Best of 2014

So it's officially less than 24 hours until 2015 and yeah, that scares me. I'm wearing my favourite shirt (it's a super cool Throne of Glass one) and I'm prepping myself for the New Year. I hate this holiday so much.

ANYWAY I wanted to share my top ten books of 2014, but then I also wanted to share everything else I love such as movies and films and the whole shebang. As far as those things go I've had such a good year for discovering new things that I love, and finding old things that I like more than I initially thought. Books have the power to change us and I really do think that I've been changed for the better this year, not just because of what I've read but because of what I've listened to and watched.

I don't think I'll do a top x number for any of these apart from books because I haven't documented the other categories like I have in Goodreads. There is so much to talk about aaahh.

Books:
     5.  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - There were so many books that I wanted to put in this spot and I'm still not sure if I made the right choice. Either way I adore this book because the characters are so real and the romance was just a delight.
     4. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - Melina Marchetta is swiftly becoming one of my favourite authors and I'd read literally anything that she published. I would even read her shopping lists.
     3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Stephanie Perkins gives me all the feels. Seriously after reading Isla I walked around like a robot for two days because all I could think about was her characters.
     2. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson - I've only read the first two books in this series but it is just magnificent. Sanderson is literally a genius and I cannot wait to read the conclusion/other books by him next year.
     1. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas - This is now my favourite series of all time alongside Harry Potter. I don't think I can articulate how much I love it aside from saying that at the moment I'm wearing a shirt with 'House Sardothien' on the front because I'm obviously a total bamf.

Films:
 My favourite film of all time is Tangled. I've seen it five times (three of which were this year) and although I originally saw it in the cinema, it goes on this list because this year was when I rediscovered it as a favourite. Other movies that I really enjoyed this year were Forrest Gump which I saw for the first time this year and I love it so so much. When people ask me what my favourite movie is I tell them this one so I don't look like a five year old, but in my heart Tangled will always make me see the light. Some other Disney films that I saw for the first time this year were Mulan and Frozen and I love both those movies so much.

Music:
 I discovered a lot of new music this year (which only confirms the fact that I'm a middle aged woman stuck inside the body of a five year old stuck inside the body of a fifteen year old). I've really got into listening to musicals and I love the score for Wicked. Defying Gravity has to be my favourite song of all time. I've also started listening to a lot of movie scores which really help me when writing. In case you were interesting the most played songs on my iTunes library are (in descending order) Defying Gravity from Wicked, This Charming Man by The Smiths, Bad Things by Jace Everett, One Jump Ahead from Aladdin and She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel.

TV:
 I've procrastinated a lot of schoolwork this year with totally unhealthy TV show marathons. I've rewatched a lot of old stuff such as Sherlock and Dr Who, although this year I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Outlander and Once Upon a Time, the latter two being my favourites. I also really loved Our Girl which was on the BBC this year. Don't make me pick a favourite. I've lost sleep over them all.

Over all, I think it's been a great year and I really, really am dreading midnight (again.)

A Year in Review

So I woke up at ten AM today which is completely normal for the school holidays, but I then decided to have a little bit of a lie in. I watched one or two or seven honest trailers on YouTube. Somehow it ended up being midday before I got out of bed and I literally have no idea where the hours went. I'm not very good at getting out of bed, especially when I tell myself that I will do homework that day and instead I spend it writing. I'm really getting into book two (I haven't named it yet. I really need to name it) of my series (I haven't given the series a name either, although the first one is called Honour Among Thieves) and out of nowhere I keep on getting ideas for characters and plot points that demand to be written.

Maybe that's why I've done no schoolwork all holidays and my exams are only a few months away. 

Shit. 

Anyway I'm kind of freaking out about New Years. I get SO nervous about it every year just because it reminds me how much of a lazy sod I am and how little I achieve in a year. I don't have plans this year so I'll probably end up sitting on the sofa and reflecting on 2014. Two days left, people. I've quite liked this year and I've been doing that dramatic thing in my head where I say 'this is the last Monday of 2014' or 'this will be the last Malteser I eat in 2014'. It's kind of pathetic when you think about it. 

This year I finished a first draft for the first time in my life. I have huge commitment issues when it comes to writing and I never finish anything... until now. Even though it was done for NaNo so it's kind of shit, I'm really proud of myself. I've even been editing it and writing a sequel so I think I deserve a pat on the back for that. Go me.

So far I've also read one hundred books, although I want to make it one hundred and one because the first book I read this year was The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, so I want the last book I read to be In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken (the last book in the trilogy) because that would make my OCD mind very happy. I'm that sad. I've had a brilliant reading year, I've even found my all time favourite series alongside Harry Potter (which happens to be the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas), but again I'm a bit sad to let everything slide into January. In my eyes January is basically the same as December but without the singing and presents and OH WAIT it isn't the same as December. January is like the pathetic cousin of December and I hate it. 

(I don't mean to sound so pessimistic oh dear.)

I've visited three countries this year, all of them with school. I went skiing in Austria and I went on an exchange to Germany. I drove through France on both occasions and I did get out in a service station so I'm counting that. Whilst the German exchange was one of the most terrifying and rewarding things I've ever done, it's safe to say that skiing is not a talent of mine. My favourite part of the trip was the fancy dress party. I was a panda. 

This year also marked the one year anniversary of my Grandma's death, but it was also the year when I began to feel confident in myself and realise that I didn't need the approval of everyone else to be happy. 

Whilst 2014 is coming to a close and I'm just as hopeless as I was the year before, I am sad to see it go. I always am. The Christmas decorations go down and then the freezing weather comes along just like they do every year, and I'm filled with nostalgia for what has come and gone. 

I don't remember setting resolutions last year, but this year I want some. 2015 will be the year that I turn sixteen and the year I do my GCSE's. It will be the year that I start college and the year leave school behind. 

So this year, I resolve to:

1.  To be braver. I no longer want to be filled with self doubt. I want to embrace change and move out of my comfort zone, proving to myself that I can be more than I initially thought. 
2. To read more. I did read 100 books in 2014 but I never want to lose my love of reading. I want to find new favourites and immerse myself in words. I want to finish old series' and start new ones, possibly discovering things about myself that I didn't know existed. 
3. To revise Honour Among Thieves. No matter how many more novels I write this one will always be my first and I want it to be the best that it can be. If I need to take it apart and stitch it back together again I will do. I'll rewrite and edit and polish until it's something that I'm genuinely proud of. 
4. To study. I have GCSE's this year. This is pretty self explanatory. 
5. To finish/revise book two. I'm already 25K into it so I think I can do this, but I also want to edit it to an inch of its life. I want it to do the characters tales justice and I want to remain in this world which I have grown to love. 

As 2015 swiftly approaches I have to admit that I am a little nervous for the new year to come. I do wish that I had more time, and that I could slow down the world just a little. Before 2014 is just part of history I want to say THANK YOU for everyone in my life who made this year what it was. I want to thank friends and family and strangers just for being them. 

"I will not walk backward in life" - J.R.R Tolkien