Living With B

In 2025, I took the leap to begin putting out my thoughts and opinions on the internet for free. No monetary gain, just screaming into a void about all things media. As 2026 quickly approaches, I am excited to look back on my year with livingwithb! This specific post will be a reflection on the last year, detailing what I learned as a reader and a blogger.

Personal Reflection

In 2025, I read and watched a lot. Not only that, but I also experienced some once-in-a-lifetime events. For instance, the OKC Thunder won their first NBA championship! Although I wasn’t in the city when this happened, I could feel the energy reverberating throughout. I also visited the gorgeous state of Colorado in October. The gruling ten hour trip was worth it to see both Denver and Aldo enjoy the journey. It also solidified our decision to move there in the near future.

I read 48/25 books this year and read every day this year, a feat I thought was unimaginable at that time. I learned how to DNF my most anticipated reads, and found that a few ARCs truly made my year.

I also set the goal to watch 52 movies this year, and ended up watching 103. According to my best friend, Google, I exceeded this goal by 290-some percent. Crazy, unbelievable, and fantastic.

Blog Reflections

Blogging was fun at first, but towards the last quarter of the year, it began to feel more forced, and I felt burnt out. AKA, why I stopped posting nearly as much. Although I enjoy writing, and I found that I had things to say, it began to feel harder and harder to put out anything.

However, I am proud of the small community that was made throughout 2025, and am hoping to continue growing said community in 2026. I won’t dive into any specific changes I am making in the upcoming year, just know that I am slowly finding joy in writing and publishing blogs again. Burnout won’t keep me down!

Reading & Watching Highlights

As I mentioned before, I read and watched a lot. Maybe more than I’d like to admit (actually, I will brag a little). Here are some highlight 2025 releases that I haven’t talked about all that much.

Standout 2025 Books

• Dead & Breakfast by Kat Hillis: This is a current read, but it is such an enjoyable and funny story that I had to mentioned it!
• The House of My Mother by Shari Franke: One of the few memoirs I read, and this one cut deep. I was chronically online for a long time, and the Franke family was the talks of the commentary space for awhile.
• Haven’t Killed in Years by Amy K. Green: I did write a review for this, but the point still stands… This is one of my favorites.

Standout 2025 Movies

• Marty Supreme, 2025: We watched this the week it released and to say I am not interested in ping pong is an understatement. But the story hits deep.
• One Battle After Another, 2025: This one… It was a very anticipated movie and it did not disappoint!
• The Roses, 2025: Who doesn’t find it interesting to watch a marriage fall apart in front of your eyes…

Disappointing 2025 Book & Movie

• We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad: The sadness of DNF’ing is real, but I couldn’t do it…
• Novocaine, 2025: This kind of, in a way, felt like Nobody but it was nothing like it…

Unexpected Favorite Book & Movie

• Holes by Louis Sachar: Although this isn’t a 2025 release, it was a first time read for me and boy howdy did I enjoy it more than anticipated!
• The Naked Gun, 2025: Never in my life did I think a raunchy comedy would get a five/five from me, but this one did.

Thank you!

Thank you for a wonderful 2025! I’m proud of what I created this year, even when it wasn’t perfect and I was down with the burnout blues. Here’s to another year!