Oprah gets a favorites list every year. So why shouldn’t I? I’ll apologize in advance to those occupying my favorites list for not having as much sway as Oprah, but we all gotta start somewhere.

Choosing a favorite in each category was tough for me because I like a lot of things. And I really like a lot of those things. This drives some people around me absolutely bonkers. But I just see way more to like about this world than to not. So there!

Also, not all of these things necessarily originated in 2018. This is just the year I discovered and/or devoured them incessantly.

Book: This is a tough one. I love to read, but wasn’t really all that impressed with my selections this year. I haven’t gotten to “Becoming (Michelle Obama’s autobiography)” yet. I’m currently #2,016 on the library waitlist. I might just have to buy it myself at that rate. I really wanted to like “Love Does” by Bob Goff, but I was so bored I had to quit that one. I suppose my favorite was “Educated” by Tara Westover, which is an amazing work of nonfiction, but the controversy around whether details were exaggerated or misinterpreted has slightly tarnished my experience of it. Still, I’d highly recommend it. And I’ve just started reading “Open City,” my first Teju Cole book and am geeked to dive into this author’s works.

Movie: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” the Fred Rogers documentary. If you don’t love it, you don’t have a heart.

TV show: “Blackish.” I started watching this show a couple months ago and couldn’t stop. It’s hard to find something funny, clever, relevant, honest, and touching all at the same time, but this show does just that masterfully. There was also an approximate 4 episode span where I bawled my eyes out and totally scared the bf.

Song: Hmmm… I might have to pick a bunch. “Big Bank” by 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Nicki Minaj is my guilty pleasure. “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times) by Jamie XX featuring Young Thug and Popcaan. “Loving is Easy” by Rex Orange County. And “Africa” by Weezer. This is one of my all time favorite songs ever and they totally did it justice in this cover.

Album: “Good Thing” by Leon Bridges. All songs on this album should also be on my favorite songs of the year list. My obsession with this man may never die.

Thing: I guess Oprah’s list is more gadgets and gizmos than mine so I thought I’d throw one of my own on here. I’m more about experiences than things so this one was a bit tough for me. So my favorite thing of 2018 is this Microsoft Surface Pro I’m typing on this very moment, that someone special got me for my birthday. The combination laptop/tablet in a smaller, lightweight size is perfect for my business and pleasure.

Discovery: There’s a tie in this category. The Los Angeles Public Library has a million books and other media available electronically for free. I knew this way prior to 2018, but really took advantage of it this year, particularly the audio books as I spent WAY too much of this year in my car. I also devoured podcasts for the same reason. So far my favorite podcast is “Invisibilia.” That might have to be its own category next year.

Best Moment: Seeing Paul Simon on his farewell tour at the Hollywood Bowl and the pyramids in Mexico are definitely near the top, but the absolute best moment of 2018 was meeting my beautiful baby niece for the first time (And the second, and third…).