Tag: 2022

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Reading

My year in books, 2022

Collage of 15 book covers for all the titles listed below

This year, I went through several reading slumps and read very few of the books I planned to get through this year. I learnt it’s a bad idea to try and plan 12 months’ worth of reading.

However, discounting the books I DNF’d, I read 42 books this year. Out of those 42, there were 15 I wanted to talk about.

These books are arranged in the order that I read them. I should also clarify that their inclusion does not necessarily mean they were “better” books than those that didn’t make the list. These 15 were just the ones that I had the fondest feelings towards when reviewing my year in reading.

This year, I have also highlighted my top three reads (🥉🥈🥇). These three books had the greatest impact on me in 2022. They’re also the books I’m most keen to recommend.

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Journal

Favourite links I shared in 2022

Collage of six screenshots taken from videos I shared this year.

This year, I was far too preoccupied with linking to other people’s content and neglected to produce much of my own. My goal is to change this going forward. I want to create things worth linking to, not just link to the cool stuff other people are making.

However, as we’re seeing 2022 out, I thought I’d do the thing a lot of people do around this time of year: look back at the past 12 months and compile a “best of” list.

So, in no particular order, here are my 22 favourite links I shared in my blog and newsletter this year…

01. Despite all the fond memories I have of Harry Potter – the books, the films, the games – this was the year all the joy the series once brought me died. J.K. Terfling and the Tweets of Transphobia certainly dug the Wizarding World’s grave, but it was realising just how horrible the politics of Harry Potter had always been that hammered the nail into the coffin. This video essay from the best skull on YouTube, Shaun, explores some of the most egregious examples of bigotry on open display in the books.

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Journal

The Progress You Can’t See

Five journals next to each other, dated from June 2021 to September 2022.

It’s my birthday, and I have (unwisely?) been thinking about progress.

Despite appearances, I consider myself an ambitious person. Not in a monetary sense, I have no aspiration for wealth. I don’t even think people should be allowed to get rich. Power isn’t something I seek for myself, either. And fame is very much not for me, thank you.

But there is quite a lot I’d like to do with my life. There are books I want to write. Plays I’d love to see put to stage. I’d like to help others realise their own creative visions. I hope to teach in some capacity in the future, whether as a career or something on the side. And whilst I used to be certain I’d never marry or have kids, I’ve since warmed to the idea of both.

In this year’s birthday poem, I looked back at the past 12 months and found cause for pride. However, with my vision for the future clearer, it’s easy to recount the past year with a little sorrow, too.

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Reading

Books I’ve read in 2022 (so far)

Collage of all 10 book covers featured in blog post

Considering we’re more than a third of the way through the year, I’ve not read nearly as many books as I would have liked.

But I thought I’d do a roundup of all the books I have read so far this year and share some quick thoughts.

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Journal

10 things that got me through January (2022)

Towers spelling out the word "HELP" in all caps, made in the Townscaper demo.

Last year, I retired my Sunday Sharing series of posts, promising a different approach. My “21 things that got me through 2021” was a trial of what I hoped would be that new approach, and I enjoyed writing it so much that I’m going to try and do them monthly.

The January blues really got to me this year, too. So blogging about what helped me through it felt especially relevant.

There were a lot more things than what I’ve listed below. But I decided these were the highlights.

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Journal

How I set up my Bullet Journal in 2022

Double-page spread of creativity trackers, tracking four habits: poems, drafting fiction, blog posts and journal entries.

Starting a Bullet Journal in 2021 changed my life. It helped me to be more organised and keep track of what I was doing each day. I better understood where my time was going, and I could recognise my habits.

My BuJo brought a lot of structure to my disorganised life, and it was also relaxing and fun. How I’ve used the journal has also evolved over the past 12 months, and I thought it would be useful to share my setup.

Covered in this post: initial first pages, trackers I’ve created and my monthly setups for daily logging.

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Reading

Reading goals (2022)

Outline of a bookshelf in the page of a journal. Shelves outlined in sharpie, books outlined in a black pen, the space above the books shaded in with a pencil.

The above image is a bookshelf I drew in my journal last year, filled with the books I want to get through in 2022. It’s by no means a rigid reading list, and there are books I missed that I really want to read.

No matter how many times I design a reading plan, I can never stick to it. But regardless of how different my year in books may look by year’s end, my actual reading goal differs from the challenge I’ve set myself every other year.

Ordinarily, much like many booklovers, my reading goal is a set number of books to read within 12 months that I declare on Goodreads. This number is mostly arbitrary, high enough to push me to read if I get behind but low enough that I always hit my target. It’s never really been a challenge, and I’ve been content with that.

However, this year, I decided a challenge was necessary to achieve one specific reading goal I always set myself but never manage to complete.

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