More of / Toward & Less of / Away 2025 and Archive 2025 Project
Happy New Year!
Another year has passed, and I enjoy a good reflection. The New Year and my Birthday happen to be exactly six months apart, so I always feel a cyclical connection and desire to reflect during this time of year. I don’t enjoy making grand resolutions and, for the last few years, have opted instead for a More of or Toward and Less of or Away list, a very short list of a few gentle ways I can move more towards the things I find essential and away from harmful actions or thoughts. I will share my list from last year and for 2025! Posting it here holds me a bit more accountable. (I’m also considering posting a copy of this year's list to my refrigerator…)
I often write through three to four journals a year and have been feeling a desire for something that contains the contents of a year in a more condensed fashion. Thus, the idea for the Archive 2025 Project! This tiny journal will go everywhere with me, just like my daily journal—however, my daily musings and such will not be in this little book. Instead, I will keep a running list of every book read and date completed (previous years' photo below). I will document each book written with a running list of art or artists referenced, as well as other books and authors referenced. I found that this year, most of the books I read were also in conversation with works of art and other writers. I would have to go searching through multiple journals to figure out which book had which artist—this became especially tricky when writing for Substack, so I will keep a dedicated page for each book where I will keep a running list. My Archive book will also contain words I discover along my reading journey and the occasional place for a weekly(ish) audit. This isn’t meant to be a place for book quotes—instead for short spurts of words, ideas, musing, articles read, shows or movies watched, and anything else short and sweet—maybe those things will turn into something more in my main journal…who knows?!
My plan for this Archive project is to make a Substack post at the end of each month with every book I read along with a short description and personal thoughts, a list of art or artists referenced and other books, etc., and a quote that I feel captures the essence of that book. Depending on other media consumed and enjoyed, I might add a few extra things each month.Â
While this project is purely for myself in the hopes that it will become a consistent practice, in the future, I will hopefully have a lineup of archive books to look back on. I also hope you will join me in this project! If you already do something like this, I would love to know!
For fun, I wanted to include photos of a few of my favorite bouquets from this year. I purchase flowers roughly every week for our home and find that looking back at photos of each bouquet from the year completely captures and reflects the season and a specific time and place, time lost through the fleeting beauty of a bouquet.
Also, a few of my favorite desk photos from this year! I love a messy desk and have found many wonderful moments of beauty and taken creative chances in this space over 2024.
I also wanted to thank you for being here, reading and supporting this little corner of the internet. Sharing my work and creativity here this year has saved me in more ways than I can count. As usual, I look forward to sharing more often in the new year with a mix of books, art, personal essays, and whatever inspires me. Thank you again, and Happy New Year!
I love this idea of an archive / index. I love when books reference other art/books and have definitely picked up other books because of that. I have a little goal that I want to read all of the books she mentions in her epigraphs. I'd love to see how you are organising this? Just the title of the book and then a reference?
I love The Archive idea - especially if you read non-fiction, this would be such a life-saver. I do get a lot of ideas of what to read next based on blurbs included in the books I like and sometimes those get lost in the shuffle! I am going to try to create my own version somehow... Thank you so much for the inspiration!