Year in Review: Reading, Writing, and Travel

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Happy New Year!

This is my 2024 review of the year's activities, or maybe some of them.

Reading

I didn't hit my 100-book target for the year--at least, not without including the many old friends I re-read for the umpteenth time, taking comfort in their familiarity like some people take comfort in re-runs of Friends or pots of mac and cheese. Without those, I come in at about 88 books. But--I shall finally jump in and do the "My Year In Books" that Jemima Pett has been doing for several years (see her this year's post here).

The idea is simple: Just fill in the blanks with titles of books I read. This is not meant to be any kind of value judgement on the books; I have included links to reviews where possible (and am shocked at how many I failed to review).

So far, I would describe this year as being: Devil's Food

I’m tipping that the next big thing in Reality TV shows will be: Time and Tide

I could have cried when: West With the Night

I would love to have some respite from: Molten Death

The most unexpected thing that happened this year involved: The Curve of Time

My non-bookish friends would say I: Just Keep Walking

My motto for 2025 will be: Wandering Home

I am most looking forward to: Gathering Moss

A recurring dream I’ve had this year features: Sailing to the Edge of Time

If you looked under my couch you would see: A Life on Our Planet

If I could no longer blog, I would probably pursue a career in: Nothing Else But Miracles

Something most people don’t know about me is: A Basket Case 

My reading year has been a bit mixed, with a lot of non-fiction mixed up with a LOT of re-reads (always a sign that I'm tired or stressed; I go back to familiar books as the best comfort food I know). I recently started reading more middle-grade fiction again and participating when possible in Greg Pattridge's Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle. I'm still collecting thoughts about walking and healing; many of those books haven't gotten reviewed here but have been mulled over in my journal.

Writing:
As will be seen in my final section (Travel), it's not been an idea year for writing. Nonetheless, I have managed to polish up and submit 4 short stories, for a total of 8 submissions (two of which have not yet been rejected). My major accomplishment was the revision, editing, and publishing of Seffi Wardwell's second mystery, Washed Up With the Tide, which came out November 18. I have also managed to produce something resembling a rough draft of another mystery featuring the intrepid Seffi, and hope to bring out #3 and maybe even #4 in 2025!
Travel:

2024 was a bumper year for travel! In addition to visiting the final of the 7 continents (Africa, in February and March), I set a new personal record for number of trail nights (my own term, defined as nights spent someplace where I had to walk to get there, carrying at least a substantial daypack) (my definition allows me to count nights in back-country lodges and our supported treks in Tanzania and Kenya). The total I believe came to at least 40 nights on trail, including 24 nights of classic backpacking on the West Coast Trail (Vancouver Island), Pacific Crest Trail (WA), Timberline Trail (Mt. Hood), and Grand Canyon.

In addition to the trips listed above I visited Victoria Falls in Africa, the Canadian Rockies, and assorted stretches of road between Seattle and the Colorado Plateau (southern Utah/Northern Arizona), and the SF Bay Area to see my son married. I think I was at home no more than 50% of the time this year, and you can see the results in my many, many photo posts. I wore myself out with travel, and will back off a bit in 2025... maybe :)




Comments

  1. Natalie AguirreDecember 30, 2024 at 4:17 AM

    I would have a hard time not being home so much of the year, but you've certainly gone on some amazing trips. And you've accomplished a lot of reading and writing. I think it's totally okay to reread books that you enjoy and give you comfort. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassDecember 30, 2024 at 11:46 AM

      It was a little too much travel, especially July-October, when the longest I was home was 10 day (or was it 7?). Trying to plan better this year.

      Delete
  2. cleemckenzieJanuary 2, 2025 at 2:42 PM

    I used to be gone most of the year. It was fun to go out as far as I could before circling back to home. Loved your travelogue!

    ReplyDelete

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