My 2020 Reading Wrap-Up

Over the past couple of years, I have documented every film that I have watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd. As a way to motivate myself to read more, I thought I would do the same for what books I have been reading, using Goodreads as a way to set myself a reading challenge every year.

I initially set my target as 25 books this year, but a few things happened that meant I reached this goal quite early on. Firstly, I had a baby, so this meant that I was awake at silly hours with plenty of time to read. Then, there was lockdown. Because of lockdown, I decided to join Bookstagram and NetGalley and get more serious about reviewing books. So now, instead of reading two books at most a month, I’ve been reading up to ten.

I upped my goal to 60 around halfway through the year, and still managed to pass that by reaching 74 books. This year has really rekindled my love of books, and I can’t wait to start 2021 with this new passion.

Here’s how my 2020 challenge went:

Book v Film: A Monster Calls

“The answer is that it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”

Directed by J.A. Bayona and based on the book by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls follows 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) who is dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), his distant father (Toby Kebbell) and his bullying classmates. Amidst his troubles, he finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the giant yew tree Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth through a collection of fables.

Book:
Film:
Adaptation:

Book Review: A Monster Calls

“The answer is that it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”

Patrick Ness‘ 2011 coming-of-age fantasy A Monster Calls follows 12-year-old Conor who, dealing with his mother’s illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother, and bullying classmates, finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the giant yew tree Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth through a collection of fables.

Film Review: A Monster Calls

Directed by J.A. Bayona and based on the book by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls follows 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) who is dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), his distant father (Toby Kebbell) and his bullying classmates. Amidst his troubles, he finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the giant yew tree Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth through a collection of fables.

My 2016 Reading Wrap-Up

Over the past couple of years, I have documented every film that I have watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd.

As a way to motivate myself to read more, I thought I would do the same for what books I have been reading, using Goodreads as a way to set myself a reading challenge.

So, this year I set myself a challenge of reading 18 books, and for the first time since doing so, I have managed to exceed my target, hooray!

Here’s how my 2016 challenge went, with a short review and rating for each of the books:

100 Films To Look Forward To In 2016

2015 has ended on a high with the likes of Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens reminding us exactly why we love film and how waiting a whole year for a release can pay off. But now it’s time to look forward to what the new year has to come, with my list of 100 films to look forward to in 2016.

Not only are there plenty of sequels from some of the most recently successful films set to be released, but there’s a handful of films that we’ve been waiting years to see, and some we thought weren’t even an option. From adaptations of mobile phone games, book adaptations that could fill a library, to some of DC and Marvel’s most anticipated superhero origin stories and collaborative war efforts, 2016 is going to be big, and there’s a lot of anticipated releases heading our way.

To help you trawl through the masses of films listed below, which starts off with January’s biggest award contenders, we’ll go through the releases in groups. You can jump to certain pages by clicking the following links:

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