There’s no getting around it: 2018 was a hard year, a busy year, and also an exciting year in many ways. On the positive side, I finally managed to finish writing my Nib Novice series. I visited New York City and picked up some stuff from a few cool stationery stores (and also ran the NYC Marathon). I even fixed all my misspellings of “stationery” on this blog.

But, still, I only managed 16 new posts/reviews, which resulted in an 18% decline in pageviews compared to 2017. The most popular post of the year was my review of the Jeffbona In[k]ception pen, but my 2018 pen of the year is probably pretty obvious; the Pilot Vanishing Point. Despite some issues I’ve had with it, it’s a really cool fountain pen that I’ve frequently come back to.

So what’s in store for 2019? As I mentioned last year, I don’t do resolutions very well. So, instead, here are five goals I have for this website:

1. More book reviews. I didn’t manage to write any of these in 2018, but I found a couple of books on The Well-Appointed Desk’s Gift Guide that sound pretty interesting.
2. I still use Field Notes pocket notebooks all the time, but I just haven’t had time to write reviews for the many new editions that have been released. That will have to change in 2019.
3. I’d like to write at least a couple more Off-Topic posts this year.
4. I need to update my “Five Pens to Try” post. Though I don’t think much will change, it’s been a while since it’s been refreshed.
5. Finally, I’d like to reverse trends and post a moderate increase in pageviews this year. Assuming I hit the above goals, this should take care of itself.

And, as always, there’s a lot to look forward to outside of the pen world. I’m excited about Avengers Endgame, as well as the finale of Game of Thrones (though I’m pretty sure that the book series will never be finished). I’ll also be running the 2019 Chicago Marathon, and (last but not least) by the end of the year I’ll be married!

So, to everyone reading this, I hope you have a happy, safe, and fun 2019!