This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is bookish discoveries of the past year. I’m choosing to interpret that new-to-me authors I particularly enjoyed:

1. Comic illustrator Debbie Tung
2. Author and illustrator Ngozi Ukazu
3. Fantasy and science fiction novelist Nnedi Okorafor
4. Author and illustrator Katie O’Neill
5. Jasmine Guillory, who writes contemporary romance starring African Americans
6. Linda Holmes, author and NPR host
7. Author and illustrator Nick Hayes
8. Writer Jessica Townsend
9. Author Sonali Dev
10. Writer Mary H.K. Choi

How about you? What were your bookish discoveries of 2019?

Sitting outside in a tshirt, reading and knitting, as one does when climate change is a reality…

I suddenly realized that I owe an embarrassingly overdue public thank you to Helen at Helen’s Book Blog for a delightful package of goodies she sent me back in November.

Helen was my #TBTBSanta this year. She sent me an amazing box filled with a wonderful assortment of delightfully shaped gifts.

I opened them over a period of three weeks, squeezing a whole lot of joy out of the mystery.

There were little packages that I immediately knew were nail polish — a cheery red and a lovely blue-green. Mum and I both benefitted from that gift.

There were colorful pens.

Helen even sent Corey a present. This is the least blurry shot I have of him playing with his new toy.

And there were books! Three of them! Jasmine Guillory’s Royal Holiday (which I’d been on the wait list at the library for and which I devoured after Christmas), Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue (which matches the nail polish and which has been on my TBR list since it came out in 2016), and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare (which got such good reviews this fall and which I saw on several people’s best-of lists for the year).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Helen, for such a great package. I loved every bit of it, and opening all the packages (and then reading Royal Holiday) brought such light into my Christmas season. I look forward to many more hours of reading this winter.

And thank you, too, to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting #TBTBSanta this year. I really enjoy taking part every year, and I appreciate how much work must go into organizing such a massive endeavor.

Keeping in mind that if I’d managed to see Little Women before the end of the year that it probably would have topped the list, here are the ten movies I saw last year I enjoyed most:

10. Shazam!: A teen boy is suddenly imbued with powers that include giving him the body — but not the decision-making — of a grown man. But his superhero-loving foster brother warns him that with great power comes great responsibility. The set-up of the villain becoming evil irritates me tremendously, but Zachary Levi is such a favorite that I can overlook that terrible plotting.

9. The Sun Is Also a Star: I loved the y.a. novel, written by Nicola Yoon, so was particularly interested to see how they were going to adapt this modern romance. While they changed some details, losing perhaps the message of how random acts have unintended consequences, both good and bad, it did tighten the focus on illegal immigration and deportation in its current iteration. This is a love letter to New York City, as well as to soul mates.

8. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase: In a modern interpretation of our teen sleuth heroine, skateboarder Nancy and her pals have access to modern tech (Carson has never not texted her at least once a day since her mom died), but still must rely on their wits to solve the case. Linda Lavin has a great role as Nancy’s client.

7. Yesterday: A failing wannabe pop star awakens after a freak accident to discover that no one else remembers The Beatles (among other things, like Coke). He capitalizes on this by recording all their songs, but it’s tough to remember all the lyrics — and why would a modern guy born after the Cold War write about being “Back in the USSR?”

6. Spider-Man: Far from Home: Tom Holland is my favorite Spider-Man. He is goofily earnest as Peter Parker, and it’s great to see an actual teenager in the role. In this post-Avengers story arc, Peter must come to terms with the death of mentor Tony Stark and the interest he has in M.J., while trying to just have a normal school trip in Europe. But when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room, he’s going to have to make some compromises. Is it possible to walk away from our destiny?

5. Rocketman: This biopic about Elton John acknowledges the pop star’s struggles with addiction and depression, while also elevating his friendship with lyricist Bernie Taupin.

4. Captain Marvel: Vers cannot remember her past before coming to the home planet of the Kree, but when she is kidnapped and then ends up on earth, she meets a young Nick Fury and discovers her past as ace pilot Carol Danvers. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Carol relies as much on dry humor as superpowers to win the day. Her subsequent demotion to plot device in the final Avengers movie (which you’ll especially enjoy if you’ve been wondering why white dudes don’t get all the superhero roles anymore), was highly disappointing.

3. Knives Out: In this modern whodunnit homage to Agatha Christie and Poirot, a successful mystery writer is found dead, and a super-sleuth is hired anonymously to solve the case. At the center of the tale is a spoiled family and a young personal nurse who had befriended the writer. The story is expertly crafted and remarkably acted, and despite both of those facts, does not take itself overly seriously. This is an entertaining film.

2. It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Mister Rogers has gotten a lot of well-deserved posthumous fame since 9-11, when his advice about looking for the helpers resurfaced to comfort generations of people exhausted by the constant negativity in the news and the world around us.
In this biopic, a hard-hitting magazine journalist is forced to interview Fred Rogers, whom he is certain cannot possibly be the real deal. But as with everyone else, eventually he, too, is won over.

1. The Farewell: Awkwafina stars as a Chinese-American woman who returns to her Chinese homeland to attend a wedding that has been hastily arranged so her family can surreptitiously say goodbye to her beloved grandmother. Unbeknownst to the old woman, she’s been given a terminal diagnosis, but tradition dictates that she not be informed lest her death be hastened. — “It’s not the cancer that kills … it’s the fear.”

How about you? What were your favorite films you watched in 2019?

A two-for-one bookish meme post in which I announce I’m signing up for
Bout of Books 27 (goal this time: read on a majority of days this week).

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 27 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I managed a chapter or two of Jennifer Chiaverini’s Christmas Bells on the train amidst my dozing and am continuing to listen to the audiobook of Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia.

The Day 2 challenge is to share my bookish resolutions for the new year.

I’ve set a challenge of reading 52 books for the year, which should be perfectly manageable. I’d like to continue working to make my reading more diverse — both in terms of authors and in terms of topics. The former seems far more likely than the latter, since I just have a hard time forcing myself to sit down and spend time reading things I don’t want to read about.

I’m also sharing the top ten dozen new books I’m looking forward to in the first six months of the year (thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting yet another great topic for Top Ten Tuesday):

1. Libby Page’s The 24-Hour Café (I really enjoyed her debut novel, The Lido, last year.)
2. The Night Country by Melissa Albert (It’s the sequel to The Hazel Wood!)
3. Kate Milford’s The Thief Knot (This is the next story in The Greenglass House world.)
4. Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed (Two great YA authors? I mean, obviously!)
5. Sarah-Jane Stratford’s Red Letter Days (I loved Radio Girls and look forward to another historical fiction from her.)
6. A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (This is the latest in the Veronica Speedwell series.)
7. Stamped by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi (I can’t wait to see how this nonfiction adaptation & collaboration turns out!)
8. Check, Please! Book 2 by Ngozi Ukazu (I’m hoping this graphic novel includes some recipes in the back material, since the first book concentrated on talking hockey.)
9. Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things That Will Not Change (I love her middle-grade novels.)
10. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (I’ve loved every sci fi book they’ve collaborated on, even if this series isn’t as good as The Illuminae Files.)
11. Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land (Everything she’s written has been great, and this looks like it will be too.)
12. Shuri by Nic Stone (I mean, Nic Stone and the most kick-ass African princess and scientist? Yes, please!)

How about you? Are you joining in the fun of the Bout of Books this time? And what books are you looking forward to being published between now and summertime?

“A Better New Year” by Pomplamoose. Be sure to click through to YouTube to check out their mashups.