I watched ALL the movies from my top 10 anticipated films of 2016 and I have to admit, I didn’t love all of them. So my list for 2017 is smaller… and 3 of them are Marvel movies. #takemymoneymarvel
7. Thor: Ragnarok
It’s Marvel and Loki’s in it so… there you go.
6. Spider-man: Homecoming
Civil War did such a great job introducing us to the new Spider-man and making me interested in him!
5. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
I was super skeptical of the first Guardians movie because the trailer did not play to my personal tastes, but I enjoyed it and am anticipating the follow-up. (Especially BABY GROOT!)
4. Star Wars Episode VIII
I’m definitely interested to see what happens to Rey next. And we’re all going to cry when we see Leia on screen.
3. Beauty and the Beast
One of my favorite Disney animated movies turned live action and starring Emma Watson… I mean, what’s not to anticipate?
2. The Space Between Us
The date on the picture is wrong, but regardless, this movie screams AMY STORY and I really hope it’s good.
1. Dunkirk
It’s WWII and Christopher Nolan, so just take my money. I’ll probably watch anything he makes.
Movies: Doctor Strange and Rogue One (see more about that here)
TV Shows: Timeless and Designated Survivor (LOVE the characters on Timeless and I’m just awed by Designated Survivor every week.)
Music: My two favorite bands, Switchfoot and Needtobreathe, both released new albums this year and both came to Nashville. I loved it all but I spent the last couple months of 2016 specifically really into Needtobreathe’s song “Clear.”
Life Highlights: Built and moved into our new home. Celebrated 7 years of marriage/12 years together with my husband. Traveled to Hilton Head, SC and Asheville, NC. Turned 30.
The Biltmore library decked out for Christmas was STUNNING.
Best Book You Read In 2016? Anne of The Island by L.M. Montgomery
Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? I reread The Start of Me and You after reading it last year and I loved it just as much and still push it on everyone, and had at least one or two read it based on my rec!
Best series you started in 2016? The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Best Sequel of 2016? The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (I will not accept that this is the end!) Best Series Ender of 2016? Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Favorite new author you discovered in 2016? Ruta Septys
Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs
Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016? When We Collided by Emery Lord (Salt to the Sea is a very close second)
Most memorable character of 2016? Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe (don’t make me choose between them)
Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016? Salt to the Sea
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read? Anne of Green Gables!
Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016? Shortest: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them//Longest: Illuminae
Book That Shocked You The Most: The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Oh my goodness.
OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) Gilbert and Anne!!!!
Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year: Joel and Melody in The Rithmatist//Edward and Jane in My Lady Jane
Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously: The Fixer and The Long Game, both by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: The Anne of Green Gables books
Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016? I don’t really do fictional crushes because I am a happily married woman but let’s be real: it’s Gilbert Blythe.
Best 2016 debut you read? I only read one so… Love, Lies, and Spies it is!
Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read? My Lady Jane!!!
Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016? Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray, both by Ruta Septys
Hidden Gem Of The Year? Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Book That Crushed Your Soul? Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, Nora & Kettle
Most Unique Book You Read In 2016? The Archived and The Unbound, both by Victoria Schwab
2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? Caraval by Stephanie Garber!
One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017? I would like to build my blogging base back up a little bit, but much more importantly is what I want to accomplish as a writer, in that I want to find an agent in 2017. If I can’t do that, I hope to have my current WIP in the best shape I know how to and complete a new draft for a new story. As far as reading goes, I just want to read more books that I truly enjoy.
Were any of your favorites from 2016 the same as mine?
In a surprising twist, I not only managed to see all ten of my most anticipated movies of 2016, but they were also the only ten 2016 releases I’ve seen thus far. So this isn’t actually a top 10 so much as a ranking of the ten movies I did see.
10. X-Men: Apocalypse
Not that great, but there was one really funny line that my husband and I will be quoting forever now: “The most American thing about this place is that it used to be British.”
#8 on my most anticipated list
9. Independence Day: Resurgance
This movie was entertaining enough, but definitely not great.
#9 on my most anticipated list
8. The 5th Wave
This movie met my not super high expectations. It was enjoyable for a watch and Leiv Shrieber was perfect in his role.
#10 on my most anticipated list
7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
I was just slightly disappointed in this one. I did enjoy the characters, but the story was just sort of so-so, split between a dark storyline and a lighter storyline, that inevitably intertwined in an alright way. I think I’ll like it more once the story unfolds more and I can see the bigger picture.
#3 on my most anticipated list
6. Jason Bourne
While not the strongest Bourne offering, I did enjoy this one.
#7 on my most anticipated list
5. Star Trek Beyond
A fun addition to the rebooted Trek franchise.
#6 on my most anticipated list
4. Captain America: Civil War
An addition to the Marvel universe that managed to introduce us to new characters, make us excited for their movies, and further delve into the psyches of both Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. A solid film, but had I do have some quibbles with it.
#1 on my most anticipated list
3. Finding Dory
A sweet sequel I never really needed, but am happy to have.
#2 on my most anticipated list
I thought I had settled in my mind my 1 and 2 choices, but I found myself flip-flopping on it. So let’s consider this last two a tie for number one…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
I thought this movie was solid. It wasn’t perfect, but the last act, especially the climax, was fantastic. I loved Jyn and Cassian even though they weren’t as fleshed-out as I would have liked, and I felt I was able to fill in some of the blanks for myself. The message of this one was profound for me and has really stuck with me a couple weeks after viewing it; I feel Ella summed it up beautifully on her blog. I am actually thinking about checking out the novelization of this movie so I can get even more details.
#5 on my most anticipated list
Doctor Strange
Yes, this movie is pretty formulaic. But I came to care for Stephen Strange and his character arc, and it also had themes I found profound.I especially loved how the Ancient One tells Stephen both that not everything’s about him that and that he’s more than just some molecules floating around in the universe. It has its flaws, but I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Best Books Of 2016. So far I have read 45 books this year (including two rereads) and hope to finish a couple more before the ball drops, and when it came time to narrow down my list of faves for the year, thankfully it came very easily. I am focusing on my favorite new-to-me-in-2016 reads only, which eliminates the two re-reads. Here they are, leading up to my number one favorite of the year…
