2022 in review
Boy, what a year! It was a good one, though there were a few extra challenges that, in retrospect, made it feel a little hectic—we were reimbursed by insurance for the possessions that the moving company stole and got to start refurnishing our apartment; we faced a series of costly car repairs that resulted in a bad engine, a month of borrowing vehicles, and an unexpected purchase of a new car (which we love, to be fair); my bike was stolen; oh yeah, and our apartment flooded twice.
So yeah, busy year! But it was pretty great as well, as catalogued below: monthly highlights, photos, and the ever-popular rankings for the media I enjoyed this year.
As always, please let me know via comments or hate mail what you think!
Major Accomplishments and Events
- Declan is still as charming as ever. His third year saw him explode in confidence, language ability, cuteness, kindness, trickery, mobility, athleticism, joke-making, sweetness, and strength. He can talk now! He can run around and ride a bike and play catch! He can tell jokes! He can remember his dreams! He's growing up into an even better little kid than he was a baby, and I'm lucky to have him around.
- Sarah's been growing too—busy building the next little dude, who's due mid-March. We're really excited to have the new one around, nicknamed Baby Sushi by Declan.
- Sarah and I continued to enjoy spending our lives together. I feel especially lucky to work from home and have so much family time. Sarah and I have made sure to take weekly dates and spend most of our evenings together. It's wonderful to have someone support and challenge me in my endeavors, and I rely a lot on her.
- Work continues along well, both in my day job and my freelance editing. I'm pleased to do something I like, something I'm good at, something that compensates me fairly, and something that exercises my brain without draining too much of my energy.
- Other than the dryness of the air, I'm happy to be back in Utah, and I've spent a lot of time this past year acclimating myself to sights old and new. It's great to have most of my friends and family close by.
- My writing group, the Inksmears, has continued to meet a couple times a month, and I really appreciate their presence in my life, both for friendship and for writing encouragement. We've got a bit of a writing retreat/meetup planned this year that I'm excited about.
- This year I finally competed in a strength sport. I participated in Highland's annual festival commemorating Scottish heritage by competing in their strongman competition. I took 4th in my weight class (out of 6), which I was thrilled with. It was a great experience—pulling a truck, lifting a different truck, heaving stones over a wooden post, and generally enjoying camaraderie with my fellow competitors. I had a great time and will definitely be competing a couple times in 2023. (Also planning to drop a weight class and try my hand at the Highland Games, so that'll be fun.)
- I suppose I also technically competed in the Wife Carry at the Scandinavian Festival in Ephraim, in which I picked Sarah up and ran through a water-based obstacle course. We finished middle of the pack and didn't fall or die, so I'll call it a win.
- Running and weight loss were two major goals for 2022 that kind of suffered; I'll blame it on the busyness of the year and the tastiness of Reese's, which were equal factors. But I did hit a 335 bench press and a few other cool lifting/conditioning metrics, so I'm proud of my progress and excited to realize a lot of the hard work I've built up in the coming year.
- Writing went well in 2022. Due to a lot of other things going on throughout the year (see above), I didn't write quite as much as I wanted, but I still achieved a lot and primed myself for great writing accomplishments in 2023.
- I wrote 103,825 words in 2022.
- I completed the first draft of a novel called Woodfire & Lakelight and most of the first draft of a novel called Bearchild, the latter being one of my best and most exciting works to date.
- I wrote two short stories: Splinterleaf & Hollowfrost and Old Ones.
- I spent a lot of time on worldbuilding, outlining, and revising for a bunch of other projects coming up in the next couple years.
- I received a Silver Honorable Mention for my short story Leafdust & Deadwood from Writers of the Future.
- I continued working on my hobbies and interests, including playing the Irish whistle, practicing calligraphy, cooking and baking, spending time outside, and studying Welsh.
- I tried a bunch of new foods, including pepino melon, gata, calamansi juice, æbelskivers, lefse, groundcherries, and 'ndoja.
Monthly Highlights
Under each month I've included a selection of pictures. Most of them are of Declan, but I think I'm doing a little better at including Sarah and myself in a few pictures now and then.
January
Declan turned 2! We had a birthday party for him themed on Little Blue Truck, including a cardboard truck that he played in for weeks until it fell apart. We had a good time with family and enjoying the winter weather.
In February we continued to play with Declan, building forts and exploring Salt Lake (including the pioneer museum, which he loves). We celebrated Valentine's Day and ate fancy food and generally had a good time. We also started replacing missing furniture and belongings for our apartment.
In March we celebrated Sarah's 29th birthday, as well as a handful of other holidays—St. Patrick's Day, St. David's Day, Ostara, the equinox, and Tolkien's Day—so that meant a lot of fancy food. (Also, apparently in March I went on a LOTR meme kick, because my photos are suddenly interrupted with a string of them.) I went to a concert with Seven Spires (incredible), Visions of Atlantis (amazing), and Dragonforce (kind of a fun bonus, and they put on a great show). As a result, I got to meet Michele Guaitoli, an Italian singer in Visions of Atlantis and Temperance, two of my favorite metal bands, and he let me wear his pirate hat.
With warmer weather, Declan and I spent a lot more time outside, exploring nearby parks, going on hikes (which he loves doing with Sarah), and getting Slurpees. We enjoyed a lot of fun, windy days up at the Capitol. I took a bit of a personal day in Park City, where I ate elk stew, worked on my writing, and took a snowy hike through the unclaimed hills. We took Declan to Cross E Ranch to see some newborn animals. I made a baked apple from Breath of the Wild and continued to explore new recipes. Declan spent lots of time with extended family; it's really been a delight to see him develop relationships with aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, great-aunts and -uncles, and so on. In late April was the fateful flood; among various negatives, we did get to spend a lot of good family time, and Declan got to sit in a firetruck, so not all bad.
In May Sarah and I took a trip to Cincinnati to visit Josh & Audrey. It was great to see friends, explore a new place, have a couple adventures, play some games, and be back in a place that's properly humid and green. Also, my favorite time of year began: snowcone season. In May we discovered Lucky's (couple of locations in SLC), with some truly incredible burgers. We also attended the Scandinavian Festival in Ephraim, where we had a fantastic time and where I picked up an æbelskiver pan, which I have used many times since to great delight.
June was filled with Scottish festivals, my 32nd birthday, our 7th anniversary, and a lot of time outside with family and friends. Sarah and I had a great time in Park City for our anniversary and seeing Kishi Bashi perform; on my birthday we ate burgers and a peanut butter cake and I went for a hike.
In July not a ton happened. We enjoyed the summer and swam a lot and ate more snowcones, probably?
In August I competed in a strongman competition and got lots of bruises and had a great time heaving stones over fences. I finally got a new pair of glasses after, oh, 10 years at least? I bought a new bicycle and it's a great ride. We had an Allred retreat at which we got to swim at the Crater and hike Stewart Falls and have a lot of fun together as a family. I took Declan to a Renaissance Faire and we saw jousting, which he loved, and he bought a chalice from which to drink his root beer.
In September we learned that the new one will be a boy! Sarah and I went to see The Killers play. Declan discovered the Conference Center and visited the organs a lot. We went to the county fair. Declan and I visited the aviary. Sarah and I saw Chvrches play in Ogden. More time at Cross E Ranch for apple cider doughnuts and animals. Gabbie and I saw Epica and Sabaton perform. I got a haircut for the first time in like 18 months (just a trim to clean things up).
More cooking and outdoor adventures in October. Dad & I biked from Salt Lake to Thanksgiving Point and had a pretty great time doing it. Miranda, Gabbie, Sarah, and I began a D&D group (finally!) that we've been having lots of fun with; it's my first time DMing and I think it's a blast. Declan was the most adorable Spider-Man for Halloween. He and Sarah spent time in Park City and elsewhere in Utah while I went to New Orleans with Dad for a writing conference—more on that in November.
Dad and I attended the World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans (we last attended in Calgary when I was 18!) The convention itself was great—lots of authors, lots of writing time—and getting to visit the city and explore was a blast. I ate all the delicacies I wanted and ran along the river; we biked through scenic areas of town, went on ghost and historical and alligator and food tours, spent Halloween on Bourbon Street, watched movies, and generally just had a great time. After I got back, I went to the Dragonsteel Mini-Con in Salt Lake for the release of Brandon Sanderson's The Lost Metal. Sarah and Declan and I celebrated Thanksgiving at home with a feast. We also went to Luminaria, which was super cool.
We played in the snow. We went to Sarah's Christmas concerts. We bought a new car. Declan saw Santa (with much dread and awe). We celebrated Christmas and New Year's with family and friends. It was a pretty perfect holiday season.
Media Recap
And now the meat and marrow of this post. Below you'll find writeups on the different types of media I enjoyed, including a few links where applicable.
Music
I listened to 461 new-to-me albums in 2022 (362 released in 2022). Narrowing the list down into my favorites was really difficult. For instance, I had over 80 perfect-score 2022 albums this year, and while I'll admit I'm not terribly strict about handing out 10/10 scores, that still complicated things. Surprisingly, a few 10/10 albums didn't make the list, because one of the criteria for inclusion is an album's staying power, and there were some that, although I loved them, I didn't listen to as often throughout the year. That probably just means they're due for being revisited, but I tried to make sure this list was full of albums that I loved, listened to a lot, and remembered well throughout the year—albums that stuck with me.
So here we go. Here are my top 50 2022 releases. These are roughly in order, though the top 10 are the only ones in a really strict order.
- Glasya - Attarghan
- Cold Years - Goodbye to Misery
- Betty Who - BIG!
- Emetropia - Equinox
- MUNA - MUNA
- Pale Waves - Unwanted
- Empress - Fateweaver
- Gang of Youths - angel in realtime.
- SheWolf - SheWolf
- Fellowship - The Saberlight Chronicles
- Heaven’s Guard - Pathfinder
- dArtagnan - Felsenfest
- Oh Wonder - 22 Make
- Andrea Corr - The Christmas Album
- Anna of the North - Crazy Life
- Loreena McKennitt - Under A Winter’s Moon
- Dawn of Destiny - Of Silence
- Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society
- Gallia - Obscura
- Semblant - Vermilion Eclipse
- Moonlight Haze - Animus
- Visions of Atlantis - Pirates
- Battlelore - The Return of the Shadow
- Shield of Wings - Unfinished
- Steve McDonald - A Soul in the Making
- Crusade Of Bards - Tales Of The Seven Seas
- The Midnight - Heroes
- Graveshadow - The Uncertain Hour
- SCANDAL - MIRROR
- The Wonder Years - The Hum Goes On Forever
- Vrylnia - The Other World
- Fickle Friends - Are We Gonna Be Alright?
- SYR - Sentinel
- State Champs - Kings of the New Age
- The Birthday Massacre - Fascination
- Avril Lavigne - Love Sux
- Hò-rò - New Moon
- Foxes - The Kick
- SeeMoreGlass - Roaring Paper Spring
- Battle Beast - Circus of Doom
- Stand Atlantic - f.e.a.r.
- Veronica Maggio - Och som vanligt händer det något hemskt
- Saor - Origins
- Nocturna - Daughters of the Night
- Kliodna - Way of Heroes
- Simple Plan - Harder Than It Looks
- Blind Guardian - The God Machine
- Eat Your Heart Out - Can’t Stay Forever
- Deep Sun - Dreamland: Behind the Shades
- Morgreim - Forgotten Tales
- Glasya's Attarghan is a bombastic, powerful symphonic metal album that tells the story of a hero who defects to defend an innocent kingdom. It's Middle Eastern–themed fantasy with narration, dual female vocalists, growls, crunchy guitars, and heavy drums, as well as a really solid symphonic throughline. Absolutely phenomenal. Try "Journey to Akhbar".
- Cold Years sound like Brian Fallon joined Green Day and got drunk in England. High-energy, catchy rock. Try "Headstone".
- Betty Who's BIG! is the dance/synthpop album I've been hoping for from her for years now. Her debut is one of my favorite records of all time, but the second and third albums were hit-or-miss for me. This fourth one is a return to form, autobiographical, and an expansion on the sounds and talents she's developed over the years. Listen to it in full, but here's "Blow Out My Candle".
- Emetropia is a symphonic metal band that really knows how to incorporate strings, choirs, and keys into their sound, making the full-symphonic version of their album nearly as good as the regular edition. It's hard to believe this is their debut album, and it was in serious contention against Attarghan for the top spot. Try "Seasonal Warfare".
- MUNA's self-titled album hits everything I like about them and adds a bit of 90s flair, which is kind of fun. Catchy synthpop. Try "Anything But Me".
- Pale Waves's third LP is the perfect culmination of everything I want from them. Their first two albums have been broody darkpop with some rock and synth influences; this one absolutely nails that sound and expands on it. Try "Jealousy".
- Empress's Fateweaver was a surprise to me; it's their debut and I threw it on one afternoon out of curiosity. It's phenomenal. Excellent power/symphonic metal from Philadelphia, and Barbara Blackthorne has an incredibly strong voice. Try "Into the Grey".
- I had never listened to Gang of Youths before, which is a real shame, but angel in realtime. is a pretty fantastic place to start. The story behind this album is wild, and you should definitely look into it. I don't know of another band with better storytelling chops in the rock genre right now. Try "the angel of 8th ave.".
- SheWolf's debut is a symphonic metal album I was eagerly anticipating because I'm familiar with the prior work of some of the members (Angel Wolf-Black in Bare Infinity's first album, and Marco Pastorino and Michele Guaitoli (see above) producing & mixing), and the album did not disappoint at all. Try to get the chorus of "Lone Wolf" out of your head if you can.
- I don't know what to say about Fellowship other than it's impossible not to smile when you see how earnest they are in playing melodic, catchy, fun metal. I mean, just watch "Until the Fires Die" or this delightful cover and try to disagree.
- 2022 was a great year for metal, especially symphonic/power/gothic metal. There were a bunch of great albums from favorite bands (dArtagnan, Dawn of Destiny, Avantasia, Semblant, Moonlight Haze), as well as debuts that gave me new favorites to follow (Heaven's Guard, Gallia, Nocturna, Vrylnia). Blind Guardian's "return" after a while without a proper album was really exciting, too, because the new one is fantastic. Also, I can't believe I'd never listened to Battlelore before.
- I don't follow new pop-punk bands as closely as I did when I was a teenager, even though I still love the genre, so it's exciting to me that this top 50 list has various excellent albums from The Wonder Years, Eat Your Heart Out, Stand Atlantic, State Champs, and Simple Plan.
- Andrea Corr's Christmas album was a pleasant surprise and I just picked it up on vinyl. As the singer for my favorite band, I'm inclined to like everything she does anyway, but this is really a lovely collection of songs with a lot of variety to her renditions.
- Loreena McKennitt's album is a live recording of a concert performance that includes Christmas songs interspersed with a dramatic retelling of A Child's Christmas In Wales. Highly recommended for a snowy Sunday afternoon.
- It's hard to not write about every album on the list, but I recommend all of them, and I invite you to reach out for specific information if you have questions or want further suggestions.
- A couple of other songs that didn't make the list for one reason or another but I still want to share: "Sister Ray" by Foxes, "Melocoton" by Subwoolfer (Declan's new favorite for the year), "The Dragonborn Comes" by Riverwood, "Vento Aureo" by Crusade of Bards, "One More Time" by Scandal, "Cory, What If We Don't Know Anything" by SeeMoreGlass, "Eye of the Storm" by Battle Beast, "Kintsugi" by Moonlight Haze, "Synthetic" by LeBrock, "Sour" by Eat Your Heart Out, "One More Day" by We Came As Romans, and "Dandelion" by Anna of the North.
- Alisa Xayalith - Superpowers EP
- Purity Ring - graves EP
- Epica - The Alchemy Project EP
- Hidden in Plain View - Tantrums EP
- Oakman - SCP EP
- Anberlin - Silverline EP
- Hartlight - From Midland and Beyond EP
- Cross Vein - Silver Lining EP
- Peter Crowley - Peter Crowley’s Odyssey EP
- Band-Maid - Unleash EP
- Winter’s End - Into the Sea EP
- Edenwar - Edenwar
- Alwaid - The Machine and the Beast
- Against Myself - Unity
- Superhumanoids - Do You Feel OK?
- Dream Ocean - The Missing Stone
- Tide Lines - Eye of the Storm
- Wishmasters - Afterworld
- Fox Sailor - Myths & Legends
- Antti Martikainen - Carmina Gloria
- False Memories - The Last Night of Fall
- Moonbeau - Up All Night
- Feridea - Into a Dawn EP
- Memoira - Carnival of Creation
- MindMaze - Mask of Lies
- Control the Storm - Forevermore
- Kliodna - The Dark Side (…Of The Stories)
- Cristiano Filippini's Flames Of Heaven - The Force Within
- MalefistuM - Enemy
- Yours Truly - is this what i look like?
- Serenity in Murder - Reborn
- The Strike - Faint of Heart - 2017 (10)
- Modern Nomad - There It Is, There You Are
- Abhcan - The Pit
- Emarosa - Peach Club
- Fourth Circle - Worlds
Movies
In total, I watched 105 films in 2022. Of these, 32 were rewatches, 43 were released in 2022, and 58 were in theaters, which is pretty cool.
My top 15 favorite movies (in order) released in 2022 were:
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Bullet Train
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- The Menu
- The Northman
- See How They Run
- Glass Onion
- Nope
- Confess, Fletch
- Violent Night
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Men
- Moonfall
- The Batman
- The Lost City
- Everything Everywhere All At Once: Bizarre, wonderful, heartfelt, and inventive.
- Bullet Train: Stylish, clever, engaging, well-acted.
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: Beautiful, well-plotted, and much, much better than it needed to be.
- The Menu: Enthralling (I was hanging on every moment) and some exceptional performances.
- The Northman: Truly captures the gritty, bleak, and complex nature of a saga tale.
- See How They Run: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and Adrien Brody are pitch-perfect in this twist on a twist on an Agatha Christie–style caper.
- Glass Onion: Just about as good as the first one, which is high praise.
- Nope: Endlessly compelling, a real "edge-of-your-seat" film.
- Confess, Fletch: Jon Hamm could do a million of these movies and I'd watch them all. Feels like there aren't as many films of this kind lately, which is sad.
- Violent Night: Haha. I loved it.
- Avatar: The Way of Water: Visually stunning, especially in IMAX 3D, and I enjoyed the story and the spectacle.
- Men: Very visceral and disturbing, but in exactly the way it was meant to be. Also, excellent use of color symbolism and imagery.
- Moonfall: I honestly thought this was a really great science fiction/disaster film and I don't care who disagrees.
- The Batman: I don't need Batman to be a gritty emo kid, but I'm happy with it.
- The Lost City: A modern take on Romancing the Stone without being derivative; lots of fun.
Books
I read 94 books in 2022: 55 novels/novellas and 39 comics/manga/other. I read a handful of 2022 releases, but rather than just try to rank those, here are my top 15 favorite novels that I read this year, along with a little blurb about each:
- The Starless Crown by James Rollins: One of my all-time favorite fantasy series is The Banned and the Banished by James Clemens; it was foundational for my tastes in the genre and my own writing. James Clemens and James Rollins are one and the same; the latter is the name he's used for his bestselling thriller series (now like 15 books strong) for the past couple decades. The Starless Crown is his return to fantasy after a very long hiatus. This is a phenomenal book and my favorite read of the year. He writes exactly the kind of fantasy I love, and this was such a cool world to explore: sentient giant bats, blood-powered automatons, a clash of astronomy and science and magic, giant trees and volcanoes, a cast of complex and interesting characters, a world-ending clash of forces. (As I write this, the second book in the series, newly released, is being shipped to me, and I can't wait!)
- The Grey King by Susan Cooper: This is the fourth and penultimate book in The Dark Is Rising Sequence. I read the first book of this series when I was young, but this is my first time finishing it, and I am astounded at how good it is. Arthurian myth mixed with Narnia and Lord of the Rings mixed with deep-rooted Welsh mysticism and a keen understanding of human will. Incredible series, and it's no wonder this book won the Newbery Medal.
- Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson: I've been painstaking catching up on Sanderson's work over the last couple years, since he's one of my favorite authors, and this book was incredibly good. Might not crack my top 5 Sanderson books, but it's close. Really, really enjoyed reading this; the 1300 pages flew by.
- The Shadow of the Gods/The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne: I'm cheating by including both of these in one entry, probably. These are my first stab at Gwynne, and I'm very impressed. He's a master at writing Viking-inspired fantasy in the vein of David Gemmell, and I love what he's done with this world. I'm eagerly anticipating the final book in the trilogy, though it's probably a few years out still.
- The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley: I have a system for slowly working my way through books that have sat on my shelf for years or decades. I'm a bit chagrined it took this long for me to read some Staveley. This book was excellent. Pretty similar to The Starless Crown in tone and content, making it precisely the kind of fantasy I most enjoy. I'm really delighted to have discovered a new favorite author and to have multiple books waiting for me in this series.
- The Shining by Stephen King: I'm working my way through Stephen King's bibliography in order (I'll need to step it up if I'm ever going to catch up). This, as with the others I've read, was incredibly gripping and thoughtfully constructed. I think King understands how to write characters and their inner thoughts and motivations better than just about everyone else. It wasn't as outright scary as some of his other books, but definitely spooky and with a rising sense of dread throughout.
- The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson: This is the conclusion to the Wax & Wayne arc of Mistborn, which is one of my favorite series, and I thought it was fantastic. It wrapped up character arcs and introduced new and exciting points of worldbuilding, and overall it was just a fun adventure with fun characters.
- Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher: Oof, this book was grimy. The premise is that this is a very, very dark, bleak fantasy world in which mental illnesses grant individuals the ability to alter reality—the crazier they are, the stronger they are. So the world is filled with people who are alternately reprehensible and victimized as they clash to try to usher in a new world of innocent gods. I felt like I needed a shower after reading it, not because it was particularly bloody or vulgar but because the world is just so gritty and dirty and unclean. I probably wouldn't recommend it to very many people, but it was excellently written and a really engaging read.
- The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski: This is the first book in The Witcher series, though it's just a collection of short stories (most of which I was familiar with after watching the show). I really, really enjoyed these stories. They felt very much like old fables, and it was neat to get into the world of the Witcher more. I'm definitely going to be continuing with the series.
- Unsouled by Will Wight: Man, I should have been reading these books years ago. This is the first in the Cradle series, a cultivation fantasy about a boy named Lindon who grows from no magic to, presumably, a lot of magic by the end of things, haha. Very good worldbuilding and character development. Very engaging writing. I ripped through this first one in days. I'm on the second now and really loving the series overall.
- Extreme Makeover: Apocalypse Edition by Dan Wells: I've liked everything I've read from Dan, and this makes the top of the list. It's about a health and beauty company that makes a lotion that rewrites your DNA, and what is meant to make people look more attractive ends up pretty much destroying all of humanity in a zombie virus plague. Very funny, very compelling. Loved it.
- Blackwing by Ed McDonald: Pretty similar to Beyond Redemption but not quite as bleak. A dark fantasy about servants of a Crow God who have to figure out why their magical energy cannons aren't working properly against the Deep Kings and their monsters. Really interesting world and magic and characters; I'm excited to read more of the series.
- In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan: This is my first Brian McClellan book, though he's been on my radar for years. It was really great. Flintlock fantasy, political intrigue, cool action scenes, a fun magic system, and an ending that promises the next book will really ramp up the stakes. I'm sold.
- On Lavender Tides by Travis M. Riddle: This book is basically fantasy Pokémon. It's great. A Jekua Summoner accompanies his friend on a Church pilgrimage. They encounter magical Jekuas, rivals, plots, and mysteries. It's like reading Pokémon, and it's wonderful; I just finished the second book, and the third is due out in a couple months. Very fun.
- The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: Scalzi is great at fun, innovative science fiction. This book is about finding a parallel Earth with giant kaiju and trying to stop billionaires from accidentally bringing them to our Earth and unleashing them on the world. Lots of fun.
- I read a couple good YA novels this year, including The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz (a girl has to step up when her father, the Dark Lord, is cursed by a witch), a bunch of books in the Alex Rider series (teen superspy, I've read most of them, but got through a couple of the later ones this year), and The Tapestry series (Celtic-inspired magical school fighting against ancient gods, really good).
- I read a couple more John Carter books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Not as good as the first few in the series, but still great. I only have two more to read and then I can focus on Pellucidar or Tarzan or something.
- I read about 20 H.P. Lovecraft stories. They were fantastic. He had such a command of language and dread.
- I read The Saga of the Volsungs and Beowulf this year, which both feel long overdue. Both were excellent.
- I highly, highly recommend that everyone read 17776. There's no way to talk about it without spoiling it. Just google it, find the website, and when you have an hour or two to kill, sit down and read the whole thing. It was amazing.
- One of the most impactful books I've ever read was The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture by Wendell Berry, narrated by Nick Offerman. This is an incredible, insightful, incisive look at how modern agribusiness practices destroy the heart and soul of human civilization and agricultural resources. I was genuinely stunned at how profound and thought-provoking this book is, and I'll certainly be pondering and rereading it for a long time.
Podcasts
I listen to a lot of podcasts on morning and evening walks, drives to and from the gym, errands, that sort of thing. I wanted to highlight some of my favorites that I've listened to a lot this past year, along with brief descriptions. This list is pretty similar to last year—I added new podcasts in 2022, but these are still the highlights and what I spend most of my time listening to.
- Writing Excuses: Excellent focused conversations about writing. Frequently helpful and always enough to get me in the mood to work on my own writing.
- Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend: Conan O'Brien interviewing friends and musicians and celebrities. Frequently hilarious and always enjoyable.
- The Endless Knot: A complex look at the interactions between mythology, linguistics, and culture over time. Really enjoy the in-depth focus on each topic.
- Lore, Grim and Mild Presents, Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, 12 Ghosts, 13 Days of Halloween: I'm listing these together since they're all the brainchild of Aaron Manke. They're all fantastic, though Lore remains my favorite. There are a bunch of others I need to get caught up on too. Really great investigations into mythology, folklore, literature, and ghost stories.
- Lexicon Valley: The podcast that got me into podcasts. I really enjoy John McWhorter's approach to linguistics and his method of explaining interesting topics.
- Medieval Death Trip: "Exploring the wit and weirdness of medieval texts." This might be my favorite podcast ever, and I always carve out time for a long walk with Declan whenever a new episode drops.
- Myths & Legends: I finally, finally caught up on the backlog of these episodes. Now I can stay current (and work my way through the member episodes) while I run. Funny, interesting retellings of myths and legends across cultures.
- Philosophize This!: A chronological look at major figures in philosophy. It's a great weekly exploration of topics I know some, but not a lot, about.
- Saga Thing: Very similar to Medieval Death Trip, but focused on Icelandic sagas. I love learning more about them, and the hosts are great.
- Intentionally Blank: Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells chat about pop culture. Really fun.
TV Shows
Here are some of the TV shows, old and new, that I watched and enjoyed this year. Some are brand new, some are rewatches, some I'm not yet current on but am still enjoying.
- Mythic Quest
- Adventure Time
- Arcane
- Lost
- Masters of the Universe: Revelation
- Mr. Mayor
- A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Space Force
- Spider-Man
- Veronica Mars
- The Ancient Magus' Bride
- Loki
- Rings of Power
- Our Flag Means Death
- Ted Lasso
- Severance
- Stranger Things
- What If...?
- Ms. Marvel
Videogames
I played about 95 hours of videogames this year, which is actually a pretty good pace for me, considering everything else going on. I beat Hades (though I still have a lot of post-endgame content to do), which was really challenging but a lot of fun; Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which is just a truly incredible, gripping story that really sucked me in; and The First Tree, a fun little exploration of sadness and loss. I also played a fair amount of other games; here's a list of what I played this year and recommend to others:
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- The Alliance Alive
- Hades
- Hollow Knight
- Immortals: Fenyx Rising
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Mario Kart 8
- The First Tree
- Pokémon Go
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned at the top, 2022 was a pretty busy year, but it was full of a lot of fun, new, interesting, and meaningful experiences. I really had a great year. It feels a little like it was a preparatory year for 2023, which has already proven itself even better in all ways. Looking back, I did a lot this last year, and I hope that the next one continues to provide me with opportunities for fun and growth and time with loved ones.
Woo hoo! What a life! So happy for you all!
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