2023 Wrap Up

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Remember to stay up to date with the world, listen to those facing atrocities and help spread awareness/donate where you’re able to.

2023 was a great reading year for me as I flew over my Goodreads goal to read 93 books in total! I also read a lot of non-fiction, which was another reading goal of mine.

I also started to catalogue the films I watched and I watched quite a few more than I anticipated – 33 – and a couple of dramas (which I’m not too happy as I wish I watched more!).

Just as an fyi, there are some books, films or series that I didn’t rate. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I didn’t like it, it’s mostly because I don’t feel that I’m the target demographic to rate the book properly; or that I don’t feel comfortable rating it – i.e. it’s a memoir.

The stats and graphics in this post are from The StoryGraph and Letterboxd.

January

Reads:

I started 2023 off quite well, with a re-read of “Secrets of a Summer Night”; Lisa Kleypas which I upped the rating to 5⭐. I then finished Christina Henry’s “Alice” trilogy and read the longest book on my tbr with the classic “Middlemarch”; George Eliot.

Watches:

In January I binged the first series of “Abbott Elementary” (2021) and really enjoyed it, and of course this means I’ve been putting off the second series 😂

February

Reads:

My average rating for February was great and I’m happy with most of the books I read. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in Janice Hallet’s new release – “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels” – as I had previously really loved her books.

Watches:

I really enjoyed “Choco Milk Shake” (2022), which to be honest is weird if you think about the plot for too long as it follows a lonely man who wishes that his childhood pets would return to him… and they do, but in human form and he falls in love with one of them. See so weird, but it’s cute and fluffy. I was then a little disappointed in “Between Us” (2022) as I was absolutely invested in the companion drama – “Until We Meet Again” (2019), like I was sobbing in nearly every episode! And “Between Us” just didn’t have a great plot or emotional grip on me.

Choco Milk Shake (Korean web-drama): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Between Us (Thai drama): ⭐⭐⭐

March

Reads:

March was a pretty lacklustre reading month for me. I, of course, loved re-reading “Pride and Prejudice”. Jane Austen continues to have me in a chokehold with this novel.

Watches:

March saw me watch one of my highest rated films in “Rosaline” (2022). I started two new tv programmes and watched series two of “The Cleaner” (2023). I preferred series one of “The Cleaner”, but I still enjoyed this one as we saw more character development in Wicky.

April

Reads:

In April, my reading was a lot more rooted in the genres that I love. I also read a Skulduggery Pleasant book (written and published for Phase 2) that I didn’t hate *gasp*.

May

Reads:

Watches:

I only went to the cinema twice this year, and one of them was to watch the live adaptation on “The Little Mermaid” starring Halle Bailey (who was perfect as Ariel ♥). Series wise, I watched my highest rated one in May, the first series of Korean drama “D.P.” (2021) which I gave 4.5⭐.

June

Reads:

June was a historical girlie ✨ month~

Watches:

I was on a “Golden Girls” kick in June 😂

July

Reads:

July was a kind of odd mix of books, but the ratings were great!

Watches:

I really like Queen and Freddie Mercury due to my dad, so when I saw that this was on tv and I had nothing else to watch, I gave it a go. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this documentary, as the people on it just seem out to talk about themselves and say a lot of things that I found uncomfortable inappropriate.

August

Reads:

I was in a huge reading slump this month 😞

Watches:

Despite being in a reading slump, I watched quite a few films and of course I was in full football mode because the World Cup was taking place/ending ♥ The Lionesses have a special place in my heart and I’m so proud of those women for what they have been achieving in the last few years!

September

September was another shit month – mostly due to the situation at work – but I did manage to read a little bit more and watch a couple of films. “Pride and Prejudice” definitely helped to get me out of the slump.

Reads:

Watches:

October

Reads:

I read quite a few graphic novels in October through my library’s Libby app. For the most part they weren’t great, but I did enjoy some, such as “Sheets”; Brenna Thummler. Novel wise, I was happy to finally read “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea”; Axie Oh, as it had been on my tbr for most of the year ♥

Watches:

“Attack the Block” was actually such a great film to watch in October and I don’t tend to gravitate towards aliens! And the outfits and hairstyles in “Babymother” are *chef’s kiss*~

November

Reads:

November was a month of non-fiction and coming to the conclusion that Katee Robert may not be the author for me.

December

Reads:

I had such a great reading month to end 2023 on ♥ I read the whole “The Girl From the Other Side” series by Nagabe, read “Heartstopper” vol.5 the month it came out and read “The Christmas Appeal” on Christmas Day. I completed my non-fiction challenge, the Buzzword challenge and completed “Fourth Wing” which I had put on hold for over 3 months. Like “Who is she?!” 😂

Watches:

December is the month that I watched the most films and this was mostly because Christmas time is when I feel most motivated or even conditioned to watch films. I also watched Japanese drama “My Cuteness Is About to Expire!?” (2022) which I really enjoyed and gave 4⭐. I then watched the Arsenal documentary “Step by Step” (2023) which follows Beth Mead and Viv Miedema’s ACL journey. They talk a lot about the injury and how it needs to be looked into as women are far more likely to get this injury and it has increased significantly. I highly recommend watching it ♥

December was also the second time I went to the cinema to watch “Next Goal Wins” and I’m finding that perhaps Taika Waititi’s comedy films are maybe not for me. I will say I did enjoy the heartfelt moments in the film though.

Year in Review

Reads:

“You finished reading 93 books, across 29,087 pages!” – Storygraph

Watches:

I only have stats for the films I watched in 2023, due to keeping track on Letterboxd. I’m going to look into ways to track series and data, but not sure what the best way to do that is. If you have any recommendations, they would be highly appreciated!

My film stats are a little boring, but a goal of mine is to watch more films in 2024 and diversify it. I would really like that world map to be more green.