I hate flimsy pillows. I hate having to rotate my pillow every few hours because the corner on which I’ve been resting my head has become as flattened as a pressed leaf.

I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond last sunday, determined to finally invest in a quality pillow. I went around the pillow section pounding every pillow they had, but most had corners that flattened with a mere flick of my fingers. But I wasn’t going to stop until I found one as firm as a brick. (There is no easy way to accurately test the compatibility of your head with a pillow at a store. More than once, I had to lay one on a shelf and bend over to rest my head on it when no one was looking).

Eventually I found the winner, labeled “extra firm.” It kept its shape when I punched it.

But that night, I couldn’t sleep at all. “What the hell is this?” I murmured in my half-asleep stupor around 4am. “A brick?” I threw my brick pillow to the floor (landed with a thump) and picked up my old, flimsy thing, a smile spreading across my face as my head settled back into it like an angel landing on a cloud.

If that’s what it took to make me appreciate what I had all along, then I’m going to consider that $14.99 well spent.

I’m keeping track of all the books I read in 2012, because I’m curious to see how many books I read and I also want to track patterns in my reading habits. So far I’ve read eight, and I would highly recommend all of them. I’m listing them below, along with a key.

#&+ Without a Map by Meredith Hall
^)&+ Bossypants by Tina Fey
*&+ My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock
*&(+ MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
%&+ Why I’m Like This by Cynthia Kaplan
%$&+ Five Men Who Broke My Heart by Susan Shapiro
*&(+ The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
@!& The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard

* Memoir of a year-long project designed to change the reader’s life in one specific arena
# Gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking but also hauntingly beautiful
$ Worried about author’s husband divorcing her
% Unexpected subplot about infertility
^ Pee-your-pants funny
) Man-arms on the cover
@ Met the author last week
( Worried that if seen carrying book, people will think i’m depressed/pathetic/desperate
+ Memoir by a female
! Only piece of fiction on the list
& Relatable