January 2026
Movies, shows, series, books, blogs, and more
I haven’t published in November and December. No real reason, just bad execution and lack of action.
But I made a resource to document the best of the best recommendations.
First, I make a list of all I consume, then I curate the ones you might like in this newsletter. From here, only the best ones make it to Vickypedia.
Anyway, here are my top recommendations from January 2026.
Movies:
Tetris
I randomly watched Tetris on a Wednesday night and what a story! It’s not just about the game, design or business, but how the world was operating at the time.
If you’re interested in history, a little bit of geopolitics, and business, it’s one of the best movies you can watch just for its combination of events.
Eko
The immediate reaction after watching Eko was it’s one of the best thrillers I have ever seen, but the excitement slowly died down as I processed the movie.
It’s a concept you don’t often see, especially tied to a thriller. If you’re climax paglu like me (ending movie on a high), totally go for it!
F1
I knew it was a mistake not watching F1 in the theatre. The last time I regretted not watching a movie on the big screen was KGF 1.
“Hope is not a strategy” and “Plan C is for combat” will stay with me for a long time, and of course, I will watch Drive to Survive sometime this year.
At this point, I guess it’s obvious I’m listening to “Lose My Mind” on loop?
Haq
If you take away religion, suppression, and women's empowerment from the movie, and look even deeper, you will really get to see the core of Haq, Iqra.
Iqra is the first word in the Quran, meaning: read.
Gurus of all religions preach their teachings and I always believe the relationship between oneself and their God is deeply personal and no one has a say in how that relationship should be held.
It’s only between you and your God.
But your everyday people will use the religion’s sacred texts, traditions, and customs to say you’re wrong and theirs is the only correct way.
Your power in such arguments if you’re not loud, strong, or rich is education.
…and that’s the soul of the film.
It’s about educating yourself about your religion or community, so no one can bullshit you about how you work around your relationship with God.
There is this line in Haq. Yami Gautam says to her religious heads, and it translates to, “You can beat me at anything, but not at the Quran. I read it daily, and I have been doing it all my life.”
I’ll leave you to explore the rest in the movie.
Shows:
House of Cards
Love love love House of Cards, but I don’t see myself finishing this series any time soon. I watched the first two seasons, and I needed some space away from the toxicity (not really toxic but felt toxic to me.)
It’s about climbing up the ladder in politics. No character is anyone’s friend and literally every conversation between two characters is a move for power.
I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the characters and the writing, but I just don’t have it in me. It’s just way too much thirst for power than I could handle, but a 10/10 show for sure.
The Pitt
So I stumbled upon The Pitt when I saw a reel about shows with IMDb ratings of 8 or more on all the episodes.
It’s THE BEST show I have seen on doctors. Grey’s Anatomy, Good Doctor, all these are dramas and kinda fun. I enjoyed Good Doctor myself.
I don’t know much about how doctors actually work in hospitals, but this show clearly shows how hectic and chaotic a doctor’s life in an emergency ward is.
No overly dramatic cases. No unnecessary random makeouts. Somewhat close to reality.
Reading:
Wealth Ladder
I like this book. Sanat suggested it to me in Ranthambore.
It’s about how your relationship with money/wealth changes as you increase your income. And what you can do at each stage to level up.
Now it’s not the best book ever. It’s not life-changing. But non-fiction is all about gaining new perspectives. Wealth Ladder fulfils that purpose.
How to fix your entire life in 1 day
There is a thin line between mental masturbation and actually reading self-help to improve yourself. This famous article on X/Twitter is super close to either of these lines.
It’s a long essay, but one line summary is: Change your identity if you truly want to change your behaviour, outcome, or habits.
YouTube:
Aditya introduced me to this really cool channel. Again, kind of self help genre. But I love the fact-y analysis and storytelling. I’m actually watching to learn some storytelling.
Videos on closing loops and consistency are my favourites yet.
What next…
I want to read one book a month. Physical books. Even slowly moving away from audiobooks.
I’m looking for good podcasts. Fun, work, hobbies, anything works. If you have recommendations, lmkkk!
I’m reading The Inner Game of Tennis. Last 50 pages left. Picking up Scott Adams’ Reframe Your Mind next. Love his videos, and I wanted to read his book after he passed away recently.
ok byeeee