2022 Movies, TV shows, and books

[kalient]

I might've watched another movie before the end of December, but it's not coming to me. I ended up meeting all my reading goals for the year, which includes hitting different genres and making sure I've read things that have been on the shelf for a while. Feeling pretty proud of myself today.

* means I've seen it/read it before.

Movies in chronological order.

January

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First time for the nephews.)
   
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First time for the nephews.)
   
   February
   
3. Encanto
   
4. Agent Carter, Season 1
   
5. Agent Carter, Season 2
   
6. The Princess and the Frog (In honor of Black History Month.)
   
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming* (Movie nights with the nephews, their request.)
   
   March
   
8. Turning Red
   
9. The Avengers (Movie night, nephews' request. They were uninterested in origin stories, so we skipped everything else in Phase One. It felt like a mistake after a while but it is what it is. Their journey will have to be different from mine.)
   
10. Iron Man 2 (Movie night. I decided to make them go back and watch my favorite.)
    
11. Now Is Good (Not my pick, but I got caught up when Mom was watching. It's silly, but in the age of representation, I was annoyed that Dakota Fanning was playing an Irish girl. Surely there was an Irish actress that would've done an amazing job. She was great in it, though.)
    
12. Hidden Figures (Late for Black History Month, but in time for Women's History Month. I tried reading the book in February, but just couldn't do it. Non-fic is not my jam.)
    
13. Big Mouth, Seasons 4 and 5 (Binge watching during vacation.)
    
14. Hawkeye
    
    April
    
15. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them* (With the nephews, in preparation for the new movie.)
    
16. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* (Same as above.)
    
17. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (A bit of a let-down, but I'm glad I saw the effects on an IMAX screen.)
    
    May
    
18. Caddyshack* (For an 80s night.)
    
19. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Managed to remain spoiler-free! Whoo hoo! That was cool.)
    
20. Avengers: Infinity War* (With the nephews.)
    
21. Avengers: Endgame* (So the nephews are ready for Love and Thunder in June. And I can stop trying to figure out how to answer questions without spoiling.)
    
    June
    
22. The Bob's Burgers Movie. (Took the nephews. I thought there was a lot that would be boring for them, but they both said they enjoyed it.)
    
23. Top Gun* (for 80s night)
    
24. Thor: Ragnarok* (While building the Goat Boat Lego set. It was the perfect length.)
    
    July
    
25. Thor: Love and Thunder
    
26. Top Gun: Maverick
    
27. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (First time for the nephews.)
    
    August
    
28. DC League of Super-Pets (nephew request, theater date)
    
    September
    
29. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2* (First time for the nephews.)
    
30. Moon Knight (Took a while, but finally finished it.)
    
31. Ms. Marvel (Viewing got faster after my viewing-buddy and I switched to watching remotely. It's not the same, but at least we'll be better able to keep up.)
    
    October
    
32. Black Adam
    
    November
    
33. Captain America: Civil War* (Because it includes T'Challa's introduction to the MCU. Fitting that the focus is on the loss of his father, and a lot of talk about how Wakandans view death.)
    
34. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Obviously.)
    
35. The People We Hate at the Wedding
    
36. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
    
    December
    
37. A Boy Called Christmas (Good adaptation of the book. Nicely done.)
    
38. Ted Lasso, Seasons 1 & 2 (Binge watching while knitting Christmas presents.)
    
39. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Books...

January

1. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
   
   February
   
2. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version* by William Goldman (Book club, started in January, but finished after the book club meeting.)
   
   March
   ABANDONED: Becoming by Michelle Obama (Started during Black History Month, continued during Women's History Month, but just couldn't get into it.)
   
3. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #1)
   
   April
   
4. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #2)
   
5. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #3) (Couldn't put it down, but not sure I "enjoyed" it. Just compelled to finish.)
   
6. Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris (Magic Misfits #1) (Decided not to continue the series.)
   
7. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
   
8. As Old As Time by Liz Braswell (A "Twisted Tales" retelling of Beauty & the Beast, in which Belle's mother is the one who cursed the Beast.)
   
9. All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
   
   May
   
10. I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee
    
11. Gnome-a-geddon by K.A. Holt (I'm not sure what the target audience was supposed to be. Marketed as Middle Reader, but it really helped to know geek culture and several fandoms (Tolkien, Star Wars, Potter). Not sure if I'd read it again or recommend it to anyone.)
    
12. Boomsday by Christopher Buckley
    
13. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #1)
    
14. Hunted by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles #6, plus a novella Two Ravens and One Crow)
    
    June
    
15. The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry (Book club, and I finished it late despite really disliking the style. The story was interesting, but I kept thinking "this was obviously written by a man" as I read, and that was a big turn-off. Funny side-note, if you look up the author in wikipedia, it redirects to serial killer Donna Perry, who was born "Douglas." It amuses me to think that the book would have a very different vibe if it had been written by Donna.)
    
16. The Spellbinding Episodes of Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson (a collection of comics)
    
17. The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline K. Oburn (From an OwlCrate Jr. subscription box. Very cute story.)
    
18. How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #2)
    
19. Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen
    
20. Hearts and Other Body Parts by Ira Bloom
    
21. Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry
    
22. Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson (Book club.)
    
    July
    
23. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Started for Pride month, but mostly read in July.)
    
24. How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #3)
    
25. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (Part riveting, part terrible. I don't think I can recommend.)
    
26. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty (The short answer is "yes, eventually, if desperate enough for food." Fun and informational book.)
    
27. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #1) (I want to like Discworld, but it's a LOT of work, and doesn't always seem worth the investment. I've found a few stand-clones that I really like, and I think I'll stick with those. I think I'll opt out of the series experience (at least with the Rincewind train).)
    
28. A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold, mother of one of the shooters at Columbine (Heavy, but very nicely done.)
    
29. Shattered by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles #7)
    
30. Staked by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8)
    
    August
    
31. Besieged by Kevin Hearne (Collection of short stories related to the The Iron Druid Chronicles series. Started reading in May.)
    The Grimoire of the Lamb, The Chapel Perilous, Oberon's Meaty Mysteries: The Purloined Poodle, and A Prelude to War by Kevin Hearne (Various short stories/novellas related to the The Iron Druid Chronicles series)
    
32. How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #4)
    
33. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
    
34. Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills (Relatable teen drama with a happy ending. Very quick read. I enjoyed it.)
    
35. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (Couldn't stand the protagonist, which made it difficult to enjoy the book. Definitely won't be continuing the series.)
    
36. My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, an anthology of fairy tale variations. Made me think that I should stay away from multi-author anthologies, because I disliked a lot of it.
    
37. Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk (Less traumatizing than some of his other works, but it had its moments. Interesting premise, for sure.)
    
38. How to Twist a Dragon's Tale by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #5)
    
    September
    
39. They Broke the Law - You Be the Judge: True Cases of Teen Crime by Thomas A. Jacobs (On my shelf for years, finally got around to it. Still felt pretty relevant, 19 years after publication.)
    
40. Fated by S. G. Browne
    
41. A Hero's Guide To Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #6)
    
42. York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby (York #1)
    
43. How To Ride A Dragon's Storm by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #7)
    
44. How to Break a Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #8)
    
45. How to Steal a Dragon's Sword by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #9)
    
46. How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #10)
    
47. Speak by Laurie Anderson (Took a break from HTTYD to read something for Banned Books Week.)
    
48. French Braid by Anne Tyler (Book club.)
    
49. How to Betray a Dragon's Hero by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #11)
    
50. How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury by Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon #12)
    
    October
    
51. York: The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby (York #2)
    
52. York: The Map of Stars by Laura Ruby (York #3)
    
53. Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare (Witchcraft in honor of Halloween. A lot more sex than I was expecting, but the story caught me and it was a quick read.)
    
54. Making History by Stephen Fry (Not my thing in several ways, but it's one less book on the shelf.)
    
55. The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore by Joan Lowery Nixon (Trying for scary/spooky for Halloween, but this didn't really cut it. Not really sure how this ended up on my to-read shelf, but now it's off.)
    
56. Phantom by Susan Kay (Prequel and re-imagining of The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoyed it, until the last section.)
    
57. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (My first Agatha Christie/Miss Marple!)
    
58. We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story by Josh Sundquist
    
    November
    
59. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Kinda boring, and even at the halfway point I was considering putting it down, but it got faster (or I got more fluent with it) and I ended up finishing it. Still, took more than two weeks, which was quite a change from a book every few days before that.)
    
60. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell (The Americanized version, with "bookstores" instead of "bookshops" in the title, and some North-American examples provided. Very quick read.)
    
61. Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher
    
62. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil #1) (Meh.)
    
63. The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil #2) (Decided to gift the series before reading the third book. Just didn't grab me.)
    
64. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (Wasn't impressed.)
    
65. Grump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Leisl Shurtliff (Cute. I'd lightly recommend.)
    
    December
    
66. The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (I was enjoying it, but then it got a little too fractured. Too many character perspectives, and it stopped feeling like a single story.)
    
67. The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig (sequel to A Boy Called Christmas.)
    
68. The Christmas Pig by JK Rowling (Took me a while to warm up to it, but I ended up enjoying it.)
    
69. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper (Really well done.)
    
70. Caraval by Stephanie Garber (Caraval #1)
    
71. The Naughty List by Michael Fry and Bradley Jackson (Young reader (maybe late elementary) and quite cute.)