I am very thankful and grateful to have made it through the past year, which was a really special one personally and professionally. I learned to open myself up more to relationships, continued aspiring to be clear and direct with yellow arrows, and worked alongside some incredible people to tackle the biggest and hardest problems, whether it was getting plugin and theme support on WP.com or the start and growth of Gutenberg.

I read a lot more books, traveled 337k miles between 91 cities, spent more time in Texas, kept my health in a good balance with weight training, running, and a better diet including several months of 16/8 intermittent fasting, while still getting in some excellent meals with friends and loved ones (up to 58% of top 50 list). As I'm solidly in my mid-thirties now, and I want to continue to live by: all things in moderation. I consider what I do with WordPress and Automattic my life's work, and hope to continue it as long as I'm useful. Some days I pinch myself.

Thank you to all of you on this journey with me. I am imperfect but trying my darndest, and I'm lucky to have friends and colleagues doing the same.

Previously: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33.

Here's what I ended up reading this year, in roughly chronological finishing order. (I usually have 3-4 books going on at once.)

• Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss.
• The Art of Stillness by Pico Ayer.
• Out of Your Mind by Alan Watts (audiobook, really a series of lectures).
• Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Mushashi (audiobook).
• Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.
• The Best American Short Stories 2016 edited by Junot Diaz.
• Feynman by Jim Ottaviani.
• My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik.
• From Plato to Post-modernism: Understanding the Essence of Literature and the Role of the Author by Louis Markos (another lecture series).
• The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy.
• The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam.
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
• Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles.
• When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain: History's Unknown Chapters by Giles Milton.
• Widow Basquiat: A Love Story by Jennifer Clement.
• 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert.
• Identify: Basic Principles of Identity Design in the Iconic Trademarks by Chermayeff & Geismar.
• Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch (audiobook).
• The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World by Brad Stone.
• The Leavers by Lisa Ko.
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.
• Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman.
• The Executive's Compass by James O'Toole.
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.
• Dance of the Possible by Scott Berkun.
• The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (short story).
• Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss.
• After On: A Novel of Silicon Valley by Rob Reid.
• Principles by Ray Dalio.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audiobook).
• The Undiscovered Self: With Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams by C.G. Jung.

A fairly random selection, and hopefully I can get a few more in next year.