Just as 2022 was challenging both mentally and emotionally, 2023 was more of the same with the added bonus of physical challenges–COVID, a couple of really bad checkups at the doctor, and continuous sleep issues (despite the CPAP). So just as it has in the past, my numbers (and my debt) went down, up, down, up, and it seemed like another year of “one steps up and two steps back.” I’ll spare you the really deep analysis of my year (which I put into my personal journal) and take a look at where I am at this point.

I’ll start with the numbers, but I do have to say that a few of these are going to be updated within the next couple of weeks because I’m going to thumb through my stuff and work through my lists to make what I have to read/watch/listen to is what I want to listen to. Expect that around January 15 or so.

Right now, let’s see how we did.

Physical Comics
To Read 1/2023: 231
Read in 2023: 219
To Read in 2024: 31

When I readjust the numbers, this is going to spike because I have at least two multi-issue series that I’m waiting to read until I track down the issue or two that I still need (Conan the King, Atari Force, and V are the three that stand out here). Many of these were grabbed at the Baltimore Comic-Con, but I will also admit that my LCS’ “Fresh Friday” bins had me grabbing books left and right, especially when they were 99 cents or $1.99.

I also continue to buy new comics, but those get read within a week or two of being picked up, so they don’t wind up on my spreadsheet. I will say, though, that knowing what to do with these books after I’ve read them is a challenge. In some cases, they are part of ongoing series or lengthy runs on a title and hanging onto them is easy, especially if the series is going to be coming to a close at some point in the future and I want to hold onto the comics to do a complete read-through before selling them. But these random science fiction or horror miniseries from independent publishers? We’re not talking about stuff that’s going to be worth a lot of money if I ever decide to sell it, so I don’t know if it will even be worth that effort. I’m sure that some of them will end up in the #comicbookcircleoflife, and others might be … thrown away?

My intention, as always, this year, is to read the back issues that are unread, but I also intend to trim my pull list because these books have been expensive for a while and as much as I like the stories, I wonder if it’s really that necessary to grab at every interesting book that comes along, especially those from Marvel and DC, which I can get digitally.

Digital Comics
To Read 1/2023: 471
Read in 2023: 0
To Read in 2024: 471

I think that all of these are Star Trek books, and I have to say that I just never got in the mood to read them. I don’t think that I’m alone in finding the “new format” DC Trek book not as engaging or interesting as the original version, which had new characters and its own continuity that worked well among the movies, much like Marvel’s Star Wars title. As of right now, I’m somewhere around the late teens in terms of that second DC series and also have to start reading Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was a show that I enjoyed when it was on and watched quite a bit of but never got invested in or loved as much as the adventures of the original crew.

I’m honestly not too worried about this considering they are only taking up space on my hard drive and iPad and it’s really not that much. But I do have to disclose something else in full honesty, and it’s that I did actually read a lot of digital comics via Marvel Unlimited and DC Infinite; however, I don’t count them because I like the idea of just picking those books up on a whim or working my way through a series/title without feeling like I’m obligated to finish everything. It’s made reading projects like Onslaught, the Avengers side of Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return, and the Kurt Busiek/George Perez Avengers, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the original Legion of Super-Heroes (starting in the 1970s and moving forward) book more fun and less guilt-inducing when I read them and don’t like them (I’m looking at you, Dark Crisis). So digital books will remain anything that’s downloaded independently of those two subscription services.

Trade Paperbacks and Graphic Novels
To Read 1/2023: 32
Read in 2023: 34
To Read in 2024: 0

That number read might be off because I could have sworn I bought more than a few graphic novels this year. But the number to read is accurate. I don’t have a single trade paperback and graphic novel in my collection that hasn’t been read at least once. In fact, I was going through the shelves yesterday and culling a bunch to sell or donate, as I know that I’ll definitely not read them again. And as far as this year is concerned, I’ll probably be buying fewer and fewer trades of DC and Marvel stuff, unless they are “vintage” trades specific to certain character eras (i.e., the 1980s/1990s Batman and FCTC-era Superman). As for independent stuff, I know that I’ll continue to buy the graphic novels that Ed Brubaker puts out on a regular basis because they have all been excellent (and even when they’re not, they’re really solid) and that might be about it. But I do expect to have a zero balance this coming December.

Books
To Read in 2023: 123
Read in 2023: 32
To Read in 2024: 97

I had a Goodreads challenge of 100 books this year, and in order to achieve that, included trades and graphic novels. This year, I’ve reduced the challenge to 50 and am going to only log non-tpb/gns for that. I’ll definitely read the comics stuff, but I want to see if I can actually read 50 novels or poetry collections or nonfiction books before December. Plus, I’m going to be taking a look at that “To Read” list and seeing if there’s anything on there that I am no longer interested in, especially as I tackle my overflowing bookshelves and drop those off at the local library (where I thankfully do not have to interact with anyone when I drop things off, so I won’t hear “You again?!?!”).

I do want to read more contemporary fiction, whether it be for an adult audience or for a YA audience. When I look at my books from this year and set aside the trades and graphic novels, I read a lot of nonfiction that centered around popular culture or was older in its exploration of its topic (Walden, for instance). My fiction was a little older at times or in the very least, I seemed like I was behind by a few years. I’d like to know what’s coming out and what a lot of people are reading, so I’m going to have to seek out a website or social media platform/feed to keep up. The Washington Post Book World section every Sunday gets too political wonk and too pretentious literary fiction. Not that those can’t be good or entertaining, but I’d like a good thriller or sci-fi book or romance that doesn’t feel like it’s addressing and trying to solve all of society’s woes while sacrificing plot.

Movies
To Watch 1/2023: 194
Watched in 2023: 35
To Watch in 2024: 159

I actually thought I watched fewer movies than I did this year. Sometime in the middle of the year, especially as we got toward fall, sitting around and watching a movie on my iPad or on TV wasn’t on my priority list, or I didn’t have the time to do it (or felt guilty for doing this when there were chores, errands, or other obligations that needed attention). I’ve also got a ton of movies and TV shows saved on streaming services that I am just not going to ever get to, so I need to prune those watch lists. That’s not the easiest thing in the world considering they’re broken up across seven streaming services and I’m only tracking them through an Excel spreadsheet (I had a letterbxd account at one point, but unlike Goodreads, it was clunky and a pain in the ass to maintain).

One highlight of the year, though, was that I finished my Netflix DVD queue about a month or so before the service finally ended. I think that my last movie was Surviving the Game, which I’d not been able to find on streaming for years and was happy to rewatch even if it was a definitely B-level action movie. I should also do a genre breakdown, because I’m sure that if you looked at what I’d watched last year the biggest genre would be documentaries. “Watch more movies” is definitely a good goal for this year.

Television

Seasons to Watch 1/2023: 104
Series to Watch 1/2023: 57

Seasons Watched in 2023: 9
Series Completed in 2023: 6

Seasons to Watch in 2024: 95
Series to Watch in 2024: 49

You’d think this would have been better considering that watching a television series over the course of several nights is much easier than plunking down for a movie. But we tend to get stuck in a rut of the same two channels or same few new episodes of regular series that the backlog doesn’t get addressed. And this is another set of numbers that’s going to get some series changes made because I need to see what is actually available anymore and hasn’t been taken off a service or put behind a paywall. 

Podcasts
Episodes Remaining 1/2023: 232
Episodes Remaining 1/2024: 129

Considering the way this number went way up and then never seemed to budge through the year, you might be asking what happened. Well, two things: since I decided to start walking for 30-60 minutes after work every day, my podcast listening time as increased and I was able to binge listen to a couple of shows that have finished up or gone on an extended hiatus, like Slate’s One Year and The Mortified Podcast. I also looked at a couple of shows that I’d had multiple episodes of and decided to pick and choose what I wanted to hear or unsubscribed and deleted altogether because I knew I just wasn’t going to get around to them. So 129 left at this point isn’t bad, especially since there are some “season arc” shows that I can get into and knock out within a few days to a week.

And that’s it for the recap of the year. I’m glad I started my spreadsheet back in January because it has made things a little easier to track, although I do see that I need to get better at updating it when something new comes out or gets added to a watch list. 2024 is shaping up to be … well, I’m honestly not sure. Parts of it seem very scary to me while I have a lot of hope for others. In all, I would like to feel like I’m moving forward and not spinning my wheels.