This is my 100th Substack. That number feels like some weird milestone, but it’s ultimately just a number. I wanted to write something big, something epic for the 100th as if it meant something, but the holidays coupled with a nasty stomach virus (The scourge of daycare! Thanks a lot, kid!) had other plans for me.
I’m back on my feet now, and adjusting to the new year — mainly by reflecting on and assessing the previous year. I still like data and stats and some sort of gauge both on where I’m going and where I’ve been.
So let’s look at the real numbers that matter: books and bike rides.
While I didn’t meet my goal, I still managed to read 19 books last year. This number is down significantly from years past, but at least I have a good excuse (Thanks a lot, kid!). The stat I’m most proud of here is that 74% of the books were by female authors. The racial breakdown is nothing to brag about (68% white, 16% black, and 16% Latino) since I’ve been actively trying to diversify my literature diet for years now. And if you’d like a recommendation, “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver was hands down my favorite — a beautifully written, yet tragic tale reimagining David Copperfield set in modern-day Appalachia.
I rode my bike 2,193 miles last year. But the ride I’m most proud of is the Washington Area Bicycle Association’s 50 States Ride, which was a 62.5-mile group ride (and coupled with the commute to/from the starting point, it ended up being a 70.5-mile day — my longest ride ever!). Fun fact: DC has 51 roadways which are named after each state, as well as the territory of Puerto Rico. Every state-named roadway is an avenue except for California Street and Ohio Drive.
Other numbers I kept track of loosely were days of my Duolingo streak (279 días!), smiles and giggles from the boy (So many. Thanks a lot, kid!), and hours of sleep (not nearly enough!). Oh, and subscribers (1,260! Thank you all, for being here!).
If you’ve made it this far, here are a few things that inspired me, and maybe I’ll even try my hand at crafting one of my own lists like these next year:
52 Things I Learned in 2023 by Tom Whitwell (He’s been doing this since 2014. Previous years are linked to at the bottom of his post and highly recommended.)
Inspired by the previous is Jason Kottke’s 52 Interesting Things I Learned (I’ve been following Kottke.org since its inception 25 years ago, and he’s a curator of interesting things — worth a follow.)
100 Things That Made My Year by Austin Kleon (my favorite newsletter author)
24 Ways to Change Your Life in 2024 by Sahil Bloom is a great list of some tiny actions that can make a big difference
And, one of my most listened-to and most frequently recommended podcasts just did a round-up of the Top 10 Takeaways from All the Hacks in 2023. If you need something new to listen to, start with episode 118, the one on kindness.
And, I believe I posted this when it was first published this time last year, but since I don’t see a new one for 2024, this one from the Guardian bears repeating and rereading… 52 acts of Kindness: How to Spread Joy in Every Week of 2023
Happy 2024! Looks like you had a great 2023 (thanks a lot, kid!)
Thanks for sharing your list of lists. Would definitely love to see your list of 24 things this time next year =)
Congratulations, Melissa! Love what you do here. Please keep going. Happy New Year!