❄️ december wrap-up ❄️

Wow, December is pretty much over and January is right around the corner! This year has been a crazy ride, so today I wanted to share with you my last blog post of the year. I love writing these wrap-ups, especially when I have so many interesting things to share!

December was an awesome month for me. I read some amazing books and watched stunning movies. I hope you had a great one too 🤗

books I read

December was my last month of classes at university. I had so much to do during the month, I’m still recovering! Sometimes university hits me like a ton of bricks once break rolls in. But I managed to still read enough books to get my mind off things.

 

The Happiness Passport by Megan Hayes and Yelena Bryksenkova  •  This was such a lovely book. It leads you on a trip around the world through 50 different words in different languages. These words all have one thing in common: they somehow describe happiness to the culture who speaks them. I love the concept of seemingly untranslatable words in the world. However, we can understand their meaning because we have felt what they describe. Full review here! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan  •  Don’t get me started on this series. I love it so freaking much! And I think this book was a really solid ending to this trilogy that made me embrace my over-the-top dramatic side. The setting was great, the characters (especially Ah Ma!) were great, and the whole plot was incredible. If you want to start the series, I reviewed the first book here! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom  •  I received an ARC of this book and I have a review coming soon… But this book and I did not click. Cottom is clearly a great writer. Her writing style is straight to the point and sober, which I love. But I disagreed with a lot of what she wrote. I also think she could have been clearer exposing her ideas — but maybe I wasn’t the target audience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman  •  If you’re looking for a cute m/m romance graphic novel, look no further. Oseman is a great artist and this story was the fluff I needed to recover from university blues. The characters are cute and the whole friendship is adorable. It’s not a super well-developed book, imo, because the characters often feel empty. But that’s usually the case with graphic novels and me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Benito Cereno by Herman Melville  •  This was the final book I had to read for the American Literature class I took this semester. And what a way to end the semester! I loved this book. The writing style and shifts of point of view are fantastic. It’s also a very creative way of telling a story, especially when we consider it was first published in 1855. I love the buildup, the tensions, the reveal… everything! You should totally give this one a go if you like mystery novels. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Memories of a Crappy Pooch by Marta Alonso Berná  •  This was another review copy I received but that I wish I had never read. This is such a confusing and messy and (?) ugly story… It was not endearing or funny — just sad and a train wreck. I almost DNFed this, but people were writing that the ending was interesting. And oh boy, interesting it was. Just very weird and messy. ⭐️

 

The Kinship of Secrets by Eugenia Kim  •  I also got this as a review copy, and so I’ll post a review in January. But I loved, loved, loved this book! It’s a historical fiction novel that tells the story of two sisters who have been separated by the Korean War: Inga and Miran. They were such precious characters who went through so much! I love the family dynamics, the setting, and the message of what it means to be an immigrant. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle  •  This children’s graphic novel was sent to me for review, but I’m sad to say I didn’t love it. At first, I thought it would be like a Gaiman story. But, in the end, it just felt very flat. Enjoyable, but flat… This book follows a young girl who lives with a chronic illness during one hot summer in Chicago. I appreciate the representation, but there wasn’t much to the book. Maybe because it’s targeted at kids, but even so… ⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender  •  This book tells the story of two boys who are estranged childhood best friends. But when one of them comes back to town, their relationship blossoms once more but in a different way. I wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. I like how the characters were POC and there was deaf (or HoH, I’m not sure) representation, but that’s pretty much it. The characters were unlikable and very flat. I was expecting epic, but got a soggy novel… ⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

The Drum That Beats Within Us by Mike Bond  •  The last book I read this month was also a review copy that was given to me. I got more into poetry this semester, but a very specific kind of poetry. I really liked the author’s note at the beginning of this book, but his poetry wasn’t for me. I don’t have anything against the Native American symbolism in this book, unlike other reviewers, but I didn’t like the writing in itself. ⭐️

 

blog posts I wrote

December was such a hit month here on the blog! I reached milestones I never thought I could, I connected with some amazing people, and I blogged a lot more than usual!

🌻 november wrap-up
🌻 down the tbr hole (#1)
🌻 review: the happiness passport
🌻 the bookish naughty or nice tag!
🌻 buying for bookworms: a christmas gift guide!
🌻 down the tbr hole (#2)
🌻 15 books that made my year
🌻 beautiful covers I loved in 2018
🌻 the lows: 5 books I wish I had not read
🌻 new favorite authors!
🌻 expectations vs reality: books that disappointed me
🌻 21 releases I am excited about!
🌻 my ambitious 2019 reading goals & challenges + judging my 2018 goals

What did you love the most about December? What books did you love this month?
Since this is my last blog post of the year, I hope you have a great 2019!!!

If you read this far, I really want to thank you for existing and for making my 2018 so great. I love being a part of this community and wish you all the best for the new year 🤗