What a year 2015 has been and to close out the year we are doing a series of 4 blogs where we discuss what we have loved and loathed through 2015. From films and tv to games, movies, books and things we’ve shopped and places we’ve visited 2015 has been quite exciting! Not all the things we have loved and discovered have been released this year but just because they are new to us doesn’t make them any less fun! To start this series IGGPPC staff Jen Giammarco and Rosa Bagge discuss their year!

Tell us about some of the movies and TV shows you have enjoyed (or hated) this year

Jen: I didn’t see a ton of movies this past year but a couple of movies that stood out to me were Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Spectre. They were all really entertaining and I want to watch them again. As for TV, I was addicted to The Walking Dead, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Daredevil.

Rosa: I’m the kind of person who is notoriously behind on everything, so my top picks for the year are not from 2015 at all. And many of them will probably also be things that aren’t even new to me, because honestly, I spend more time revisiting old favorites than meeting new ones. I did get into a few new TV shows this year, though, and Black Sails especially stands out.

How about comics?

Jen: This past year I’ve really been enjoying Batgirl, Lumberjanes, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and Rat Queens. I also flew through the whole Alex + Ada series which I loved!

Rosa: I also read, and fell in love with Rat Queens this year.

What literature have you had your nose in through 2015?

Jen: This is hard to pick out the top books I read (or listened to). Umm Furiously Happy, The Mistborn Trilogy: The Final Empire, You’re Never Weird on the Internet, Fairest, and Anna and the French Kiss series.

Rosa: I did not particularly like any of the new (to me) books I read this year, but I did reread some of my older favorites, too, so all in all it hasn’t been a bad reading year for me. I just started the Farseer Trilogy again a few weeks ago – Robin Hobb’s books are some of my absolute favorites – and it’s been wonderful diving back into the Realm of the Elderlings.

Now games, both tabletop and videogames…what have you loved? Any you wish you had avoided?

Jen: I had a great time playing the first Left 4 Dead and Super Mario 3D World. I also found myself addicted to Animal Crossing: New Leaf. As for tabletop, I played a lot of Cards Against Humanity and Scrabble.

Rosa: I’ve had some serious Small World tournaments with my brother going on throughout the year.

Lets get audible, what artists and/or albums have you been jamming out to this year?

Jen: I’ve been obsessed with Fall Out Boy‘s newest album this past year. Other than that, I’ve just found myself loving certain singles that have gotten stuck in my head – Elastic Heart, Uptown Funk, Downtown, Used To Love You.

Rosa: I’ve been listening to a whole lot of hurdy-gurdy music on YouTube, because I want to learn how to play (you know, when I can afford my own instrument in a year or twenty). This beautiful rendition of Game of Thrones’ The Rains Of Castamere is so good!

And podcasts?

Jen: I don’t listen to many podcasts. I spend more time listening to audio books. When I do listen to podcasts I tend to put on one of my friend’s shows at An Elegant Weapon.

Rosa: How does an ASOIAF fan pass the waiting time between books? Listen to all the ASOIAF podcasts, of course. I’ve especially loved Radio Westeros and History of Westeros this year.
I’ve also been listening to our friends over at Common Room (fellow Charm Bomb host Hadas is leading the fun over there).

Favourite IGGPPC activity this year?

Jen: Definitely all the watch-alongs and bake-alongs we set up. Tweeting along to movies with friends on twitter is a lot of fun and I’m always up for baking along with others!

Rosa: I had so much at camp (as long as you don’t count the flu that hit me for the last few days), meeting lots of new Iggles, and really testing my organizational skills (conclusion: there is room for approvement). I’ve also had a lot of fun working on Charm Bomb this year.

Are there any other notable things from 2015 you want to mention?

Jen: 2015 was a great year and it was fun seeing the community grow and even though some changes were sad (staff members leaving) it allowed us to bring on some new faces which have been positive experiences.

Rosa: I would be one of the new faces, so yay! Joining the IGGPPC staff has been such a wonderful and fun experience for me, and I’m learning every day.

Finally what are you looking forward to in 2016?

Jen: More community activities, hopefully some real life meet-ups, and so much more that I don’t want to divulge quite yet.

Rosa: All The Things. (But I’m especially excited about some of the IggleTube plans we have for the coming year.)