What I've Been Watching Recently- Winter Edition| Carenza Bramwell

With everything that's been going on in my life and with recent events across the globe, it's safe to say that I've been watching a lot of TV in 2020. Today, I thought I'd share with you the TV shows and films I've watched so far in 2020. At the end of the post, I'll be sharing my favourites of the year so far.

From Google Images

TV

Doctor Who

One of the first series I watched in 2020, was the latest series of Doctor Who. I've been watching the series as it's been airing. The only episode I haven't watched is the last one. My favourite episodes have been the first one and the Mary Shelley one. Apart from that, this series hasn't been as strong as other series. I love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, but her series have been my favourite.

Dracula

Something I was originally very excited for was Dracula by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Their adaptation of Sherlock is one of my favourite TV shows. However, I really didn't vibe with this show. I'm also in the minority of thinking that the final episode was the best one out of the three. 

  

Miranda

Miranda was a re-watch for me. I've always been a huge fan of Miranda and with the ten year anniversary special, I decided to watch the series again. It's just as funny and fluffy as when I first watched it. It will always be a go-to funny show for me.

The Witcher

After seeing everyone talking about The Witcher, I finally caved and watched The Witcher. The first couple of episodes were a bit difficult to get into, but after that I was hooked. Jaskier is a precious little bean and Toss a Coin is a bop. I'm excited for the next season and there better be plenty of Jaskier in it.

Dublin Murders

I actually watched about half of this in 2019, but I finally finished it this year. It's an adaptation of the first two books in the Dublin Murder series by Tana French. It was a solid adaptation and I'll be continuing with it if they make more series in the future. 

Back to Life
Following my re-watch of Miranda, I was looking for a new female led comedy and I stumbled across Back to Life. It's a British comedy about Miri, a woman in her 30s, returning to her normal life after spending most of her life in prison. It's also a mystery about what actually happened and why Miri went to prison. I think they're making a second season, which I would definitely watch. 

Sex Education Season 2

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you'll know that Sex Education is one of my favourite shows, so I was super excited. I have to admit that it wasn't as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it enough to watch it three times this year. I'm looking forward to season three and I can't wait to see what they do with this show.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3

Another show I was super excited for, was the third season of CAOS. I'd really enjoyed the first two seasons, however this season was a huge flop in my opinion. It was too dramatic for my personal taste and I have a feeling that I will most likely not be continuing with this show after this season. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I finally finished Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had spent most of 2019 watching the first six and a half seasons, so I made it my mission to finish season seven this year. It has become a staple show for me and I'm hoping to finish the spin-off show, Angel, this year.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency  
Again, Dirk Gently is one of my favourite shows and I just felt like rewatching it. It never fails to put a smile on my face and I live for the soundtrack playlist that someone made on Spotify.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

With season 6 dropping on Netflix, it was a natural decision that I had to watch all five seasons of B99 to be prepared for the newest season. I had watched it last summer when it was airing weekly on E4, but I hadn't enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. However, now that I've binged it a few times, I love it and am happily making my way through season 7. B99 is one of the few things keeping me sane at the moment.

Noughts&Crosses

The final entry on my TV section is Noughts&Crosses. I had read the books many years ago, so I was really excited for the TV show. I have to say that they've made a lot of changes for the TV show, some of them are good, some of them don't make sense. I'm interested in where they take this show if they make another season. 

Films

Bohemian Rhapsody 

The first film I watched in 2020 was Bohemian Rhapsody. I had been meaning to watch this for a while, but when my mum got it on DVD for Christmas, we decided we had no excuse but to watch it. It was a good, fun film, the music was really good and there were some solid performances. 

Toy Story 4

I was the only person in my family to go see Toy Story 4 in the cinema, so we got it on DVD and decided to watch it as a family. It isn't my favourite Toy Story film, but it still made me tear up, especially as I was having to go through my toys and decide which ones I was keeping after moving house. 

Spiderman Far From Home

Spiderman is one of my favourite super hero movies and I had been really excited to see it, however the only cinema near me that was showing it, was charing £14 a ticket (which in my opinion is too much money for one ticket) so I waited for it on DVD. I really like Tom Holland as Spider-Man, it was light-hearted fun.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Despite the fact that I want to become a writer, I had never seen a Tarantino movie before and I had been really excited for OUATIH. I really enjoyed it, even thought it was three hours long. I definitely want to see more Tarantino movies in the future. 

Little Women

One of my most anticipated movies of the year (even though it technically came out in 2019) was Little Women by Greta Gerwig. Lady Bird is my all time favourite movie, so I was really excited for Little Women. It was everything I wanted it to be. I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it over and over again. 

Lady Bird

Obviously, after watching Little Women, I had to watch Lady Bird. I may have watched it twice this year. I watched it by myself and then with my family. This is my favourite movie and I will love it until I die. 

Lego Movie

My housemates and I decided to watch the Lego Movie after we'd all had a particularly bad day. I'd already seen it and it still stands up as being a solid movie. Not as good as the Lego Batman movie. 

Lego Movie 2

Following us watching the Lego Movie, we decided to watch the second one. It wasn't as good, but still fun and fluffy.

1917

Another movie I was desperate to see this year, was 1917. It was a film I knew I had to see on the big screen. It was one of the most tense movies I have ever watched, there were several times when I gasped out loud. It's another film that I cannot wait to come out on DVD so I can watch it again.

The World's End

If you saw my favourite movies post a while back, then you'll know that I'm a fan of the Cornetto trilogy. With everything that's going on in the world, I was weirdly in the mood for an apocalyptic movie, so I watched one of my favourites. I watched it after I'd had a bad day and it cheered me right up. 

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

The day before my housemates birthday, we decided to watch her favourite movie, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I hadn't seen it before, and to be honest, I don't remember the last time I watched the first one. I know a lot of fans love both movies. I think at some point I'll have to watch both back to back. 

Hotel Transylvania

I have a confession to make about why I watched this movie. I only watched it because Andy Samberg voices one of the character and because I love B99, I had to watch it. It was another fun, fluffy movie and I'm kinda interested in watching the rest.

Wonder Women

A movie I was excited to watch and fully expected to love was Wonder Woman. I'm aware that I'm a few years late to the trend with this one. However, I didn't end up enjoying it that much. I just felt that there wasn't much character development and they overused the slow-mo effect. I also worked out who the villain was really early on. 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

I had seen a trailer for this before a YouTube video, so me and my family decided to watch it. It's a French historical fiction about a pair of women who fall in love. It was a beautiful story, however it could have been a little shorter. 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 
I hadn't watched a Harry Potter movie in ages and PoA is my favourite, so I decided to watch it. It cheered me up as I was feeling a bit down in the dumps because of the current situation. 

Favourites

As there were 27 things on this list, I thought I would pick my favourites and share them with you:

• The Witcher
• Little Women
• 1917
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine

So that concludes all the TV I've watched so far in 2020, what have you been watching recently?

Carenza :) x

My Favourite TV Shows| CarenzaOnBooks

A while back, I made a post all about my favourite movies. In the spirit of that post, I thought I'd make one all about my favourite TV shows. I have a lot of favourite TV shows so picking my favourites is going to be interesting.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine may be my favourite TV show of all time. I only started watching it in March of this year, but I've watched every series at least 4 times. I love that the episodes are only twenty minutes each. The characters are all great. It has the perfect balance between comedy and series moments. Series Six wasn't the best, but I'm hoping once I rewatch it once it drops on Netflix.

Merlin

This is definitely a childhood favourite, however I watched a few years ago and I still really enjoyed it. It could be that I have a lot of memories attached to it, but Merlin and Arthur are great characters. It adapted a well known story into a classic TV show. I rewatched it for the first time since it finished back in 2012 last year and I was surprised by how much I still enjoyed it. 

Sherlock

I still remember watching the very first episode way back in 2010. The wait between seasons would always be antagonising. I rewatched the entire series on Netflix this summer and fell in love with it again. It's cleverly written. The actors are incredibly talented. Part of me wishes I could experience this show afresh over and over because it's that good. Sherlock will always have a special place in my heart. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This is the only show on this list that I haven't seen all the episodes for. I have about ten episodes of the final season left to watch and I am determined to finish them before the end of the year. I was raised listening to the soundtrack for Once More With Feeling. Buffy is a phenomenal show and despite the fact that the last episode aired over 16 years ago, it feels timeless. Once I've finally finished Buffy, I will watch Angel. 

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

If you've been a long time reader of my blog, then this one will probably not come as a surprise. When I first stumbled across Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, I just thought it sounded a bit entertaining and was in need of a new series to watch. Little did I know that I would go on to watch it at least three times in that year. I'm still gutted that it never got a third series as it rightfully deserves. If it ever does, I will be over the moon. 

Honourable Mentions 

Like with my my best films post, I thought I'd include some honourable mentions.

Grimm

I've actually just started to rewatch Grimm for the first time since the final season aired and I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying it. I've also forgotten how much of a slow burn this show has. It's another one with great characters and a great world. Can't wait to continue my rewatch.  

Lucifer

This is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine, but I can't help but love Lucifer! It has to be mainly because of Tom Ellis' phenomenal acting skills. I am dying for season five and cannot believe it's going to be the last one. 

 

Agent Carter

If Agent Carter hadn't been cancelled and had had a decent ending, it would have made it on to my favourites section. Peggy is an amazing character and I loved the tone of the show. It's one I'd love to see them revive at some point in the future. 

Doctor Who

I had to include Doctor Who on the list, it was non-negotiable. I've been watching it faithfully since I was a kid. My favourite doctor has to be David Tennant. I'm always excited for the next season and can't wait to see what they do with the show as the years progress. 

Game of Thrones

If it hadn't have been for the final season, Game of Thrones might have made it on to the favourites list. However, due to the dreadful final season, it deserves to be in honourable mentions. I loved the characters and how invested I became. If only it hadn't had such a dreadful final season, the potential that was wasted! 

Book Haul 2016| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So while I was on holiday over the Christmas Break, there were lots of sales in lots of book shops and this means I spent more money on more books. Its got to the point were I have had to ban myself from buying any new books for a while because my bookshelf is full. This is going to be so hard as there are loads of new books coming out that I am going to have to get myself, but anyway I bought too many books and I thought I'd share it with you.

The first series I picked up is the Percy Jackson series which consists of 5 books but as I already had the first book I plan to give the brand new copy to a charity shop at some point. I loved the first book and have had it for about 2 years. The series follows a boy called Percy Jackson who has had a troubled upbringing. When his maths teacher attacks him and turns into a strange creature it is revealed that he is the son of Poseidon Greek God of the Sea. The series follows his various adventures and dangers he encounters with his friends. This set should have cost me £34.95 from the Works but in their sale it cost me £10.00!   

The next series I picked up from the Works is a series I had never heard of but it had a sticker on saying perfect for fans of Divergent and the Hunger Games. It is the Legend series by Marie Lu, the series follows a boy called Day and a girl called June. Day is 15 years old and is the country's most wanted criminal and June is a prodigy who scored a perfect 1500 on the Trial to see who can enter the army. June's first mission is to track down Day after he killed her brother. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal at the Works.

The next Series I picked up was The Maze Runner series, now if you have read my Birthday Book Haul, which you can read here, you will know that I already have the first book in this series but when I saw that the series had been reduced from £31.96 to £9.99 I couldn't resist. Now many of you will probably have seen the movies but this is what I have gathered the series is about. The series follows a boy called Thomas who wakes up in a mysterious place called The Glade with no memory other than his name, he then meets some other people in this mysterious place and they have to try and escape. I want to read the series before I see the movies so this series is very high on my growing TBR pile.

The next series I got was The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by by Maggie Stiefvater. The series follows two people. a human girl called Grace and a wolf boy called Sam. After Sam saves Grace from the Wolves, Grace begins to watch out for "Her Wolf". One day Sam turns up at Grace's house after being shot. Grace nurses him back to health and allows him to stay in her room. The two soon fall in love and begin to search for a cure for Sam. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal along with the Legend Series from the Works.

The next two books I got are Harry Potter themed. I saw both of these in WH Smiths and bought one and waited to get the other.

The first book I got was the official Harry Potter Colouring Book. After seeing this book all over Bookstagram, I knew I had to pick it up. You guys know I love Harry Potter so this book was a self explanatory purchase.

The other book I got was the new Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Holy crap, these illustrations are amazing. I posted on my Instagram that I love this book and included a snippet of some of the images. I got this on Amazon after seeing that it would cost half the amount that they were selling it in WH Smiths.

The next two books were books that I got for Christmas from my parents.

The first book I got was called Street Photography Now. If you haven't read my Best of Bits'n'Bobs 2015, which you can read here, then you won't know that I have been loving Photography. I have been enjoying picking this up and flicking through it. I love taking quirky photos and this has really opened my eye.

The next book I got is a book I have got every year for the last 10 years, and this is the Doctor Who annual. I come from a family of Doctor Who lovers and am not gonna deny that I love the show. I have a huge section of my bookshelves but to be honest I don't mind as I love the show so much. My favourite Doctor (from the revival) is David Tennant and my favourite companion is Catherine Tate who played Donna Noble.

Finally the last two books I got are from the Throne of Glass Series.

The first book is the 4th book in the series and is called Queen of Shadows. As I plan to review the series in my new feature called Book Review Monday, I will not be going in to detail about the series. My Throne of Glass Review should be going up on the 22nd January, so keep your eyes peeled.

The next book is the prequel to the series and is a series of novellas. It is called The Assassins Blade and features 5 stories pre- Throne of Glass. I am really looking forward to it and have been informed that I will cry while reading it. I love the cover for this series and can't wait for the other two books to come out.

I would also like to add that I got Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and I posted a photo of it on my Instagram, but when I was getting it down to move some books near it I damaged it. It isn't major but it is annoying as I have only had it for 5 days. But hey ho, I can still read it. If you would like me to review it please let me know.

So those were the books I got at the end of last year/ the beginning of this year. If you enjoyed this post, let me know by leaving me a comment. In case you hadn't noticed I am moving away from beauty blogging to book blogging. I will still be posting beauty related posts but from now on expect more book themed posts. Don't forget to follow my blog by clicking the follow button and you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram @itscarenzab. If you have any post requests or business based questions, please feel free to email me at itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x