When you are stuck at home for a long period of time, it can get boring and difficult to find new and interesting things to do. Here, I have included my top recommendations for:
TV Shows and Movies
Games
Books
Other Entertainment
I hope you find some new things to do, if you have any recommendations of your own, feel free to comment them down below!
TV and Movie Recommendations
TV Shows 1.The Office 2. Switched at Birth 3. The Mandalorian 4. The Witcher 5. The Dragon Prince 6. Rick and Morty 7. The Grand Tour/James May Our Man in Japan 8. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 9. Prison Break 10. Shadowhunters
Movies 1. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 2. Spider-man Into the Spider Verse 3. A Series of Unfortunate Events 4. Indiana Jones series 5. The Other Guys 6. Mission Impossible series 7. Book Club 8. Daddy’s Home series 9. How to Train Your Dragon series 10. Arrival
Games
Video Games 1. Stardew Valley 2. Mario Party 3. Apex Legends 4. Worms 5. Lego Harry Potter 6. The Witcher 3 7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8. Pokemon Sword/Shield 9. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 10. Sims
Board Games 1. Betrayal at House on the Hill 2. Spyfall 3. Clue 4. Risk 5. Catan 6. Mysterium 7. Rick and Morty Total Rickall 8. Ticket to Ride 9. Exploding Kittens 10. King of Tokyo
Books
1. Harry Potter 2. Red Queen 3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone 4. Warriors 5. City of Bones (and other Shadowhunter books) 6. Godspeaker Trilogy 7. Daughers of the Moon 8. Game of Thrones 9. Throne of Glass 10. The Last Vampire
Other Entertainment
Puzzles Crochet Paint by Numbers (or just painting) Cross Stitch Cooking Bullet Journaling Writing
Let me just say that picking only five books was so difficult, as I read many five star books this year! However, after much thinking I narrowed it down (plus a few honorable mentions) and am happy with my list. If you would like to read my full spoiler free reviews, I have linked them below in the title of the books. These are not in a certain order, I just randomly picked.
Red Queen is about a girl named Mare who is a “Red”. In this world there are people with silver blood, who are royalty, and people with red blood, who are commoners. People with silver blood have abilities and that is one of the reasons that they are the elite. Mare, however, has abilities even though her blood is red. In this book she has to try to hide this fact from the Silvers while being stuck in the midst of them. I love the action, the world, and the romance in this book. I have read the second and third books too and really enjoyed them as well!
This Savage Song is about a split city full of monsters, and two people trying to survive. August Flynn is the son of the leader of one half of the city and a monster that can steal someone’s soul just by playing his violin. He hates this about himself, and so desperately wants to be human. Kate Harker is heir to the other half of the city, and wants to be as merciless as her father. This book is about the two sides of the city trying to keep an eye on each other and one-up each other. This story was deeper and more mature than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. It goes into psychological matters that I found interesting. I have read both books in this duology and it has become one of my favorite series of all time. Definitely recommend it!
This series is adorable! I read all three books in 2019 and even though I did love the second two books, the first is definitely my favorite. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is about a girl name Lara Jean. She is a romantic, but is extremely shy, so instead of confessing her love to her crushes, she writes love letters to them that she hides in her closet. However, one day all the letters are sent out, causing some of the recipients (including her best friend/sister’s boyfriend) to confront her. This book includes wonderful relationship dynamics (familial, friends, and lovers), a great cast of characters, and realistic scenarios. Every character seemed so REAL and I love that about this book. It is one of my favorite romance series, and the first two movies are quite great as well.
SLAY is about a 17-year old girl named Kiera. She is one of the only black students at her high school. However, when she gets home, she is secretly the creator of an online game called SLAY where she is joined by thousands of Black gamers. No one knows. Not her family, her friends, or even her boyfriend. So when a teenager is killed over a dispute involving SLAY, her life is turned upside down. Everyone in the world immediately wants to know who she is and are split between celebrating her and wanting her to pay for the teen’s death. This book discusses Kiera’s struggle with who she is as a person. This struggle is discussed and analyzed throughout the book with many different characters. This story has a lot of suspense and mystery, as well as humor throughout it. It opened my eyes to struggles that I have never experienced, and I think that everyone should read, as it is a wonderful fun book with an incredibly unique game (as a gamer, I had a ton of fun reading about it. However, you don’t have to be a gamer to understand the game), it is an eye opener, and powerfully empowering story celebrating all different types of Blackness.
The Arc of a Scythe series is such an incredibly interesting series. In 2019 I read both Thunderhead and The Toll, and honestly preferred Thunderhead. I will discuss the plot of Scythe, just to not give spoilers of what happens. Scythe is a story of a world so advanced that death has been beaten. No one really dies of natural causes any more (there are some exceptions but I am not going to go into those). People are even “ageless” since they can’t die of old age and can rewind time and become any age they want to be. However, since they are still having children, the population has to be controlled somehow. That is where scythes come in. Scythes are people whose jobs are to keep the population in check by killing (“gleaning”) a certain number of people a year. This story follows Citra and Rowan who are unwilling apprentices to a scythe. They must learn the ways of the scythes and become one, or die. I love how this story was so thought provoking, the ideas of mortality and morality were discussed thoroughly throughout this book (and all of the others). The characters were amazing, the world was intriguing, and the plot of all three books continuously went places that I was not expecting. I would recommend the entire series to anyone who wants a fun but dark read.
This series is my childhood, so I know very well that I am biased when I recommend this book. However, I do truly think that it is a fun, easy, short read that many people would enjoy. Into the Wild is a book about a cat named Rusty. Rusty is a house cat who wonders into the woods one day and encounters “clan cats”. He decides to join them and the story is about him learning the ways of being part of Thunderclan. I love the clan system in this book. There are four clans total that make up the forest, and they each have their own territory that they protect. The interactions between the clans, and sub-plots throughout the story are fun and surprising. I just love this book and all the books in the series that I have read. It is a middle-grade novel but I definitely believe that people that are older than that age group would still love it.
I LOVE this sequel, possibly even more than the first one! However, again I don’t want to give spoilers, so I will be talking about the Cruel Prince right here. The Cruel Prince is about three human (or half human) sisters trying to survive in the world of the Fae. Jude and her two sisters were stolen from the human world when they were young and were then raised in the High Court of Faerie. Jude wants to belong in the court and become one of the greatest knights that the fae have seen. This story involves betrayal, sinister plots, fighting, cunning, and more. I love the magic and world of the Court and how Jude tries to be one of them. I have yet to read The Queen of Nothing, but I did enjoy the first two books very much.
Again, but Better is about a college girl named Shane who feels like she hasn’t been very successful in college. She just goes through the motions and doesn’t take many risks. However, when she sees a study abroad opportunity to London, she decides to be tenacious and go. This story is a beautiful one about courage, confidence, and self-improvement. It is about finding yourself, and getting over hurtles that are in your way. This book resonated with me because I somehow feel like certain decisions that I have made were not the best ones, and I wish that I had the courage to do certain things that I am too nervous to do. I think that many people can connect with this on some level, and so it is an extremely lovable book. This book is incredibly inspiring, and there is a twist in there that I don’t think a lot of people will expect.
Renegades is about a group of people (called Renegades) that have superpowers and are trying to establish peace in a dystopian society. Nova is a “villain” who wants to overthrow the Renegades because of a tragic event that happened in her past. Adrian is a Renegade boy that wants to do good and help people, while making the villains pay for hurting his loved ones. When they meet they both start to question themselves and their allegiances. I love the abilities in this book, there are so many of them and it is wonderful to see how each character uses them. The power struggle between the Renegades and the Villains is complex and enjoyable to read about. If you are a lover of superheroes, villains, complex moral qualms, plot twists, and a dash of romance, then this is the book for you!
2019 was a great reading year for me! For the past few years I have only been able to read a couple books a year because I was too busy with college to read. However, now that I am out, I am trying to read a lot more and catch up with everything that I have missed.
My goal for 2019 was to read 24 books, and I ended up reading 37! Here are the list of them with their ratings. If you would like to read more about my thoughts, I have linked each review to the titles below.
Thunderhead Author: Neal Shusterman Genre: YA, Dystopian Rating: ★★★★★
Eragon Author: Christopher Paolini Genre: YA, Fantasy Rating: ★★★★★
The Wicked King Author: Holly Black Genre: YA, Fantasy Rating: ★★★★★
The Magicians Author: Lev Grossman Genre: YA, Contemporary Fantasy Rating:★★★★
Again, but Better Author: Christine Riccio Genre: YA, Romance Rating:★★★★★
Slay Author: Brittney Morris Genre: YA, contemporary Rating: ★★★★★
Renegades Author: Marissa Meyer Genre: YA, Dystopian Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Summary: In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl’s spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?
Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.
As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.
When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.
I was finally able to pick up the third book in the Red Queen series, and I am so glad I was able to. Even though I rated the second book four stars, this is still one of my favorite series of all time. So the fact that it took me so long to pick up King’s Cage is sad, but I am so happy I waited until I a time that I could focus on it fully.
Likes: The whole situation that Mare is in is insane. The ending to Glass Sword shocked me, and seeing how that situation is playing out is CRAZY. Even though it would normally be boring because she is just sitting in a cell all day, somehow Victoria makes it entertaining. This book doesn’t have many physical fights, but the mental battles that go on are equally as intriguing. I love learning about psychology and how people think, and this book was full of that. I am not one of those Maven lovers who are hoping for a redemption arc, however, I can see how messed up his childhood is and I feel sorry for him. I do not think that it is a reason for him doing the things he did, but it does show some of the actions that caused him to become that way. All the character development throughout this book is wonderful, and I love reading about it. I also love one of the fight scenes that happens later in the book, the descriptions are so cool, and some of the characters involved were not as surprising as I wished but were still great.
Dislikes: This story honestly seemed so slow. For some reason I was just dredging through it so slowly and it seemed like it was going on for forever. That was one of the only negative things that I found with the book, and it did make reading it not as enjoyable. The only thing that really annoyed me about this book was the ending. One reason is because of how predictable it was. The subject was brought up so much I figured that it had to happen sometime. But I didn’t want it to! Like what the crap, why even. I feel like there was so much character growth in all the characters that this scene shouldn’t have happened. In the first book it would have made sense, but these characters have grown so much, the last scene just seemed unrealistic and undoes all the good that the characters have accomplished personally.
Overall, even though the pacing was slow, and I did not like the ending at all, I still loved this book. It took me through a whirlwind of emotions, and the psychological aspect of it was interesting. I loved the character growth and how the characters grew together. This was just a deep book that solidifies why I love this series so much. I can already tell that the last book is going to wreck me.
Goodreads Summary: All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can’t remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it’s not just Kane who’s different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different.
As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what’s going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere—the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery—Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know.
This wildly imaginative debut explores what happens when the secret worlds that people hide within themselves come to light.
This was the January Barnes and Noble book club pick and to be honest I had never heard of it before I saw that it was picked. However, after it came out I started to see it everywhere, and for good reason! I loved the cover, was intrigued by the vague synopsis, and found out that I really like it.
Likes: I went into this book not knowing what it was going to be about at all. My friend and I had a great time trying to guess but none of them were even close to the actual plot of the book. This kept the story interesting and seemed unique to me. It reminded me of inception to be honest but there were so many differences I wouldn’t say that they were too alike. I also enjoyed the characters. Their personalities are so diverse, and I love that. To be honest, in a lot of books I get characters mixed up if their names are too complicated because so many stories have similar-personality characters. In this book however, I had no problem remembering which character was which because of how different they are. If you have read or watched the Magicians, it reminded me of that and how the characters were complex and different. I also liked the different dreams that the characters went into. They were so crazy! Some of them were so insane, it was awesome to read about! I loved the author’s writing too because I could picture the different reveries and imagine that I was there.
Dislikes: I won’t say with who, but there is a love story between two characters in this book. The love story honestly seemed awkward and strange to me. This is because of how suddenly it happened. Also, because one of the characters was acting in such a way that didn’t make sense if they loved the other person. Yes, I understand some things happened in the past, but it just seemed like there wasn’t enough communication. It seemed like the only reason that this communication wasn’t put into the book was for suspense. I don’t like when authors keep something a secret when it isn’t realistic just for the sake of keeping it a secret. It was just strange to me. Which is sad because I really love them together! Another thing that I didn’t like was the miscommunication and secrets between the friends. Again, it seems like it was just there to build suspense, but it did not work well for me. It was unnecessary and unrealistic. Their reasons for keeping secrets were unbelievable and I did not like it.
Overall, I gave this book four out of five stars. I did love the book, and I had a wonderful time reading it. However, there were just so many things that seemed unbelievable and out of character to me that I couldn’t get past. It just took away the credibility of the characters. I did enjoy the story, the character’s personalities, and the writing though. I would love to read more books by Ryan! I just couldn’t get past the character relations and actions. I would still recommend this, it was a great read.
Goodreads Summary: It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.
In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.
The Arc of a Scythe series is absolutely one of my favorite series, and so when The Toll came out, I couldn’t wait to listen to it! I chose to listen to it because I listened to the first two books and I loved it – the narrator was fantastic.
Likes: Like the first two books, the world in this story is so insane. It provokes so much thought about death and how the lack of it would affect our society. The ways in which the government is changed in the story to fit around this lack of natural death is wonderful to read about. How people’s actions change is extremely interesting too – for example, people literally “splat” (jump off buildings) for fun for the adrenaline rush. As for this book specifically, I like that we got to learn more about other people besides Rowan and Citra. There are several POVs in this book that weren’t as prevalent in the first two books and I really liked learning about these other characters and their place in the world. The pacing was also great. It seemed like there was always something crazy or interesting going on somewhere. If not much was going on in one POV, there would be another where a plethora of events would be unfolding.
Dislikes: The ending to the second book was absolutely insane and I had no clue where this book was going to go. I LOVED that about Thunderhead. However, I personally did not care for where this book went in the end. It was just so out there and got away from what I believe this book series is about. I think that the ending made sense, but there could have been better places this story could have gone.
Overall, I will say that this wasn’t my favorite book of the series. I still love the writing, the characters, the pacing, and so much more, this book just went in a direction that I personally didn’t care for. I honestly debated my rating for a long time. I wanted to give it five stars because I love the series so much, but I finally decided that if I was having to debate it for so long, that it wasn’t worth five stars. So, I gave it four stars because of the direction that it went and because I didn’t love it as much as the first two, however, I would still recommend this book and this series to everyone. It is phenomenal!
Goodreads Summary: My whole life, I’ve known there’s something different about me. I didn’t realize how different until four guys show up all claiming that they are destined to be my mates.
They’re not human, and they say I’m not either.
But if I’m not human then what am I?
Now I’m forced to go to a school where I don’t belong and am reminded of it everyday.
Creatures I never imagined were real that used to give me nightmares are everywhere I turn.
The world that once existed is gone.
Will anything ever be like it was again?
I was browsing through my Kindle trying to find a free book to read and I thought this one sounded interesting. I did not have high expectations for this book at all which is probably why I gave this book three stars.
Likes: I know the premise is pretty strange, but I thought this book was a lot of fun! It has supernatural creatures and reminded me of avatar with the different elements of the creatures. There is a whole range of characters – from funny to petty- and I enjoyed meeting and learning about all of them. The whole mate aspect was so weird that I found it enjoyable. I don’t mean to make fun of the book, don’t think I am trying to be judgmental when I say “weird” and “strange”. I honestly mean it in a nice way, I just can’t think of any words with better connotations. I think strange and weird is wonderful, who wants to be normal?? Anyway, continuing on with the review, I also liked how fast paced this book is. It never seems to lull or get boring, something is always happening.
Dislikes: The writing is honestly not that great. There is a lot of repetition in the writing which isn’t my favorite. The way that the characters talk to each other and think to themselves seems immature and unrealistic. It just seems like she describes the character’s interactions in a mundane way that makes the book immature. Along with that, the whole plot just seems a little….fanfiction-y. I can tell that there is supposed to be a deeper plot about her heritage and stuff, but it seems like the main plot is her figuring out how she is going to be in a relationship with all these boys who are completely okay with being in a polygamous relationship with her. It just doesn’t seem deep.
To be honest it was not a well-written book. It was hilarious and a ton of fun to read, but wasn’t the best quality. It is the type of read that I like when I don’t want to think too much and I just want a quick quirky romance. For that reason alone I gave it three stars. I did get a lot of enjoyment from it and was chuckling through the whole book, but I wouldn’t say it was a high-quality story.
Goodreads Summary: Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother’s birth through the lens of his camera. Photography–and fate–introduce him to Ana, whose family’s interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War–as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel’s photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.
Includes vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photos, and more.
I read this for the November Barnes and Noble YA Book Club. To be honest, historical fiction is not my favorite genre, I have only read a couple books of this genre because they tend to be too serious for me. However, I really liked this book and am so glad that I picked it up!
Likes: I love the romance in this book. The two characters are so adorable, and together they just warmed my heart. It is such an innocent romance and I love how nervous and shy they are around each other. How their affection blooms throughout the book is so sweet to read about. I also liked the different POVs in this book. This book follows several different characters and I loved learning about each of them. At first they seem to not relate to each other, but as the story goes on their lives start to weave together. I also love how much I learned about Spain during this time. To be honest, I didn’t know much about what happened with Spain during this time, and it was extremely eye opening to read about. Some of the events that were occurring were so horrific, and I think that Ruta did a great job making her story eventful and informative. I also liked the different forms of story telling in this book. Ruta included articles, quotes from world leaders at the time, photos, and more. This made the book so much more interactive and added elements that I don’t see in many stories.
Dislikes: For me there wasn’t really anything that I disliked. The characters were believable, the relationships were adorable, the storyline was deep and informative, and the pacing was great.
Overall, I did give it four out of five stars because I didn’t LOVE the book. Again, historical fiction isn’t my favorite genre, and while I did like this book a lot and found it very interesting, I can’t say that it is one of my favorite books, which five stars is reserved for. I still think that everyone should read this because it is an incredible book and to understand more about the history of Spain and what was going on at the time.
Goodreads Summary: Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
I had been looking at this book for a while because it seemed incredibly interesting and because it was free on Kindle for a while. After reading Different on my Kindle, I decided to pick this one up because that plot really hooked me!
Likes: This society is extremely complex and interesting, I haven’t read many (if any at all) books that have a society like this. The way that this “secondborns are the property of the government” society works causes the main character’s relationship with her brother (a firstborn) to become extremely strained. Not only that, she basically doesn’t have any relationship with her parents at the beginning because of this too. How the society and government so strongly affect Roselle’s relationships and life is realistic and I love reading about it – even though it can be sad. Another thing that I like is the plot. There were twists and turns the entire book. I would think it was going one place but then it would go another. I enjoyed the places that this story went for the most part up until the end.
Dislikes: Towards the end, the book goes in a direction that I did not like. I thought it was unrealistic and confusing, and thought there could have been better places for it to go. Another thing that I did not like was the romance. It seemed so forced and improbable. I usually don’t mind the love at first sight trope, but in this book it happened so suddenly during a destressing time. I feel like the two characters had much more important things to focus on that they wouldn’t have had time to kindle their romance.
Overall, I think that I enjoyed the idea of this book more than I enjoyed the actual book. Just the way that it played out was not the ending that I expected or really wanted, and the main romance was just too unbelievable to me. Besides that, I did love the world, the politics, and other character relationships. If the next books ever went on sale on Kindle like this one did, I might read them, but they aren’t on the top of my list. I would recommend it, as long as you know to keep an open mind about what is going to happen.
Goodreads Summary: Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.
Brandon Sanderson is one of my most heard about authors because of his Mistborn series (which has been on my TBR for so long). When he created this series I wasn’t super interested because I haven’t been into sci-fi for a while, but after hearing so many good things about it I decided that it was time to listen to it.
Likes: I loved the main character. She is so feisty and not afraid to do something difficult or terrifying to get something done. She has so many people going against her and yet she continues to pursue her dream. I just love that about her and that aspect of her truly is a motivation to me. Another thing that I liked was the team work that was demonstrated in this book. It shows the evolution of a team that starts out not necessarily liking each other (some seriously hating others) but end up being closer than they ever could have expected. It is so realistic in showing the struggles of working as a team, especially in life-or-death situations. Speaking of dangerous situations, the affect that these situations have on each of the members of the team is different and realistic. Each member of the team struggles with the danger that they are put into and I love learning more about each character by being shown how they react to adversity and grief. The revelations that happen at the end were so unanticipated. It completely took the book to a new level and added an element that I did not expect at all. It made me so excited for the next book because anything could happen!
Dislikes: I honestly cannot think of one. I enjoyed this book the entire time and cannot think of anything that I didn’t like. I wouldn’t say this is my favorite book simply because I don’t feel like I am super invested or connected to the characters, but I don’t think that is a book problem or writing problem, I think it is just personal preference.
Overall, I loved listening to this book! The characters were so much fun and realistic, the growth of the team was admirable, and the plot itself was a lot of fun. I loved the ending and where it started to go, it added an element that I don’t see in too many sci-fi books. I would recommend this to sci-fi lovers and honestly, to non-sci-fi lovers! Five stars from me.
Classic Squidney 