I’ve mentioned this before, but Wondermajica is not just a book blog; it’s a blog that features book reviews and other content I enjoy. To reinforce that, I’m expanding my wrap-ups beyond just reading. Now, I’ll also be sharing what I’ve been watching!

I don’t have any set goals for TV, but for movies, I’m attempting the 2025 Criterion Challenge. Here’s a look at what I watched during the first three months of the year:

January:

Movies:

1. Smithereens (1982) - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

2. Wanda (1970) - ⭐⭐⭐3/5

3. Sweetie (1989) - ⭐⭐⭐3/5

4. Janet Planet (2023) - I am pretty sure I fell asleep during this. ⭐⭐2.5/5

5. Barbie (2023) - I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

6. Paris, Texas (1984) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

7. Girls at 12 (1975) - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

8. Anything Goes (1936) - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

9. A Girl's Own Story (1983) - ⭐⭐⭐3/5

10. A Kid For Two Farthings (1955) - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

11. Three Wise Girls (1932) - ⭐⭐⭐3/5

12. Don't Bother to Knock (1952) - Monroe did a fantastic job, just started a little slow.⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

13. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4.5/5

14. Things to Come (1936) - ⭐⭐2/5

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - It took me so many attempts to finally watch this film in its entirety without falling asleep. I still don't get the hype, but I enjoyed seeing where so many influences from the scifi industry came from. ⭐⭐⭐3/5

TV:

January was all about comfort rewatches. My go-to favorites, The Twilight Zone (original), King of the Hill, Murder, She Wrote, and I Love Lucy kept me fully entertained.

February:

Film:

1. Annie Hall (1977) -  ⭐⭐⭐3/5

2. Wildcat (2023) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

3. The Tale of Despereux (2008) - ⭐⭐⭐3/5 (rewatch)

4. Thunder on the Hill (1951) - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

5. It Happened One Night (1934) - They just don't do romantic comedies like this anymore. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

TV:

In February, I binge-watched all of Vice Principals (⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5) and started watching Elena of Avalor.

March:

Film:

1. The Peanuts Movie (2015) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5 (rewatch)

2. Wall-E (2008) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5 (rewatch)

3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) - Easily one of the greatest animated films of all time.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5 (rewatch)

4. What Jennifer Did (2024) - ⭐⭐2.5/5

TV:

March was a big TV month for me. 

I started: 

• The White Lotus
• Little Bear
• Waffles & Mochi
• Wrestlers

I binged: 

• American Murder: Gabby Petito ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
• Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
• Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
• Dancing for the Devil: the 7M TikTok Cult ⭐⭐ 2.5/5
• The Program: Cons, Cults & Kidnapping ⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5
• Mr. McMahon ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

I also began to rewatch Call the Midwife and discovered that Bluey is extremely beneficial to my mental health.

I have always tracked my movies, but I am enjoying adding TV this year. I think it gives me a better idea of what kind of mood I was in as my tastes change month to month. What about you? Have you seen any of these? What did you think? Do you track what you watch?

At the start of every new year, I usually dive headfirst into my reading goals with enthusiasm. January usually goes really well, only for me to fall drastically behind until June or July. Now that I am learning how my energy levels work and how to manage things better, I am learning to approach things differently. Despite knowing this, I still wanted to challenge myself this year. I set my goal for reading this year at 125 books. I also decided to take on the alphabet challenge using authors' last names. Here's a look at what I've read so far and my quick thoughts on a few of them.

January:

As a mood reader, I pick what I want to read based on the "vibes". This usually isn't a problem, but for whatever reason, I struggled quite a bit with that in January. I was unsure of what I was looking for or what I wanted to feel/learn/explore. Still, I had a solid start by reading eight books.

1. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder  - A powerful, concise book on resisting authoritarianism. Essential reading for everyone. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

2. Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree - A cozy prequel to Legends & Lattes. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

3. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Failry Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

4. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

5. An Anthology of Aquatic Life by Sam Hume, Angela Rizza, and Daniel Long - This was a beautiful, child-friendly collection of facts and information that is perfect for any aquatic enthusiast. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

6. The Year After You by Nine DePass - ⭐⭐⭐3.5/5

7. Maus 1: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

8. Maus 2: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman - Both are haunting and heavy, but the personal storytelling hit harder than expected. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4.5/5

February:

This was a ‘tackle the TBR’ month. Some of these books have been staring at me from my shelves for years, and I finally gave in.

1. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterica - This was disturbing and stomach-turning. I don't think it was as messed up as it was hyped up to be, though. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

2. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - I let this stay on my shelf unread for way too long. Absolutely beautiful writing with complex characters that the author makes you care deeply about.⭐⭐⭐⭐4.5/5

3. The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-Rice -⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

4. Phantasma by Kaylie Smith -The OCD representation in this was fantastic. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

5. A Different Pond by Bao Phi - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

6. Watercress by Andrea Wong - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

7. My Footprints by Bao Phi - ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

8. Fairy Tale by Stephen King - I am a sucker for a portal fantasy. This is my new favorite King book. I loved it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4.5/5

9. Willodeen by Katherine Applegate - I have my sister to thank for this precious book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

10. A Colorful Case of Stolen Art at the Gallery by Donna Doyle - ⭐⭐⭐3/5

March:

March is my birthday month, and between that and a wave of exhaustion, my reading slowed down. Every time I picked up a book, I ended up napping instead!

1. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - A thought-provoking, slow read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

2. The Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

3. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5

4. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie - I tried to read Agatha Christie's books when I was younger, but found them boring at the time. I'm not sure why. This was fantastic! ⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5

Though I find myself frustrated with how much my reading pace has slowed, I am happy with the variety of books I have read so far. Some have been long-awaited TBR picks, while others pushed me out of my comfort zone. As I head into April, I am hoping to catch up a bit on my goal's progress and dive into some highly anticipated titles. Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? Let me know what you've been enjoying lately!

For most of Wondermajica's existence, I've used two separate rating scales. My main scale was 1-5 stars, used for everything except movies, which used a 1-10 scale. The reason for this? My use of IMDb and its 10 point scale.

However, over the years, this difference has started to feel unnecessary and inconsistent, especially since I no longer use IMDb. 

The Change

To simplify things and make my reviews more cohesive, I am switching to a 0-5 star rating system for everything, including movies. This will also include half-star ratings.

Older posts (pre-April 2025) may still use the old rating system. I plan to update them over time, but please be patient with me!

New Rating Scale

💭UR (Unrated): Used for things I couldn't finish or dropped.

💀0 Stars: Extremely rare, but available as an option. The absolute worst - awful, unwatchable, unreadable. Would not recommend under any circumstances

⭐1 Star: Did not like it at all. A struggle to get through, with major issues.

⭐⭐2 Stars: Not great, but had something redeeming. Maybe a few good moments, but overall disappointing.

⭐⭐⭐3 Stars: It was okay. Enjoyable enough, but nothing outstanding.

⭐⭐⭐⭐4 Stars: Really liked it. Solid, memorable, and worth recommending.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 Stars: Loved it! A personal favorite - something that truly stood out.

Before I begin, I  want to quickly mention that I am writing this a few weeks before posting it. If there are any updates, I'll add them at the end.

Over the years, a pattern has developed on this blog. I usually become very active in Spring and Summer only to practically disappear in Fall and Winter. This hasn't been done on purpose. I have spent years trying to get all of my health issues diagnosed so that they can finally be properly managed. Unfortunately, I struggle with agoraphobia. This makes it very difficult to attend medical appointments regularly. Thus, it takes longer for me to get things diagnosed and managed. I still have a few big appointments in my future that I am sure will be very stressful, but over the past 6 months I have made a tremendous amount of progress. It has been very difficult, but I am proud of what I have been able to do so far. If it hasn't become obvious yet, the reason I have been gone for so long is that I was finally forced to really focus on my health.

I have this societal idea of how I should be and how much I should be able to do. I have had a very difficult time allowing myself to rest when I need to for as much time as I need to. I get started on something and I go full power until I crash and burn out. Then the recovery phase keeps growing each time.  I simply don't have the energy to be able to do anything full-time. Way more days than I would like to admit, the basics feel like too much. Each day is a new challenge. What are my energy levels? How are my pain levels? What is my mental health status? It feels like my entire body is always working against me. It doesn't help that I am extremely stubborn. That idea in my head keeps haunting my brain. "You should be doing more." "You are just being lazy." Then, against all advice and logic, I repeat the cycle of doing way too much too quickly and then falling apart as a result. I think this is something that most people with chronic pain/illness deal with. Finding the right balance when things are constantly changing and evolving feels impossible. (If this is something you deal with, please share some advice in the comments for how you manage!)

It is hard to change the way your brain is wired. I would like to think that I am finally changing, but I know that I am going to fall into old patterns eventually. I just need to learn how to recover better, with less guilt and shame. Learning to give the kindness I offer to others to myself is not something that comes naturally to me. However, I am trying, and sometimes that is the best you can do. 

When I had a bad flare-up last year, I pushed myself to come back too quickly. I had accepted too many review requests and put pressure on myself that I could not handle. 

(Quick note: This is 100% a me problem. All authors who have contacted me have been fantastic and incredibly kind, and understanding. I put the pressure on myself. They didn't.) 

Then I was left feeling disappointed and ashamed for not meeting the high expectations that I put on myself. But the thing was, those expectations were never going to be possible for me. I can not put out content as often as the blogs I admire. I am not built to jump on trends and be popular. 

Still to this day, I am unsure why anyone does like my reviews. I must be doing something right, though. I would like to think that one of the reasons people like this blog is because of my honesty. I don't like making false promises, and I have never wanted my reviews to come off as trying to sell anything. I have been recruited to reviewer groups under the condition of making adjustments to my style, but it just isn't me. I am not one to hold back my opinion, and I refuse to tone down my personality.

I have been told by many that I have a bad case of imposter syndrome, and I know I have a habit of self-sabotage. When you combine those with all of my health issues, you get the full answer for why my blog's activity seems to be chaotic. I have spent the last two months trying to decide what to do with Wondermajica. I am currently doing much better than I was last year, but I still have a lot of learning and adjusting ahead of me. I am still in the process of accepting my weaknesses while also discovering new strengths. I have a lot to be proud of, but that is a difficult emotion for me to accept sometimes.

So, where does that leave Wondermajcia? I don't know. I have considered taking it offline and just abandoning it. However, I just can't give it up. As messy and chaotic as I view it to be, I still find myself proud of this little blog. It is me. It is proof of my growth over the years. It is my digital home. I refuse to let all that go.