Surprise! Another newsletter! Two days in a row! At the time of posting, it is less than an hour and a half until 2024! If you are reading this in 2024, then you are in a different year than me, which is weird to think about…..
In this newsletter…
* The best books/book series I read in 2023!
* The best movies I watched in 2023!
* The best apps I discovered in 2023!
* Stats for TWWU this year!
Literary Picks
Top 5 Books of 2023
This year for the end of year rankings, I’m doing something a little bit different. Instead of doing only individual books, I will now be including book series as a whole as opposed to splitting them up. I did this so one series doesn’t dominate the whole list (which is what happened last year). Otherwise, the same rules apply! It has to be a book that I read this year for the first time, but it doesn’t have to be a new book. Note: I have reviewed all of these books previously, so be sure to read those reviews if you’re curious!
5th Place: Habits of Grace
Normally I prefer fiction books, but I’m actually going to start this list off with a non-fiction book. Habits of Grace was such a good book and really opened my eyes to some of the spiritual habits that I need to grow and/or develop in my life. The book was very informative and interesting. I would definitely recommend reading this book! Full review can be found here.
4th Place: The Codebearer Series
I feel like I read this series forever ago, but it was indeed this year! The Codebearer Series is a great Christian fiction series for tweens. It is action-packed, interesting, and makes for a great read! Personally, I found it a little predictable and below my age level, but I think it is perfect for tweens! If you would like, you can read the full review here.
3rd Place: The Code of Silence
This is another series that it feels like I read forever ago, but I remember enjoying it! The Code of Silence is a mystery series that I highly recommend reading if you are into mysteries. The books are suspenseful, action-packed, and well-written. Also, they are written by a Christian author, so they are clean. You can read my full review of the series in this past newsletter.
2nd Place: Wars of the Realm
I talked about this series in yesterday’s newsletter, so I’m not going to spend a ton of time on it here. It is one of my new favorite series of all time and definitely deserves the second spot on this list! If you want to learn more, you should read my full review from the last newsletter.
1st Place: Living Hope: Giving Birth to Death Brought Life
In first place is Living Hope, which if you read my previous review on this, you know it is written by my aunt. You might say I’m biased in putting this in first place, and that might be true, but I do really think this is a great book! The reason for this is that it points to the true Hope that we can find in the midst of all of our circumstances. I absolutely recommend reading this book!
Watchlist Wonders
Top 5 Movies/Shows of 2023
The same rules apply with this section, but this time with things I have watched! Contrary to last year, I’m also going to include shows, instead of just movies!
5th Place: TRON: Legacy
If you have been reading my newsletter each week this year, you know that I watched both Tron movies this year. I enjoyed them both and reviewed them in a previous newsletter. Personally, I liked the newer TRON: Legacy more, so I’m going to give that one 5th place in my rankings for this year! If you want to read more about my opinion on these movies, you can read my review.
4th Place: Haunted Mansion
While I didn’t ever get my review out for this movie, I really liked it! I had watched the original Haunted Mansion movie before watching this one, but I didn’t particularly like it. On the other hand, I did enjoy this movie! I wasn’t expecting the plot to be super great, but it surprised me. While the movie was dark, weird, and creepy, I actually enjoyed it! It is available to watch on Disney+.
3rd Place: Avatar and Avatar: Way of Water
In preparation to watch Avatar: Way of Water, my family watched the original Avatar movie. I thought it was really well done! The plot was good, the CGI was amazing (especially for ten years ago), and I overall thought it was a great movie! While I did like Avatar: Way of Water, it just wasn’t as good and felt too similar to the original Avatar movie. The Avatar movies are going to take this spot, though, because they are both great movies! Read the full review of both movies here.
2nd Place: National Treasure: Edge of History
The reason I decided to include shows was specifically so I could include this show! I have always loved the National Treasure movies and never expected this show to be just as good, but I guess I was wrong! While it wasn’t better than the movies, it was just as good! The plot line was great and kept me on the edge of my seat, just like the original movies! You can read my review of the original movies here or my review of this show here.
1st Place: Super Mario Bros. Movie
This was definitely my favorite movie from this year! I gave my glowing review of this movie in a previous newsletter, which you can read here. I loved pretty much everything from this movie (the throwbacks to the game were my favorite part). Overall, an amazing movie and the best one I watched this year!
Honorable Mentions: Journey to Bethlehem, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Princess Bride.
Tech Thoughts
Top 5 Apps of 2023
As with the previous two sections, the apps I put on this list have to be apps that I downloaded this year.
5th Place: WallpaperZ
I have always been super picky about what wallpapers I use on my devices since I want everything to look “perfect.” After searching for years, I think I finally found my favorite wallpaper app! This app was designed by ZONEofTECH, a YouTube channel that I watch frequently and really like. 8 new wallpaper packs come out each month, and you can download one wallpaper from each pack for free (otherwise, you have to pay for a subscription). Overall, it is a great app, and I have found some great wallpapers via this app! You can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
4th Place: Kernel
Funny enough, this is another app developed by a tech YouTuber that I respect! This time it is by Nikias Molina. This app is great, especially for me being someone who reviews movies. Kernel allows you to track every movie you have watched and would like to watch! For each movie/show, you can read a synopsis, watch the trailer, view the cast, add it to one of your playlists, or share it with others. I plan on using this app to track every movie I watch in 2024! You can download this app on the App Store.
3rd Place: BAND
Most of the apps I review are apps I found, but this is an exception to that. BAND is the communication network that we use at Chick-fil-A to communicate between team members. BAND is much more than just a regular communication app since it has so many great features that make it one of the best communication apps out there. Shared calendars, polls, shouts (reactions), to-dos, and so many more features make this an amazing communication app! This app is great for workplaces, planning family events, and many other use cases. It wasn’t even an app I was looking for, but it has impressed me! This app is on both the App Store and Google Play.
2nd Place: How We Feel
Keeping in touch with your feelings is something that is very important as a human being. One of the best ways to do that is to track them in an app such as How We Feel. How We Feel is a great app that is easy and comprehensive to use! It sorts all emotions into four categories (High Energy Unpleasant, High Energy Pleasant, Low Energy Unpleasant, and Low Energy Pleasant). The app is designed beautifully and best of all, it is completely free! I think this is an amazing app, and I would definitely recommend it if you would like to be more in check with your emotions in the new year! Download this app on the App Store or Google Play.
1st Place: Gola
I discovered this app a few weeks ago, but it has already become my favorite new app from this year! Gola is a goal tracking app that allows you to track all your goals, whether they be for the new year, for your life, or for this week! Gola has a ton of cool features, and I’m going to be doing a full review of this app in my next newsletter! In the meantime, you can check out the app on the App Store (no Google Play).
Honorable Mentions: Gentler Streak, theScore, and Flighty.
Wild Card
Stats for 2023
While there were some rough patches this year where I struggled to get a newsletter out, this year was good for The Weekly Write-Up overall! Here are some statistics of how The Weekly Write-Up has grown! This is only thanks to my loyal subscribers, so thank you so much for everything! There is only more to come!
Newsletters: 33 (49 all time)
Subscribers Gained: 39 (78 all time)
Average Open Rate: 68.5%
Email Deliveries: 1,626
Email Opens: 2,963
Likes: 232
Comments: 67
Speaking of subscribers who were amazing, I would like to announce the winner of the referral challenge! The winner is Emma with 5 referrals, and in second place was Denise with 4 referrals! Thank you to both of you for your kindness in helping me grow my newsletter!
Happy New Year! The Super Mario Bros movie is a good one!
Happy New Year!!