Tag: listicle

My year in books, 2022

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 29th Dec 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.

Tags 2022, favourite books, listicle, my reading year 2022, my year in books

Journal

Favourite links I shared in 2022

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 18th Dec 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.

Tags 2022, favourite links, listicle

Reading

Books I’ve read in 2022 (so far)

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 13th May 2022

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.

Tags 2022, listicle, my reading year 2022

Journal

15 things I could blog about but currently don’t

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 14th Mar 2022

During the catch-up call I had with my friend Ellie the other night, she described her week as having been filled with thoughts rather than events. This has really stuck with me as it perfectly describes my week almost every week. Whilst my life is rarely eventful, my brain never takes a day off.

This also made me think about my writing — or lack thereof. I must create the impression I spend little time with my writing considering I share little of it. What doesn’t come across is all the ideas and plans I scrap or put on hold. Only a fraction of what pops into my brain makes it to the page, and an even smaller fraction of what does get written is shared on the Internet.

So I decided to make a long list of ideas I’ve had for this blog, which may or may not turn into future content. I understand it’s arguably tedious to write content about content, let alone content about content that doesn’t exist. But I thought it might be fun to illustrate how I come up with ideas and say a bit more about myself.

Tags generating ideas, listicle, notes on blogging, writing about writing

Journal

10 things that got me through January (2022)

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 31st Jan 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.

Tags 2022, listicle, things that got me through

Journal

21 things that got me through 2021

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 31st Dec 2021

Saying goodbye to the year in my journal and discovering my bubble writing hasn’t improved since I was a child.

It’s the last day of 2021 and what a long year it has been! Thanks for the memories ’21, but you won’t be missed.

There was a lot of shit this year, on a personal level and a societal level and obviously a global level, but there was a lot of good that got me through it. Originally this post had close to 80 things, but I decided to distil it down to fit inside 21 sections.

So here’s my Top 21 things (in no particular order) that got me through Plague Year Two…

Tags 2021, listicle, my year in review, things that got me through

Reading

My favourite books of 2021

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 28th Dec 2021

Collage of book covers for 12 of the listed 20 books in this post.

I read 45 books this year and started a 46th on Christmas Day. Out of all those books, there was not a single one I’d call a bad read. Thus, narrowing down a list of favourites from this year wasn’t easy.

In the end, after much deliberation, I settled on the 20 listed below. So here are my favourite reads of 2021, listed in the order that I read them:

Tags 2021, book recommendations, favourite books, listicle, my year in books

Journal

7 thoughts on daily journaling

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 21st Dec 2021

Two journals, side-by-side. The left has a brown cover with the words "Master Plan" written across it. The right is a grey Game of Thrones premium notebook with House Stark direwolf sigil and words "Winter is Coming" on the front.

Many great things have come out of this year and starting a daily journaling habit back in October is one of them.

I’ve mentioned journaling a few times already, primarily in a Sunday Sharing post and in my newsletter. But I wanted to elaborate on my daily practice further.

Journaling has done wonders for my creativity and my mental health, so I thought I’d list some specific thoughts on how journaling has benefitted me in the hopes it might encourage someone else to give it a try.

So if you’ve ever considered keeping a diary or journal (I use these terms interchangeably), here are seven thoughts on why it’s good to journal every day, which might give you that little nudge to get started…

Tags daily diary, excerpts from my journal, finding your voice, journaling, listicle

Journal

Write lists

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 27th Sep 2021

Austin Kleon’s “HOW TO BE HAPPY” list from his book *Keep Going*

Does anyone else love making lists? Quite often I love making a list more than anything I’ve listed.

Lists bring order to the chaotic universe. I love making lists. Whenever I need to figure out my life, I make a list. A list gets all your ideas out of your head and clears the mental space so you’re actually able to do something about them.
Austin Kleon, Keep Going

Austin Kleon, in his book Keep Going, notes the benefits of writing and keeping lists. He mentions numerous creatives who make lists, from artists like David Shrigley and John Porcellino to writers like Steven Johnson and Mary Roach. List-making is a way to curate a collection of all our messy thoughts and put them into order.

In my last post, I talked about writing through the noise in my head. Sometimes writing a list helps cut through that noise.

Tags Austin Kleon, listicle, making lists, notes on writing, writing through the noise

Reading

Five newsletters I like

Post author By John Wesley Stammers
Post date 26th Aug 2021

I’ll be launching my own email newsletter very soon, and so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share five newsletters I regularly read and enjoy.

Assuming you’re like me and you check your email inbox at least once per day, newsletters can be a great way to follow the work of your favourite content creators. There’s no interference from an algorithm that causes you to miss the latest update. Instead, you’ve invited your favourite creator into your inbox.

Email newsletters come in many forms. Some are similar to blogs, focusing on a particular theme or subject matter and writing content centred around it. Whilst mine will be a curated newsletter. What this means is that it will feature a collection of links and general info all in one place with the aim of sending you to other pages on the web.

The following five fall into one of these two categories:

Tags listicle, newsletters