A Year in Review – 2021

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Hello everyone!

It’s that time of the year where I take a moment to look back on the best stuff I’ve consumed in 2021 and share it all with you guys. I can’t say it was the best year of… consumption with all the things that required my attention and needed priority but I’m still quite happy that I made sure to make time for the things I love doing!

BOOKS.

I usually never really pay attention to my Goodreads challenge by putting it at 50 books, knowing that I was going to blow by it because of all the comics and manga I consume but my girlfriend told me to adapt it to MY normal, all “buts” considered, and so I did. Luckily, despite a lower number than last year, I beat my challenge at the very end of the year!

You can find my Goodreads Year in Books 2021 by clicking here!

TOP BOOKS

Among all the books I read this year, the only one that actually got five stars for me is A Game of Thrones. Then again, it was a tough reading year with not enough time dedicated to it. I’m still really glad to have been through these though!

TOP COMICS

With everything I’ve consumed in my past years, I feel like my standards for quality story-telling have risen but some creators sure know how to get it right!

TOP MANGA

Similar to last year, I’m still mighty impressed by the ongoing Kaiju No. 8 manga series. Once it hits the English-speaking market and gets its own anime, watch it catch everyone and their mother’s attention!

MOVIES.

One thing that I did far more than last year was watching movies and I am again very happy to have eliminated most of my TV series watching habit to prioritize movies. This year, I got around to watching 180 movies (pretty much one every other day). Here’s a gallery of all the movies I saw and their respective ratings (see my profile on Letterboxd for more information).

You can flip through the slideshow to see the rest of the movies!

TOP 5 MOVIES

Of all the movies I saw, these were masterpieces for me. If you haven’t seen any of these, you simply must!

VIDEO GAMES.

It was also a fantastic year of gaming, especially with my PS5. I got around to playing and completing maybe 2 games a month and these stood out of the bunch. A review of each can be found on my blog. 😉

LIFE.

What a year it has been! You’d think that the 2020 pandemic would be behind us as we entered 2021 looking all hopeful that vaccination campaigns and social awareness would help us find a new normal that we would all come to love again but these last few weeks and days has us now wondering if we’re not in an endless loop. Nevertheless, I did feel like I’d been able to embrace much more freedom in 2021.

One of the biggest achievements of 2021 remains my completion of my Ph.D. comprehensive exam. It has been lingering over my shoulders for far too long and when I got around to passing it, I was beyond relieved. It took some time for me to recuperate from it all but I feel like I’ve taken enough of a break from it all to start 2022 powered up again and now work my way towards completing my Ph.D.

Speaking of work, it was also a fantastic year at work, being fully invested in the ongoing police bodycam project. It has allowed me to showcase my skills and competencies to my superiors. It has also allowed me to better understand myself in my field of study and contribute to society in my own analytical way.

I ended the year with another huge achievement by finally finding a new home that I and my girlfriend can call our own. It was a wild adventure to hunt down a property that we adored within a market that was insane due to the pandemic but we did it! January 2022 will probably be a bit hectic on my end until the latter half of it but I look forward to everything that this new chapter in our life will bring for us.

I also want to end this post by thanking all of my friends here who have stuck around to all my ramblings on books, comics, shows, movies, and video games. I am, once again, so grateful to have discovered such like-minded individuals who enjoy reading through my stuff and for sticking around for so long. I for one believe that blogging is an essential part of self-therapy for myself and couldn’t imagine not doing it in the future.

I hope this coming year will allow each and every one of you to achieve your goals and your dreams, to remain safe and healthy, and to live happy by doing the things you love and by being with those you love.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Stay safe and read another book! 😉

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

59 thoughts on “A Year in Review – 2021”

  3. What a good and amazing year year for you man. I got a PS4 second hand finallly as it is near impossible to find a ps4 new. Im not even worrying about a ps 5 at the moment… Already clocked my first game in 13 hours… hahaha. Looking forward to reading more from you in 2022. Happy new year

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    1. Thanks, man. Happy New Year to you and your wife! I’m really glad to hear about the PS4. Apparently, even buying a second-hand PS4 has become very complicated today. The prices have increased significantly because people have found ways to hack it and since it’s hard to find a PS5 today, it has become a go-to for many! What game did you put in 13 hours already? 😀

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  4. Sounds like it’s been a good year overall. CongratZ on all your achievements!
    Oh, btw, I read the Maleficent Seven. Well, I listened to it because my library had too long of a waiting line for the actual book. It was interesting and finding out who the Prince was definitely was a twist! Some good characters in that group.

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    1. Thanks, Goldie! I hope your overall impression of your year is more positive than all the individual things that might have hindered it. Really glad to hear you try the Magnificent Seven! That’s so great to hear, especially when you have so little negative things to say about it. I mean “interesting” is a huge win in my books! đŸ€Ł

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      1. It is!

        Also – saw the King’s Man. It wasn’t what I expected (more gadgets and new age stuff (clearly, I did not pay attention to the trailer too much)). Have you seen it? I really enjoyed one part of the movie. I wonder what your favorite is/was/will be.

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      2. I haven’t seen it and with your thoughts on it, I’m more skeptical than ever now… I was hoping that it would stay clear from the gadgetry and new age stuff… It’s one of the things that really killed the 2nd movie in this franchise for me. It just felt like Spy Kids for adults… I guess I’ll wait for it to release digitally now. Not like I have a choice since theaters are closed out here…

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  5. Looks like you managed to take all the hardships and difficulties of 2021 and put them in their place. Nicely done! Seems it’s been a big year for you, and I’m happy to see that. I hope your life continues moving in a direction you’re happy with, one that challenges but also gives you that downtime to enjoy these little diversions we all cherish. And speaking of diversions, WOW you watched some movies this year! 🙂 Happy New Year, Lashaan!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, my friend. I appreciate your eternal positive outlook on life that has continued to inspire me throughout the past months too. I hope you’ll be able to achieve as many of your goals as possible and that 2022 brings you as much happiness as humanly possible. Stay safe and Happy New Year, Todd! 😀

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  8. So many books, comics, movies and games! I keep seeing Network Effect on so many “year in review” posts, but it somehow completely passed me by in 2021 itself.
    Looks like there was a lot going on. Congrats on finding a house with your girlfriend and doing so well with your studies and at work. Hope 2022 will be kind!

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  10. 250 books Lashaan??? Wow! And The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favorite books! Also congrats again for moving and for your PhD! Happy New year!

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  11. How much of that 250 is comics and graphic novels? I am glad you decided to keep your normal as the real number though, so kudos to your GF for that.

    I hope that having your own house is an extremely positive step in the long run 🙂 and best of luck in your continued pursuit of your phd. Is that attainable this year or will it be a longer process than that?

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    1. Around 130 are graphic novels! Then again, some of them are omnibuses that would normally contain more than five trade paperbacks in there so it’s pretty misleading hahah I’ll probably try to keep these numbers this year too.

      Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I think I just started a huge chapter in my life that is a huge step up in terms of adulting and it’s going to be a blast to get accustomed to all of the chaos that comes with it.

      I’m still debating on if it’s something I want to complete by the end of 2022 or continue to take my time with it, considering that there’s no urgency to it all and that I have limited time per week to actually progress it any faster. It remains to be seen how 2022 evolves in the end.

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  17. Congratulations on such a productive and successful year! To get all this done & consume all these pieces of media – I envy you your efficiency 🙂

    Happy 2022!

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  19. Happy New Year!! 😀
    You really accomplished some amazing milestones in 2021. I’m so happy for you and I hope 2022 brings you tons of great things too. ❀
    A Game of Thrones was so good. ❀ I think A Storm of Swords was my favorite overall from the series so far. 🙂

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  20. Happy new year!! It seems like you had a great year Lashaan, and congrats on the new home! I can’t wait to see it and I’m sure it will be lovely 😍 I think your girlfriend’s idea to adjust your goodreads goals to your “normal” is a great idea and I am as always very impressed by the amount of books and movies that you “consumed” (or should I say inhaled? 😅). I also noticed that you only put 2.5 starts on Notting Hill, but Moana has 4 so that’s ok I forgive you 😛 anyway, I hope this year brings a lot of inspiration (to decorate the new home), great books, cool videogames and also peace of mind and health! 😊

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    1. I look forward to when you get the chance to come visit it too! Only a couple more days and I’m so psyched about everything we’ll get to do in it! 😀 Hahaha I do read/watch/game a lot. They’re my trifecta after all! 😛 Oh, oh. If it reassures you, Caro did give Notting Hill a good rating. I had to hold it within me not to get annoyed by so many things, especially behaviours with the 2 protagonists. 😛 I hope you also get around to achieving all your goals this year. Hopefully, we’ll both be happy with what we aim for and accomplish by the end of 2022! 😀

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      1. Yess, I’ve heard that as of today (or yesterday?) you are one step further in this new adventure with Caro so congrats!! I’m sure you’ll make it a lovely home 😊 I understand being annoyed by the cliches in these rom coms ahah, especially as some of them didn’t age so well, but they are still really fun to watch eheh! 😊

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  21. Wow, you’ve had an amazing year, Lashaan! Congrats!!! I hope your new house will be a fabulous place for the two of you, or more 😉 and that your work will continue to bring you satisfaction and fulfillment! Here’s to a great 2022! đŸŽ‰đŸ„‚đŸŽŠ

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  22. Happy New Year to you. 2021 seems like it was very good to you in many ways and I hope 2022 manages to be even better. Very happy to see Dune in your top 5 films. I really enjoyed it and in fact rewatched it just recently and, if possible, liked it even more.
    Lynn 😀

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  23. Happy New Year!! Hope it’s been going great for you and you and your girlfriend are all moved into your house.
    Despite 2021’s rough patches, it sounds like it was a good year.
    Hoping all the best for in this new one.

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