All the books I read in 2023

Last year, I decided to trade my screen time with reading time. I used to love books as a child but compulsary readings in high school made me hate it. I started reading again in the past couple of years but only maybe 5 books in average per year. 

At first, I only planned on reading for an hour each day before bedtime. I never would have thought that it would become so addicting that I started reading all day everyday. I even kind of neglected work a bit. Sometimes, I think that if I was in prison, I would still be happy if I had that much free time to read. 

Here are the 103 books I read this year!

1. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things - Bryn Greenwood
2. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson
3. Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson
4. As Good As Dead - Holly Jackson
5. The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides
6. Verity - Colleen Hoover
7. One of Us Is Lying - Karen M. McManu
8. No Exit - Taylor Adams
9. The House Across the Lake - Riley Sager
10. The Housemaid - Freida McFadden
11. The Cruel Prince - Holly Black
12. The Housemaid's Secret - Freida McFadden
13. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
14. Lock Every Door - Riley Sager
15. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
16. Final Girls - Riley Sager
17. Home Before Dark - Riley Sager
18. Carrie Soto Is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
19. Five Survive - Holly Jackson
20. The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager
21. A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
22. Penpal - Dathan Auerbach
23. Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
24. Survive the Night - Riley Sager
25. Petrified Women - Jeremy Ray
26. My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell
27. A Flicker in the Dark - Stacy Willingham
28. The Summer I Died - Ryan C. Thomas
29. Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
30. Jar of Hearts - Jennifer Hillier
31. Rock Paper Scissors - Alice Feeney
32. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
33. Recursion - Blake Crouch
34. The Last One Left - Riley Sager
35. Upgrade - Blake Crouch
36. Local Woman Missing - Mary Kubica
37. The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum
38. Vicious - V. E. Schwab
39. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
40. The Butcher - Jennifer Hillier
41. Pretty Girls - Karin Slaughter
42. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
43. Little Secrets - Jennifer Hillier
44. The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson
45. The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
46. Toxic - Judith Sonnet
47. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
48. Kill Joy - Holly Jackson
49. Heartstopper Volume 1 - Alice Oseman
50. Heartstopper Volume 2 - Alice Oseman
51. Heartstopper Volume 3 - Alice Oseman
52. Heartstopper Volume 4 - Alice Oseman
53. Heartstopper mini comics - Alice Oseman
54. Confessions - Kanae Minato
55. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
56. The Good Daughter - Karin Slaughter
57. The Passengers - John Marrs
58. The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah
59. Almond - Sohn Won-pyung
60. The Egg - Andy Weir
61. We Spread - Iain Reid
62. Gone to See the River Man - Kristopher Triana
63. Tender Is the Flesh - Agustina Bazterrica
64. False witness - Karin Slaughter
65. Then She Was Gone - Lisa Jewell
66. Pines - Blake Crouch
67. Kindred - Octavia E. Butler
68. Wayward - Blake Crouch
69. The Last Town - Blake Crouch
70. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
71. I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy
72. Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier
73. Wonderland - Jennifer Hillier
74. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
75. Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter
76. None of This Is True - Lisa Jewell
77. Kisscut - Karin Slaughter
78. A Faint Cold Fear - Karin Slaughter
79. Indelible - Karin Slaughter
80. Faithless - Karin Slaughter
81. Beyond reach - Karin Slaughter
82. Emergency Skin - N. K. Jemisin
83. For The Sake Of - Judith Sonnet
84. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - Eric LaRocca
85. Zola by D.E. McCluskey
86. Foster - Claire Keegan
87. Summer Frost - Blake Crouch
88. The Last Conversation - Paul Tremblay
89. You Have Arrived at Your Destination - Amor Towles
90. Night - Elie Wiesel
91. Crossroads - Laurel Hightower
92. Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-ju
93. Look Closer - David Ellis
94. Saving Noah - Lucinda Berry
95. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
96. Triptych - Karin Slaughter
97. Push - Ashley Audrain
98. Burner - Robert Ford
99. The Good Lie - A. R. Torre
100. I'm Thinking of Ending Things - Iain Reid
101. The Writing Retreat - Julia Bartz
102. This is Where We Talk Things Out - Caitlin Marceau
103. Foe - Iain Reid

2022

I say this every year but 2022 might be my favorite year. 

Exactly 10 years ago in 2012, I was working a 9-to-5 as a junior auditor, dating a guy I didn't love, spent my time with fake friends, wasted money on materialistic goods, and never spent a day outdoors. Surprisingly, that year was also the year I left travelling alone from East Asia all the way to Turkey and lived in a suitcase for 3 months. There was something calling me, and perhaps it's the person I wanted to become. It feels like I've been practicing my whole life for 2022 and things finally make sense. I'm thankful for every little nuch and bump on the road, however important or insignifiant, that pushed me toward the right direction at every fork.

This year, I've quit social media where everyone is always creating background noise and emitting negative energy. However isolating it might be, I need authenticity, retreat and focus on myself. I also love that feeling when no one knows where you are.

This year, I've drove across the country, climbed mountains, walked through glaciers, canyons and many awe-inspiring landscapes, and lived out of my car. I lived life fully as it came to me. It was a good reminder of what truly matters in life. When you're fully immersed in the moment, life feels eternal. I want to live more moments like these.

This year, I've embarked on a spiritual journey. I've been practicing gratitude, exploring the non-physical parts of this world and the power of manifestation. Throughout my life, I've been shown the proof that it does exist and it works. Whenever I think about something hard enough, no matter how unlikely it is, it will happen. It's pretty magical.

This year, I'm proud of myself for becoming who I always meant to become. I've come to term with the fact that I will always be alone, and I belong so fully to myself  that I can stand tall in a wilderness where most would see as an untamed and unpredictable place of solitude. Although unconventional in a society where being in some sort of partnership is the standard, this is what truly makes me thrive and blossom.

This year, my goals are clearer than ever and I'm more motivated than ever to achieve them in 2023. For 2023, I need more authenticity, serenity, and more moments that feel like life is eternal. I want to do more of things I like, like hiking, rock climbing, and other things that truly matter, including simple long walks with my dog and my mom. 

Car crash

I went camping Sunday night on a mountain. This will sound cliche, but I had an unexplained uneasy feeling. I debated whether I should go or not. It was my mom's idea, but she felt sick last minute. She slightly felt better Sunday morning, so we decided to go anyway. I wasn't having a great time on the summit, and that was really unlike me. It was really cold, and we kept hearing human noises even though we were the only ones on the mountain. It was not hard to access this summit, somebody could climb to the top in under an hour at night. It made me paranoiac. I don't even know if I slept at all, I was in my REM sleep for a long time. I kept dreaming of people walking by our tent with flashlights and attacking us. 

Finally the sun rose, I was looking forward to go back home in the warmth of my bed. As I was driving back home Monday morning, all relaxed on cruise control on the highway's left lane, my car was struck diagonally from the right at full speed. The car was in my blind spot so I only saw it after it struck me and even then, I was so confused. It took a moment to realize what had happened. It was so sudden and out of nowhere.

I've had a number of car accidents in the past...but never like this one. If the other car was a truck, or if I was in a motorcycle, or even if I was in a smaller car, or if there was something else on my left side, I would've been seriously injured if not dead. I'm still in a bit of a shock, it put me in the shoes of people who have seen their lives change in the split of a second for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

All of this because the person who caused this stupidly fell asleep at the wheel.

You endure a mix of emotions and go through so many scenarios in your head. You keep thinking, if I didn't stop by the Tim Hortons to get coffee, if I woke up earlier, if I just stayed home, if I drove slightly faster or slower, etc....this wouldn't have happened. But of course, none of this matter.

I'm still a little pissed, scared and sad about all of this, but above all, I'm actually really grateful my dog and my mom are safe. Gratitude is imperfect sometimes.

West Quest

After a month spent on the road, I'm finally back. I was looking forward to be home, clean everything, have a hot shower, give Dyno a bath and finally sleep on my bed. So much work and effort are required when you live in a car, from getting gas, getting food, doing laundry, getting water, keeping things organized and clean-ish, planning where to sleep and what to do the next day, and before you realize, half of the day has flown by. We don't realize how we have it easy when we have toilets and running water. 

Now that I'm back, I can't wait until my next road trip. Dyno really enjoyed it and I find it made him more confident. He's such an agile, vigilant and friendly dog that he's the perfect travel and hiking partner.

I planned the first 3 days of my trip in advance just to slowly ease myself into it. After that, I just went with the flow, things went well and people were really nice. There were so many people who approached and talked to me, mostly because of Dyno of course. It made me less negative and more tolerant in general. I felt the need to smile more, not let the few unpleasant interactions ruin my day, and I feel rewarded for doing nice things when I see the most beautiful sunrise warming up the foggy grassy landscape in my rearview mirror.

There were some rainy days at the beginning of my trip, so I did not see everything I planned to see. Things don't always go as planned, and they are better that way. I trust that life always turns out the way it's meant to be. Ontario's route around the lakes was the longest stretch to me, I was so sick of the twists and turns, ups and downs, the lack of passing lanes and people not driving at constant speed, and the worst is there were not even enough places to get coffee. I've also noticed how people suddenly speed up when you try to pass them. Gas stations with normal modern pumps are not frequent in that region. Usually, after a day of driving in Ontario, I'm mentally drained.

On the last day in Ontario, I skipped every stop due to heavy rain the whole day. I stopped at Pukaskwa National Park after the rain finally stopped.  I had to cook something in the parking lot, it was hectic, I was hungry and I kept forgetting things. Then, I couldn't even eat on the trail because there were so many flies and mosquitoes. I did the hike in under an hour and just wanted to get back in my car quickly. When we got to an intersection, Dyno wanted to go the other way, it was another short trail. I feel like Dyno is trying to remind me to slow down and enjoy the view. There is no rush, we're doing just fine. He does this often, he always wants to check out the view. He knows what matters in life.

People always say how boring, long and flat Manitoba and Saskatchewan are, but surprisingly, I really enjoyed the road and the sights. It felt good to just drive straight on a 4-lane highway. It saves so much mental energy. I really enjoyed the landscape as well, the sand dunes, cliffs, badlands, buttes, etc. I also started seeing more wildlife, including a dead bear cub on the side of the highway, jack rabbits that I thought were some kind of mystical creatures from afar, elks hanging outside a hotel, etc.

I couldn't believe it when I finally arrived in the Rockies, the mountains are so beautiful that it made me cry. I woke up around 4-5 am each day to beat the traffic on hiking trails and enjoy some serenity before the crowd woke up because Banff is so busy.  I once got to the parking lot of Lake Louise at 5h30am and got the very last spot, just to give an idea of how busy it was. Most tourists don't do anything too strenuous so it wasn't hard to enjoy some alone time either. I end most days early since I wake up so early, and my favorite thing to do is having a cold drink, edit some pictures, read, write or watch a movie in my car while Dyno chews a bullystick and relaxes.

One thing I forgot to pack was bear spray, and being such an early bird, it could've been bad. I did the other things that were recommended, such as talking, which you quickly run out of things to say when you're alone, or just obnoxiously playing some music on my phone. Some mornings I really get scared when I see bear scat right in the middle of the trail. Luckily, I never encountered one, but I will definitely be more responsible next time. 

I've noticed how I've become more risk-adverse with age. I used to do some of the most difficult hikes that last 13 hours on some cliffs, in the dark and under the rain, but I now think twice before I do anything that is not even half as hard. I guess courage takes practice and time to build up and you can loose it if you don't practice for a while. I had to look back on my past hikes to give myself some encouragement and confidence. Anyone can be brainwashed after two years of people telling you to stay home, and how unsafe the world out there is. 

From Banff, I took the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. I always imagined I needed more time in Jasper, but quite honestly, all the mountains, glaciers and lakes look the same after a while, regardless of how beautiful everything might be. I was ready to move on and do some more driving. From Jasper, I drove to Wells Gray, Kamloops, Golden Ears and lastly Vancouver. Perhaps British Columbia is the province I enjoyed the least. The wild fires kept following me everywhere I went, I had the most number of negative encounters, the traffic made me loose my patience, the weather was hot, and the worst of all is that I accidentally ran over a mountain chicken with my car. I had to tell myself that I will have a good day every morning to attract positive energy.

On my way back, I stopped for a few more days in the Rockies before saying goodbye for real. I will miss those mountains. After leaving the Rockies, I drove 8 to 9 hours a day for 5 days, excluding breaks and traffic delays. It flew by surprisingly fast with a redeye iced cap from Tim Hortons and a good audiobook while Dyno relaxed in the back of my car. We managed to get used to that.

After so many hours of driving, there were not too many damages to my car except a chip on my windshield and a bird that flew into my car grille. I took it as warning signs to be more careful, because I have to admit there were times I drove dangerously. I passed a truck in heavy rain when the lanes merged into one. It could've ended badly and I'm not proud of myself. The most important is to be safe.

When I got back home, I was immediately welcomed with a 1-hour traffic delay on the bridge, the houses and buildings look so different, my plants have grown bigger, even the echo in my condo sounds unfamiliar. I can't wait to get back into my routine.

I remember a question that someone asked me a while ago, do I think I'm that different? I didn't say I was back then, but I think I definitely am. I'm anti-tradition, I'm daring and I'm independent. You can't say you met many people like me. As a simple example, when I was travelling in the west, there were no women travelling alone anywhere out there, although I'm sure they are somewhere, but you don't easily come across one. Even men travelling alone were few and far between. How many people can truthfully say they are not waiting for someone to appear in their life because they are busy having the time of their life on their own?

I don't even have a single picture of myself from this trip, I only have pictures of Dyno and he loves posing like a model in exchange for treats. I'm discovering the world through his eyes and I love it. He is always ready for an adventure, knows when it's time to relax and always open for new friendships. Now that I'm home, I miss the road. We need to go on more adventures together and just remind ourselves of that life is all about.

Cross country road trip

I always wanted to drive west across the country, but every year I find an excuse not to go. The first year I got this idea, it was getting late in the season and I was afraid of snow falling soon. The following year, I moved to a new place and was overwhelmed with work. A year later, I got Dyno and he was too young for that much strenuous activities. Then next year, I was kinda decided to go, but Covid-19 hit. Last year, a lot of places were still semi-closed. This year, the USA border is still not yet open for unvaccinated people and I always wanted to come back from the USA side. I feel like there will always be a new excuse every year, and I already know what my excuse will be next year. I don't want to let this stop me from going. Part of me is excited to go on this adventure alone with Dyno, but part of me is scared of things going wrong, and perhaps that's why I delayed this trip so many times. Most importantly, I know I really need to do this for myself. 

I've worked hard this year with very little time off, and all my mandates are ending at the same time. Life is giving me a sign that I should go. It's also going to give me some time to reflect on the most important decision of my lifetime, which is that of becoming a singe mom by choice.

Being present

I have to admit that lately, I've been having a hard time focusing. I've been spending more time on social media, I've been watching more movies, I'm always glued to my phone and doing mentally passive activities. It's become a terrible habit.

I remember when I was little, I could just close my eyes and have so much fun with my imagination. Now, I'm scrolling through stuff on my phone until I fall asleep. I look at Dyno, and I feel bad that I'm not present mentally. He would just lay beside me, doing absolutely nothing but perfectly relaxed and totally content. There's so much that humans can learn from dogs. He reminds me of the basics that I keep forgetting.

I have to practice being present again. 

We don't know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

April 18th - Another year older

It's been another year around the sun.

I care a little less with every year that passes.

I don't wear make-up anymore.

I don't wash my hair anymore.

I bring my dog to places where he's not allowed.

I wear gym clothes when I meet clients.

I don't hide my septum ring anymore.

When I'm told I can't, I say move out of my way.

If I were in a movie, I'd be a villain and I'm perfectly happy about it.