How’d I do?
For 2024, I set a handful of goals for 3 main categories of interest:
Books + Media | Arts + Crafts | Food + Health
Books + Media
- Read 24 books for Classics Club
I completed this goal in May. - Complete home library cataloging project
I have not completed this goal. I’m about 75 % of the way there, though!
In 2024, I read a total of 82 books.
- 44 print books
- 8 e-books
- 30 audiobooks
- 8 nonfiction
- 56 fiction
- 4 poetry or theater
- 12 children’s
- 2 cookbooks or art + crafting books
I also reviewed 42 of these books and (including a few from last year); I’ve drafted a further 12 reviews to be published soon.
In no particular order, these were my top books of 2024:
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954 (SF/F)
- Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, 1862 (Poetry)
- The Birds of America by John James Audubon, 1827 (Nonfiction)
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 19690 (Nonfiction)
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, 1959 (Fiction)
- The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, 1993 (Fiction)
- The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, 1982 (Fiction) — review TK
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, 1989 (Fiction) — review TK
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, 1986 (Children’s) — review TK
In addition to the above, I updated my Book Review Index.
Besides books, I watched 6 TV shows, 4 YouTube series, and 10 films; I also listened to 4 podcasts. Plus I spent uncountable hours playing The Sims!
Arts + Crafts
- Complete 4 cross-stitch projects
- Complete 8 watercolor paintings
I did not even come close to completing either of these goals 🙁
Food + Health
- Try 60 new recipes
I completed this goal in September. - Complete The Lord of the Rings Virtual Challenge
I completed this challenge in April — 668.25 miles from 2023–2024!
In 2024, I walked or hiked a total of 423 miles. At home and at the gym, I spent a total of 39.75 hours on a mix of exercise machines plus about 20.25 hours weight training (something new for me).
Much of my time spent walking outdoors is also spent spying on birds, so I have now added a new project page for Birding.
I recently completed my cookbook cook-thru project for Max Miller’s Tasting History — review coming in early 2025! I also finished cooking my way through the Bon Appétit + Gourmet special editions Essential Breads + Holiday Entertaining. In 2025, I will continue my cook-thru projects of J. Kenji López-Alt’s Food Lab and community cookbook Methodist Morsels.
I also tried 12 new-to-me wines for the Wine Folly Challenge.
At home, we went through Hurricane Beryl (Cat 1), and had to replace a large section of our fence due to damage from it, BUT THANKFULLY this was pretty mild compared to how bad some other folks had it this past hurricane season.
I also traveled with my spouse to Florida (conference-to-vacation) and solo to Alabama (family health thing).
And in other big news, I started a whole new job!
Even though I didn’t meet all of my goals, I’d say it was still overall a fine year. I made it through some rough times and even had a few personal successes — which is about as much as a person can hope for, I think. I’m grateful for that.
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