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Things to Share:

1. Favorite books I read in 2023
2. Annual review templates

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Favorite Books 2023 edition

I finished 41 books in 2023. Below, in no particular order, were my favorite reads and rereads:

• ​Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. A novella in short vignettes about a falling marriage told from the wife's perspective. The vignettes are standalone prose that also merge into the overall arc of the story. My review.
• ​Self-Help by Lorrie Moore. One of my all-time favorite short story collections. Most stories are told from the 2nd person perspective, which is unique and difficult, but feels effortless for Moore.
• ​A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. My favorite Hemingway novel. Incredible start to finish. Sometimes when my writing feels stuck, I'll read a few passages especially where Hemingway depicts setting. The descriptions are so rich in detail and emotion they immediately put me in the scene.
• ​The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A frequent reread. The great American novel and critique of the illusory American dream has some of the best sentence-level prose I've ever read.
• ​West of Sunset by Steward O'Nan. As much as I love historical fiction, I sense the genre is inundated with subpar books. Not the case with this one. It depicts, in a moving way, the last tragic years of F. Scott Fitzgerald's life as he embarked for Hollywood to revive his career and provide for Zelda's care and daughter Scottie's education. A sad story, but a warm portrayal of Fitzgerald.
• ​Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. I managed to find another great historical novel. Doctorow evocatively captures New York City (and America) during the early the 20th century before WWI through the likes of Harry Houdini, JP Morgan, Emma Goldman, and many others.
• ​All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Reread. Among the greatest anti-war novels. Told from the perspective of a college-aged German soldier named Paul Bäumer, who proudly and naively enlists in WWI alongside his best friends and classmates.

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Annual Review Templates

At the close of every year I get nerdy and carve out time for an annual review and goal setting. The review portion serves as a good assessment for what went well and what fell below expectations. Reflection preceding goal setting is important. I find that flipping through my journal, calendar, and camera roll and jotting down as many memorable events, experiences, and emotions for each month of the year provides a new perspective. A lot of the details that seemed important in the moment fade from view at that vantage point, and I'm left with the defining people, pursuits, behaviors, and attitudes. All good fodder for considering how to spend time in the coming year.

If you want to play along, here's a link to the annual review and goal setting template as well as the accompanying tracking and operationalizing template.

Here's a brief list of my 2023 reflections and highlights: began a new career chapter; launched my coaching practice and memoir ghostwriting; discovered what the hell my novel is about and wrote the first draft; workshopped two second draft stories; struggled and flailed with the novel in the first half of the year; learned a ton about my writing practice (and the obstacles I self-impose); welcomed a beautiful new nephew into the world; experienced the blossoming (and eventual withering) of a relationship that I'm overall grateful for; went on a memorable birthday trip with family to Baja California Sur; made new friends and reconnected with old ones; went on some great walks, and renewed my curiosity for Mexico City.

I won't bore with the SMART goal details, but broadly my 2024 goals fall into five buckets: finish and publish the novella; grow my coaching and ghostwriting practice, expand my social circle, get lean, and travel more to NC, Mexico, and farther south.

If you use the templates, I'd love to hear what you think! And otherwise please share some of your own highlights and goals if you feel so inclined.

Happy New Year!

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