I like making lists. I thought I would have a look back over the films, books and music I enjoyed in 2016 so here are my top 5 of each:

Books

View my year in books on Goodreads

1. The Loney – Andrew Michael Hurley – a great gothic novel, creepy and affecting.
2. Different Class – Joanne Harris – an evocative book about scandal in a boys’ school.
3. Enders Game – Orson Scott Card – this was recommended to me by a friend ages ago. It’s a great science fiction story – you can see how much it has influenced subsequent books and films.
4. Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn – best thriller I read all year – really worth a read. The film is also a great adaptation – but read the book first!
5. Conclave – Robert Harris – really enjoyed this detailed look inside the Vatican and a fun story.

Films

1. Arrival – my film of the year. A long time since I’ve seen such an intelligent film, an alien invasion which is a really clever thought experiment.
2. The Martian – a good solid science fiction film, very entertaining.
3. I Daniel Blake – a must watch about the current state of affairs in the UK and what this government is doing to oppress people.
4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – I really enjoyed this return to the wizarding universe.
5. Rogue One – a fab prequel for Star Wars.

Music

I consume music so differently these days. I have a subscription to Spotify – the streaming service – and have enjoyed their weekly discover playlist – which is a list of music that they think I’ll like based on my listening history (old and new tracks). I have also enjoyed buying second hand vinyl to play on my record player. Most of my new discoveries have come from listening to BBC 6 Music in my car. I often use the Shazam app to find out what the track is and this automatically creates a playlist in Spotify for me.

To get an idea of what I’ve been listening to this year, here is my most listened to playlist:

My top 5 songs of 2016 (which are a mixture of vinyl discoveries and others) are:

1. The Pusher – Steppenwolf (from the Easy Rider soundtrack – sounds amazing on vinyl)
2. This Year – The Mountain Goats (the refrain ‘I’m going to make it through this year if it kills me’ was very 2016!)
3. Trouble – Girl Ray (great new band discovery)
4. Lo, the full final sacrifice – Gerald Finzi (I heard this on Radio 3, a beautiful piece of sacred music)
5. Heroes – David Bowie (obviously listened to a lot of Bowie this year and I think this is my favourite of his!)

Do you have any recommendations for me for 2017?