200 🎯 Books, Movies & Shows - Mission accomplished 2024 💁🏻‍♀️👊🏻😁

 December 2024

After a couple of years of tracking the number of books I read/ movies & shows I watched (like everything in life this information is best plotted in an excel 😉🤣), I hit the target 🎯 of 200 this year ..drum roll 😎. This practice of meticulously recording everything in an excel and setting the target 🎯 of 200 Books, Movies and Shows stemmed from the place of reclaiming me-time in this chaotic world of juggling multiple priorities. 

(Source: Author's file photo)

(Source: Google)

I have always been a voracious reader, and there is something magical about being teleported (literally) to new worlds. A few tips on how I consistently continued to read/ watch interesting stuff in pursuit of this milestone:

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• Consciously reducing social media time - There was a phase wherein randomly scrolling through Instagram and Facebook took up so much of my time without even realising that I wasn't watching anything worthwhile. I still am part of the social media universe (I haven't been able to fully let go 😜), but I am definitely getting better at limiting my time to either uploading Simba's content or my travel videos; and I make a conscious effort to stick with the subscriptions related to personal finance, travel and healthy cooking.  

• Breaking down the goal into smaller achievable goals - Simply dividing the number 200 by 12 meant a monthly goal of 17 or a weekly average of 4-5. Similar to maintaining a list of movies/ shows I want to watch on Netflix, I have a list of books that I want to read (mostly a series in a book that I have already started or a new author recommendation). This ensures that at any logical break in the day, I have something to start reading or watching and not waste too much time in browsing.   

• Reading multiple books at a time - Kindle has undoubtedly changed how I read and has made it easier to search for new authors of genres that I am interested in (Cozy mysteries, Regency era books et al). While this juggling between books might seem difficult, reading multiple books at the same time allows me to be engaged without getting bored with any genre or character series.  

• Power of sharing - I tend to share funny as well as inspirational quotes and snippets with family and friends. This is not only a good way to keep in touch, but also when I share something positive I find myself correlating these with day-to-day situations..

(Source: Klaus movie)

Sharing my recommendations of the Movies, Books & Shows that I have enjoyed in 2024 😊. These movies/ books have not necessarily been released/ published in 2024 but those that I have stumbled upon recently or part of the series that I had started reading / watching in recent years. 

I. Movies - If you are a movie buff and can spare only spare about 90 min from start to finish, then something on this list might tickle your fancy.  

A. Documentaries/ Based on real life:

• Hack your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut - Being married to a health-conscious doctor, while I was aware of most of the things in the documentary; I still rate it as a must watch owing to all the pertinent information being available at one place and the passion with which the doctor talks about the digestive system is amazing! Just a heads up - there is talk about bowels (obviously 🙄 and Fecal matter transplant). 
• Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli - engrossing documentary about his vision as well as execution, his passion for film making is awe-inspiring, hats off 👌🏻  
• Inside a Dog's Mind - scientific and emotional insights about "Survival of the friendliest" 🐶
• Ordinary Angels - based on an inspiring true story 
• Buy Now: The shopping conspiracy - hard hitting series that makes you take a hard look at one's spending habits 

B. Animation: 

• The Wild Robot - an amazing, heartwarming film about a robot 🤖 stranded on an island that adapts to its new surroundings by building relationships with native animals and bonds with an orphaned gosling 🪿
• Klaus - a heartwarming classic holiday tale about the alternative origin story of Santa 🎅
• Inside out 2 - Spectacular animation and heartwarming coming-of-age film of a young girl, I personally preferred Inside Out over the sequel
• That Christmas - Very nice movie based on a charming trilogy of children's books 

C. Rom Coms & Dramedy: 

• Out of my Mind - engaging coming-of-age drama based on book about a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, played by an actress who has cerebral palsy in real life 
• Barbie - In the Barbenheimer debate, while most people might have favoured Oppenheimer, I do not believe its fair to compare these two movies dealing with such different themes. Brilliant acting in a visually dazzling comedy, America Ferrara's speech is iconic
• Laapata ladies - comical misadventures of newly wedded brides, brilliant acting and the song Sajni re stays with you a long time 🎶
• The Lost City - a must watch for fans of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. I rest my case 😂
• Ticket to Paradise - Julia Roberts and George Clooney and lovely scenery, not a bad way to spend an evening 
• Hi Nanna - pretty nice film starring Nani
• Romance in style - well-made light-hearted comedy focusing on body positivity 
• Mrs Harris goes to Paris - a lovely historical comedy film about a widowed cleaning lady who embarks on an adventure to Paris to buy a couture Dior dress 👗 😊

D. Mysteries & Thrillers:

• Confess, Fletch - pretty decent watch 
• CTRL - cyber thriller 
• Carry On - action thriller 
• Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part 1) - What's Tom Cruise's age again 🤣..anyone game for re-watching the entire series before Part 2 release next year? 
• Stree 2 - Not a genre that would have generally featured on my list but the first film was indeed a nice combo of comedy and horror, songs are very catchy too

E. Sci-Fi:

 

• Kalki 2898 AD - a well-made movie blending aspects of mythology and futuristic society, really enjoyed with family especially with Dad launching into all the "pitta kathalu" 😆
• Godzilla vs Kong new empire - I have watched all the movies in this series, and while movie watching in theatres has reduced, this movie in 4DX was fun 🤩

II. Books - If you're like me and love to curl up with a good book, here's the list of books that I enjoyed. 

A. Non-Fiction:

• Switch - How to change when change is hard by Chip & Dan Heath:

This is by far one of the most under-rated books. It's very easy to read, practical and the key examples make it very easy to understand and adapt. The book touches upon so many aspects like why do we find change so hard (the first surprise about change: What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem); how your brain isn’t of one mind (gives reference to a brilliant and easily relatable analogy of the Elephant and the Rider). What I liked best about this book is the fact that unlike most books that make reference to only business situations, these recommendations can be used in most settings, for instance I could apply the scripting critical moves and pointing at the destination ideas for convergence during our society budget discussions. 

(Source: Book "Switch")

• Born A Crime: Stories from a South African childhood by Trevor Noah: This section would be incomplete without a mention of my fav book - Born a Crime. I have always been fan of Trevor Noah's comedy, and his memoir that talks about apartheid (Apart hate as he refers to it), his childhood and his incredible journey has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. He touches upon two critical aspects of life that have held me in good stead - resilience and humour as I discuss in my blog "The best antidote ever - Goodies bag filled with laughter moments" (my personal fav 💕). There are so many quotes I keep re-reading often (oh yes I have meticulously organised notes as well 😎). 

B. Cozy mysteries:

While I like murder mysteries with Agatha Christie being my all-time favourite, I like the mystery / puzzle aspect and tend to stay away from too much violence & gore, hence the recommendation of this genre. I have provided the link to the first book in the series since I tend to read the entire series published by the author. PS: I subscribe to Kindle unlimited and the books listed below are available with this subscription. This is by no means an advertisement to subscribe to this service, just sharing my experience that over time based on the reading history this subscription does give you access to a pool of authors that otherwise I might not have been aware of.

• Cassie Coburn (Violet aka female Sherlock) - Set in current era London, the writing is simple and the mysteries entertaining
• Lady Hardcastle - Set in the beginning of 19th century, witty mystery series 
• Beatrice Hyde-Clare - Regency era mysteries with a dashing Duke dropped in for good measure 😉. Witty and entertaining mysteries. 
• Verity Lark - spin off of the above series, in my opinion cannot be read stand- alone without reading the above series since there are too many overlaps and many plots of the earlier mysteries are also revealed!
• Lady Eleanor Swift - set in 1920's, an unlikely lady of the manor along with a butler and dashing detective to round up the trio, engaging series 
• Annabelle Archer Wedding planner - moving across the seas to USA, would rate the earlier books as laugh out loud whodunnits; as the series progresses the description does tend to become a bit excessive. 

C. Romantic Comedies & Dramedy:

• Larkhall letters. I have realised that I am partial towards Regency romances, and this is a very well written series. Noble charades, another series by the same author Ashtyn Newbold is a good read too.
• Miss Fleming series - witty Regency romance  
• Summer series and Reindeer falls - contemporary rom-coms 

III. Shows - If you like well characterised plot lines and can spare more time than a quick fix movie, here’s the list of shows that might catch your eye. For those interested in the counting methodology, each season counts as one 😀 (tough luck mate 🥲) 

A. Biopics/ Documentaries:

• Rocket boys - Season 1 was absolutely riveting, and Hubby and I binge watched the story of the two extraordinary men. Dr. Homi Bhabha, Father of Indian Nuclear programme and Dr.Vikram Sarabhai, Father of India Space Program. While we had read about this in passing, this is indeed a must watch to understand how India's future was shaped in the backdrop of Big Sam's surveillance and the rising geo-political tensions. Season 2 is not as impressive as the first season with the drama being a bit excessive at times, but it still is one of the best Indian OTT series.
• Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough - Along with breathtaking visuals, be ready to be amazed by the sounds in nature captured using the latest audio technology narrated by the one and only David Attenborough, who is 98 years young at heart 🙏
• Scam 2003: The Telgi story - The story of the master mind behind the stamp paper scam, again not as impressive as its predecessor Scam 1992 (Harshad Mehta scam). A watch to understand the appalling number of corrupt officials involved in aiding and abetting the scam.
• WeCrashed (based on Wework) - while technically we bing-watched it last year, had to mention this series owing to the brilliant acting as well as how mind boggling reality can be 🥲

B. Rom Coms & Dramedy: 

• Call me Bae - light-hearted & entertaining
• Nobody wants this - took me a bit of time to warm upto this series, but the realistic depiction of love in this insanely chaotic world does strike a chord
• Man on the Inside - The Good Place is my absolutely fav series of all time, and hence couldn't resist watching Danson's new series. It's based on true life story of retiree turned amateur private detective - warm, funny and tugs on your heart strings. PS: loved the super fun retirement community 😎👌🏻
• The Good Doctor - Recently started watching about the doctor with autism and savant syndrome. The human-interest angle is depicted well and not over emphasised like it tends to be in other series. 
• Loot - Maya Rudolph stars as a recently divorced billionaire who engages with her charitable foundation and tries to re-connect with the real world, light-hearted and easy to watch 30 min episodes 

C. Mysteries & Thrillers:

• Only murders in the building - Season 1 ranks among my all-time favourites in the murder mysteries genre. Three strangers sharing an obsession of true crime suddenly find themselves wrapped in one - fantastic chemistry and acting, snarky and witty humour, Season 4 comes close to Season 1 in terms of delightful series 😊
• Lincoln lawyer - totally binge-worthy series, keeps you hooked and not at all as gory as the movies I am told, so a good watch for sure 
• Monk - The mysteries are absolute brain teasers, love the acting and Monk's  quirks 
• Psych -  Binge watched the earlier seasons, combines comedy and crime pretty well
• Moonflower murders - If you're a fan of the English countryside, this series based on books by Anthony Horowitz is a delightful watch 
• The Diplomat - International crises, political tensions - engaging drama. Given that the second season answers most of the cliff hangers and open plot points of Season 1, better to watch Seasons 1 & 2 together

D. Sci-Fi & Fantasy:

• Legacy of monsters - Part of the Monsterverse, this engrossing series is a must-watch for fans of Godzilla and King Kong 😎
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians - I love mythology (Indian, Roman, Greek 😀) and this series is a wonderful adaptation of the books (unlike the movie 🙄)  
• My Lady Jane - This is more like alternate history and historical fantasy romance and is a very enjoyable watch 

If there was a category for most re-watched series and clips, that would undoubtedly go to our all time favourite The Big Bang Theory, this nerdy, geeky comedy series that always has us laughing out loud 🤣. 

The older you get the more you realise the real luxuries in life are peace of mind, calm and 'boring' days, being mindful, people you love & who love you back and the freedom to choose whatever you want to do. 

(Source: Google)

Wishing you and your family a happy, wonderful and luxurious New year 2025 😁

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