Since the Middle Ages, human beings have purchased various goods—ranging from bare necessities to unimaginable luxuries—using money acquired from wage labor. We routinely report on how the past and present iterations of this system, commonly known as market capitalism, depend on the subjugation of the planet’s most powerless populations and the destruction of the earth’s most fragile ecosystems. We much less routinely acknowledge the fact that we buy stuff ourselves, and that we like a lot of the stuff we buy. Pursuant to our goal of editorial transparency, here’s the best thing each member of Gawker’s staff bought in 2015. If you have your own suggestions, hop in the comments below.

We certainly read a lot of bad things this year—but we also read a bunch of stuff that was great. Here are our picks for the best books, essays, articles and Urban Baby blog posts of 2015.

Life is an ongoing process of intellectual growth and discovery. Here are the things I added to my personal body of knowledge in 2015.