2022 in Review: A Job, Books, and More!

Writing my year-in-review post is always one of my favorite things to do in December, it’s a great way to look back at what I’ve blogged, what I’ve read, and what I’ve been up to. Of course 2022 got off to a roaring start a few days early when I started my full time job as a Children’s Librarian at the Public Library of Brookline on December 27, 2021. It’s exciting to be celebrating my first full year as a librarian, and while it’s had it’s ups and downs I’ve really enjoyed it so far!

Winter

Winter in Boston involved a lot of snow in early 2022 and it was nice to have several snow days at work! I went sledding with friends, winter hiking with Jake (at the Middlesex Fells and the Jackson-Webster Loop in New Hampshire), we went to the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Jake’s grandparents, and went sea glass hunting in Gloucester. Plus we frequently went to trivia night with friends and hosted a lot of game nights at Jake’s apartment in Brookline. I also made one of my favorite pieces of embroidery yet which hangs at my desk at work.

Spring

Spring rolled around and the most exciting thing was that we were able to start doing in-person programs at work again! Jake and I also saw Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, snuck in an early season Red Sox game and enjoyed a lot of time outdoors. I caught COVID but recovered in time for my whole family to come to Boston to celebrate my official graduation from Simmons University with an MA in Children’s Literature and an MS in Library and Information Science. It was great to spend time with everyone and show my family around Boston more! My parents had been to visit me in 2021 but it was the first time for my sisters. The following weekend, Jake’s long delayed graduation from MIT was held and I was really glad I was able to be there for that.

Summer

Summer was characterized by Summer Reading at the library, the beach, and travel! Wollaston Beach in Quincy, MA was about a 10 minute drive from my apartment in Dorchester so I made it my mission to go to the beach as much as possible in the summer. I succeeded in getting an excellent number of beach trips both alone and with friends as it started to heat up! Jake and I also spent a weekend enjoying the beaches on Cape Cod where trip highlights included lighthouses and seals. I attended ALA Annual (the conference of the American Library Association in Washington DC). I interned at the Library of Congress in 2017 but hadn’t been back to the LoC since then, and it was one of the highlights of the trip to be able to visit again (it is the most beautiful building in DC). Plus excellent scootering, sights, networking, and learning. Then in late July, I got ready to move to Brookline to be closer to work and Jake and I spent the first week in August in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island with his Grandparents. It was an incredible trip full of beautiful sights, excellent museums, and so many seals! Then I finished the summer at work running a really fun stuffed animal sleepover and camping with my friend Lua in New Hampshire.

FAll

Fall came with completing my move to Brookline, and the start of a busy library programming season! I started several new programs: two book clubs, a kids role playing game, and a regular after-school program with rotating topics. I also made a cool storytime apron and started doing a regular 3-to-5-year-old storytime. I snuck in apple picking, a visit to the Toppsfield Fair, and an NYC trip. We celebrated Jake’s cousin Jennifer’s wedding in New Hampshire, took a day trip to Concord, MA (where I went to Orchard House for the third time), and continued our tradition of getting in at least one fall hike together when we hiked Mount Monadnock. We were also able to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving and hike to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park together.

The Blog

I also start each year promising to blog more, and each year that doesn’t quite happen. This year I was figuring out how to balance blogging with working full time and my other hobbies and blogging hit the back burner. I definitely want to blog more about librarian stuff, so I’m not planning on going anywhere. In the meantime here are a few of my favorite posts from 2022:

• Marmee’s Turn a review of a new Little Women retelling from Marmee’s point of view
• So I Guess I’m a Games Librarian a look at the work I do with board games in the library
• Books and Board Games: Yee Haw Little Doggies a combo-review of a picture book and a strategy board game
• Great or Nothing: A Great Little Women Retelling A review of one of my favorite books of the year
• My First Months as a Children’s Librarian A look at my first few months on the job – look for an update coming soon as I finish my first full year on the job.

The Books

I’ve been making this infographic since 2018, and it’s always something I really enjoy! Scroll down to see my best books of 2022!

I’d love to hear in the comments what your best books of 2022 were!