Another year is over, and I’m still in that reflective mindset in which I look back and consider what I’ve accomplished (or not) in 2024, and what I hope to experience in the new year. As has become tradition, the following is a list (not exhaustive) of my favorite apps, board games, books, TV shows, and video games from the last year, including many that I would recommend to others.

You can help support my author newsletter and blog by purchasing one of the books mentioned on this list. I’ll receive a small commission on anything you buy from my bookshelf or the below links. The rest of the links will take you to the page to download, watch, or buy the listed media.

Apps

• DnDBeyond Mobile App. As a player in two 5e campaigns, I use the DnDBeyond app to look up spells and magic items that don’t fit on my physical character sheet, and because I build my characters there, I have a backup in case I lose my printouts. It isn’t perfect, but it does what I want it to do, with minimal downtime in 2024 compared to past years.
• Mochi. While taking French classes this year, I wanted a no-frills flashcard app with cards I could input myself, and Mochi was much more lightweight than the other flashcard app offerings (and free of ads). I paid for the version that would sync between my desktop and phone so I could practice on the go, but it’s offline by default, which is a plus for some folks.
• Notion. After bouncing between Evernote, OneNote, Todoist, and Wunderlist (RIP), I finally found a digital notebook/task list that worked for me in the PARA Method template for Notion. Once I got the hang of creating databases and related fields, I also built for myself a games log to keep track of what I played in 2024, and a media log to compile all the book/show/movie recommendations that come my way. And the way I use Notion, I haven’t needed to upgrade to a paid plan, which is great.