Hello ladies and gentlemen,
After seeing IgnitedMoth share her stats so far this year, I thought it would be a good occasion to do something similar as well and see how 2019 has been so far for me!
Without further ado, let’s do this!
READING
Safe to say that there was no way that I would fail my Goodreads challenge. Remains to be seen how many books I’ll have read by the end of the year with a year-round consumption of mangas, comic books, and graphic novels! 😀
TOP BOOK
Of course, the grand finale to Mark Lawrence’s trilogy wins my vote for the best book so far in 2019! Check out my review for more on my thoughts!
TOP COMIC BOOK
Although I had already read this story arc as single issues a couple of years ago, revisiting it in this edition was just too wonderful! Check out my review here!
TOP MANGA
There were a couple of great tankōbon volumes that were amazing so far, especially in my re-read of Naruto and Dragon Ball Super, but I want to give this series (especially volume 6) a shout-out for how much fun I’m having with it right now. If you love superheroes, you should out this quirky, fun and inspiring series!
MOVIES
One thing I wanted to change this year was to watch fewer shows to make room for more movies and I’m actually quite happy with the result with over 55 movies logged in so far. I’m convinced I’ll be checking out just as many before 2020 arrives.
TOP MOVIE
By far the best movie I saw this year! It was part of my watchlist of movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and thankfully it won plenty of other awards, especially for the actresses! Highly recommended!
BLOGGING
It has been a peculiar year for Bookidote but nothing that should worry anyone. My co-blogger has been pretty absent due to personal reasons which led me to share contents that reflects a lot more of my taste over on Bookidote. While I had no issue with that, I know that many followers who were interested in her YA content or ecstatic-personality bookish posts were absent but hey, we can’t please everyone, right? 🙂
What I did love was to share a lot of my comic book/graphic novel reviews with everyone and I’m happy to know that a lot of you guys still appreciated it and interacted with me on that regard. To all those who still enjoy Bookidote for what it is today, thank you and I will always love every second you spend with me!
Throughout summer, I still plan on sharing similar content, from the occasional bookish posts to reviews of books, comics, and movies. Again, thank you to all those who still interact with me and I hope you’ll still love your stay with me! 😀
PERSONAL LIFE
This year marked the beginning of my PhD degree in criminology and I am now a year into it with around two years left to it. It was an interesting process that led me to sharpen my thesis ideas and got me to focus on my career perspectives and what exactly tickles my fancy.
As I work on the side as well at a provincial police headquarters, I also got around to reflecting on what exactly I wanted to do with my life and my degrees. On one hand, while a research life gets me to be fully invested in theories and practical ideas, it remains a world of struggle to be financially stable as you attempt to grab onto all the financial support you can get (funds and grants). On the other hand, working for the government allows me to be of immediate and practical use while having financial stability. I guess I’ll have to make some important life decisions in the coming years, that’s for sure.
I also had the chance to go to a conference and present my Master’s degree thesis in Gatineau, Canada for the 87th ACFAS Congress, which turned out pretty good although it was raining dogs and cats on that day!
Otherwise, life has been beautiful alongside my girlfriend who has been tremendous on all fronts, bringing unparalleled happiness on a daily basis. This year couldn’t have been what it was without her constant support and bright smile. Sometimes it’s with someone that you truly get to appreciate all the little things in your environment. Thank you, Caroline. ❤
If anything, this year has been pretty good to me so far and I hope 2019 plans on ending on a good note as well!
How was your year so far? What recommendations do you have for me?
Till next, time!
Roars and Echoes 
As sad as I am to see Trang drop blogging as much as she has, I’m ok with less YA content. I’m sure that has hit your overall numbers though.
I am glad you’re sticking around. Of course, if you’re going full in on the whole criminology thing, I’ll have to be a LOT more careful what I say around you. Wouldn’t want you thinking I’m some sort of criminal mastermind masquerading as a common blogger 😉
I AM impressed with the numbers you’ve read so far. Especially considering everything else in real life you’re doing. You’ve read more than 10% than me at this same time. I plan on doing a mid-year post at the end of the month when the year is actually halfway through. Hopefully my numbers will be a bit more respectable then.
Keep up the good work. I think you’re doing great running the place on solo…
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Yep, it is unfortunate that I can’t cater to that portion of followers who expect YA content but at least I’m not doing this for numbers. The opportunity to just write and interact with people like you is what drives me more than anything to put in time into this blog.
Hahahah no worries, as a researcher I also love to get VIP insights directly from criminals too. Feel free to share everything you’ve done and how you do it. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll write a book on the great Bookstooge and how he screwed the system. 😂
A lot of it are manga, comics and graphic novels though. I’m just glad I could read this much although I do wish I could chug up novels like you do though. 😂
Thanks for the support though, I appreciate it.
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Sounds like a great year so far. I don’t think I knew you were studying criminology. For some reason, I immediately thought of the show Criminal Minds when I read that. Hope the rest of the year goes well for you.
Btw, I need to see Captain Marvel. I’ve seen Endgame but was wondering who’s the random supergirl.
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Hahaha people often do associate the program to Criminal Minds but I assure you that Criminal Minds exaggerates a lot of its stuff for entertainment purposes 😂
I wasn’t a huge fan at all of Captain Marvel but I hope you’ll enjoy it more than I did. They made her into an unstoppable Superman with no kryptonite, if you ask me. 😂
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Lol, yeah I expect so but I can’t stop thinking that the real thing is exactly like Criminal Minds but longer.
Me neither! Wasn’t a fan of her either for the same reason. I was like, why not just have her fight Thanos and call it a day? But I thought maybe I was thinking so because I haven’t seen her movie. She wasn’t very appealing to me as a character.
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It’s been a great first half of the year – but I’m looking forward to the second half of 2019 even more! A couple of my most anticipated releases are dropping in the fall, so looks like it’s just going to look better and better 😀
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Same here! So many fantastic fantasy novels are coming out this summer and I can’t wait to dive into them! Hope it turns out to be great second-half for you! 😁
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I have been off the radar for most of the year as well because..life. Anyway, you do such a great job, and I love your blog and all your comments. I do hope all is well over there though.
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Thank you so much Jen, and I know how busy your life has been lately and I hope you’ll find some nice stability really soon! 😁
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Wow you’re having a grest year so far! I see you watched Ferris, hoped you enjoyed it? I picked up a second hand copy DVD of it recently as I fancied watching it again, haven’t seen it for a looong time. The talk you gave at the conference sounds fascinating, I could understand with my school French but not the rest. Hopevyhe rest of the year is just as good for you!
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Yes! I saw bits of the movie here and there throughout my childhood but this was the first time I sat down through the whole thing. It was fun for sure even if it’s cheesy and insane at times hahah
So cool that you’ve got a little bit of French in you! I’m quite happy to be bilingual and that French is one of those languages. Gives me access to probably one of the greatest pieces of literature out there without having to read translated pieces. I just need to find time to read more of them. 😬😂
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Great choice for the movie of the year, I also liked it very much, for the same reasons you did 🙂
Your PhD – fascinating stuff! It’s a hard life everywhere these days, many people give it up, but you seem to be doing pretty well, that’s great!
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Tell me about it! I loved how the ladies evolved throughout the movie and the dark humour that come with it. Beautiful stuff.
It’s definitely no easy task and I hope that in the next couple of years I’ll have found the path I want to continue on without having any doubt blocking my view.
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I love these little recaps so much 🙂 you’re doing SO great with your reading challenge, this is amazing and I hope the second half of the year will be as productive and just as good, too. I have to say, I am IMPRESSED by the amount of movies I’m spotting here haha, I’m also spotting Spirited Away and I LOVE THAT ONE SO VERY MUCH ahh. ❤
I hope the rest of the year will be just as good to you, sending you lots of love! xx
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Hahah thanks for the support, Marie! I’m glad that you continue to drop by to show this kind of love! And yes!!!! I finally got around to checking out Spirited Away! It was beautiful 😍 I remember you saying that I had to check it out back when I put out some of my “must-watch movies” resolution at the beginning of the year too! 😍😍😍 I even saw Howl’s Moving Castle afterwards too! These Ghibli movies are too good for this world!
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Always!! ❤ I'm so happy you enjoyed it so much and Howl's Moving Castle, YES I really like that one too 😀
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Performance criminelle des trafiquants de drogue? Jesus they sound like CEO but I guess they are, just of very illegal firms. Et même en parlant français je ne suis pas sure d’avoir tout compris LOL
Now criminology is a very interesting field of study and you already know that it overlaps with some of what I am doing 😉 Thanks for trailer Lashaan as I would love watching this one now!
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Hahahahahahah your comment made my day 😂 they sure are entrepreneurs in the criminal world, just that some succeed way more than others and it’s trying to understand why and how that my thesis is about! 😁 It would be funny if we actually cross paths somehow due to our respective work hahahah and yes! You have to check out this movie! It’s crazy and amazing! 😍
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So many books AND so many movies! Wow!
Definitely gonna The Favourite, seems very interesting. 🙂
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Hahah yes! There was no holding back this year! Maybe a little. 😬😂 Really glad that you’ll be giving The Favourite a shot. I assure you, it’s amazing! 😍
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Congrats all around, Lashaan! You’ve definitely been busy this year, and it’s only the first half!
I’m spotting some good movies on your list, especially The Raid and Coco and Paddington 😂😂 Haven’t seen John Wick 3 yet, but am planning to 😉
Good luck with the PhD and the subsequent decisions regarding your professional life – it’s never easy, but I’m sure you’ll make the best of it 🙂
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Thanks, Ola! I look forward to finding out how the second half will go as well.
YES! Excellent movies! The action scenes in The Raid is unmatched so far. I’d put the John Wick trilogy right behind it in that regards.
Yep. I think there’s no good answer or move there. We just discover what works best for us as we experience them! 😁
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Maybe one day the number of books you read and movies you watch will reach your level of sweetness, Lashaan, but I seriously doubt it 😚 I’m always so impressed by everything you’ve accomplished and how you manage to do so many things! 😊 I personally watched very few movies and read even less books but it was still an amazing year so far 😍 Thanks for being here, dear Lashaan ❤️
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Hahahah I couldn’t have been able to do anything without your presence 🙈 And yes you did read/watch less but probably so much more than the year before 😜 Thank you for being my everything! 😍
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Way too kind Lashaan, thank you for your support, as always 😍
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So far, you had a great year! Congratulations on finishing your goodreads challenge! I’m not surprised to see Holy Sister in your top list! You’ve saw some pretty good movies so far. I haven’t watched The favorite but really loved the trailer! I’m definitely going to check it out!
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Thanks, Raven! And yes, I was invested in those characters and looked forward to that finale! 😁 You totally got to give The Favourite a shot. It’s amazing!
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Aw, thanks for the shout-out! 🙂 I like the variety of topics you’ve covered in your post.
I really want to check out more of My Hero Academia. I kind of accidentally started watching a few episodes of the anime while my boyfriend was watching it and it seems pretty interesting. I like all the weird character designs and personalities. 😛
That’s awesome that you’ve had such a great year so far and hopefully the rest of the year will be even better! 😀
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My pleasure! Hahahah I’ve ONLY heard great things about My Hero Academia and so far in the manga it is wonderful! I even saw the movie and loved it. I’ll probably end up checking out the anime once I’m done with the manga ahhaha Hope you have a great second half as well! 😁
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I enjoyed the insight into your life beyond blogging! Co-writing a blog has a lot of advantages- one can pick up the slack if the other has circumstances that prevent them from writing regularly- and it works for me & Kathleen too.
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Thanks, Nancy! And yes! But then again, I’m not really picking up her slack and more like doing my thing since she never really told me to “cover” for her either hahah
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Lots of things going on with you. Congratulations on your presentation and continuing to forge on with the blessings life gives you. We’re both busy, trying to carve time to blog, which be I am happy to say I’ve started back on a routine, primarily due to an upcoming announcement!
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Karina. I appreciate it. Well, you sure can’t leave me clueless like that! You better be announcing that it’s time the world saw Karina as president! 😀
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Great wrap up and what an exciting first half of year!
Congrats on the presentation 🙂 This is totally awesome! ❤
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Thanks, Norrie! I appreciate it! 😀 😀
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Haha. Nothing that big. Just a humble thang that’s big to an obscure writer like me. Hint: be on look out next week.
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Looking forward to sharing your exciting! 😍😍😍
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Congrats on completing your goodreads challenge! 😀 I haven’t read the My Hero Academia manga, but I have watched the anime and enjoyed it quite a lot. I definitely plan on picking it up in the future. It seems like you had a great year so far. I hope the rest of your year will be amazing as well! 🙂
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Thanks Anna! Yes, you should totally try it. These kid heroes are awesome! If you get caught up with the anime, don’t forget to try the movie as well. 😜 I hope you have an excellent second half of the year as well! 😁
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