2016 Redux: Still Another Year in Books

My library card got quite a bit of use this year. I've read/listened to more books this year than I have maybe ever: 135. I attribute this to listening to audiobooks on my one hour round-trip commute and devouring any graphic novel I can get my hands on. 

I made a strong effort this year to read books written by women and people of color. I hope to continue this in the years ahead. I'd like to participate in a reading challenge that will get me reading out of my comfort zone and that will give me deeper insight to our world. I read almost everything on my Summer Syllabus (aside from finishing one of the graphic novel series), along with many recommendations from my library's monthly book club. I also reread some favorites, including Wild, The Little Prince, and When You Reach Me. I'm also delving into the Anne of Green Gables series, which I've never read before but am quickly falling in love with.

I agonized over picking my favorites this year. Most of the titles on this list are for young readers. (Although I think that Bucky F*cking Dent takes the cake overall!) I read some really wonderful stories that I loved for different reasons. Aren't books the best?

Here's what I read this year. (All images courtesy of Goodreads.) Which of these have you read and loved (or hated!)? What did you read this year? What should I be reading in 2017? 

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Top 15 Favorites

The Complete Poetry, Maya Angelou

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nesihi Coates (audiobook, read by the author)

Matilda, Roal Dahl (audiobook, read by Kate Winslet)

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye, Tania del Rio & Will Staehle

Bucky F*cking Dent, David Duchovny (audiobook, read by the author)

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home, Jessica Fechtor

The Turner House, Angela Flournoy

84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff

My One Hundred Adventures, Polly Horvath

Dumplin', Julie Murphy

Bluffton: My Summer with Buster, Matt Phelan

I am Princess X, Cherie Priest

Nimona, Noelle Stevenson 

Paper Girls (Vol. 1), Brian K. Vaughn

Where Am I Now?, Mara Wilson

Want to know more about what I'm reading throughout the year? Follow me on Goodreads, Instagram, or under the hashtag #whatmollyreads. Let me know where I can follow you! Wishing you all an amazing 2017 filled with good coffee and even better books!

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Here's what I read in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. 

On Anxiety, Chia Pets, and Entering the Last Year of My Twenties

Last year on my birthday, I was not in a great place. The fall season had been difficult for a variety of reasons and I'd found myself in a pit of despair and self-pity, partnered with anxiety and depression. In looking back over some old drafts this week, I discovered an unpublished post that I'd written during this time and was shocked by the stark differences between then and now:

It's nearly midnight on the day of my birthday and I'm feeling very sorry for myself.

That is quite possibly the most pathetic sentence I have ever typed.

It is not so much that I am upset about getting older or my metabolism slowing down or the wrinkles that are ever so slowly making an appearance on my forehead. (Although those things are certainly a cause for concern.) It is more the fact that right now, at this moment, I'm feeling tired and overwhelmed and really quite sad. I'm cracking under the pressure and I don't know how I'm going to go on.

That certainly paints a bleak picture. 

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When I was a senior in high school, my friends and I skipped school and took the South Shore train to Chicago for a day of shopping and cheesecake. While we were riding the train back home,  I made everyone tell me a list of small (somewhat silly) goals they wanted to accomplish before they turned 30. Last year, while going through old papers, I found this list:

1) Learn to tango.

2) Read the Anne of Green Gables series. 

3) Ride in a limo. 

4) Learn to snowboard.

5) Own a Chia Pet. 

Thirty seemed so far away at 18. 

Last year, Kyle bought me a Chia Pet for my birthday. It's one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received, but at a time when anxiety was controlling my life, it also seemed like one of the most loaded. The pressure I felt was tangible, a rock sitting heavily on my chest. It was just a simple Chia Pet, but to my anxiety-laden brain, it was a representation of all the things I had never accomplished, never would, and my inevitable mortality. (Pretty intense, huh?) The idea of taking on this HUGE responsibility of owning a Chia Pet just seemed like too much to handle.

It's crazy what anxiety will make you believe. 

Like so many of the things in my life that I wouldn't (or couldn't) deal with, I put this Chia Pet in a box. I hid it away; out of sight, out of mind. 

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I'm so grateful that this has been a year of self-care. While many wonderful things have happened, in so many ways the future appears scary and uncertain. But as I enter the final year of my twenties, I have to cling to the good.

In looking  back over my list, I realized something. While I haven't accomplished anything 18-year-old Molly had wanted to do, I still have plenty of time to do so. And just because I haven't accomplished anything on that list, doesn't mean that I haven't done some pretty amazing things that 18-year-old Molly never would have dreamed possible. 

So now, as I sit here writing this with exactly 10 months left in my twenties, it's time get that Chia Pet out of its box, spread the seeds, and wait for it to grow. 

I vow to spend these next 10 months doing the same. 

#mittenhiking

Aman Park//May 2016

One of my biggest goals for 2016 was to get outside more. I've always loved nature and being outdoors, so spending two years in grad school hunched over a computer screen in every spare moment just wasn't doing it for me. My friends promised me that when I was done with school, they would go hiking with me. And because they're awesome, they've made good on that promise. 

Enter #mittenhiking. (Almost) every Saturday since March, a group of us have hiked trails all over West Michigan. We've walked along lake shores, through narrow wooded trails, and glanced through the trees in urban parks to see the skyline of our city. As of this writing, we've hiked 100 miles this year. I'm so proud of this accomplishment and so grateful to have friends who are eager to get up early on Saturday morning just to go play outside.

If you're on Instagram, check out our #mittenhiking hashtag to see the beauty of our state throughout the seasons and a few pictures of the amazing people who make it happen every weekend. This past year, nature has really become my refuge and I think many of my friends would say the same. All this fresh air has really gone to my head. 

Provin Trails//April 2016

Riverside Park//July 2016

Luton Park, July 2016

Prairie Wolf Park//Oct 2016

Prairie Wolf Park//Oct 2016

Millennium Park//Nov 2016

Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Devil's Soup Bowls)//Nov 2016

Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Hall Lake)//Nov 2016

Wahlfield Park//Sept 2016

Ain't Afraid of No Goats

I've been waiting my entire life for this and now that it is finally here, it all seems so surreal. The Chicago Cubs are going to the World Series. My heart may explode. I'm speechless. 

GO CUBS GO! 

Summer Favorites

I have been struggling for the past few months or so to find the words to express my hurt and sadness for all that is currently going on in the world. My boots have been very heavy from all the hatred and divisiveness. I am still without words, but these are the things that brought a smile to my face over the summer, and I hope that maybe they will bring a smile to yours as well. 

"Brother Said" by The Rough & Tumble

Kyle and I saw this band play on the patio at Stormcloud Brewing in Frankfort, MI this summer. They have a delightful, folky sound and this song in particular speaks to me. 

"The World (Is Going Up in Flames)" by Charles Bradley

A friend introduced me to this singer earlier this year and I fell in love. His soulful voice and music speaks to years of struggle, yet never losing hope. 

The Gentle Barn

The Gentle Barn is an organization that rescues and cares for farm animals. Their Instagram gives daily doses of adorable animals bringing joy to others. It always brightens my day to see pictures of Dudley the cow, Lillie the pig, and many, many more.

Bucky F*cking Dent by David Duchovny

This book is one of my favorite things that I've read this year. (Although, I highly recommend checking out the audiobook.) I'll admit, I picked this book up because of the author, but I quickly fell in love with the gruff-but-lovable characters and lyrical writing. I firmly believe that few things can bring people together like baseball.

And finally, this.

Have a wonderful week, friends.