2025 had a very different shape for me than those past, with much less free time and, frankly, energy. I was thrilled to become a mother, but it meant prioritizing my little boy over my own creativity and entertainment. The list of my favorite apps, tabletop games, books, TV and movies, and video games from the last year is shorter than in previous years, but perhaps you’ll find something to inspire you as you pursue those 2026 goals and resolutions. There’s also a bonus list of recommended mom-related apps at the end if you or someone you know is expecting.
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
- Obsidian. This free note-taking app works entirely offline and locally, and it isn’t full of AI bloat, making it my new RPG campaign organizer of choice. I’ve been using it for my solo RPG campaigns and love the combination of wiki-style linking with basic markup formatting. The latter helps me easily translate my content to typeset PDFs on GM Binder or blog posts on WordPress (with the right plugin). And with the recent introduction of bases providing database functionality, it’s quickly becoming a full-blown replacement for Notion. Check out PhD20’s series of tutorials on using Obsidian for RPGs if you want to get started.
Tabletop Games
- Warhammer: The Old World. I’ve never tried the original Warhammer Fantasy, but I’m pretty familiar with various editions of Warhammer: 40,000 and Age of Sigmar. The Old World felt distinct from both, with much less of a focus on shooting, and plenty of magic and magic items to really play up the fantasy. I was lucky to already have a High Elf army from before the End Times (I’d gotten my hands on the elven half of the old Island of Blood boxed set before it was discontinued), so it was wonderful to break them out again to play the new Warhammer: The Old World minis game. I might not have been very good at it (listbuiling seems to be half the battle, with movement the other half), but it was a lot of fun to play. My game log says I played this game seven times in the first half of 2025, which is my most played game of any single system in 2025 (it’s tied with D&D only if I count the 2014 and 2024 versions together).
Books
- If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura. I enjoyed this and the other cat book on my list so much that I bought them as Christmas gifts for my family. A meditation on what really matters in life by examination its absence, with a fun interpretation of “The Devil You Know.”
- The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Although I’m 25 years late to this, I can see how this fantasy epic could be considered the Lord of the Rings of the 1990s. I really struggled with the pacing at first, but I came to deeply appreciate Jordan’s worldbuilding and characterization. I’ll need to take a break after this for some lighter fare, but I’m looking forward to devouring the second book in the series soon.
- We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida. A wonderful series of short stories, each of which is a meditation on the healing power of cats, and how cats affect our lives. The human characters range from accidental yakuza recruit to exasperated mom to apprentice geisha, giving the book a hefty dose of Kyoto flavor. Not an entirely cozy book, as the link between the stories proves tragic and tearjerking, but a powerful one. My book of the year.
Movies/TV
- Band of Brothers. (HBO Max) I’ve been meaning to watch this one since high school, and I still haven’t finished it, but I’m most of the way through now, and what I’ve watched is excellent. Possibly some of the best WW2 media that I’ve seen. I especially love how each of the episodes focuses on a different lens of “Easy” Company, and it’s something I’ll take with me for the next anthology I end up working on.
- The Longest Day. (YouTube) Growing up I watched a lot of classic war films. After finding out my husband had never seen this one, I told him we had to watch it before beginning Band of Brothers. What struck me on this re-watch was the international ensemble cast, with French and German dialogue being included as a matter of course.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion. (Blu Ray) A psychological drama about people’s mommy and daddy issues, dressed up as a mecha anime. It’s a classic for a reason, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch it when it first aired. I’m divided on how much worldbuilding seems to have come through in subsequent video games—the wiki cleared up a ton of my confusion, but maybe the lore was better left mysterious.
- Wake Up Dead Man. (Netflix) Rian Johnson continues to impress with these Benoit Blanc mysteries. I enjoyed this more than Glass Onion, and I can’t decide whether I liked this one or Knives Out more—it’s that good. These movies make me wish we had more original mysteries (as opposed to just Agatha Christie adaptations) that aren’t like, incredibly dark (like Dark, which I couldn’t get through more than one episode of).
Video Games
- ENDLESS Legend 2 (Early Access). (PC) I’ve only gotten to try about 7 broken hours of this turn-based strategy game, but so far it’s been great to dip in and out of. It takes the Civilization/4X formula and gives it a fun fantasy spin, with elements of Age of Wonders but a more refined and elegant user interface. I really enjoyed the first Endless Legend, as well as Endless Space 2, so I’m looking forward to diving in deeper when I have the time and energy.
- Ghost of Yōtei. (PS5) Another game that I’ve not gotten very far along in, but it’s more of the same that made Ghost of Tsushima great, but this sequel has more of that wandering blade feel of classic samurai cinema. Sucker Punch continues to nail the open world format.
Mom Things
- Babylist. For my baby registry, I wanted to be able to add items from anywhere on the web. This one let me add items from Etsy (like artist prints), Barnes & Noble, Nora’s Nursery (cloth diapers), and more. Although I could manage the registry in the browser, I had to add offsite items in the app, which wasn’t ideal, but at least I wasn’t locked into Amazon or Target. Babylist also shows how much items cost at different retailers for standards like wipes or first-aid items. Their weekly emails regarding what to expect from how far along you are in your pregnancy or your child’s development were pretty high quality (and cute).
- Huckleberry. Obviously parents have been parenting since humans have existed, but this app really does help absorb some of the mental load of parenting and answer questions like: Do I need to wake up my little one for a feeding? What side did he nurse from last? How long has it been since I pumped? Is this illness making him dehydrated, or are we hitting the minimum number of wet diapers? We used just the free version and kept track of wake windows ourselves, but some parents swear by the Plus plan to get access to the “SweetSpot” nap predictor.
What were some of your media highlights from this year? If you’re curious about what made the list last year, check out my post with my media favorites of 2024.
Cat and featured image by Steve Smith on Unsplash
