2022 was an interesting year for me because I fully embraced the library life — aka the Leeds Library online app. It helped me really get into audiobooks, something I’ve not been into before. It also helped me not feel so rubbish about not reading as much as the previous years. I know, I know. Life was only just restarting and I was making up for lost time. Audiobooks helped me get lost in fantasy worlds during the daily grind, and so for that — thank you Leeds Libraries.

This was also the year when borders slowly started opening up, and people started forgetting about the pandemic that put our lives on hold for so long. Although I did feel like I was stuck on an island for a while — not accomplishing much, “wasting” my life — there were definitely BIG wins. This included the absolute privilege of being able to read, to travel, and to support my favourite artists.

In this post, you’ll see some of my biggest (or most favourite) highlights from 2022.

2022 In Books

Without going into all the boring stats, here’s my year in a blink. You can view all the books I read on my Goodreads and Storygraph.

• Favourite Audiobook — Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This was such an unexpected joy. Cannot recommend the audiobook version of this enough. Please add to your lists. You will love it!

• Favourite Book from 2022: Prelude To A Riot – Annie Zaidi
• Favourite YA Book – Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

2022 In Places

I have a chronic feeling that I never travel enough but looking back at these images made me feel like I did “alright”. Here are all the places I saw this year, in chronological order.

2022 In Gigs

I saw some of my favourite artists perform this year. I even got to see bands I have followed for decades that I have never seen live before. It was such a treat and a dream.

2022 In Projects

When I sat down to think about what projects I would love to show off, I couldn’t help but feel most proud of crocheting. Yes, I’ve had impressive work projects, including being published in the financial times and ghostwriting for some bigwigs. I’ve also had the opportunity to make donations to charities I feel passionately about and to people whose work I love and support. But the one thing that brought me the most joy was a hobby I picked up in order to reduce my doom-scrolling habits. And out of all the things I made in 2022, this one was a labour of love. I am so proud of it, and the nibling adored it. So, a big win in my books.

2022 In Joyful Moments

This year, I experienced joy like I had never known before. Having consciously made the decision towards a slower, more deliberate life, and a ‘renaissance painting’ approach to everything, I found pockets of joy in the little things. But these two were my absolute favourite – swimming in the warm seas of Korcula in Croatia, without a care in the world, and walking Leeds Pride with my parents!

Here’s to a slower, more heart-filling 2023 for all of us – filled with all of the laughing, moving, loving, creating, and hibernating our souls could ever need!