Looking Back on my Reading, Blogging, Writing and Personal Life in 2023 | End of Year Reflection

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Welcome to my 2023 review! It’s been a challenging year for sure, filled with much uncertainty and unexpected developments. In this End of Year Reflection, I am looking back on my reading, blogging, writing and personal life in 2023. So let’s get into it!

How Many Books Did I Read In 2023?

I read 42 books in 2023 but there were very few standouts or at least much less than in previous years. This year, my reading was all over the place, I found it difficult to get excited about most books and deciding what to read was always a challenge.

Apart from rereading the entire Murderbot series and some other favourites, my favourite reads of 2023 are probably:

A lot of books I read were rereads or just not memorable at all to me. In fact, I know that I read books that I didn’t track on goodreads…but I couldn’t tell you which ones. Most likely random non-fiction self help books that had little impact on me.

How did my blogging year go?

2023 was a strange year in many ways for me and because life was hectic and stressful, or my priorities were simply elsewhere, I didn’t end up blogging a lot! During the year, I felt a lot of pressure and shame about that. Honestly, I had so many plans and cool ideas on what I want bookshelfsoliloquies to be, and 2023 saw little progress towards those.

In total, I published 20 posts in 2023. That’s the fewest posts on this blog in any year ever! As part of my larger goals going into 2024, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself when it comes to my hobbies. It tends to stress me out and then not create anything at all!

What does this mean for bookshelfsoliloquies in 2024? I am not going to hold myself to any posting schedule. I will write and publish on my own timeline, whenever I have something to share!

Of course, I am hoping to publish somewhat regularly, share weekly or at least monthly updates on my very ambitious 2024 reading goals and get really weird and creative with my posts again! So honestly, for you, dear reader, this mostly means that nothing much changes from 2023, other than that you’ll hopefully see me around here more.

My Favourite Blog Posts of 2023

Apart from some of my monthly Wrap-Ups where I got to include fun personal updates, my two favourite posts I wrote this year are these two:

• 9 Weirdly Specific Nonfiction Books on my TBR
• 5 Books With Unusual Formats for a Unique Reading Experience

In my brain, they are almost sister posts because they’re both a collection of books that are unusual in one way or another. And I have a special place in my heart for books that I find unique and a little strange in a delightful way. It’s always exciting to discover a book I didn’t know existed but that somehow calls my name regardless.

How Did My Writing Year Go?

Unexpectedly, 2023 was actually kind of a great writing year for me! I didn’t write nearly as much as I hoped and there were a bunch of hopes and dreams I had that didn’t come to fruition. But I still accomplished a lot!

• I wrote a bunch of words during the 24 hour novel challenge and NaNoWriMo, in total about 75k! That’s the most I have written in a year since I was a teenager and I’m very proud of myself.
• I gifted myself a Freewrite Traveler, a ridiculously overpriced writing tool that I love with all my heart. It’s been such a joy to use and has definitely helped me get out of my head and put words on the page.
• I continued working on my sci-fi adventure story and had so much fun putting my characters in terrible situations!
• I started writing a new novel for NaNoWriMo in November and this time around I’m working on a thriller! It’s exactly the kind of book I want to read and while it’s a really big project and I always feel like I am not smart enough to actually plot a murder mystery situation, it’s been such a fun time and I can’t wait to continue working on it in 2024.
• I found a local community of writers with a very cosy co-working space! In 2024, I’m hoping to get more involved in this local writing community.

A Little Reflection On My Personal Life

2023 was a mixed bag for my personal life, there were a lot of hard times, weird times, and absolutely wonderful times. I had two incredible trips with my partner to Gothenburg and London and am already dreaming of returning to both cities. I got to hang out with my friends so many times, ran my first ever DnD game, discovered new craft hobbies and went on many little adventures.

The biggest recent development that has been in the making for quite some time has been my ADHD diagnosis! In 2024, I’ll be trying medication and neurofeedback therapy and I’m hoping that both of those will help me better manage my brain.

I also turned 25 this year, something that I have mixed feelings about. It’s easy to feel behind in life, like I should’ve accomplished something already. Like I should know what I want to do with my life. But the simple answer is that I don’t know! I have so many interests and lack the energy and confidence to pursue any of them. I overthink and second-guess my life choices every week.

In 2023, I’ve been depressed and hopeless, lost and scared. But I have also been excited and filled with dreams, hopeful and happy. I’m sure 2024 will bring a similar mix of feelings because that’s life, I guess.

Let’s Chat!

Overall, I am greeting 2024 with excitement and hope. I have big goals and dreams and am excited to reconnect with myself and my communities, since I’ve been feeling out of touch and lost for a while. I want to create bad art, good art, and everything in between. In 2024, I want to spend time working on my writing and I hope to finish a full draft and a round of edits of my current thriller project. Who knows, maybe by the end of the year I’ll feel confident enough to let other people read it!

I mentioned earlier that in 2023, I didn’t set any writing goals. Some of you may be wondering how that worked out for me and if I regret that! Well, you’re in luck because in part 2 of this end of year review, I will be talking all about that. So keep an eye out for that post in the next days, as well as a post about my very ambitious reading goals for 2024!

I hope 2024 treats you kindly, my friends. I hope it holds space for your hopes and dreams and all your complexities. I’m excited to see what this new year brings and I can’t wait to be more active in these bookish spaces again! Feel free to link your recent posts in the comments so I can come say hi and catch up on your reading lives!

I hope you have a lovely day,

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