☺️ Things I Like That You Might Like Too ☺️ (AUGUST 2025)

Hello!

Sometimes I get caught in a cycle of the same movies, books, activities, and whatever else. If you also suffer from this, I hope this small collection of recommendations can be of some help.

P.S. These are obviously just things I like and if you don’t like them too, then that’s absolutely a-okay ❤️

✨TV Shows/Movies:✨:

Persuasion (1995):

Anne Elliot is my new favourite Austen heroine. I’m now listening to the audiobook and it is just as entertaining as the film. Anne Elliot stands out to me because she is not a ‘strong modern heroine’. She is plain, she is quiet, she is decent and mild-mannered. She isn’t sassy or sexy or wild or even particularly interesting - and that made me love her all the more. Everyone has felt like Anne Elliot. Someone on the sidelines. Not the lead, not the centre, just there on the outskirts.

There is an expectation, particularly in present storytelling, to make female protagonists strong, to make them loud and passionate and fiery. And whilst all these qualities are admirable, there are so many other ways of being. Anne Elliot is the face of the ‘boring woman’. She isn’t a romantic, she isn’t headstrong or a genius or a prodigal or the most beautiful woman in the world - she is just Anne. And by god how I love her for it.

Best line in the book:

“You want to marry Anne? Whatever for?”

I highly recommend this wonderfully real, polite and kind character and the story she inhabits.

Humans (2015):

Androids are household helpers, machines with the faces of people who cook, clean and care for our families. But what happens when a small percentage of them start to feel? Will they still want to be our slaves, or will it change the course of history forever?

In places, Humans is very uncomfortable. We know what we will use humanoids for. We’ll use them for sex work, as cleaners, caregivers, emotional crutches. And I think a part of us hates to admit that’s what we’ll do. Yet we know we will. We’ll project all our failings and ugliness onto machines. And we’ll hope the consequences won’t be too dire.

The series has a fantastic cast and it doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable truths about us as people, or what we so conveniently make excuses for.

Uncomfortable, but most definitely worth a watch.

✨Books✨:

Inkheart (2003) - Cornelia Funke

What if you had the power to call things out of a book? What if every time you read aloud, there was a chance of magic, riches and things only thought possible in lines of ink?

Meggie and her father Mo are about to find out.

I read this as a teenager and I’ve just recently re-read the first instalment of the series. This, for me, is the perfect blend of fantasy, drama and coming-of-age magic. We have morally grey characters, we have unicorns and martens, we have betrayals, unforeseen alliances and a lot of book titles.

Whilst written as a children’s book, I think anybody could enjoy this story.  We sympathise with Dustfinger, we want to comfort Meggie, we loathe and pity Basta. These characters make you feel, make you groan, make you want to pull your hair out and say ‘NO, NOT THAT WAY!’. And that, for me, makes me want to read and read some more.

How Do We Relationship? (2018-2025)  - Tamifull

A manga about two women falling in love. I really enjoyed the natural-feel of this relationship. The two women start dating because they both confess that they’re gay. Feeling excited about finding another woman who loves women, they simply decide to start dating.

That might sound a little superficial, but I like the direct nature of ‘Well, we’re both gay. Why not try dating each other?’. Because honestly, sometimes you just need the right factors for something to work. This isn’t an epic romance in the sense that all these odds are against them, but more so its relatable because, just like the characters, we too often just stumble into relationships - for better or worse.

I also really like that the flaws of the relationship are there for all to see. Instead of shying away from them, or worse, romanticising them, the two women admit they aren’t a perfect couple. Who is? They both annoy one another, they don’t have compatible sex drives, they say things without thinking and sometimes they need time a part. This is what I mean when I say ‘I don’t hate romance. I just want a good romance’. And this is mostly definitely in that category. The series is completed and I highly recommend it to everyone. Gentle, honest and very slice-of-life.

✨Music:✨

Ordinary (Wedding Version) - Alex Warren

Cliche - MGK

Like a Woman Can - Hailstorm

Figaro Figaro Figaro! The Barber of Seville - Gioachino Rossini

Too Sweet - Reinaeiry

Sarah - Derina Harvey Band

Unsweetened Lemonade (Stripped) - Amelie Farren

Brutus - Em Beihold

Independent Girls & Nasty Evil Gays - Jeangu Macrooy

Feminine Rage - PEGGY

Manchild - Sabrina Carpenter

May It Be - Enya