New Year's In Reads & Recs
I'm staying inside this New Year's due to exhaustion and the weather. I'll be hosting a bunch of tweens but other than that I plan on cozying up with a book. Maybe you're in the same boat?
Here's my list of must-watch, must-read for the year. I hope it helps you have a relaxing start to the New Year. And if you're partying - have fun!
Feel free to skip to the comments if you read this already in your email!
Remember if you see any drunk kids - look out for them. Their mother is probably at home worried, hoping someone will be making sure they're OK because they probably told her they weren't going to drink or take drugs.
My favourite TV shows of 2025
Heated Rivalry - Obviously. Binge it on Neon. It's truly the best - my favourite show of the year. I can't get enough of it.
Somebody Somewhere S3 - My next best most favourite thing of the year. Just lovely, gentle, beautiful TV. Also on Neon. Trailer.
Mo - Absolutely gorgeous. So hilarious. So important. Loved it. Mo’s Palestinian-American creator Mohammed Amer is a genius. On Netflix. Trailer.
The Rehearsal S2 - Neon is really the best streaming platform there is in Aotearoa right now. And I loved both seasons of The Rehearsal. Bizarre, wonderful, weird TV. Trailer.
Dying for Sex - A beautiful show. Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate are incredible in this. It's on Disney+. Trailer.
Overcompensating - So funny and gay. Benny is a treasure. It's on Amazon Prime. Trailer.
The Pitt - I'm guessing everyone saw it. But it really was great. On Neon too. Trailer.
My Favourite Films of 2025
28 Years Later - I could not believe how much I loved this. I really did not expect a zombie film to be my favourite film of the year. It has so much heart. Trailer.
Sinners - I really was shocked at how great this was. I thought it would be good. But it was such a great film. So much more than a vampire movie! The music is incredible. Trailer.
The Roses - Watched this bored at home and it was actually such a fun romp. Olivia Coleman is amazing in everything but this is a great fun divorce story lol. Disney+. Trailer.
Pike River - I wouldn't say this was a favourite. But it was beautiful, heart-wrenching and inspiring. And I think every New Zealander should watch it. Trailer.
The Minecraft Movie - I know, wtf. But my kids loved it and I loved watching them love it. Trailer.
Emily Writes
My Favourite Documentaries of 2025
It feels wrong to say these documentaries are my 'favourite' but they're the best I've seen in 2025.
The Biggest Little Farm - Probably one of my all-time favourite documentaries. Just gorgeous. So so beautiful. And so inspiring. DocPlay.
A New Kind of Wilderness - Just so beautiful. Powerful and uplifting and a real testament to the human spirit. Not what I expected. DocPlay. Trailer.
Louis Theroux: The Settlers - Louis does such a good job of showing just how horrific Zionists are. Youtube.
All The Empty Rooms - A haunting short doc on school shootings - absolutely harrowing but so powerful. On Netflix. Trailer.
Prime Minister - I only got to see half of it because my son needed me, but what I saw made me think it's one of the best ones of the year... Trailer.
No Other Land - This documentary about Palestinians facing brutality from Israeli settlers came out in 2024 but I saw it in 2025 so I'm including it. Such a crucial film to see. It doesn't just show how sick Israeli settlers are - it shows the resilience of Palestinians. It shows their deep love and connection to the land they have always been on. It shows the agony of colonisation. DocPlay. Trailer.
My favourite books of 2025
I don't even know if these books came out in 2025, but I read them in 2025 so that's all that matters to me.
Slowing the Sun - Nadine Hura. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Everything.
Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zheng - Kylie Lee Baker. The author's note alone made me cry.
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert - Bob the Drag Queen. Absolutely loved this one. The audiobook was great because Bob is of course a great performer. So original.
I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman - not a new book, but I read it this year and loved it.
Tell Me I'm Worthless - Alison Rumfitt. Wild. And Scary. Because nothing is scarier than fascism.
Josh here! Emily asked me to do a bit about games and such. It's lucky she watches new and interesting things because I hardly did any of that at all, but parenting did leave room for some stuff:
Thing I am watching
Louise and I are on a backlog kick at the moment: taking on shows and movies that we somehow missed but always wanted to watch. We are slowly making our way through the entire run of King of the Hill.
We are also hiring DVDs out from the Last Video Shop (I did a documentary podcast about our United Video for Webworm! Here it is!) We've been in an Action Movie mood, they're the easiest thing to blob to when you're munted from baby-parenting, so we've been watching the Bourne movies. The first three are top-tier action films, the third one in particular has some of the best thriller writing I've ever seen, and the fourth was… profoundly meh. Poor Jeremy Renner. Always the leading man in waiting, never the leading man.
The Top 1 Game I've Played This Year
I haven't finished enough games to make a list because parenting, but in the last few months we have made time to play Baldur's Gate 3 at night with our friends, and it's enough game that we haven't really needed any others. Once you crack its frustrating complexity and quirks you realise you are playing Knowingly Nerdy Ultra-Fantasy Violence: Hot Genderfluid Bisexual Friend Simulator. You can swing a sword! You can cast spells! You can talk to animals! Behead evil squid people! Become a cat! Get into a triad with a sexy muscle-lady demon who is literally red hot and an elf guy who is a bear sometimes! The possibilities are endless.
If that sounds like a bit of you then give Baldur's Gate 3 a go - the steep learning curve is worth it and it might just get you into…
D&D
Part of the reason I don't have time for other games is Dungeons & Dragons. It's our way to multitask catching up with friends, de-stressing, and experiencing agency in a world often frustratingly devoid of it. Tabletop RPGs (TTRPGS) have shed a lot of their unwashed nerd stigma these days thanks to Actual Plays like Critical Role and shows like Stranger Things. If you've never played one, imagine a choose-your-own-adventure story that you and your friends all play at once, refereed by your least time-poor friend - the Game Master. D&D is the granddaddy of TTRPGS and is the best known (Baldurs Gate 3 uses a tweaked version of the D&D rules) but there are lots to choose from, everything from cosy cat adventures to spicy adventures to play with special friends. There'll be something there for you to enjoy in 2026.
Baby Steps
Oh that's right, there is another game! I just got Baby Steps for Christmas. You play as an unemployed and incredibly stoned Australian failson stumbling through the wilderness in an increasingly filthy onesie. The gimmick is the only thing you can control about this guy is precisely where he puts his feet. It's tricky and you spend much of your time falling over. If that sounds like QWOP, that's because Baby Steps is developed by Bennett Foddy, the guy who made QWOP. If you have no idea what I am talking about, go play QWOP.
Back to Emily!
What I'll be doing New Year's Eve
Maybe if I can get some bloody privacy, I'll be listening to the horny Quinn story with Hudson Williams and Connor Stories. I am not usually into romantasy but I mean, come the heck oooon:
I'll probably be reading some silly smut or properly starting The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride. Very different vibes! I also picked up Matt Haig's memoir Reasons To Stay Alive for $2 at an op shop. So maybe that?
Exciting!
What are your plans for New Year's Eve? What were your favourite books, films and TV this year?
