Best of 2024

January 2, 2025

For me, 2024 was a whirlwind of a year. I rang in the new year dancing to Zedd at the Armory.

This was followed by months of family drama, which was interrupted only by a dream trip to New Zealand in February. I loved every second of my time there and would love to go back one day.

Drama continued through the spring, ending in time for summer. Health problems put a damper on much of the summer, but I still ended up with a moderately successful garden and some fun memories.

My husband and I took our annual weekend trip to the North Shore in October, and we celebrated Halloween with a record number of trick-or-treaters (a whopping 13, haha).

Through all of that, I was able to take in plenty of media. My full list of movies and TV shows seen, books read, and concerts attended are here. And here’s my best of 2024 list:

Favorite Horror Movie

It was difficult to pick out of the many good horror movies I saw this year. But Oddity takes the cake for its creepy atmosphere, suspense, and stirring opening scene. I am rarely actually scared during a movie, but I was when I watched this one.

Runners-up in this category are: Strange Darling, I Saw the TV Glow, The Substance, and Longlegs.

Favorite Comedy

Thelma was a charming comedy/action movie with plenty of silliness and fun laughs. The 95-year-old actress who plays the titular character did all her own stunts.

Runners-up: As someone who didn’t care for the first two movies, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 surprised me. The unhinged performance of Jim Carrey as Eggman/Eggman’s grandfather was delightful.

Another notable watch happened on Thanksgiving. I got my husband to watch Spice World for his first time when we got home that evening. His reaction to the unhinged nonsense made the unhinged nonsense that much more fun.

Favorite New-to-Me Movie

My husband and I watched this on our annual trip north in October. I had never seen it before, and I didn't expect to laugh as much as I did. A true delight. Plus, Gene Wilder.

Runner-up: White Christmas. We went to a special holiday showing of this at a local theater. Honestly, I thought it would be boring. But between the musical numbers, humor, and Christmas magic, it was so cute. I loved it.

Favorite Movie Experience

This category is for older movies that I've seen before, but saw in a theater this year. As a millennial, I went all in on Napoleon Dynamite when it was released in 2004. I’ve seen it many times. My favorite theater did a special showing in July, and I had to see it again. It was a packed house, and the crowd’s roaring laughter at every iconic moment made it all the more fun.

Favorite Book

The sad fact is, I just didn’t read much this year. Or rather, I didn’t read many books. I spend a lot of time reading essays, or news, or articles about various subjects for work. But I sort of instantly gave up on my goal of 50 books this year. Oopsie doodle dandy.

That said, the few books I read were great. I loved A Psalm for the Wild-built, and I enjoyed its sequel just as much. Calm, contemplative, hopeful. I want to find more of this.

Favorite TV Show

Always a fun watch. I was rooting for Christiaan, but Georgie was a great winner too.

Runners-up: I didn’t love much TV this year. Season 3 of Bridgerton had my attention. Season 2 of House of the Dragon was a hate watch. I’m currently in the middle of the final season of What We Do in the Shadows, which always makes me smile.

Favorite Concert

So fun. The setlist had pretty much everything. Good vibes. It would have been that much better if it had been on a Friday or Saturday night. Or in the fantasy world where I am independently wealthy and unemployed, I suppose.

Runners-up: Built to Spill played There’s Nothing Wrong With Love in its entirety for the 30th anniversary of that album. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Plini/Animals as Leaders show (my husband picked it). And Sum 41 back in April put on a fun, energetic show.