Part of me can hardly believe I’m writing these words – didn’t we just start 2024? – while another part of me feels as if the year was at least three times longer than usual. In many ways, 2024 did not go as planned, but it also held so many unexpected blessings, and there were always moments of joy and beauty to be found.

In keeping with my habit of celebrating those moments, this post will feature a quick recap of the year, as well as a summary of my year’s worth of reading and some blog stats.

2024 At-a-Glance:
🌻 Perhaps the biggest change is that I left my job in the Library. After more than 11 years in the position, it was a bittersweet moment for sure – but I have loved the transition to “full-time farm wife” and am very excited about a new project up my sleeve.
🌻 Not only did we get to see the aurora borealis from the comfort of our own home, but we got to see the stunning sight twice!
🌻 And we got to see a historic comet as well!
🌻 Due to various reasons, we weren’t able to work the bees as much as hoped – but we did manage to catch 3 swarms! We are also using this as a chance to learn how well the bees handle low {low} maintenance on our end. Our goal has always been to get to the point where they don’t require winter feeding and can be self-reliant, so this is a good chance to test theories.
🌻 We finally managed a day trip to my beloved mountains AND a day trip to the beach, within weeks of each other!
🌻 There was a beautiful surprise snow – and I hope there’s much more to come.

The Blog:
I am so very proud of how this blog and little community have been growing! It’s not all about the numbers, and as I’ve mentioned previously: the blog is as much a record for us as it is for you lovely readers. That said, I do like looking at the statistics and seeing how things change.

The Reading:
Obviously I post monthly reading recaps, so if you’ve been here a while you’ve gotten a sense of what I read {and if you’re new: welcome!}. But this is the time of year to look back and do a deep dive … so prepare yourself for pie charts and statistics!

When compared to 2023’s reading, I more than doubled my nonfiction reading, and only bailed on 3 books for the year. I was particularly impressed with the hours logged listening to audiobooks. Popping my AirPods in during daily walks and garden watering really added up! My total books read for 2024 was 90, also an increase over 2023.

At first glance, it’s obvious that most of my reading material still comes from the Library. When compared to the data from 2023 however, my Library-use has actually decreased. In 2023, nearly 82% of my reads were Library loans – compared to just over 71% in 2024. I’m hoping to bring that down closer to 50% in 2025. Also hope to keep “playing catch-up” with my BOTM reads.

In terms of blogging about reading: in 2024 I revisited My Christmas is Booked and added Summer of Jane as another focused reading experience. It’s so much fun to focus my reading, and craft reading “wishlists” {since the TBR is only partially successful, ha}, and I look forward to continuing these in the coming year.

Looking Ahead:
Going into 2025, I’ve got big plans! I’m going to tweak my monthly reading recaps a little, still working on exactly how that will look {hard to visualize when you’ve only finished 1 book so far!}. This is also the year Jane Austen would turn 250, so you know I’m going to jump onboard that celebration train! More details on this coming soon.

Garden season will be upon us sooner than we know, with more green growing things content! The winter months are always bookish heavy, but that’s okay too. This blog is the reflection of my world, where books and plants/the garden live in harmony. I’m also hoping to add more homemaking/cozy life content, with no idea what that will look like. Chances are good more kitchen content will be coming this way too, since Mr. got me a beautiful KitchenAid for Christmas.

My official reading goal is again 100, with the aim of reading more of my books and fewer from the Library. I’m adjusting the way I track my reads this year, and am very curious to see how many Library loans are print versus digital checkouts.

Right now we’re in the middle of a very cold stretch of winter, and 2025 is still a wee baby of a year … but I’ve got high hopes, big plans, and every intention of living a cozy Hobbit-y life.

Have you set a reading goal and/or intention for the year?