My 2018 Entertainment

This is the time when I take inventory on the books and other pop culture I consumed in the past year. I seemed to have swapped books for podcasts. I started falling asleep to podcasts, which is sometimes better for my sleep schedule than picking up a book – I could read all night, until I can’t keep my eyes open! But because of that I was a lot lower in the number of book I read in 2018 compared to 2017’s 22 read books. Still, I listed everything I did read below, ranked in order of most enjoyable to least. If you want to know any more about what I thought about the book, click on the links to be directed to my reviews on Goodreads.

Books I Read in 2018

1. Far from the Tree, Robin Benway
2. The Last Mrs. Parrish, Liv Constantine
3. The Girl Before, J P Delaney
4. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Therese Anne Fowler
5. The Woman in the Window, A.J. Finn
6. Young Jane Young, Gabrielle Zevin
7. Other People’s Houses, Abbi Waxman
8. Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz
9. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

Sincerely Reading is a reoccurring feature on the blog. See more book reviews and roundups here. 

Favorite TV Shows in 2018

In addition to reading and podcasts (check out my ever-growing list here), I did watch a lot of TV! I’m such a Bravohead, I watch a lot of the shows on the network but I did take a break from some this year. I’m way behind on most of the current Housewives franchises. (Some would argue that’s not a bad thing.) What other guilty pleasure did I add, though? I started watching Hallmark Christmas Movies. It started as a joke when my friends and I found a drinking game to play during a viewing. But suddenly I was hooked, and watched about 10 until I was burnt out. Check out what else I watched this year:

1. A Million Little Things – I started this ABC show with trepidation, thinking it would be too similar to This Is Us, which I’d dropped off from this season. And while it’s similar in flashbacks and intertwined characters, it’s a little darker and deals with really important issues, like mental health. I’m hooked.
2. Younger – I’m going to push this TV Land Paramount Network show once more. (See last year’s plea for you to watch here.) It’s not too late to binge all five seasons and take in the amazing fashion and NYC sites.
3. Dirty John – The same story as the podcast with the same name, I didn’t have much hope for the Bravo adaption. But Eric Bana and Connie Britton have delivered! It’s even creepier to watch knowing what’s ahead (having already listened to the podcast), but I’m still hanging on every scene that leads us there.
4. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 2) – Wow, I didn’t think Mrs. Maisel could get better but I would recommend season 2! You can tell they had a bigger budget and took great pains with the scenery and shot setup. Some of the scenes are just so beautiful – a work of art. Yet another reason to watch on top of the brilliant dialogue.

My 2018 MoviePass Subscription

How else did I spend my 2018 invested in pop culture? Steve and I got MoviePass subscriptions in April and I saw nearly 10 movies – more than I’d seen in years! It worked really well for us in Chicago, where there are e-ticketing options. If it weren’t for that, though, I don’t think we’d pay the $10 per subscription after the service changed the way you can see movies. Unless a theater participates in e-ticketing, you can only see movies selected by MoviePass that week (usually less popular ones or those that have been out for a while). Here’s a list of the movies we saw, again favorite to least (although none were really bad):

1. Ben Is Back
2. Tully
3. Eighth Grade
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
6. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
7. Book Club
8. Boy Erased
9. Isle of Dogs

Can’t wait to see what good things 2019 brings. I’m already setting the goal of beating this year’s number of books and have set library holds. What’s on deck for you?