2018 is coming to a close and as per usual, I consumed a lot of media/things in genearl as you can probably guess. I’ve been debating the future of this blog for a while now but I’ll get into that in the next post. I didn’t do a book stats post like I normally do and even debated doing this one. But for now, a recap of my 2018 favorites!
Books
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – The Cruel Prince has probably ended up on a lot of people’s favorites and I am giving into the hype because this book deserves most of it. I completely adore this twisted world with its lies and deceit. I adore the character arcs and I simply cannot wait for what is going to happen between Jude and Cardan. The plot twists were so insane. I hadn’t read a YA fantasy book that had me on the edge of my seat and had me gladly suspend disbelief in a while. I’ll be picking up the next book as soon as it hits shelves.
Educated by Tara Westover – This year I read a 
couple of memoirs but this one was by far the best one. One of my favorite things about it was the narrator’s voice. It is completely raw and honest in its discussion of what she remembers won’t exactly be accurate all the time but that she tries to confirm with other witnesses. She surprisingly stays pretty much neutral and objective even when talking about the most horrific things that have happened to her which can sometimes be frustrating because I wanted to know what she thought of being in that situation. I loved reading about her journey written with stark descriptions of the nature that she grew up in. I loved reading about her realizations about the world she lived in and where she fit into that world and the power she gained by getting an education.
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister – Nonfiction was definitely my jam this year and this was the most well-crafted I read this year. Although at first, I considered this book to be especially niche considering it is about single ladies but it turned out to be all encompassing and really lays out how this trend will affect society hereafter. It gave me so much food for thought. It gave me thoughts about how this trend will affect dating, marriage, work life, housing, the job market, and most importantly, longstanding prejudices against single women.
March Vol. 3 by John Lewis – What I love most about this series and 
this book in particular is its refusal to quite literally be black and white. Although the end goal of the civil rights movement was right, the means to get there was debated and argued. The dissent among the people of the movement, the focus on moderates of the movement.
The fact of the matter is no movement is as clean cut, heroic, and simple as one would believe. The cause is heroic but the reality is behind the scenes, there is much debating and sacrificing even your views for the greater cause. But what happens after is something worth seeing through.
The Poppy War by RF Kuang – Although the ending of this novel is kind of eh, there is no doubting the immense entertainment provided by its relentless main character, its study of military strategy and the often overlooked Unit 731 human experiments. I cannot wait to see where the series goes.
TV
The Haunting of Hill House – Scary and tense, the 
Haunting of Hill House was absolutely incredible. More of a family drama than a horror story, it proves horror can be just as character driven as other genres.
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Season 1 – I fell in love with Maisel and her can do attitude. The bright vividness of the production and the snappy editing and dialogue never ceased to entertain. Although season 2 failed to live up to my high expectations, the first season is so worth watching.
Anne with an E Season 2– Anne with an E reminds me of everything that is quaint and wholesome in the world. It reminds me of my childhood reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Anne’s optimism is always appreciated as she fights for what is true to her.
This season focused much on the secondary characters including Gilbert, Diane, newcomer Cole, and Anne’s foster parents. They are each endearing in their own ways and each are finding out how they belong in this world. It’s so positive and accepting you can’t help but love this show.
Love season 3 – I’m so happy more realistic rom com TV shows are being made and this one has stuck with me throughout all these years. I completely adore the hidden satire in this series. Of course, the main draw of any rom com is the main couple. The main couple in this one is
Fargo Season 1 – I can’t believe I actually watched this
show this year! It’s amazing. It’s actually quite a metaphoric show attached to a realistic often violent core. Martin Freeman is an actor I’ve always loved and I think he does a beautiful job in this one. This show is well crafted on every level from its acting to its screenplay to its editing and directing.
Movies
Crazy Rich Asians – I might love drama and intense action but at my core, there is no beating a romantic story. Crazy Rich Asians delivered on so many fronts for me. It breathes air to the stagnant trope of rich boy meets poor girl trope and the “evil mother in law” trope while being generally funny and heartwarming. This is my favorite type of commercial movie, one that is original, detailed, and passionate but still adheres to a simple formula.
Games
2018 is the year I discovered my love of games. Although it will never replace my love for books and binging TV shows, I really have found happiness in the competitiveness and stories in games.
Stardew Valley – I love this game. It’s so cute and relaxing. You literally just take care of a farm and befriend the villagers and discover new creatures and alternatively, types of fish. There’s always things to do that keep it from becoming boring.
Soul Calibur – Soul Calibur brings me back nostalgia for fighting games. Unlike a lot of games I’m attracted to, Soul Calibur really forced me to pay attention to how I press buttons and thinking more about the movement and strategy instead of just mashing random ones like I use to do.
Polytopia – Polytopia is a simple game that still results in numerous end results plus the animation is just hella cute so there’s that too. I love the strategy you have to employ to gain control over others’ territory.
Makeup
Tarte Microliner – Eyeliner is my favorite piece of makeup and the tarte microliner is my favorite eyeliner I’ve ever used. It is so good; it’s shaped like a fine tip pen. It’s easy to use but very precise for the perfect winged tip. It dries really fast and does not smear but is super easy to take off. I have such a higher standard for eyeliners now that I’ve used this one.
Maybelline fit me foundation – This foundation color is a perfect fit for my skin undertone. It’s not too heavy and has a more dewy finish which is perfect for me. The best part of this foundation is the drugstore price. It is amazing for the price.
Music
This year was definitely the year of the popular kpop. I fell in love with Seventeen (my favorite being “Thanks”. I love their music and will continue to listen to any new albums they come out. Although Seventeen is my favorite, I can’t forget BTS, NCT, and Red Velvet.
This was also the year of Ariana Grande, my favorite release this year being thank u, next. I don’t know, I just really like her songs but don’t ask to explain why.
I truly wish Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote literary fiction instead of genre fiction. She has all these ingredients of a good LF author; she focuses on complex character development. It follows Hugo, a famous actress in the ’50s and her rise to fame. She has been shrouded by mystery but is now coming out and willing to share the truth behind her seven husbands and her famous career. The caveat is that she only wants to tell her story to an inexperienced reporter, Monique Grant. The problem I see with Reid’s is that there is some huge twist that takes the spotlight away from the emotional core.
this Hugo award winning novella. It follows a lady astronaut who was famous for going to Mars but is now old and cannot go on any more space missions. She has to make a hard decision about going on one last space mission. Like all scifi novellas I have liked, it teases the details of the world and lets you make the rest of the worldbuilding yourself. The characters are so well drawn for a short novella. A Hugo award well deserved.
I wish he had followed more of the relationship between his father, mother, and brother who he hinted he had more complicated relationships with, but instead he took a different trajectory and followed his love of the neighborhood girl. There’s a very fine line that would not allow this story to delve into the cliche but unfortunately it did. Their relationship became redundant and typical. I also wished he had explored more of his relationship with drawing and the more gradual exploration of how he lost his faith with Christianity. He spent too much time on one aspect and not enough on other aspects. As many coming of age stories around boys it features bullies, an unrequited love, and the feeling of not fitting in with the other boys when he did not fit the ideals of masculinity.
abusive parental and sibling relationships. I enjoyed Educated more because of Westover’s inclusion of footnotes throughout stating her memories may not be completely accurate but that she consulted other witnesses to the events to ensure it was as accurate as possible. I also preferred Westover’s more sentimental and introspective writing. She would focus more on her internal thoughts which I appreciated because I wanted to know how she dealt with such mental pressure and dissonance. I also really enjoyed Westover’s comparison of her childhood versus the life she led after she started college and her perspective changed. Walls did not fully into her mental life after she moved to New York and separated from her parents. Her memoir read more like a progressive exposition of events that happened (I did this, then that) and although I appreciated the blunt unsentimental nature that prevented the memoir from spiraling into sappiness, it did take a lot of the emotion out of it. My favorite part, however, was the portrayal of the relationship between her father and Walls. Though they had a fraught relationship (he almost pimped her out once) she still loved him and although I personally would want nothing to do with him anymore, Walls helped me understand at least slightly why she would continue to have him in her life.
The Incredibles – 2/5
into TV this year. I tried going through a lot of TV shows in the hopes that one would stick and this show broke my slump. It is one of my favorite TV shows of 2018, no question, if not my favorite. It is so charming with easily likeable characters and the Gilmore Girls signature whip fast dialogue.
Anne with an E Season 2 – 3.75/5
Han Kang is such a daring writer. She experiments with format and writing style and whether or not it is effective is often besides the point. What I feel she always tries to achieve though is capturing the rawest emotion of her characters. I think it works very well here. It is stylistically quite different than her previous work, The Vegetarian. Human Acts is definitely more like one long metaphor but it completely works as she portrays the brutality of the 1980’s rights as an extension of death and life.
political movement by Andi Zeisler
You know I like this book because I’ve read it twice..in 1 year. It’s hard to explain why exactly this book and this series is so special to me. On the surface, it wouldn’t seem so, after all it is just a romantic contemporary about a high school girl and her journey through high school and romantic entanglements. But it is just so sincerely heartwarming and fun to read. I love Lara Jean’s little family, Peter, and of course, all the cookies Lara Jean baked.
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
already thinking of rewatching this next month. It is a beautiful, beautiful drama full of hope and love. I completely adore the lighthearted and vibrant tone of the show. Our main character, Bok Joo, is a charismatic and blunt weightlifter who goes to a college for athletes. She is always a character that you root for and throughout the show you are cheering for her success and the ambitions she has despite the many comedic and cringeworthy situations she finds herself in. Cushioned around this character are two lovely best friends, a well meaning father, some endearing coaches, and a charming and swoonworthy love interest. I especially like this drama for how it upends some traditional korean drama tropes and understands that at its heart, it is a story of a girl who dreams of being the best weightlifter instead of a story of a girl who has a romance. It had me smiling, laughing, and crying the entire way through.
A Hundred thousand Stories 