I decided that since it’s the end of the year I might as well write a sort of end of year post. What better way to do that then to talk about my favorites of the year? This will probably end up being super long so let’s begin 🙂

Books:
2018 was a bad year for me in terms of reading. I only read 29 books this year and my goal was 50. I read good and bad books, but most of them were good, thankfully. Quality over quantity is always best, in my opinion.
- Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli // This book wasn’t as good as people were saying but I still enjoyed it and flew through it in the span of 48 hours. I adore the characters and the writing style is super easy to get into.
- American Panda by Gloria Chao // This was my most anticipated release of 2018. It’s set in college, there’s dumplings, a cute romance that doesn’t take away from the actual story, and focuses around family. I adored this so much – I laughed out loud and I could re-read it a thousand times and not get bored.
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee // I like historical fiction (though I don’t read it often) plus I like Korea so mix those two and BAM! Stellar book. I couldn’t recommend this enough. I need a movie or drama based around this (in actual Korean).
- The Benefits of Being An Octopus by Ann Braden // This book came out of nowhere and surprised me. I requested it on NetGalley on a whim as you do and the publisher approved me for all of their publications (ikr!!! what????) The book itself is filled with so much heart and I adore the protagonist and FEEL for her so much.
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan // This book was all of the rage this year due to the movie adaptation (which is AMAZING!) so I decided to read the book. Let me tell you, this is roller coaster ride whew! It’s so much fun and I learn a lot about Singapore and culture. Plus there’s an evil disapproving mother which makes everything 5x more intense and interesting.
Honorable Mentions:
- The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee // Absolutely loved. I laughed and flew through it so quickly.
- A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena // This book tore me apart. That’s it.
- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han // I actually forgot that I read this in 2018 which is kinda the reason it’s in the honorable mentions.
- The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta // I was in a slump so it took me longer than I wanted to read this book but it was soooo good. One of the best fantasies I’ve read in a while.
Movies:
Bohemian Rhapsody // This is the last movie I watched and wow. Just. Wow. There was a lot of moments where I got actual chills because of Rami Malek’s acting and the recreation of iconic Queen moments. I think they did Freddie Mercury justice with this one. They also get an A+ for actually using the word bisexual.
Crazy Rich Asians // I got my entire family to watch this with me which was a big win. We all enjoyed it a lot. The acting was great. The script was great. The entire movie was absolutely STUNNING. I’m excited for the sequel and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
The Hate U Give // I was going to write a review for this – and I started it. But I chickened out *cough* got lazy *cough*. I’m not saying everyone should see this movie because it’s definitely not one for the lighthearted. But everyone should appreciate this movie. The book was great but the movie gave me actual chills. When I get chills, I know a movie is good.
Black Panther // This was THE movie of the year. Infinity War was good but Black Panther MADE 2018. There’s not a single thing I didn’t like about this movie. Everything was so brilliant and I could watch it over and over.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before // This adaptation of the book BLEW UP. I think we can all agree when we say that Netflix did an amazing job with this movie. I can’t wait for the sequel.
TV Shows:
Fresh Off The Boat // Early this year in January I think me and my mom started this show together. I’m so happy we did because it’s such a funny show. I don’t like comedies that rely on the same jokes over and over again, which is exactly what this show doesn’t do.
Memories of the Alhambra // This is currently on-going with 10 episodes up on Netflix. If you don’t know if you’d like K-Dramas or not I’d recommend you check out this one. The writing, cinematography, acting, and story are all great and the more you watch the more confused you get.
One Day At a Time // Me and my mom found this show on a whim one night scrolling through Netflix and I’m so glad we did. This show is funny but it also deals with racism, sexism, PTSD, and some other touchy subjects in a brilliant way. I can’t wait until the next season is released.
Age of Youth 2 // I watched the first season of this show back when I first started watching K-Dramas and fell in love with everything about it. Friendship is the main focus of this drama and although they changed the lead actress in this season I loved it nonetheless and was hooked.
Black-ish // ABC has the best family comedies. My mom and I started this after we got all caught up on Fresh off the Boat and needed something else to watch. For both shows, not everything is said or done to be a joke which is the best part because when there is a joke it’s really funny.
Music:
This could get super long super fast so I’m going to list my favorite artists and then a few of my favorite songs from them this year. Or, artists I discovered this year and my favorite songs of theirs I discovered this year.
Day6 // I never thought I’d get into any bands when I started listening to K-Pop but they quickly became one of my favorite K-Pop artists. Both of the songs I’m including are from their 2018 comebacks. They keep surprising me because their songs just keep getting better and better.
GOT7 // They had such a great year. As a group they grew a lot this year. Their company started giving them more creative freedom so the songs they released this year had more meaning to the members and they released an AMAZING album. I’m really proud of them. and how much they’ve grown.
Monsta X // If you didn’t already know this is my favorite K-Pop group. They’re also the second group I got into and they’ve had an AMAZING year. They released their first full album – one of my favorite albums of the year – did a world tour, and became the first K-Pop act ever to perform at Jingle Ball. I love every single song they came out with this in 2018.
Seventeen // They are my second favorite K-Pop group. I adore them so much and their songs are all so amazing. I got into them this year and I’m so happy I did because they had some great releases this year.
Stray Kids // Last but DEFINITELY not least are the monster rookies. They officially debuted this year but they have already made such a big impact with three comebacks and loads of great music. I love everything about them and can’t wait to see what they do this year.
Honorable Mentions:
- Troye Sivan // His ‘Bloom’ album is absolutely beautiful. He accomplished a lot in 2018 I know he’ll go on to become even more big this year.
- G(I)-dle // Whew they came out of nowhere and BLEW UP! I wasn’t ready but I’m also not complaining because their songs are soooo good.
- Hayley Kiyoko // The lovely May @ Forever and Everly introduced me to her music. I knew her from Lemonade Mouth (the last good disney channel movie fight me) so I thought I’d check her out. I’m extremely impressed. I honestly don’t know why she’s not played on the radio?? If she was I’d actually listen to it.
- Ateez // Another rookie group. They debuted and immediately everyone went INSANE. They have such a cool concept (pirates!) and now they’re gonna have another comeback in two weeks. I’m psyched.
- Billie Eilish // She’s young but really talented. I don’t get tired of any of her songs. I can’t wait to hear more from her.

What were some of your favorite movies, tv shows, books, and music of 2018? Is there anything you plan on reading, watching, or listening to this year? Let me know!


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Stray Kids definitely owned my 2018! But I also love all those other bands you mentioned! And so excited to start Memories of the Alhambra too.
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They had such a great year and I’m so happy I got into them 😀 Hope you enjoy it!
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Pachinko was one of my best books for 2018 too!
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It’s such a great read!
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YESSS to Black Panther! Without a doubt my favourite film of 2018 and one of my favourites ever!
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It was seriously such a great movie. I’d definitely watch it over and over again without getting bored.
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I haven’t been to the movies much this year, I think I just went to watch Black Panther and Infinity War 😶 2018 was an amazing year for movies but I missed a lot of them 😭
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I only went to the movies a few times myself. A lot of amazing movies were released this year 😀
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I LIFE FOR MONSTAX. THEY ARE PART OF MY fav top 5 kpop groups and I listed are you there as one of my fav albums of the year too. I too SUCK FOR GOT7 ♥ and I adore my monster rookies stray kids and ateez ♥ I am atz predebut stan and I am so excited for the comeback
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Yasss fellow monbebe and aghase ❤ Stray Kids and Ateez are going to have GREAT comebacks this year I can feel it. And the teasers for Ateez thus far??? AHDOSJFOWFBFWOBWUO
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I didn’t really read any books in 2018 but I read so many in 2017. This year my goal is to read at least 10-15 books, (or to re read some) if I can’t get new ones.
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I hope you’re able to reach your goal!
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Thank you. I started with reading one book. ☺
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Ayyeee there you go! 😀
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Great post! My husband and I LOVE Fresh Off the Boat and I feel like nobody ever talks about it! Have you seen Kim’s Convenience? It’s a Canadian show about a Korean family and it’s also hillarious. If you’re in the US (and Canada too, probably) it’s on Netflix. Highly recommend!
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Fresh Off the Boat is sooo good, my mom and I adore it and my dad even started watching it haha. Yeah I watched Kim’s Convenience after it was rec’d to me by another blogging friend. I can’t wait until the next season!!
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Agreed!!! Mr. Kim is an absolute gem haha.
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He’s the heart of the show lol. He does the funniest things.
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Oh God, this post just made me realize that I’m absolutely and completely behind on every KPOP release of 2018. This last year was a mess and I barely kept up with my favorite groups. Even though I really like SEVENTEEN, I haven’t listened to them in ages and definitely have a lot to catch up on! Out of the releases I actually followed in 2018, NCT’s Empathy and EXO’s Tempo are my favorites (totally biased, but oh well).
I haven’t watched Bohemian Rhapsody, but pretty much my entire family has watched it already (too bad I was busy studying and couldn’t watch it with them), and they’ve been bothering me for weeks to watch it. It seems like it was an unforgettable one, since my parents don’t care about cinema that much.
I’ve rewatched To All the Boys and Black Panther probably more times than I should, but these releases were so surprising and amazing! Other 2018 releases that I loved have to include: Candy Jar (an original Netflix that definitely deserves more appreciation!), Eighth Grade and Mary Shelley! I was surprised by how much I liked this last one, since I didn’t know much about Mary Shelley prior to watching it, but it was an empowering and beautiful movie. I recommend all of them if you haven’t watched it yet!
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I kept close watch on everything K-Pop last year haha. Oh yes, NCT had an amazing year I loved the album they released, as well as Don’t Mess Up My Tempo – they were both high up on my favorites of the year list for sure. YOU MUST WATCH BOHEMIAN RHAPSODYYY!! I actually haven’t heard those, I’ll look them up and add them to my list 🙂
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Dang it! I forgot One Day at a Time for my best list of 2018 TV shows even though I love it! And your movie list also looks so relatable. I wasn’t able to watch Crazy Rich Asians and Bohemian Rhapsody due to a lack of time and THUG isn’t released here yet, but they are very high up on my priority list!
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I almost forgot to add it to mine but I was scrolling through my Netflix and saw it 😀 Ahh I hope you’re able to watch them this year sometime I highly recommend them all.
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I love ODAAT so much! It’s so funny, heartwarming, touching and deals with so many important topics in such a short amount of time? Iconic. Also best PTSD rep I’ve ever seen hands down. Memories of the Alhambra is on my to watch list, if only because I love Park Shin-hye haha
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YES! There’s only like two seasons if I remember correctly but WOW a lot happens in that time frame and a lot of topics are handled. Plus the characters themselves are all AMAZING! Ahhhh yes please watch!! This is my first drama of hers and I must say I’m already a fan 🙂
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I STILL have to see Bohemian Rhapsody! I was going to make time to go and see it in theaters but that moment never really materialized. After hearing everyone gush about it, I simply must see it during winter break. Also, I completely agree Black Panther was THE Marvel movie of the year. Like you said, Infinity War was great but literally everything about BP is perfection from the soundtrack to the casting to the screenplay. I also completely fell in love with TATBILB 🙂 It was so cutesy and adorable and honestly I may have even liked it better than the book (except the casting of Margo seemed very strange mostly because Janel Parish is so much older than the character she’s playing as opposed to the other two sisters). I hope you have a lovely 2019, Savannah!
Laura @BlueEyeBooks
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You should definitely see it! It’s amazing I forgot midway through that Rami Malek wasn’t actualyl Freddie Mercury. He did such a brilliant job in the role. Black Panther OWNED 2018 – nothing else could beat that movie. The book and movie are both amazing and they’re great whether you’ve consumed one or the other. My mom and sister watched it with me and they haven’t read the book but they still enjoyed it. Yeah I agree about Janel Parrish. She is a bit too old to play Margo but she did do a good job still 🙂 Hope you have a great year too!
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Blackpanther was absolutely amazing! I think I already saw it at least 5 times! 😀 I’m yet to see the THUG movie, though I adored the book! And I’m so glad to see Monsta X on your list!
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Hahaha I only saw it twice I think but I’d definitely watch it more it was amazing 😀 Ahh you should watch it! It’s sooo heart-wrenching but powerful. Yesss my boys ❤ I'm so proud of them
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