Favorites of 2023

everybody's got one

As I began to think about all of the things I enjoyed this year, I realized very quickly that I read a lot of fanfiction this year — and those recs are gonna stay between me and god.

But! I did enjoy some books, podcasts, and tv shows! And these are my favs of 2023!

Books

• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

• What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

• The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

• Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

There were so many good books this year, but these were some of my surprise favorites. (If you’ve seen me in person, you know how much I will froth at the mouth over Wendell, the spiritual successor to Howl. I cannot get enough of that foppish, terrible, lovely man.)

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Podcasts

• Behind the Bastards

• The Opportunist

• Normal Gossip

Honestly, I just listened to a lot of Behind the Bastards. My favorite episodes of the year were the Vince McMahon ones. Absolutely worth it, especially if you have any interest in The Iron Claw film and the Von Erich family.

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Media

Documentaries

• Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (Max)

• Savior Complex (Max)

• Shiny Happy People (Amazon Prime)

• Great Photo, Lovely Life (Max)

I have no excuse. This was the year of cults for me.

TV shows

• Apothecary Diaries (Crunchyroll)

• Heaven Official’s Blessing, the English dub, specifically (Crunchyroll)

• Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV)

• Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)

• Rise of the Pink Ladies (no where anymore, sadly)

• Poker Face (Peacock)

• Bad and Crazy (Netflix)

There were a lot of fun and surprising shows this year, and a lot of them dropping at the last minute (rude!). Though the stand-out here is absolutely the second season of Heaven Official’s Blessing. The English dub just hits different. (And excuse me??? THE GAMBLING DEN SCENE?? Be still my bloody, beating heart.)

Films

• Barbie

• Nimona (Netflix)

• Past Lives

I… realize I didn’t really watch a lot of films this year. Huh. But Barbie was lovely, and Nimona was everything that I ever wanted, but Past Lives absolutely wrecked me. Go in not knowing anything, come out having lost ten pounds in water weight from inconsolably crying during the ending credits.

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Youtube Essays

• Why Youtubers Hold Microphones Now

• The Cult of Sororities & BamaRush

• Plagiarism and You(Tube)

• Disney Channel’s Theme: A History Mystery

I have also watched an embarrassing amount of YouTube essays. If you also enjoy watching an embarrassing amount of YouTube essays, The Deep Dive is a great newsletter to keep you updated on new and interesting videos!

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What’s some of your favs of 2023? Lemme know in the comments!