2026 favorites (so far)
2026 has been a good entertainment media year for me so far;
here are the most noticeable ones in alphabetical order:
Books
To be completely honest, I haven't been reading as much this year as I was last year, and the books I did read, I didn't enjoy that much. I'm still figuring out what kind of books I enjoy the most. But you see, reading stories and not liking them is part of that journey.
So, the only noticeable one so far was Swear on This Life by Renée Carlino. This was a safe option for me because I do know that I love second chance romances. You know where the two protagonist have known each other since childhood, then something happens; boom; separated... but we don't know why.
This was exactly that. I gave it 4 stars, if that's of any interest.
Movies
So I'm going to create 2 subcategories for this. 1. movies released in 2026 I enjoyed and 2. movies that did not release in 2026 but for whatever reason I only discovered them this year.
1. 2026 releases
- Project Hail Mary (Lord, Miller, 2026) was my favorite release of the year so far. I love everything about it. The cinematography, the characters, the story, the music. I laughed, I cried, then I laughed again. So sweet.
I think that's it for this category.
2. not 2026 releases
Good Will Hunting (Van Sant, 1998) was so so good. I always wanted to watch it and I finally got around to it. Wasn't a big fan of Matt Damon or Ben Affleck before seeing that movie but now I really respect them. Great writing and acting. Robin Williams was a bonus for me. May he rest in peace.
Kill Bill (Tarantino, 2003) is a real feminist movie. Quentin Tarantino was right about everything he said. I enjoyed the structure of the film and to be honest it was also really funny at times. [censored] has got to be one of my favorite female leads in cinema. I really went in blind and now it's one of the best films I've watched this year (or ever).
Music
This won't be a shocker to anyone who knows me but my favorite 2026 release was Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally by Harry Edward Styles. His best album yet. There; I said it. Carla's Song is my favorite track.
TV shows
Easy one. Off Campus and Elle. Teen/YA dramas and I are best friends. No, not even that; we're married. There is absolutely nothing I love more than those types of stories (they still got to be good but they have a big leeway).
Off Campus was good especially because of the character dynamics. Romantic or platonic, they were believable. The soundtrack was great and I'm excited for the upcoming seasons.
Elle was accidental. I absolutely love Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon so I wasn't planning on watching the show since I thought it would ruin it for me. It did not. I just love Elle's character so much, I couldn't help but also love the show. The soundtrack was great as well. #teamdustin
Media I'm excited to consume next
- The last book of the Villains series by V.E. Schwab
- Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison (I'm saving this one as a vacation read)
- The Social Reckoning
- Primetime