Each December, I take time to reflect on the ups and downs I experienced over the past year. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2025. I:
* Worked as a curator of local news for Apple News (via Magnit), wrote the 5 Things AM newsletter and weekly news quiz for CNN (via Creative Circle) and returned to HuffPost as a night news editor.
* Spent months scouring the Web for job opportunities and applied for countless positions. It was maddening.
* Continued writing A Bit Of Good News, The End Files, The Moonlight Reader Society and The Written Word.
* Started wearing an Apple Watch in an effort to improve my sleep. It worked! I’m now averaging 7 hours a day.
* Attended “An Evening with Amy Tan.”
* Attended my first death cafe.
* Was the featured guest in a “Drinks with a Doula” event via DeathReady with T.J. Ford
* Began watching the birds who live in my backyard through a video bird feeder. Also saw a lot of squirrels.
* Penned at least 25 journal entries and 2 new poems.
* Frequently posted on the social media sites: BlueSky, Threads, Ko-Fi and Substack. Begrudgingly rejoined X/Twitter for work.
* Occasionally posted to my two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade.
* Read 61 books, yet failed to complete my 2025 Goodreads reading challenge. Although I also read the first 50 pages of another two dozen books, I just couldn’t get into them and moved on.
* Held a book swap at my house with members of my book club. Participated in a special reading at the Currier Museum of Art and enjoyed the Silent Book Club’s 10th Anniversary Readathon. The Manchester, N.H. chapter was also named one of the 10 longest-running Silent Book Club chapters in the world.
* Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the Authors Guild, the Writers Guild of America East and the Women’s National Book Association.
* Joined the NH Astronomical Society and Dark Sky International.
* Purchased two new computers: a desktop named Sherlock and a laptop named Poe.
* Subscribed and read numerous magazines, including Cook’s Country (RIP), Cooks Illustrated, Bake From Scratch, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, The Saturday Evening Post, TeaTime Magazine and Baking Nation.
* Watched at least 70+ TV shows and 40+ movies, and listened to 40+ podcasts.
* Spent the weekend at The Deep Sleep Inn at Gibson, New Hampshire’s first dead and breakfast.
* Searched for our next home, but had no luck. The effort continues.
* Had my implants/crowns installed. So, for the first time in five years, my mouth contains a full set of teeth.
* Got my “you’re over 50” shingles vaccine.
* Decorated the inside of our house for Halloween and dressed up as Death (M was a plague doctor).
* Decorated our house for the holidays and mailed 40+ Christmas cards.
* Tried many recipes. New favorites include: apricot tarte tatin, chicken saltimboca, spaghetti with a lemon and marscapone sauce, spicy pepper chicken pie, snowflake brownies and a chocolate terrine.
* Became more than a little obsessed playing the Tiny Bookshop videogame.
* Worked my 35th year as a journalist.
* Celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary.
* Turned 52.
Goals for 2026
* Leave the country.
* Purchase a home with at least 5 acres of land.
* Grow the readership of my newsletters.
* Improve my baking/cooking skills.
* Learn Morse Code.
* Plant a lovely garden.
* Work on my fiction and poetry.
* Write more blog entries.
* Read at least 70 books.
* Win the lottery.
4 Comments
Bob Sassone
OK, I have to ask … what is a “death cafe?!?”
Jade Walker
Bob: A death cafe is a gathering of people who eat snacks, drink beverages and discuss death. The goal is to make the topic less taboo and offer guidance on a wide range of topics, including funerals, grieving, etc. You can learn more here: https://deathcafe.com. The death cafe I attended was held at my local library and it was great!
Steven
I believe that goodreads challenge should offer partial credit for DNF titles. You did over a thousand pages of reading that didn’t make it to your total, and I think it should count, darn it!
I also had my shingles vaxx this year, even though I had shingles when I was a little tiny person. I do not want to ever have it again though; it was maddeningly uncomfortable the first time.
Jade Walker
I’m actually trying out several different reading apps. So far, Margins (https://margins.app) is my favorite and it does have a section for DNF titles.