[British person in California who likes animals, nature, and pottering around.]
Here’s a smattering of my best things across different categories from this year 🙂
BEST BOOKS
Make you want to abandon society and go back to nature: Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
Queer love to make your heart burst: The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune
Pure blissful escapism: The Invisible Life of Addie La Reu, VE Schwab
Regret buying, in hardback: The Guest List, Lucy Foley
BEST MOVIES
Film moment: Bo Burnham’s Inside
Sheer WTFery: Midsommar
Best film I was late to see: Parasite
Best film to hate watch: Jungle Cruise
BEST NATURE
Birding spot: osprey with a fish in its talons
Atop the ocean: kayaking with dolphins in Pacific Grove
Within the ocean: seals, starfish, fish schools and tonal rocks
Photography inspiration: many, many, mushrooms
Night sky: Yosemite valley, on my 31st birthday
Beach comb find: always abalone pieces
BEST GAMING
Combat by dance: Ooblets
Chaos on the Discord: Dead by Daylight
“ok one more”: Genshin Impact
Most awaited: Horizon Forbidden West
BEST TIKTOK
Life crush: @emilydubious – a self-described beach goblin in Fife
Vibe crush: @cozy.games – warm and cozy gaming
Friend crush: @annavatuone – so glad I found Anna’s corner of TikTok
Emo crush: @thisisloveless – for their Billie Eilish cover
Mental health crush: @squirrel_dialogues – every video is so gentle
Dance crush: @jasonrodela – for physically expressing my feelings to “All Eyes on Me”
BEST LINKS & TREATS
Download the Letterboxd app (it’s a way of life): https://letterboxd.com/
Cauliflower cheese recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cauliflower-cheese-0
Keyboard: https://www.yunzii.com/products/yunzii-rainbow-84-84-key-rgb-hotswap-wired-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-with-pbt-shine-through-keycaps-rainbow
Desk light: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081YMGKQR
Splurge boots: https://penelopechilvers.com/us/products/nelson-leather-blue-boot
CultureBucket 