Here’s a log of all the things I loved this in the year of 2019
My favorite books of the year
I read fewer books that I intended to, however, I thoroughly enjoyed every book I read or listened to.
- Neil Gaiman has become one of my favorite, if not my most favorite author in fantasy fiction. The two books I read this year were “Norse Mythology” and “Neverwhere”.
He KNOWS how to create a world and all the characters in it that it’s impossible not to get lost in this world. It takes me a while to get out of the story once I complete the book which tells me how much I’ve enjoyed reading. It’s not just a read, but an experience.
As Gaiman rightly says in the book I started 2020 with,
“When you watch TV or see a film, you are looking at things happening to other people. Prose fiction is something you build up from twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world, and people it and look out through other eyes. You get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a me, as well. You’re being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you’re going to be slightly changed.”
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury-
“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
That is how I felt about this book, there was something interesting and compelling about it. Montag’s character was excellent, the book explored how and why books are essential for us. I wasn’t very sure of the ending which seemed weak, but nonetheless I was glad to have given this book a chance finally and donot regret it one bit.
- Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
This is a YA (Young Adult) trilogy and I switched between reading the books and listening to the audio books and it was SO MUCH fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The books were based on Egyptian mythology; they were surprisingly hilarious, great characters and had all the aspects that you need to have a fun reading experience. - Circe by Madeline Miller
I started the year of 2019 with this book and it remained my most favorite read of 2019. This book instilled in me a great interest in Greek Mythology, in which I never put any effort to learn more about, I had always been a fan of Egyptian Mythology…until this gem! I even found a series on Amazon Prime, thanks to the interest I gained after reading this book and I got hooked to it. I discovered a great author with this book, and I think this was the best character development in a book I read this year, or maybe even in the past couple years. Everything about this book was brilliant and this will definitely be in my rereads for years to come! - ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama (Audiobook Version)
I realized the only way I can ever get into a non-fictional book is by listening to it, especially if it’s the author narrating it. In this case, it was Michelle Obama narrating her own personal story and it truly was an extraordinary experience. Throughout the book, I felt like it was a friend talking to me about her life and I had to remind myself every now and then that it was Michelle Obama herself! It made me respect and admire her even more. Her story is inspiring and she shows there’s so much we can accomplish if we are confident, true to ourselves and grab the opportunities that take us in the path we desire. - ‘Born a Crime’ by Trevor Noah (Audiobook Version)
If you are a fan of the Daily Show, you know Trevor Noah and his comedy style. If you like his sense of humor, you would be intrigued to know more about him as well- which I was! I’ve been a fan of him and I had the opportunity to go for one of his episode recording in New York as well. Once again, I opted for the audio book of course and I had Trevor Noah talking for 8 hours with me! This book had a lot of emotions. I learnt so much about him and additionally learnt a lot more about serious and important issues which still do persist in this day and age. I was rooting for Trevor so much through all his heartbreaks and emotions, he is a true hero and his mother is a true gangster and she became my idol through this book. I even had the greatest opportunity to see him perform his stand up in our town and it was a memorable experience indeed! - ‘Naturally Tan’ by Tan France
Queer Eye on Netflix , I think, was the greatest thing that happened this year so far. I absolutely adore the Fab Five, and I watched every season, atleast 3 times. I made my friends and family watch it and I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching the episodes with them and see them falling in love with the five gentlemen just as I had. I was so thrilled to see Tan coming out with his memoir and as a fellow South Asian, I knew I would love this book and truly wanted to know more about his life. Ofcourse, the audiobook stole my heart and there were moments when Antoni surprised the audience with his visit to the studio and it was fun hearing the two of them talk about how they met and how their friendship grew.
My favorite podcasts of the year
- Star Talk Radio with the one and only Neil Degrasse Tyson for all my space nerds out there. This will forever be in my favorites list.
- Getting Curious with JVN- for all my Queer Eye fans and for everyone who are just as curious as Jonathan on a variety of topics
- A little about a lot- I’ve been watching The Sorry Girls on YouTube for a while and I was excited that they started a podcast. This is a lighthearted everyday kind of podcast that you can listen to while you are doing your chores 🙂
- The Habit Coach by Ashdin Doc who’s an Indian with his bite sized podcast with healthy tips and focusing on creating habits that help us get better in our lives. You don’t need to invest a lot of your time in this but you’ll learn a lot.
My favorite series of the year
- Chernobyl (OH.MY.GOSH)
- One Strange Rock (Must watch!)
- Crown Season 3
- Stranger Things Season 3
- Dark Season 2
- Delhi Crimes (It was the most difficult series to watch)
- Selection Day
- Queer Eye (Duh!)
- Game of Thrones finale season (of course it was disappointing at the way it ended but also disappointed that it’s all over 😦 )
That’s all folks!! If you reached the end, thank you for reading through this post. Do let me know what your favorites were for the year of 2019 and what do you have in your sleeve for 2020!
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