Best Books of December
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from December. I clearly had a great reading month—I liked a lot of books.
The Devil and the Dark Water (Stuart Turton): This one just squeaks onto the list. I’m not a fan of historical fiction, though this can barely be called that because he takes a lot of liberties with the time period to make the story work. Plus, you’ll figure out the mystery early on. But I enjoyed the journey even if it wasn’t the way I usually travel, book-wise.
Ready Player Two (Ernest Cline): If you read the first book, this one is very very very similar. Which means that if you liked the first book—which I did—you’ll probably have fun reading this one. If you didn’t like the first book, I would probably avoid it because… well… return to the first part about this being very similar.
Piranesi (Susanna Clarke): This was one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time, and I’m glad I went into it knowing almost nothing. It is an experience, and figuring out what is happening is part of the story. It is a gorgeous book, and it will stick with you a long time after reading it. I’m still thinking about it daily. It’s one of those books that I could see myself reading over and over again.
That Time of Year (Marie Ndiaye): I loved this book. It’s about a French family who stays one extra day on their summer holiday and discovers the town changes once September begins. It’s like a French Stepford Wives in feel. It’s non-scary horror. I ended up putting everything else the author wrote on my TBR list due to the strength of this story.
Royal Holiday (Jasmine Guillory): I bought this one for the ChickieNob and ended up grabbing it myself. I pretty much devoured it in one sitting. I’m not a big romance person, but I’m planning to read the rest of the books by this author. It was such a great book for winter break; I felt happier and lighter while reading it.
The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman): I loved this book so much that I was only a few pages in before I started Googling whether the author was planning a sequel. (He is! There will be a second book.) It’s about four people in a retirement community, solving crimes. Every character is fantastic—I wanted to get coffee with all of them. The dialogue is lovely. And even though it was a lighthearted mystery, there were some very emotionally-moving scenes.
The Inheritance Games (Jennifer Lynn Barnes): I ended my reading year on a high note. I figured out the mystery when I was 24% of the way through the book, and I didn’t care. It was so much fun. It’s like The Westing Game meets Knives Out meets quirky YA fiction. This book also has a sequel coming out soon-ish, and I happily added it to my 2021 TBR.
What did you read last month?
7 comments
I read 4 books in December, all reviewed on my blog:
* “The Young Clementina” by D.E. Stevenson (for my DES online fan group, in advance of our discussion). One of her earlier books, and it has its flaws, but our discussion is helping me appreciate its merits more…!
* “Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen” by Tilly Tennant (the Gateway Women book club pick for December). Light reading, but sometimes that’s what you need…!
* “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. I didn’t actually read the book, but I listened in/watched on Facebook live as members of the band the East Pointers read the book aloud, chapter by chapter, over five consecutive nights. I figured it was the equivalent of listening to an audiobook. 🙂
* “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig (the Gateway Women book club pick for November). I found this one difficult to get into, but once I did, I loved it! The last book I read in 2020, and one of the best.
I have to say, I am not doing well at reading. I’m in major stress-response and I wish reading helped, but my focus is not so good.
So far, in December, I’ve read half of The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye. it’s an old book and definitely has some problems, esp. from the colonialism and British conquer-the-world attitudes that took place during the time it’s written. But it’s interesting for that reason as well, and gives an up close view of what people were thinking and why. It was billed as a romance in the ’70s when it was published, but it’s far more historical novel from the POV of the Corps of Guides of the British Indian Army. The British paid dearly for being colonialists in India. But so did the peoples of India pay for being colonized, and my sympathies tend to be with them.
Oooh, those sound so good — and Piranesi is in my Christmas Books From Bryce stack! So looking forward to that one. I bookmark your book selections, you pick such interesting ones! I read:
– Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (YA fiction)
– The Storm Beyond the Sky by Tabaa Sahir (YA, 4th book in the Ember in the Ashes series, which is a wonderful world to inhabit for a while and will be so much more pleasant if you start knowing there are 4 books, as it was the annoying Trilogy-turned-Quadrilogy thing.)
– Ghosts of the Missing by Kathleen Donohoe (Fiction, I thought it was going to be twisty mystery, and a very small part was that, but the rest was living HIV+, which was fascinating but not what I was expecting)
– Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm (YA romance, complete fluff about a reality TV couple getting married in a castle in Scotland and the reluctant younger sister having to be a part of it, but enjoyable fluff)
– People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd (Twisty fiction, some of the most abhorrent characters I’ve loved to hate, and a look into the world of instagram influencers)
– Orange World by Karen Russell (short stories, I love her mind)
– Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (historical fiction/romance written in letters across two time periods with a little mystery, light but beautiful and with more Scottish scenery)
– A Game of Fox & Squirrels by Jenn Reese (YA/middle grade fiction, fantasy/realistic mix dealing with trauma from abuse, good but hard)
– You Can’t Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain To You by Phoebe Robinson (essays, really smart and funny takes on living life as a black woman who is a comedian with hefty doses of looking into the culture of racism)
– Dear Justyce by Nic Stone (YA fiction, followup to Dear Martin, featuring Quan, what happens when you don’t have a good support system and end up labeled a criminal before you’re even a teenager, look at incarceration of black teens)
December had Winter Holiday Break, so I read more than normal in one month. 🙂
I discovered the author Jasmine Guillory this year myself, and her books have been just what the doctor ordered during a time when I have been looking for lighter, fun fiction. Like you, I plan to read her whole catalog. In fact, I am reading her book Party of Two right now.
Piranisi is proposed as one of my book clubs options for our February selection.
I’m too tired to do it now, but I will try to come back tomorrow and share a few books I read in December and liked.
Here are some of the titles I read in December and my thoughts.
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. Solid romance. Reading the follow-up book now.
The Whisper Man by Alex North. Creepy and also layered, with complex characters and relationships.
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi. I discovered Scalzi through his blog during the 2016 election cycle, and though I’m not usually a big sci-fi reader, I am enjoying his books. This is the third book in a trilogy, and it was a fun ending to the story.
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It took me a little while to get through this one: in addition to struggling generally with non-fiction these days, the author’s work made me question my own (professional) life choices. I would honestly recommend this book to anyone! Such an important and often overlooked subject.
I read a few others, but taking a page from your book, I am not including them because I either didn’t enjoy them at all or felt they were “meh.”
I am a slug who is having a hard time reading anything that isn’t light and funny. So, I have really been happy to have Jasmine Guillory books in my life. I have also found that I no longer have patience for reading books about teenagers. (Jasmine Guillory to the rescue again!) Sigh. I am in a mood.
Has the Chickie Nob read the Fug Girls’ books? (The Royal We and The Heir Affair, specifically. But maybe also Spoiled and Messy.) I think she would like them.
I actually finished three books in December, which is an improvement for me this year!
I listened to Marian Keyes’ “Making it up as I go along” on my walks. It’s a series of her columns, taught me a lot about her, and loved it. Also, the Irish accent of the narrator! Gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.
Finished Ian McEwen’s Machines Like Me, which was interesting and a good read, if a tiny bit unsatisfying.
And raced through Sandrone Dazieri’s second in his Columba Caselli series, Kill the Angel. It’s essentially a murder mystery focused on the investigation by the police office. It’s set in Italy, so I love that, and is a an easy and good read.
And I’m making my way through President Obama’s book. The politics are all a bit depressing at times, so I can’t read a lot of it at one time!