )