2020 has been… a year. But, I decided to do a small wrap up while talking about some top 5s I’ve had for this year.
While this year was definitely different, I managed to accomplish a few things with writing and elsewhere. I entered my MS in PitchWars, created pitches for several PitMads, SffPit, PitDark, wrote short stories, and submitted to literary magazines. Though most of those didn’t yield results, I was excited to take a leap and try. Early next year, I’m looking to enter Author Mentor Match with my finished MS.
Now on to some top 5s.
My top 5 books are Wicked Fox, Nocturnal Farm, Bone Houses, Scythe, and All the Stars and Teeth. I’ve reviewed all of them here on my blog besides All the Stars and Teeth. I originally read it before I began to review books, but on Goodreads, I rated it a 4.5/5 and discussed the great characters and magic system. And the sequel comes out in February! For an honorable mention, there’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It was hauntingly beautiful and I’ll post a full book review soon.
For anime, my top 5 are Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Death Parade, Mob Psycho 100, and The Promised Neverland with Attack on Titan season 3 as an honorable mention. Dr. Stone is all about science and I love the genius main character Senku trying to bring technology to a world that has been reverted to wilderness. The humor is great and the side characters are amazing. Fire Force was created by Atsushi Ōkubo (who made Soul Eater too, a great manga series) and the fantasy world drew me in immediately. Though some of the fan-service is unnecessary, I’m loving this show and hope for it to have a long lasting run. Death Parade was a one season anime dealing with morality, death, and what happens after you die. It was amazing! Mob Psycho 100 follows a teen, Mob, who has telekinetic powers, as he tries to keep them under control. He finds a mentor in Reigen, who is a fake psychic and uses Mob to make money. There’s humor, plot twists, and great family dynamics. I love it and the second season was even better. The Promised Neverland was an unexpected curve ball. The first episode starts off cute, but by the end, it turns out to be a horror. I was on the edge of my seat the whole season and can’t wait for the second one early 2021. And the third season of Attack on Titan was phenomenal. I read the manga back in college, but only remembered a few key plot points. Seeing them in action was perfect and I’m not emotionally ready for the final season.
I didn’t play many games this year, but I enjoyed Animal Crossing New Horizons, Fire Emblem 3 Houses, Slime Rancher, and Valhalla. I’ve played Animal Crossing New Leaf before, so I needed New Horizons when I saw the trailer. I’ve had fun playing the new updates, but it’s definitely a game played in small doses. Fire Emblem 3 Houses had a decent update this year with the Cindered Shadows DLC, so I ended up playing that and a new path on the main game to experience the new additions after beating the DLC. Slime Rancher is a calming game filled with exploration, farm simulator, and adorable slimes. I simply love it. And Valhalla has been a great game so far and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.
Music: Number 1 song is Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse. The song came out late last year, but I first heard it in January. Since then, I’ve listened to it so much, I know the lyrics by heart. It’s such a good song and feels like my anthem for 2020. After this, the top five goes: A Little Bit Off by Five Finger Death Punch, Novacaine by 10 Years, Goodbye to a World by Porter Robinson, and Hurricane by I Prevail.
So, there’s a few lists from this year. How has your year been? Have any accomplishments? Things you’re looking forward to for next year?
As always, happy writing!
Kaylen Azalea Grimm 