Well, here we are: the end of another year! Per my Goodreads, I read 51 books over the course of 2017. Some were good, some were great, some were heartbreaking, and a few, I just couldn’t force myself to finish.
I read a lot of non-fiction again in 2017, just like in 2016 — but there were a few fiction pieces in there too! Without any further ado, here are my top ten books I read in 2017 – in no particular order!
Has the political climate in the United States got you down? Wondering what you can do to help? Want to hear from diverse voices who are knowledgeable about the issues at hand and who are living alongside the rest of us, trying to make it one day at a time?
Read this book.
“Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump’s America,” edited by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding, is a phenomenal read. I actually stumbled upon this book online a while back, and was excited for the chance to read it. My library didn’t have a copy on order yet, so I did what all good readers who don’t want to spend money at the bookstore do: I suggested it be added to the library’s collection!
Sure enough, it was. After ordering it back in October, I was able to pick it up about a month later and be the first to read this library copy. I am so glad I read this book. It made me feel, well… better. Less hopeless. Stronger. More fierce. More ready than ever to not give up and not back down.
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve had this site going for over five years now. My first post was July 2, 2012, when I was just 21 years old. Now, as I write this, I’m 27, having recently celebrated my birthday.
Every year around my birthday, I reflect back on the year behind me. Each year brings new experiences, new people, new challenges, new dreams and new opportunities. This past year was no different. Overall, honestly? It was pretty great.
Some of the highlights, under the cut:
I don’t know that I’ve ever written much about my anxiety on here, but I think now is the time to start. Honestly, living with anxiety is not easy. Sometimes it can manifest itself in ways that make it nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning or to finish a simple task.
Other times, like some of the things I wanted to write about today, it manifests itself in small ways that are *just* enough to inconvenience you or make your day more complicated. Sometimes you don’t even realize how ridiculous these things can be, and sometimes you do, but you have to do them anyways. Because if you don’t, who knows what could happen?
If you want to show your love for someone, you don’t necessarily have to think about making a “big” gesture. This is something I was thinking about over the past few days; the more I thought about it, the more I realized: love, and the way we express it, is really in the little things. The small gestures we do, sometimes mindlessly, can sometimes be the best displays of love we can give another person.
thoughts of Melissa 