Stephany Writes

Categories: Best Of, Books

Best of 2024 | Reading Stats

And here we are – the final post in my “Best of 2024” series and arguably, my favorite post to research and write. Reviewing my reading stats and making these charts is so much fun! I use a very detailed spreadsheet and spend a lot of time in that spreadsheet throughout the year. I love filling it out when I start and finish a book; it fills me with the greatest delight. And what’s also delightful is this post! So let’s get into my reading stats for 2024 reading.

Nitty-Gritty Details

  • Number of books read: 110 (-7 from 2023)
  • Number of pages read: 37,463 (-2,972 from 2023)
  • Percentage of books by and about BIPOC and the LGBTQIA+ community: 30, or 27% (+1% from 2023)
  • Number of books abandoned: 16 (+2 from 2023)
  • Overall rating: 3.8

Format Breakdown

Print books continue to reign supreme in my reading life, and this year the percentage increased by almost 5%! What can I say? I love print books. My audiobook reading was nearly identical from 2023 (+.1%) and my e-book reading continued to trend downward. It’s down 4.7% from 2023 and down nearly 15% from 2022! I mostly read romance on my Kindle, but it’s rare for me to read other types of books on it.

Genre Breakdown

Genre Percentage Average Rating
Romance 37% 4.0
Fiction 30% 3.6
Mystery/Thriller 21% 3.6
Nonfiction 6% 4.5
Historical Fiction 4% 4.0
YA/Middle Grade 2% 5.0

This year, I read more romance and improved my average rating for romance novels. Last year, it was at 3.6 and this year it was an even 4.0, which I’m super happy about. This means I’m picking good romances that I know I’ll love! I read more general fiction and more mysteries/thrillers, but my average rating for both those genres went way down (from 4.0 to 3.6, eeks). It’s only a slightly successful rating, but I’d like that to be higher in 2025. My nonfiction reading went way down this year – I was so surprised to see I only read 7 nonfiction books in 2024. WHAT! I need to do better in 2025 because, as it shows, I usually like the nonfiction books I read.

Source Breakdown

Once again, my top three sources for books were the library (-12% from 2023, though!), Amazon (+5% from 2023), and Book of the Month (+1.5% from 2023). I doubled the amount of books I got from indie bookstores and also definitely enjoyed those 15 audiobook hours that Spotify started offering Premium members at the end of 2023.

Month Breakdown

Typically, I read around 8-9 books per month, but I read 11 books in October (I tend to read a lot when I’m stressed, so that’s probably why) and 14 in December (I only worked two weeks out of the entire month, so I devoted a lot more time to reading!). Ideally, I’d like to read 10-12 books per month, but I’m happy with how stable my reading was throughout the year.

New Release vs Backlist

This was interesting! In the last few years, my new release reading has been trending upward but in 2024, it dropped 15%! I read a lot more backlist in 2024, but I’m cool with that. I don’t need to read the buzzy books right away. Sometimes it’s nice to let them simmer for a bit.

Recommendation Sources

Recommendation Source # of Books Read Overall Rating
Kim 2 4.75
Sarah’s Book Shelves Live podcast 6 4.3
Lisa 3 4.2
The Popcast 2 4.0
Currently Reading podcast 6 3.0

I’ve started tracking recommendation sources this year so I can figure out whose tastes align the best with mine. Most of these recommendation sources are podcasts, but two bloggers snuck into this list – Kim and Lisa – and as you can see, their recs usually work out really well for me! I’m not surprised to see such a low rating from the Currently Reading podcast. I’ve noticed that my tastes diverge from them a lot (especially Kaytee’s), which is just good info to have!

(If you use Goodreads, a good way to track recommendation sources is to create a new shelf that’s labeled with the source name. For example, I have a shelf called “sbsl-rec” for Sarah’s Book Shelves Live. If someone talks about a book and it sounds like something I’d like to read, I immediately add it to Goodreads as a “want-to-read” book and then label it with the recommendation source.)

Odds and Ends

  • Oldest book (by pub date): The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)
  • Newest book (by pub date): The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak (October 8, 2024)
  • Author I read the most: Agatha Christie (6)
  • Time spent listening to audiobooks: 348 hours, 30 minutes
  • Longest book: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (624 pages)
  • Shortest book: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (120 pages)
  • Book that took me the longest to read: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (20 days)
  • Average number of days to read a book: 7.8 days

How many books did you read in 2024?

Categories: Best Of, Books

Best of 2024 | My Favorite Reads

I am so excited to sit down and write this post! My final “Best of” posts are all about my reading life (my reading stats will be up next week!), and I always start with my favorite reads. I’m going to do things a little differently this year. This time around, I’m giving you my top 10 books of the year as well as a handful of bookish superlatives. This will be a long post, so let’s get into it.

My Top 10 Books of 2024

10) The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – This story touched my soul so deeply. The characters are forever imprinted on my heart. It’s about two kids who are sent away from London to escape WWII and find solace in the home of a woman who never wanted children. It’s sweet and heartwarming, but the subject matter can be dark at times. (2015, middle grade, historical fiction)

9) Cover Story by Susan Rigetti – This is one of those polarizing books, you either love it or you hate it. And I loved it. I remember coming to the end of the book and gasping out loud because I didn’t expect that ending. I thought it was genius, but YMMV. When Lora becomes a ghostwriter for Cat Wolff, she discovers the shady world Cat is really involved in. (2022, contemporary fiction)

8) Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera – I devoured this thriller, and that’s saying something because I listened to it on audio and I usually take my audiobooks slowly (an hour a day). But this one, I stopped all podcasts and listened to the audiobook nonstop until I finished it. It’s about a woman who has been accused of killing her best friend but was never charged because of lack of evidence. A true crime podcast takes up the case five years later, and she decides to help figure out who did it. The audiobook is exceptional because the podcast excerpts are performed like a real podcast (intro music and everything!). (2024, thriller)

7) White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad – I didn’t read as many racial justice books this year as I have previously, but this one was a standout. It is not for white women who get their feelings hurt easily when women of color challenge their perspective. This book was insightful, powerful, and pushed my boundaries, which I definitely need. Ruby Hamad talks about everything from slavery to politics today, and it’s a book that has stayed with me all year long. (2020, nonfiction)

6) Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa – This was such a beautiful love story about a Mexican-American teen who falls in love with an undocumented immigrant. It’s about family and queer love and what it means to be a citizen. It’s about art and food and culture. Ander and Santi are characters I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read this book. Their story has stayed with me. (2023, romance)

5) All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir – This was a hard book to read. I listened to the audiobook and could only handle one hour a day because I was so distraught by what was happening to my beloved characters. It’s a book about friendship, about death and grief, and about what you’ll do for your family. It follows two teenagers, Sal and Noor, who are best friends until a fight causes a rift in their relationship. I loved it so much, and I think Sabaa Tahir is a genius. (2022, YA)

4) Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez – I was hesitant to read more books by Abby Jimenez because her earlier book series, The Friend Zone, was terrible. But everyone was raving about her new book so I picked it up, and I am so glad I did. In this book, there is a character with social anxiety and Jimenez captured the difficulty of having this type of anxiety so well. I was so touched by the care she gave to this character. What also touched me was the character who didn’t have social anxiety and who went to great lengths to help him. His social anxiety wasn’t seen as something silly or something he needed to “just get over.” The crazier thing was that this character was named Briana, and I have my own Briana who goes to great lengths to make me feel comfortable in social situations. I loved this novel, and I loved feeling so seen in a character. (2023, romance)

3) The Wedding People by Alison Espach – This one may be recency bias, as it’s one of the last books I read in 2024, but I just loved it. It’s about a woman who goes to a fancy hotel to kill herself, only to be mistaken as one of the guests of the week-long wedding happening at this hotel. And that’s all you really need to know about it! The writing is top-notch, the character development is outstanding, and the book moves along at a great pace. I had high hopes for this novel as so many other trusted sources have loved it, and every expectation was met, which was a delight. (2024, contemporary fiction)

2) The God of the Woods by Liz Moore  – This book was a masterpiece. It takes place on a summer camp when a girl goes missing. The problem is, the girl is the daughter of the owner of the summer camp whose brother went missing from the same place fourteen years earlier. I love the way Moore incorporated the present and past storylines, I loved the setting, I loved the characters, and of course I loved how propulsive this novel was. I read the last 100 pages sitting on my couch in my sweaty workout clothes. I had just come home from a workout class and the minute I got home, I plopped right down and cracked open the book. I was losing daylight, but I didn’t even get up to turn on the light because I didn’t want to tear my eyes away from the book. I couldn’t get enough of it! (2024, mystery)

1) The Women by Kristin Hannah – There could be no other book to be my favorite of the year. This book was incredible. Meticulously researched, thoughtfully written, and incredibly heartbreaking at times. It is the first book I’ve ever read about the Vietnam War, following Frankie, a 20-year-old nursing student who joins the Army Nurse Corps and ships out to Vietnam. When she returns home, though, is when the real battle begins. I couldn’t get enough of this story, of Frankie and her friends. I felt like I was right there with Frankie in Vietnam, the scenes were so visceral and vivid. Back then, there was no support for soldiers coming home from war (and especially no support for women because, “there were no women in Vietnam,” as Frankie heard over and over again when she sought help). There wasn’t a diagnosis for PTSD. This is a story that has stuck with me and I’m continually in awe of Kristin Hannah. (2024, historical fiction)

2024 Bookish Superlatives

1) The most disappointing DNF: Family, Family by Laurie Frankel. I have loved everything Laurie Frankel has written… until this book. I found the kooky family just a bit over-the-top and unrealistic. It’s possible I just wasn’t in the right mood for the book at the time.

2) The most disappointing book I read: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. What a stinker of a book. I had such high hopes, but this is one I definitely should have DNF-ed.

3) The book I was surprised to love: Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I picked this up after so many bloggers raved about it, but I wasn’t sure if it would work for me. A book about a new mom starting an OnlyFans? Not really my thing, ya know! But this book was wonderful and heartfelt and I feel like a part of me was healed reading about the relationship between Margo and her dad.

4) The book I thought I would love more than I did: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Everyone raves about this book, but I found it to be a bit hard to follow. There were so many characters and I couldn’t keep everyone straight, and I found the mystery to be convoluted.

5) Most deserving of the hype: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. This was a nominee in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards and I had seen many rave reviews before I read it myself. I loved every minute I spent with this book, and can confidently say it was worth the hype.

6) Least deserving of the hype: What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall. This earned a nomination in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards and was named as a Book of the Year finalist for Book of the Month. I thought this was a very poorly written thriller and the ending totally jumped the shark for me.

7) Book I loved that other people hated: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale. This has a 3.56 rating on Goodreads, but it was a solid 4-star read for me. I could really identify with Cassandra, and I loved the way the author incorporated time travel into the novel.

8) Book I hated that everyone loved: The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley. This book has a 4.04 rating on Goodreads, but goooood, I did not like it. I gave it 2 stars. I just didn’t think the characters were all that well-written and the mystery was convoluted.

9) Most memorable character: Vera Wong from Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice to Murderers. Is there anyone like Vera Wong? She’s unpredictable and kooky, but also lovable and sweet. I don’t think I’d want her as a mother, but maybe as a mischievous aunt.

10) The book that made me gasp out loud: You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Listen, there’s a twist in this book that I was not expecting and I remember gasping out loud in my car when I listened to the scene. Whew.

11) Best audiobook narration: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan. Nobody does audiobook narration quite like Julia Whelan and in this book, she gets very meta (since the main characters are narrating an audiobook together!). The way she can do a male voice puts all other audiobook narrators to shame.

12) Favorite fictional couple: Eve and Shep in Ready or Not by Cara Bastone. Oh, they were such a sweet couple, the best friend and the best friend’s brother. A friends-to-lovers romance will always hit me in the feels!

13) The underrated gem of the year: White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck. With just over 2,200 ratings, this book most definitely qualifies as an underrated gem. (It was published in 2021.) This book challenged me, instructed me, and made me want to be a better ally.

14) My least favorite character: The father in The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith. I know I have my own “daddy issues” that I probably brought to this book, but damn, this father was terrible and his actions were incredibly triggering. I am still so mad that the author tried to redeem him when he didn’t do anything to deserve redemption.

15) Favorite reading experience of 2024: Reading Funny Story by Emily Henry while waiting out Hurricane Milton. I picked up this book the Saturday before we evacuated because I knew I needed something light-hearted to sink into when I needed to be distracted from my racing thoughts. I finished the book the night that Milton hit Florida. It was sweet and romantic and the perfect distraction.

What was your most disappointing DNF? What’s a book you read that was definitely worth the hype?

Categories: Best Of

Best of 2024 | A Month-by-Month Recap

Oh, 2024. What an interesting year! Working through this post, I see so many highs (I did so many fun things with so many people!) and so many lows (hurricane loss, physical ailments, mental health, etc.) But that’s life. It’s never going to be 100% perfect, but neither will it (hopefully) be 100% terrible.

This year, Elisabeth asked us to take a journey with her to write a book together, with each month of the year receiving its own chapter title. I managed to find all of my chapter titles and those will be headlining each year. Let’s get into it, shall we?

January – Settling Into a New Year

  • We were still in Tennessee on vacation when we rang in 2024, and we spent the first day of the year at Ober Gatlinberg. We did their mountain coaster, drank delicious hot chocolate, and went snow tubing!
  • I met Jenny! She was in Tampa with her family and we met up at Starbucks for a few hours of chit-chat. It was so lovely!
  • I got my nose pierced and it was so very painful, but I loved the delicate stud immediately.
  • I found an adorable chair with an ottoman on Facebook Marketplace and snatched it up! It was quite the ordeal to get it into my bedroom but there have been many wonderful reading sessions in that chair.
  • I had my final therapy session with my therapist. She had taught me a lot and I felt ready to take on life without regular talk therapy sessions.

February – The One With All the Appointments

  • I went strawberry picking with friends! I got way too many strawberries but it was a fun afternoon.
  • I had so many appointments: dentist and doctor and and dermatologist and a LASIK follow-up (<– my last one!). It felt like I was always rushing off to one appointment or another.
  • I was on dog-sitting duty one weekend for Chip and Lucy, and we had the best time together!
  • Bri and I celebrated Galentine’s Day for our 9th year in a row! We had pizza and cheesy bread and watched a rom-com. It was a delightful night!
  • In fun physical ailments, I had an allergic reaction to the topical lidocaine during a cavity filling and I had a scalp psoriasis flare after a few months of maintenance.

March – Everything’s Coming Up Stephany

  • My mom and I joined a gym – and we’ve been going strong since. Joining this gym was probably one of the best decisions I made this year!
  • I had my first ladies’ night with new friend Roxana, and we immediately clicked! We’ve had multiple girls nights in since then, and it was so fun to make a new friend this year.
  • I started going to a chiropractor to help with my sciatica pain and it really helped realign my spine.
  • I attended a pediatric cancer walk for Olive and it was a fun afternoon out with friends.
  • I went to the Florida Strawberry Festival with my mom and stepdad, and for the first time ever, got seriously nauseous on a ride (another sign that I’m getting old, sigh).

April – The Diagnosis

  • I did an at-home sleep test and learned a week later that I had severe obstructive sleep apnea. While I was concerned I had sleep apnea, the diagnosis was shocking—I didn’t expect my condition to be classified as severe.
  • Bri and I spent a Sunday afternoon exploring Egmont Key, a secluded island off the coast of Tampa Bay. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time together!
  • I bought an Apple watch using my wellness stipend (we got $500 in 2024) and it’s probably not a purchase I would have gotten otherwise. I love my watch so much!
  • My mom and I went to an art festival where we quickly realized we were way out of our leagues. Most of the pieces were selling for $2,000 or more!
  • My scalp psoriasis started to flare with angry red patches on my scalp (underneath my hair, thank goodness) and lots of itchiness and pain, and the soonest appointment I could get from my dermatologist was in mid-June, sigh.

May – Highs and Lows

  • My scalp psoriasis continued to be unmanageable. I bought every product under the sun to try to help calm it down while I waited to see my dermatologist. I remember nights where I couldn’t sleep because I was in so much pain and the itchiness would not abate.
  • There were so many fun dates with friends: a Cinco De Mayo party at Bri’s house, a movie date with friends to watch The Idea of You, a girls night in with new friends, TopGolf with another friend to celebrate her birthday. My heart was very full.
  • I got bangs! It was such a fun way to add a little oomph to my appearance.
  • I took Eloise to the vet and we did blood work since I was a little concerned about her lack of appetite. While all other numbers were normal, she did have higher-than-normal calcium numbers. After some testing, it was determined she has idiopathic hypercalcemia. Basically, there’s not much to do here. As long as she’s eating fine and acting normal, there’s no further treatment needed. But she will need to get regular blood work done.
  • My mom and I spent a long weekend in New Orleans. We saw Nate Bargatze live, enjoyed the aquarium and some bookstores, went on a ghost tour, and tried to conquer public transportation (we failed). We both agreed we are “one and done” with New Orleans. It was a fine place to visit once, but we have no desire to return.

June: Battling My Social Anxiety Demons – and Winning

  • I paid $400 for emergency locksmith services when I got home from the airport after flying home from New Orleans. I couldn’t find my house keys anywhere in my luggage so I had to suck it up. And guess what I found in the very place I was looking (my backpack) after unpacking? My house keys. Of course!
  • I finally saw my dermatologist and we both agreed it was time to start steroid injections. They were painful, but I’d been having pain in those areas of my scalp for months now so it didn’t feel any worse than that. And omg, what a difference some steroids make! The pain and itching dissipated within a few days and I felt like a new person.
  • I spent a weekend in Illinois/Wisconsin with Kim! I got to meet her cats and her husband, and we explored so much of her area! We went to bookstores and a fun market and Chicago Pride. But the best thing we did was go to the Popcast Live! We are both huge fans of the podcast and it was a great evening. (Kim – please show Khali this photo collage. I’m hoping to get further into her good graces by putting her so prominently.)
  • Social anxiety was my demon this month, and I had to battle a lot of fear and worry leading up to my weekend with Kim. I knew I would have a good time (and I did!) but this is the way my brain works. It’s so tiresome.
  • There was lots of bookish delight this month! Not only did I find the most amazing bookstore in Wisconsin (Blue House Books in Kenosha), but I also did some book drop-offs at Little Free Libraries around my city and went to a book event in downtown Tampa with Bri.

July – Spending Less, Doing More

  • I did a month-long spending freeze and I was surprisingly successful at it! I have attempted these freezes in the past and failed, but I think the key is writing regular updates for the blog. It keeps me honest. (I am an Upholder, after all.)
  • I finally had my CPAP Titration Sleep Study, three months after getting my diagnosis. It was awkward and uncomfortable, and I don’t think I slept more than a few hours. I had an amazing sleep technician, though, who made the process a lot less weird than it could have been.
  • We celebrated my mom’s birthday with an afternoon of fun! My mom, my brother, and I went to The Candle Pour to make candles and then we went out for lunch.
  • We took the dogs to the dog beach one sunny afternoon, and they did better than we expected! They loved floating around the ocean on a raft, although all Lucy wanted to do was bark at the birds. Chip loved exploring the beach while Lucy growled and barked at any dog who dared come near her. She’s a feisty one!
  • I had an anxiety spiral when my mom wasn’t answering her phone. Luckily, I was at Bri’s house recording podcast episodes, so we took a break once I started spiraling and sat on the couch. We watched soccer and she distracted me the best she could.

August – Transitions & Depression

  • My boss, someone I love dearly and who has championed my growth at my company, left the organization for a new role and I was devastated, to say the least. We had a going-away party for her and I stayed for over 5 hours!
  • I spent a few nights at my mom’s house for puppy-sitting duties! I love when I get to do this because hanging out with Chip and Lucy is my favorite thing. They are so cuddly and fun, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
  • We had a reunion with a former book club member who moved away a decade ago, but just returned to the area for good. She fit back in so seamlessly and it’s fun to have an extra member again!
  • My CPAP machine finally arrived at the end of August and it was a big adjustment learning to sleep with it, but almost immediately, I noticed a difference in my energy levels. Amazing!
  • My mental health was a struggle this month and I went through a depressive episode. I tried making some changes to my meds, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I just needed to wait out this period of feeling mentally unwell and eventually, it eased.

September – The Unexpected Goodbye to Gladys

  • I had another anxiety spiral when my mom didn’t answer her phone for a few hours, prompting me to write a post about the experience and also start thinking about going back to therapy.
  • I continued to use my CPAP machine and experience so many benefits from it, like improved energy levels and less brain fog! However, getting used to wearing the mask was a process! It was very uncomfortable for the first month.
  • I had a really fun evening out with some girlfriends. We made candles at The Candle Pour (second time this year!) and then went out for Mexican food. Afterward, we “tricked” Bri into coming inside so we could surprise her with cake! (It was essentially her birthday celebration.)
  • On September 26th, Hurricane Helene hit Florida. While the eye of the storm was over 200 miles north of where I live, Helene’s storm surge was intense and we felt its effects in the Tampa Bay area. The parking lot at my apartment flooded and so did Gladys, my beloved Kia Soul. After towing my car to the Kia dealership, I heard back a few days later that my car insurance was going to total Gladys. I was devastated. But two close friends (including the friend who just moved back to Florida in August) lost their entire homes to the flooding so I know they would gladly trade places with me.
  • I was without power at my apartment for six days, during which time I stayed at my mom’s house. I came home to check on the girls every day, growing increasingly worried as my apartment got hotter and hotter. I know cats can handle heat better than humans, but I went back and forth for a long time if I wanted to bring them to my mom’s house or not. In the end, I decided that would have been more stressful to them and luckily, before the apartment got too unbearably hot, the power came back.

October – Another Hurricane?!

  • My first night in my apartment since Thursday, September 26th was Thursday, October 3rd. I was so happy to be home with my cats and focused on putting my apartment back to order. (I had to throw out the entirety of my fridge and freezer and deal with all the mildewy car supplies I had shoved in my apartment after my car was towed away.)
  • But by the weekend, I was booking a VRBO for a week because another hurricane was barreling toward us. Hurricane Milton was estimated to make landfall midweek as a strong category 3, so my mom and I (plus the dogs and the cats) drove further inland to Ocala to wait out the storm. And as crappy at it was to spend the money on a VRBO and pack up the animals and our lives… I really enjoyed that week with my mom. It was nice having the one-on-one time with her! Thankfully, Milton veered south at the last second and we missed a direct hit. I didn’t even lose power this time around!
  • I got a new car! It was a weird time to car shop and buy because, well, just about everyone else who was doing so had experienced hurricane loss, too. (The car dealerships were swimming in money, for sure.) I picked out a 2025 Kia Soul and happily took whatever color they wanted to give me. She’s a red bombshell and Ruby is the perfect name for her.
  • A few days before Halloween, I noticed that I had a rather large lump in my armpit. I was fairly certain it wasn’t something serious (I’ve had a cyst in that area for years), but there was a little frantic Googling the night before my doctor’s appointment. Thankfully, it was just a very angry abscess. I went to my dermatologist to have it drained, although it took a few weeks for the lump to go away.

November – The Month Where I Wrote Every Day & Turned Another Year Older

  • Kamala lost the election and I was devastated. I can’t believe we have to do this again.
  • My mom and I spent a day volunteering with Feeding Tampa Bay, which was such a rewarding experience.
  • I lost my wallet and had to go through the rigamarole of replacing everything, including my license, debit/credit cards, and FSA card. Thankfully, I didn’t have any cash in my wallet! It was an annoying process, though.
  • My brother and his family adopted a puppy! They named her Cici and she is delight in the purest sense of the word.
  • I re-started therapy with a new therapist and to say we clicked immediately is an understatement. We had an instant rapport and I love how she gives me tangible things to do to help with some of my anxiety spirals.
  • I turned 37 years old on Thanksgiving. My birthday was understated this year due to the holiday and my emotions were very tender on this day for some reason. It wasn’t my favorite birthday but hopefully better ones are ahead.
  • I completed another year of NaBloPoMo, and I’m so glad I did! It’s such a crazy but fun creative experience.

December – Savoring the Season

  • My mom and I spent the first week of December on a lovely cruise! It wasn’t a vacation without some bumps (like an excursion getting cancelled and my mom taking a fall), but it was very relaxing and fun.
  • I got two more tattoos! Tulips on the inside of my right ankle and an anchor on the inside of my left ankle. These symbolize my relationship with my mom: tulips are her favorite flower and the anchor is because she’s my anchor, my safe place, my rock in this crazy, messy world.
  • I took Lila for a bath, which was an experience. (She did fine with the first part of the bath, but did not love getting rinsed off. She also did not care for the blow-dryer.) She came back to me looking like she lost 5 lbs because she lost so much hair! (The woman who took care of her gave her a really good brushing before and during the bath, which she said Lila loved.)
  • The holiday season was a delight, specifically book club’s Christmas party, going to see the lights with my mom in our favorite neighborhood, a special screening of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at a local movie theater, and decorating Christmas cookies.
  • I spent NYE with friends and my mom at Bri’s house. We played games, ate great food, and did our best to stay awake until midnight.
Categories: Best Of, Goals

Best of 2024 | Wrapping Up My 2024 Goals

It’s the final day of 2024 – can you believe it? I sure can’t. This year has flown by, as all the years tend to do. Every year, I love setting yearly goals because it’s fun to think about everything I want to accomplish and the steps I’m going to take to get there. As I’ve said before, I’m A-OK with not marking every single goal complete. These goals are for fun and pleasure (for the most part) and while I take them seriously, I do not beat myself up for not accomplishing all of them. With that disclaimer, let’s dive into my final 2024 goals check-in!

HOME (3/5)

1. Create a book nook in my bedroom. Complete! While I still need to hang up bookshelves and some bookish prints, I’m going to mark this as complete for the year. I added a reading chair with ottoman, a table with a small lamp, and a cozy blanket so it’s a wonderful little reading area of my bedroom.

2. Finish my living room gallery wall. Complete!

3. Move to a two-bedroom apartment. Not complete. I decided to stay put for another year.

4. Buy a new area rug and a new coffee table for my living room. Not complete.

5. Reorganize my home: add shelving to my kitchen, hang an organizer in my kitchen pantry, and buy new organizing containers for my closet. Complete! The shelf was hung in March. I hung a headband organizer that I already had on the pantry door to organize small items like cat treats, oatmeal packets, snack bags, etc. And I added organizing containers to the shelves inside my pantry to make it easier to store things.

MONEY (2/5)

1. Switch to a rewards credit card. Not complete.

2. Complete monthly budget posts on the blog. Complete!

(December’s post to come next week!)

3. Add at least $1,000 to my emergency fund by the end of the year. Not complete.

4. Pay off the majority of my LASIK bill. Not complete.

5. Complete a no-spend month. Complete!

HEALTH (4/5)

1. Figure out an exercise routine that works for me. Complete. Joining a gym was such a great decision I made this year!

2. Lower my resting heart rate. Complete. I know I lowered my resting heart rate by more than a few notches this year, thanks to engaging in a new workout routine that includes HIIT classes, cardio, and more.

3. Use my standing desk more often – get to a place where I’m standing for two hours each day. Not complete. Standing is hard work! Next year, I’m hoping to invest in a walking pad because I think I might be more inclined to use my standing desk if I could get some movement, too. (My wellness stipend would pay for the majority of it!)

4. Get a sleep study done. Complete!

5. Be able to comfortably walk 3 miles regularly. Complete – while I haven’t tested this goal, I feel pretty confident I can walk 3 miles comfortably thanks to the extra time spent at the gym.

HOBBIES (3/5)

1. Read 100 books. (110/100) I’m finishing up my last book of 2024 today, which will put me right at 110 books read for the year.

2. Read 6 books by Agatha Christie. (6/6)

3. Reach 100 listeners per episode on the podcast. Not complete. We completely fell off our podcast recording schedule once we got hit with the hurricanes and then Bri’s work schedule amped up (she works in retail marketing, so the holiday season is a busy time of the year for her). Hopefully, we can get back on our podcasting game in 2025 and set some new goals.

4. Update the blog with a new theme and reorganized categories/tags/pages. Complete! The big recategorization project is DONE and I launched a new blog theme in May. I’m so happy with the way it turned out!

5. Watch one season of a show every month. (6/12) Not complete. Womp, womp.

  • January: Only Murders in the Building, season 3
  • February: The Bear, season 1
  • March: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, season 1
  • April: New Girl, season 1
  • May: Suits, season 1
  • June: Bridgerton, season 3

FUN (5/10)

1. Spend a long weekend at Rainbow River. Take a solo vacation. Burn through one candle every month (6/6). Complete! A simple, satisfying goal. I loved burning my balsam fir candle throughout December!

2. Get my nose pierced. Done! (But then I had to remove my piercing because the CPAP mask was irritating it so much, so I’ll have to get this piercing redone at some point.)

3. Get more tattoos. Complete! I got two tattoos on my ankles in December.

4. Take a cake decorating class. Not complete. The only classes I found were pretty expensive, so I gave up on this goal.

5. Find a dry shampoo that works for my hair. Not complete. I tried a few, but probably not as many as I could have. I think I’ve basically given up on using dry shampoo, though. My hair is just the type that needs a daily wash.

6. Listen to one new album every month. (7/12) Not complete. I tried my best!

  • January: Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
  • February: Noah Kahan, Stick Season
  • March: Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever
  • April: Beyonce, Cowboy Carter
  • May: Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
  • June: Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us
  • July: Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget About Me

7. Learn how to back into a parking space like an overconfident white man. Not complete. I’m still very timid when it comes to backing into parking spots, ha.

8. See a Dolphins game in person. Not complete.

9. Buy new luggage. Complete! I bought a new carry-on in May.

10. Start working through the “I’m Dead, Now What?” planner. Um, complete? I only worked through one section, but this goal was to “start working” on it, so…?

In the end, I accomplished 14 out of 30 goals – but there were a few “half-completed” goals on this list that I didn’t count (like the album goal). I’m happy with my progress, although I do wish I had made a lot more headway on my money goals than I did. I really struggle with those! I’ll be unveiling my 2025 goals tomorrow because you know your girl’s got some 2025 annual goals!

How do you feel about annual goals/resolutions?

Categories: Best Of

Best of 2024 | The Year in Blogging

I love putting together this post at the end of every year because it means I get to think about my year of blogging. This is a hobby I purely pursue because it’s fun for me, but it is also one that takes a lot of work! There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a blog, whether it’s making my editorial calendar, writing blog posts, editing and adding pictures, responding to comments, and reading and commenting on other blogs. One of these days, I’m going to track all of the time I spend on my blog on a weekly basis! I’m sure it’s a lot more than I expect.

Anyway, in this post, I’m talking about some of my most popular and favorite posts of the year as well as some blogging stats. The only time I look at these stats is to put together this post, so it’s always a surprise to see how things shook out!

By the Numbers

  • 84.800 unique views
  • 20,100 visitors
  • 1,006 words per post on average
  • 3,000 comments
  • 165 posts
  • 135 countries represented in my views (with the United States, Canada, and Poland being my top three)
  • 234 subscribers

I am happily surprised by these numbers – every single category saw some sort of growth in 2024. Unique views were up 34% from 2023, visitors were up 40%, and comments were up 13%. I added more countries to my traffic as well as 28 more subscribers. It makes me feel good knowing my little community here is growing and this blog is reaching more people.

I wrote more blog posts this year (+11) and my average words per post went up (+122 words) so I was not as concise with my posts as I was in 2023. What can I say? I like to write a lot of words!

My Top 5 Blog Posts of 2024

(Blog posts written in 2024, in order of most pageviews.)

  1. And Now, Milton – The end of September and the beginning of October were really hard. I wrote this post the day before my mom and I evacuated to Ocala to escape our second hurricane in as many weeks. Hurricane Milton was estimated to make direct landfall on our city as a possible category 3 hurricane, and we knew we needed to get out of town. I found a VRBO that would allow us to bring all four pets – plus, it had a fenced-in yard to make taking the dogs out 1000x easier.
  2. Inside a Panic Attack – After having a really bad panic attack one day in September, I decided to write about what it actually feels like. I’m proud of this post and I think it gives people a better glimpse of what it’s like to have an anxiety disorder.
  3. Hurricane Helene – I wrote this post two days after Hurricane Helene happened. My car was at the Kia dealership and I had an insurance claim pending to see what would happen to her. I was without power at my apartment, but luckily, my mom’s house had power so I was able to stay with her. It was a really weird, scary time. I had never dealt with hurricane loss like this before.
  4. No-Spend July: Recap #2 – I’m not sure why this post was one of my most popular of 2024, but apparently, it was a hit! I did a “no-spend” challenge in July and documented my progress every week on the blog, which was a great way to keep me motivated. This was only the second week of the challenge, but I was going strong!
  5. A Monday Morning Coffee Date – This is another random post that made the top 5 and I think it’s because I published this post after I launched my new blog theme. I told everyone to click out of their feed reader so they could see the new digs, and apparently, you guys listened to me!

My All-Time Most Popular Blog Posts

  1. I’m 27 and Scared to Move Out (+433 views)
  2. On Being a Socially Anxious Introvert (+90 views)
  3. 10 Things I Like About Myself (+372 views)
  4. “What is meant for me is already mine.” (+1,036 views)
  5. Rules for Living with a Dachshund (+175 views)

Another year where these five posts remain in the top spots. I first started tracking these stats in 2019 and this list has not budged since then! I’m impressed at how many views these posts continue to receive, even though they were written so long ago. We’ll see if any other posts can crack into the top 5 in 2025!

Other Favorite Posts

  • All of my posts about my journey to a CPAP machine – I wrote all about my CPAP journey, from doing an at-home sleep study to doing an in-clinic CPAP titration study to my first week on CPAP therapy. It was a wild ride, especially considering I did my at-home sleep study in April and didn’t get my CPAP machine until the last day of August.
  • My Bookish Red Flags – I fooled people with this post, as everyone thought I was going to talk about the red flags I see in my reading. Instead, I talk about some of the bad habits I have as a reader, such as reading my books in the bathtub.
  • A Day in the Life of Eloise and Lila – Have you ever wondered how Eloise and Lila spend their days? Wonder no more! I wrote an entire post detailing their very busy lives. As expected, there were a lot of naps, playtime, and staring out the window.
  • My Thoughts on the NYT Best Books of the Century – When the New York Times came out with their best books of the century list, everyone in bookish circles was talking about it! I finally climbed on the bandwagon a little late to talk about what I thought about the selections and what books I would have added to the list.
  • Where Do You Keep That? – I wrote this post after listening to an episode of The Girl Next Door Podcast where they did a fun segment of this very name. And it spawned a whole new life in the blogging world, especially with Elisabeth (and now I’m copying off Elisabeth’s other posts to continue this series!)

If you’re a blogger, what’s a post you’re proud of writing this year? If you’re not a blogger, what are your favorite types of blog posts to read?