It’s List Season!
I’m so excited that the LISTS have started to roll in.
MUSIC: Pitchfork’s Top Albums + 100 Best Songs (easily streamed via Apple or Spotify, bonus!)
BOOKS: MMD’s favorites for the year!
I don’t really want to list my favorites yet because . . . well, it’s only 12/3! You will get MY favorite 2025 books list at the very end of the month (when I’m out of time to finish any books) or in early January.
(I suppose these early lists mean that my own book might be poorly timed to make a lot of lists, ha! A disadvantage of a mid-December release, but it also totally made sense to allow people to get excited to plan before the near year.)
I’m greatly looking forward to all of the All Songs Considered lists (albums + songs, plus listener picks) and more bookish lists to ensure my Q1 TBR list is studded with fan favorites.
(Already on there: Heart the Lover by Lily King, which is also our neighborhood book club pick for next month!)
Wrap Ups
2 big things are wrapping up for me today: 2025’s Planning By Season (such a lovely group!) and my audiobook recording. It is definitely the right time of year for closure. While I don’t love endings (similar to Jenny!) I do rather love beginnings and also anything that emphasizes/acknowledges the passage of time so it doesn’t seem like one big Life Slurry, you know?
I am feeling a little bit calmer about December. Yes, I have a lot to do, but it’s a FINITE lot. And it appears doable on paper, as long as I don’t allow myself to get behind. Luckily, I am anxious enough about the tight timeline that I’m quite motivated. (At some point, I may crash, but right now I’m in the energetic phase of just GET IT DONE).
Knowing that the weeks of December 22 and December 29 will be quiet and chill from a work perspective helps so so much. The first one one of those weeks, we will be in Montana, and I am so excited to go back for our 4th round. (Ummm they just need some snow. The forecast for this week looks promising, though! We haven’t struck out on conditions there yet unless you count one day we couldn’t ski at all because it was -30F in 2022 . . .).
Regardless of conditions, I just want those weeks to feel spacious and like true rest. I won’t be able to entirely disconnect from email, I should be able to limit it and the only ‘production of content’ work I will do during that time will be blog posts that are just for fun. (Writing here never ever feels like work. And that is why this blog has existed for 21 years . . .).
I feel really lucky to be able to end the year on that kind of restful note and it definitely makes me feel better about the ‘a-little-bit-too-much-at-once’ feeling I am contending with right now.
And on that note, off to record! Here’s to endings!
10 Comments
We were just In Bg Sky over Thanksgiving, and they already got more snow! This week looks like 5 feet, so I’m confident it will be better by Dec 22nd (my fingers are crossed too)!
Ooh yay!!!! So good to hear!
I’m excited to check out the Top 100 best songs! The past few years I’ve been in a bit of a music rut, and this year I’ve been trying to be intentional about listening to music I actually like, not just what my kids like, and it’s been really fun! Looking forward to listening to the playlist.
A Marriage at Sea was published in Nov 2024 and has made some of the best of 2025 lists so you never know! The timing is good for those preparing for the new year!
I hope Big Sky gets lots of snow. We’ve already had about 8” and I see more in the forecast. I actually like it! If it’s going to be cold, we should have snow for the kids to play with! I’m hoping the hill by our house is still in good enough condition for the kids to sled at taco’s birthday party on Saturday!!
I just added that book to my holds list (my mom recommended it!)
I got a shipping notification that my book is on its way! I’m so excited to see it!
Ooh maybe it will arrive early!!! So exciting!!
Pro tip: do NOT read “Heart the Lover” on a plane (eg to/from Montana) if you don’t like crying/sobbing in public. I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into and ran out of tissues while trying to cry quietly so as not to alarm my airplane row neighbors!
Oh nooooo- good to know!!!!!!
Ha ha… endings, sigh. I will admit that I like list season! It’s so fun to see everyone’s favorites. And I like how the “best of” lists continue into January, a month I find very blah.
Fingers crossed for snow in Montana! I looks hopeful.