fuck it, 2025 wrapped

My Year In Review

December hadn’t even had its time to get its feet under the table before all the ‘wrapped’ were coming out, Spotify of course being the root cause of why we gleefully share our data we allow our apps track all year and then filter us into AI-generated personality types that hint at our uniqueness while acting as a handy marketing tool for the platform. Sorry to break it to you, but Spotify Wrapped is just Buzzfeed quizzes all over again and that’s why Millennials like us just can’t get enough of them. I don’t use Spotify but I did get a ‘wrapped’ from YouTube, Discord and Wikipedia of all places which at least gave me irrefutable proof that I mostly use Wikipedia to spoil horror film plots for me, as I’ve discussed in a previous blog.

I am however, only mortal and so not immune to the joys of end-of-year lists and round-ups. I love seeing what other people have been up to, the things I missed and where our tastes overlap. So here’s me, here are the things this year I read, watched, played and saw that moved me in some way and maybe they will move you. What other use do I have for the lists I keep in the back of my diary? Surely it can’t just be for the pleasure of the act of keeping a list, surely I must share what I have found on this, the very last day of 2025?

Read (Books)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2004): For the last few years I’ve chosen a big book™ to read over Christmas/New Year and Clarke’s epic was the perfect book to see me through. Utterly British and magical, a commentary on the ways men will do anything but pay attention to their wives.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (2014): The way Garner relates the trial of this horrific crime in incredible detail is utterly captivating. Never judgmental but always deeply observant.

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (2024): A book set in ancient Greece, written in contemporary Irish about two kinda losers putting on an Aeschylus play using captured Athenian soldiers shouldn’t work but it was one of the best books I read this year. So funny, yet had me sobbing by the end.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison (2008): Morrison deftly weaves together several narratives in such a short book, revealing the ways that the transatlantic slave trade erased histories and identities and what remains afterwards.

Monstrillio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova (2023): The best kind of horror – one that looks at the ways we allow those we love to hurt us. A tender portrait of family and unrelenting thirst.

Bad Language by So Mayer (2025): One of the most clever and honest books I read this year on language, abuse and making meaning.

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein (2023): I read this book slowly because every chapter made me angry. I’ve referenced it many times since. A book that is helpful to understand what the fuck is happening and why it’s getting worse.

On the Calculation of Volume I, II and III by Solvej Balle, trans. by Barbara J. Haveland (2022): After the first book I wondered where else it could go, but this careful meditation on time and meaning as its main character repeats the same day over and over continues to surprise and delight.

Wise Children by Angela Carter (1991) (reread): “What a joy it is to dance and sing!” If you’re in a reading rut no better tonic than Angela Carter. Simply brilliant.

Bone Horn by Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain (2025): Sexy lesbian detective investigates Alice B. Toklas’s fabled horn in this silly, clever genre-defying mystery novel.

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter (2025): A beautiful look at the relationship between two men during and in the wake of the AIDS/HIV crisis. Written with sparse, precise prose that will make you weep.

Ordinary Saints by Naimh Ni Mhaoileoin (2025): An examination of faith through family dynamics and the process of canonisation, told from the point of view of its black sheep lesbian daughter. A stunning debut novel.

Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor (2024): A tale of nested stories within stories that explore female experience from rage, love, solidarity, family and violence. The first novel from poet Joelle Taylor, every page sings with language.

The Original by Nell Stevens (2025): I loved this exploration of queer desire, copycats and the ways in which we all fool ourselves. Gripping reading.

The Employees by Olga Ravn, trans. by Martin Aiken (2018): Winner of weirdest book of the year – told as a series of conversations that blur the lines between human and humanoid, memory and imagination and what it means to be alive.

I was lucky enough to read a lot of queer non-fiction this year thanks to writing a queer non-fiction book myself: The Light of Day by Christopher Stephen and Louise Radnofsky (2025), Outrage by Ellen Jones (2025), What a Girl Wants by Roxanne Bourdillon (2025), Before Gender by Eli Erlick (2025), Burning my Roti by Sharan Dhaliwal (2022), The Diaries of Mr Lucas by Hugo Greenlaugh (2024), The Log Books by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith (2026), The Bed Trick by Izabella Scott (2026), An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail (2026) by Helene Giannecchini, trans. by Anna Moschovakis.

Read (Other)

Heather Parry’s newsletter general observations on eggs, particularly this: The Amoral Face of Modern Robotics (£)

Bim Adewumni’s …the fuck is this?– a newsletter that came out of nowhere after I had just been talking to a friend about how much I missed her newsletter and that you never know when it’s going to land.

Shon Faye’s newsletter Idle Thoughts, particularly this: something borrowed, something Blue

v buckenham’s blog, particularly this: Database games

Holly Gramazio’s newsletter, particularly this: The World Tram Driver Championships

For a while this year I had an LRB subscription until the unread pile of issues caught up with me and I guiltily cancelled it before the more expensive renewal kicked in. These three articles stayed with me: Judith Butler’s This Is Wrong, on Executive Order 14168, Hew Lemmey’s Who’s Afraid of Palestine Action and Anne Carson’s Beware the man whose handwriting sways like a reed in the wind.

Bugonia (Dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos, 2025): Borderline ridiculous but so so watchable. Emma Stone looks great bald, Jessie Plimmons is gross and totally captivating.

Kiki’s Delivery Service (Dir. by Hayao Miyazaki, 1989): On every rewatch the scene between Kiki and Ursula about creative block hits harder and harder.

Chernobyl (Created by Craig Mazin, 2019): Turns out universally lauded, award-winning television is very good however late you come to it. Horror in the realist terms.

Deadloch (Created by Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney, 2023): Tasmania, lesbians, detective odd couple, serial killer (it’s a comedy!)

Midnight Mass (Created by Mike Flanagan, 2021): One for those of you who love a bit of Catholic guilt and where the real horror is…ourselves and [redacted].

Inland Empire (Dir. by David Lynch, 2006): Maybe not the best choice for my first David Lynch film but much to think about. Helped that I watched this as part of a friend’s film club ‘Distorted Frame‘ so I had nowhere to run.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (Dir. by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, 2025): I started watching this on the tube and stopped after the first song because I knew I had to make sure my wife and I watched it together. Believe the hype – those songs are too catchy.

Tár (Dir. by Todd Field, 2023): lesbian, Cate Blanchett, awful people etc. Perhaps the most laugh-out-loud yet devastating ending I saw this year.

Celebrity Traitors UK (2025): I feel like this brought the nation together. Just for a moment. We love you Cat Burns.

Plurbius (Created by Vince Gilligan, 2025): This started strong but has failed to deliver fully on its intriguing premise. Despite that, I’m enjoying the unsatisfied hack lesbian writer at the end of the world schtick and hope it goes somewhere in S2.

Let’s be real: a lot of YouTube including: Gab Smoulders, Skootie, Lily Alexandre, Jacob Geller, With Wendy, Verily Bitchie, Safiya Nygaard, halfmoonjoe and nocaps.

I Am Dead by Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg (2020): Maybe the game that made me cry the most this year. A hidden-object game of sorts with oodles of heart and character. It has much to say about life and death and life after death.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive (2025): Sometimes a game is popular AND good. It’s on everyone’s GOTY list already but I loved this very French, very silly, very serious game about art, the validity of a human soul and perfect parry mechanics.

Öoo by NamaTakahashi (2025): A pitch-perfect puzzle platformer where each level feels like your brain is expanding as you learn new tricks to navigate a little worm guy with just a couple of bombs.

Promise Mascot Agency by Kaizen Game Works (2025): Sometimes the true treasure really is the friends you make along the way. I loved this collect-a-thon game about found family and redemption set against the backdrop of Yakuza and Japanese mascots. Deeply bizarre in the best way.

Plucky Squire by All Possible Futures (2024): I was totally charmed by this Zelda-puzzle-like that does a lot of fun things with books and breaking the fourth wall.

Two Point Museum by Two Point Studios (2025): Nothing better after a long day in the office working for a museum than to go home and roleplay running a museum (complete with gift shops). Complex mechanics and synergies make this the best Two Point game yet.

Timberborn by Mechanistry (Early access): City-builder, but BEAVERS. Yes, there are realistic water physics, no, I still do not understand how dams work and yes, I have 90 hours in this game.

Type Help by William Rous (2025): A detective game that requires a spreadsheet to solve (my definition of a GOOD TIME)

Winter Burrow by Pine Creek Games (2025): You’re a little mouse who has to gather food and materials to survive the winter – including knitting yourself new outfits. Cuteness charts off the scale.

Naiad by HiWarp (2024): A very gentle game about going with the flow and exploring rivers, canals and seas.

Easy Delivery Co. by Sam C (2025): A “chill” mystery game with the most melancholy vibes. You play as a cat making wintery deliveries but all is not as it seems.

Wanderstop by Ivy Road (2025): A game about burnout and running a teashop. Not your usual cosy game, this proved to be very on the nose for someone who a) drinks a lot of tea and b) believes if they just work hard enough they’ll be a better person

Mushroom Case Daily: A day-by-day account of the Court hearing for the trial of Erin Patterson, accused of murdering several people with a poisoned beef wellington. Unlike many true crime podcast this one unfolded in real time and focused on the daily, sometimes fascinating, quite often dull machinations of the court hearings.¹

Material Girls: I knew I would like this show when they got to the regular segment invoking critical theory for their pop culture subject of choice.

Gaming in the Wild: this podcast continues to be a calm and thoughtful presence in the noisy world of video games.

Polyester Zine: One of the best pop culture podcasts out there. Plus the way the hosts Ione Gamble and Gina Tonic say, “Hi Ione! Hi Gina!” at the start of every episode scratches my brain in a good way.

The Secret Life of Videogames (formally The Eggplant Show): You know a podcast is good when you listen to an entire year of episodes dedicated to a game you’re not even playing. Taking on UFO 50, every episode of this was a joy despite never setting eyes on most of the games they were describing – their panel of regular hosts and guests are second-to-none.

Overinvested: The best podcast out there for your bi-monthly film reviews from people unafraid to have opinions.

The Worms Podcast: I love Summer Moraes’s interview style. It’s like a casual chat with some of your favourite authors that teases out gold every time.

When We All Get To Heaven: a deep-dive into the history of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco: a queer church which was a vital haven for many during the AIDS epidemic and why so many found a home there. You will need tissues.

Peter Hujar: Eyes Open in the Dark (Raven Row): My first time seeing Peter Hujar’s work, beautiful, touching and unflinching.

Emily Kam Kngwarray (Tate Modern): It’s not often that I enjoy a show I also worked on but Kngwarray’s work should be enjoyed in person not on a spreadsheet. Her early batiks were a standout for me.

Kerry James Marshall: The Histories (RA): You can’t beat a good painting show in my opinion and Marshall is a masterclass in subject, style and storytelling.

Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting (NPG): ANOTHER great painting show. I’m a simple woman what can I say.

Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur (Wallace Collection): This was a fun exhibition that poked at the stuffy-ness of Wallace Collection while replicating some of its most famous works. I’m also a sucker for anything involving a fictional person presented as fact.

UK AIDS Memorial Quilt (Tate Modern): The most moving exhibition of the year and a privilege to see in person. A tribute to the many lives lost and those who remember them, to see the care and work that went into each panel up close was profound.

In Conclusion

That’s an awful lot of things for one year. Maybe I’ll manage another blog in 2026 and share some things I’m looking forward to. Maybe I’ll just try to blog more in the new year – who knows! In the meantime, let me know the best things you read, watch or listened to this once around the sun. Maybe keep a list anyway, just in case.

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1. In a neat intersection of my interests Helen Garner has co-authored a book on the case also called The Mushroom Tapes. ↩︎