End of Year Round-Up

January 1, 2024January 1, 2024

December 2023 Books and End of Year Roundup

End of Year Roundup

StoryGraph book total: 120 (includes all books, new and reread, and the two Seanan McGuire short stories)

Number of pages read this year: 44,021 (hours listened to audiobooks converted to pages)

Number of new books read this year: 98 (I did not count the two Seanan McGuire short stories on my spreadsheet)

Number of books reread this year: 20

Number of books by women, trans, and nonbinary people read this year (only counting new books read): 68

Number of books by BIPOC this year (only including new books read): 28

Number of books by disabled authors this year (only including new books read)*: 1

*This can only include authors I know are disabled. More on the list could be and I might not know. Definite room for improvement in this category!

Breakdown by genre (only counting new books read)
-Fiction: 76 (fantasy: 41; science fiction: 7; YA: 7*; historical fiction: 5; classics: 4; literary fiction: 4; thriller: 2; dystopian: 1; graphic novel: 1; mystery: 1; romance: 1; children’s literature: 1)
-Nonfiction: 21 (essays: 4; memoir: 4; true crime: 3; art: 2; biography: 2; graphic format: 2; reference: 2; autobiography: 1; history: 1)
-Poetry: 1
-Play: 1

*Many of the fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction books I read were also in the YA age range.

First book of the year: Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater

Last book of the year: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Most read author of the year: David Mitchell (8 books) and Rick Riordan (8 books)

Best books of the year (in no particular order; not including rereads):
Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater
The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin
A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (below)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (below)
Ithaca by Claire North (below)

Worst books of the year:
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu
Friday by Robert Heinlein (apologies to my father)

Books I didn’t finish:
Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir

December Books Reread

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Book 1 of 5 Heroes of Olympus
I remember the first time I read this book, I was a little disappointed because Percy isn’t in it and I missed him as a narrator. But rereading it, I was happy to return to getting to know Jason, Leo, and Piper, who I had grown to love throughout the series. This is the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series, which follows the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This book follows Jason Grace, who wakes up on a bus with Piper and Leo with no memory of who he is. He, Piper, and Leo, all half-bloods, end up at Camp Half Blood where they must go on a quest to save Hera, queen of the gods, get Jason’s memory back, and maybe figure out where Percy Jackson disappeared to. It is excellent. I love that the Aphrodite kids finally get a redemption hero in Piper.
4/5 baseball-bat-wielding satyrs

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Book 2 of 5 Heroes of Olympus
And Percy’s back! This book follows Percy as he wakes up missing his own memory and must make his way to Camp Jupiter, a camp for Roman demigods. He meets Frank and Hazel and learns of the disappearance of Jason Grace from Camp Jupiter. Percy, Hazel, and Frank must go on their own quest and unite Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter for the impending fight with Gaia, foretold in the Great Prophesy. I love Frank and Hazel so much, so it was nice to reread this one.
4.5/5 gold-eating horses

New Books Read

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak*
Do you ever binge-read things not because you like them but just because you want to? I didn’t think this book was amazing, but that did not stop me from reading it in like two days just because I wanted to spend the whole weekend reading. It’s a thriller. I’m realizing I don’t really like thrillers. CIA agent (whose name I can’t remember) gets a tip that an American politician is about to be assassinated, but her superiors don’t believe the tip. When the American politician dies, she is pulled into a Russian plot to destabilize the US, and the more she learns, the more she suspects her father, a former CIA agent, is somehow wrapped up in the intrigue, relating back to something that happened when he was stationed in Helsinki when she was just a child. The characters were pretty flat; the plot was reasonably entertaining. I kept waiting for a twist that didn’t really come, and the ending didn’t feel totally wrapped up. But it was okay.
3/5 Russian oligarchs

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
**Book Hangover Alert
This book was the spooky vibes I was looking for when I read The Stranger Upstairs. Opal is a young woman just trying to take care of her younger brother after the death of their mother in a small town slowly being poisoned by the nearby power plant. Out of desperation and strange curiosity, Opal takes a job as a housekeeper for the town’s most mysterious young man at the local haunted house. But Opal will learn there’s much more to the house, the young man, the town, and her own past than she ever knew. It was delightful. I loved Opal and her found family and the house and the spooky vibes.
5/5 spooky creatures

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins***
**Book Hangover Alert
*This book includes only straight white cis people
Prequel to the Hunger Games Series
CW: war, death, oppression
This book somehow ended up with all three designations. Yes, it only includes straight, white cis people, but I think it is at least partly intentional, as it supports the repressive society Collins is creating. And I still believe this is a book that will help improve your social consciousness, despite that lack of diversity. Collins writes an incisive critique of war, fascism, and the sensationalization of news and reality TV. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a young Coriolanus Snow growing up in the Capital and shows how his involvement in the development of the Hunger Games leads to the games we see in the Hunger Games trilogy 64 years later. I know this book came out in 2020 and Collins probably wasn’t explicitly basing it on the Israel/Palestine conflict (and let’s face it, there are many authoritarian regimes to be inspired by–not least her explicit Roman Empire references), but it’s impossible not to draw parallels between the propaganda of Israel and the outsized reaction of the Israeli military following the October 7th Hamas attack. As the United States slides toward fascism, I feel like Collins was like, “You guys apparently didn’t get it when I wrote the first three Hunger Games books, so here’s another one. Do you get it now?!”
5/5 sponsors

Reading Pictures by Alberto Manguel
I read this in preparation for a class I’m going to teach in the spring. It is a series of essays about how to interpret art. It was fascinating and I enjoyed it very much. I plan to use several of the essays as readings for my class.
4/5 paintings

Zeroville by Steve Erickson
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: child abuse
I don’t even know how to write a review for this book. It was very weird. In a good way. Movie fanatic Vikar moves to LA in 1969 to work in the movies. He works as a set builder and movie editor and through dreams and the movies he sees, begins to make a momentous discovery. Vikar read as an autistic character to me, and I thought that was well done. I also liked the way Erikson played with form in this novel, from the chapter breaks and numeration, and the way his scenes sometimes read like individual frames in a movie. Wild.
4/5 movies

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa***
**Book Hangover Alert
CW: sexual assault, oppression, war, abuse, torture
If you’re looking to learn more about Palestine, but not really feeling history/nonfiction books, this is a great choice. The story follows Nahr, a Palestinian growing up in Kuwait, where her parents fled to from Palestine, and her journey to return to Palestine and work for the freedom of her homeland. The prose was lovely; Nahr’s journey from thoughtless teen to mature woman was beautifully done. And I also feel like a learned a lot about the Palestinian conflict, without having to read history.
4.5/5 dances

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen*
This retelling of The Nutcracker was fun for December. It was deliciously dark and I really enjoyed it. Clara and Natasha are twins, blessed or cursed at birth by their godfather Herr Drosselmeyer, Clara to be light and Natasha to be dark. The sisters grow up and apart with these designations coloring all their relationships. The Christmas they turn seventeen, Herr Drosselmeyer returns with enchanted gifts: a nutcracker and a clown that seem to be more than just toys. That night the girls cross into the Kingdom of Sweets, and Natasha takes the chance to seize her own destiny. I was just a little disappointed there was no Mouse King in this retelling. I love a good Mouse King.
3.5/5 sweets

Ithaca by Claire North
**Book Hangover Alert
Book 1 of 3 House of Odysseus
You know me, I’m a sucker for a Greek myth retelling, especially a feminist one. This book tells the story of Penelope, wife of Odysseus, as she waited twenty long years for his return. If this is a story you think you know, you’ve never heard it told by Hera, queen of the gods. I loved it. It was excellent. I’m excited to read the rest of the books.
5/5 warrior women

Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson*
Book 1 of 7 Kingdom Keepers
I’ve been meaning to read these for a long time. They’re fun for us crazy Disney nerds. Finn and four other kids are chosen to be holographic hosts at the Walt Disney World parks. But the kids quickly learn that it wasn’t just a quick acting job; every night when they go to sleep, they wake up as holographs in the Magic Kingdom. They must work together to save the park from the forces of evil. It’s fun. It’s not amazing or anything. But a quick, easy read.
3.5/5 Small World dolls

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
**Book Hangover Alert
Book 1 of 2 Six Crimson Cranes
And we go out with a bang! My last book of the year was excellent, thanks for asking. This book has everything; a beautiful map, a lush, Asian-inspired fantasy world, evil enchanters, magic, dragons, a plucky young heroine, and just a little sprinkling of romance. I adored it. Shiori is dreading her betrothal, but she’s got bigger problems. Magic has been banned in Kiata, and Shiori has a natural talent. After Shiori learns her stepmother is also an enchantress, her stepmother curses her and her six brothers and banishes them to the outskirts of the empire. Shiori must figure out how to break the curse and save her kingdom.
4.5/5 paper birds

*This book only includes straight, white, cis people.

**Book Hangover Alert indicates the kind of book that will leave you full up on love. Satisfied, but wishing the book never had to end. You’ll be laying on the floor with no idea what to do with yourself (other friends have called this feeling Good Book Depression or say that certain books necessitate Floor Time). This is the kind of book that gets its teeth in you and won’t let go easily. After the last page you’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. You’ll bother all your friends trying to get them to read it so that you won’t be alone in your Hangover.

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! First a caveat: I have decided that simply having queer people and/or people of color in a book is not enough to qualify it for the Books for a Social Conscience distinction. That sets the bar too low. So while in the past I would have included The Heroes of Olympus books, Starling House, Ithaca, and Six Crimson Cranes, I will not be including them in the new system. We love representation! Don’t get me wrong, but honestly at this point if you don’t have queer people and/or people of color in your book, like what are you doing? I will now be including a new designation: *This book only includes straight, white, cis people.

Anyway, read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for a critique of fascism, war, and media. Read Against the Loveless World to learn more about the Israel/Palestine conflict, particularly how it affects women.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQIA+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

December 31, 2022February 4, 2023

December 2022 Books and End of Year Roundup

End of Year Roundup

Number of new books read this year: 106

Number of books reread this year: 11

Number of books by women, trans, and nonbinary people read this year (only counting new books read): 74

Number of books by BIPOC this year (only including new books read): 34

Number of books by disabled authors this year (only including new books read)*: 3

*This can only include authors I know are disabled. More on the list could be and I might not know. Definite room for improvement in this category!

Breakdown by genre
-Fiction: 86 (classics: 6; contemporary fiction: 7; dystopian: 1; fantasy: 34; historical fiction: 10; literary fiction: 8; mystery: 3; romance: 5; science fiction: 7; thriller: 1: YA*: 4)
-Nonfiction: 12 (travel: 3; essays: 1; history: 1; memoir: 5; science: 1; social science: 1)
-Graphic novel: 1 (fantasy)
-Short story collection: 1 (fantasy)
-Poetry: 3 (poetry collection: 1; novel-in-verse: 2)
-Play: 3 (script: 1; audioplay: 2)

*Many of the fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction books I read were also in the YA age range.

First Book of the year: The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All by Josh Ritter

Last Book of the year: The Chimes by Charles Dickens

Best Books of the year (in no particular order):
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Elektra by Jennifer Saint
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson
True Biz by Sara Nović
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Lobizona by Romina Garber
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar
Disability Visability: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Time Is A Mother by Ocean Vuong
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Okay actually there were a lot of really good books I read this year, and I cut myself off but I could have kept going.

Worst books of the year:
The worst books of the year have to be the two I didn’t finish reading: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds and A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair. But my lowest rated books of the year were Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, which was just far too bleak, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, which was actually good if you skip all the parts about Levin, and Life Ever After by Carla Grauls, which was just not good.

Most read author: Maggie Stiefvater (6 books)

December Books Reread

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater***
**Book Hangover Alert
The Raven Cycle book 4 of 4
The stunning conclusion! I didn’t remember this one super well either. I only remembered the relationship that finally happens in this book (trying not to spoil it). Anyway I still love it. I love all the characters. I love getting to see Henry Cheng join the gang.
5/5 robo bees

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater***
**Book Hangover Alert
The Dreamer Trilogy book 1 of 3
I still love the Dreamer Trilogy too. I don’t think I love it quite as much as the Raven Cycle but I still love it. I love getting to spend more time with Ronan, and getting to know Jordan and Hennessy, and who could have guessed I would learn to love Declan?? My only qualm rereading this book is that there is a lot of (necessary!) build up to Ronan and Hennessy meeting and beginning to work together.
4/5 forged paintings

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater***
**Book Hangover Alert
The Dreamer Trilogy book 2 of 3
I actually think I might like this one better than the first one. Not that I don’t love the first one, but this book is where things really start to get exciting. And we get to see the development of Ronan and Hennessy’s relationship and Declan and Jordan’s, and also Matthew’s development, which I adore. I also love Farooq-Lane and Liliana. This is also the first time I’ve reread a book that is already on the blog, so if you’re interested in my original review of Mister Impossible, you can read it here.
4.5/5 sweetmetals

The Chimes by Charles Dickens
I really respect that after Dickens wrote an instant classic about ghosts on Christmas, he was like, “I’m going to write more holiday books, and you know what else, besides ghosts, says Christmas? Goblins. That’s what.” Anyway, this book is about goblins. It’s definitely not as good as A Christmas Carol, but still enjoyable. We love a Dickens book in the winter.
3/5 bells

New Books Read

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger***
This was the Big Library Read, so it was available to check out as an ebook to everyone. I read Elatsoe by Little Badger last year so I was excited to read this one. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Elatsoe. I liked the ace representation, we could always use more of that, and I loved learning about the animal people. But I didn’t love the style of prose and I thought the dialogue felt stilted and awkward.
3.5/5 tornados in nesting dolls

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
Sequel to the Ex Hex
The Ex Hex was my Book of the Month last year in October and it was delightful, so I wanted to read the sequel. This one focuses on Gwyn, Vivi’s cousin. In the first book, Gwyn is dating Jane, the mayor of Graves Glen. In this book, Vivi and Rhys are happily married and Gwyn falls in love with Rhys’s brother Wells. Not to invalidate bisexual people who are in heterosexual relationships, but I would have liked it more if it was a wlw book. As it was, it was sort of the same story as the first book, enemies to lovers, Jones woman falls in love with Penhallow brother. That being said, it was still a super fun light read. The banter was fabulous and I loved Gwyn and her Baby Witches and Wells was delightful.
3.5/5 bags of edible glitter

Part of My World by Jodi Benson
If you didn’t know, Jodi Benson is the voice of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I had a chance to hear her give a talk about the book when she visited the Disney College Program here at Disney World. Her memoir is full of fascinating stories from the making of The Little Mermaid including stories about Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, and many others involved in the movie and the Disney company. I also loved reading about Benson’s experiences on Broadway. My only complaint about the book is that it’s pretty preachy. Benson is deeply religious, and though I can agree with many of her philosophies, I’m not that interested in reading about how God is the author of her life and He had a grand plan for her and her life, and He gave her great performing talent so that she could spread the word of God. It felt like the last three paragraphs of every chapter, were all the same: her explaining how the story she just told is part of God’s plan. I also would have liked to see her grapple more with the knowledge that the Church as an institution has caused great harm. One story that stuck out to me was when Benson visited Howard Ashman at the end of his life when he was dying of AIDS. She told him she would pray for him. To her, that was the greatest comfort someone could offer. And maybe she believes God truly does love everyone, but she fails to acknowledge that the Church and religious people have probably told Ashman all his life that he was an abomination going to Hell, because he was gay.
3.5/5 mermaids

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
CW: domestic violence, assault, attempted rape, anti-Black racism, n-word
I thought this book was okay. It does seem overhyped to me. I really liked the way Owens described the marsh and all of the nature writing and descriptions. She did a really good job creating and bringing to life the place of the swamp. I thought the plot was a little weak and Kya was kind of a passive character. I wasn’t interested in the romance aspects of the book, and the murder mystery aspect of the book wasn’t that satisfying. It’s also important to note that Owens is wanted for questioning about an unsolved murder in Zambia. I believe people are innocent until proven guilty, but she certainly isn’t helping the investigation, so take that into consideration before you decide to support the book or movie.
3/5 crawdads

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read both Stiefvater books for more LGBTQIA+ representation in fantasy. Read A Snake Falls to Earth for Native representation and LGBTQIA+ representation.

(I stopped being able to change text color. I don’t know why.)

December 31, 2021June 8, 2022

December 2021 and End of Year Round Up

Number of new books read this year: 93

Number of books reread this year: 12

Number of books by women, trans, and nonbinary people read this year (only including new books read): 74

Number of books by BIPOC read this year (only including new books read): 35

Breakdown by genre:
–Fiction: 70 (fantasy: 26; literary fiction: 10; historical fiction: 9; romance: 7; non-fantasy YA: 6; mythology: 4; fairytales: 2; science fiction: 2; supernatural: 1; mystery: 1; children’s literature: 1; classics: 1)
–Nonfiction: 15 (memoir: 4; science: 4; history and culture: 2; self-help: 2; autobiography: 1; essays: 1; anthropology: 1)
–Graphic novel: 3 (fantasy: 3)
–Short story collection: 1
–Poetry: 4 (novel in verse: 2; book of poems: 2)

First book of the year: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Last book of the year: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Best books of the year (in no particular order):
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Infinite Country by Patricia Engle
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divinia by Zoraída Córdova
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (review below)
Transcendent Kingdom (review below)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (review below)

Worst books of the year
Animalkind by Ingrid Newkirk and Gene Stone
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Cat That Changed America Tony Lee Moral

December New Books Read

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo***
Book Hangover Alert**
King of Scars Duology book 2 of 2, Grishaverse
CW: body dysmorphia, reference to sexual assault, suicide, war, violence, grief, death, racism
The second King of Scars book! Loved it! I won’t say much about this one because I don’t want to give any spoilers. There was one death I felt like was unnecessary and I was pretty mad about it. I am a big fan of how Bardugo writes her male characters. I saw a TikTok about how Kaz is a male character written for the female gaze and I think the same can be said for Nikolai. I would go more into that but spoilers. I loved that we got to spend more time with characters we know and love from other Grishaverse books. Will there be more after this one??? I think the answer is probably yes.
4.5/5 charming thieves

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett***
Book Hangover Alert**
CW: n-word, anti-black racism, AIDS epidemic, body dysmorphia, lynching, domestic abuse/violence, transphobia , sexual assault, colorism
Stunning. I loved it. Just last month I read Passing by Nella Larsen which is a Harlem Renaissance classic that addresses the subject of passing and colorism so it was interesting to read The Vanishing Half right after. I loved how Bennett developed each of her characters. They were each so nuanced and distinct and flawed. I loved the bittersweetness of the whole story and how there wasn’t a neat resolution–even though some part of me wanted a neat resolution, I think that wouldn’t have felt as true. I also loved Jude and Reece’s relationship and how Bennett explored LGBTQ+ relationships and identity in the 1970s without that being the main focus.
5/5 long lost sisters

The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo***
CW: racial microagressions
I keep saying on this blog that I don’t read many romance books but I guess I read 7, which was my 4th largest fiction subcategory this year. I didn’t love this one, but it wasn’t bad. I thought the most interesting parts of the story were the relationships Hannah, the main character, explored with her father’s family as she got to know them, and how she learned to connect with her Nigerian culture. I wasn’t really that into the love interest and I almost didn’t even need that plot line. I loved the way Hannah came to self-acceptance and love by the end of the story. I guess I would have appreciated a little more Nigerian culture. Hannah didn’t really get to do any real sightseeing in Lagos other than visiting the slum Lawrence is from. The socialist in me also feels like the Jolade family could be doing more charitable work. They mention a scholarship program for kids in the slum, but considering how rich they are, it does seem like they could be doing a bit more, or be a little more self-aware about the vast economic inequality. And Hannah, being someone from a less privileged background and someone for whom charity and volunteering is so important, I felt should have explored that more. Also, just to nitpick, why did Igharo have to keep using the words “flapping” eyelids or eyelashes? Just say blinking. Ew.
3/5 also long lost sisters

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker***
Keeper of Night Duology Book 1
CW: racism, body horror, gore, gruesome death of an animal, death
I was really intrigued by the fantasy world Baker created based on Japanese mythology. I loved the idea of the Reapers and the Shinigami and how different cultures deal with death. I also liked the exploration of the two sides of the protagonist’s identity (British and Japanese) as she tries to find belonging, though I do think that even more exploration would have been better. I was disappointed by the characters. Overall they were pretty one-dimensional and the author’s efforts to make them morally gray, while interesting, ended up just making them unlikable. Ren, the protagonist, also doesn’t really change by the end of the book. She has one moment where she realizes the error of her ways, but no real change in her character happens. It also made me think a lot about Paulo Freire’s quote, “The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors,” from The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I know this book is the first in a duology, but I would have liked to see Ren move from oppressed to oppressor to liberated. Instead she only makes it to oppressor and I don’t feel like I liked the book enough to read the second one and find out if she develops any more.
3/5 nine-tailed foxes

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi***
Book Hangover Alert**
CW: addiction, depression, suicide attempt, n-word, anti-black racism, animal testing (scientific)
I loved Gyasi’s first book, Homegoing, so I was really excited to read this one. It was so beautiful. I love her writing style. This book was quiet and contemplative, exploring the protagonist’s effort to reconcile her religious upbringing with her scientific work, and through that understanding, then come to terms with the loss of her brother and her relationship with her mother.
5/5 Ensure addicted mice

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid***
Book Hangover Alert**
CW: homophobia, sexism, AIDS epidemic, alcoholism, death of family members, suicide and doctor assisted suicide, cancer
I couldn’t put this book down. I talked a little about morally gray characters in relation to The Keeper of Night and I didn’t think it was done very well in that book. Here it’s done much better. Celia and Evelyn are certainly flawed characters who sometimes make questionable choices but I was always rooting for them throughout the book. I loved reading about how the characters had to navigate their identities in relation to their careers, and I think the book addresses a lot of things that are still sometimes a bit taboo in Hollywood. The book was a gorgeous, luscious exploration of the glitz and glam of Hollywood in the 1950s-80s as well as the darker side lurking beneath.
5/5 Oscars

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Book Hangover Alert**
Throne of Glass Series book 7 of 7
CW: torture, PTSD, slavery, death, war
The glorious finale! This wasn’t my favorite book of the series but I did enjoy it and I was definitely satisfied with the ending. I did think the book was a little long and I don’t know that it was actually necessary to the plot to make the characters suffer so much before the end. I still would have been satisfied with the ending even if the characters hadn’t been tortured and driven to hopelessness. Overall a wonderful conclusion to a sweeping fantasy series.
3.5/5 shifters

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read Rule of Wolves to see more LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy. Read The Vanishing Half to learn more about passing and what it’s like to juggle biracial identities. Read The Sweetest Remedy to learn about connecting with one’s roots and again juggling biracial identities. Read The Keeper of Night to learn about Japanese mythology. Read Transcendent Kingdom to enjoy one of the best African writers working today. Read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to learn more about LGBTQ+ identities while working in Hollywood in the 1950s-80s.

Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQ+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.

January 1, 2021January 13, 2022

December 2020 Books and End of Year Round-up

End of Year round-up

Number of new books read this year: 81

Number of books reread this year: 9 (from June -December)

Number of books by women and nonbinary people read this year (only including new books read): 49

Number of books by BIPOC read this year (only including new books read): 22

Breakdown by genre:
–Fiction: 63
(Fantasy: 21; literary fiction: 16; science and speculative fiction: 11; historical fiction: 8; fairytales: 2; mythology: 2; children’s literature: 1; mystery: 1; supernatural: 1)
–Nonfiction: 12
(Science: 3; biography: 2; memoir: 2; anthropology: 1; history: 1; how-to: 1; essays: 1; travel and humor: 1)
–Graphic novel: 3
(fantasy: 2; memoir: 1)
–Short story collection: 2
(literary fiction; 1; science fiction: 1)
–Poetry: 1

First book of the year: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Last book of the year: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Best books of the year (because I can’t chose one):
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Worst books of the year
The Lion in the Living Room by Abigail Tucker
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

December Books reread

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
I really cannot convey how much I love this book. Sometimes classics are classics for a reason. I never get tired of the story and delight in forcing my family to watch every movie adaption, including a filmed stage musical that I was in (I played the first spirit). This year I made everyone listen to Tim Curry’s audio book of it. Delightful. Dickens is definitely at his best in this book.
10/10 bad lobsters in a dark cellar

New Books Read

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Book Hangover Alert**
Throne of Glass series book 5 of 7
I’ve been making my way through this series extremely slowly, not because it isn’t good, but because when I finish it, it will be over. Unfortunately, I did wait a little too long between reading book four and reading this one. It took me a minute to remember where we’d left off. But this installment did not disappoint. I don’t think it was my favorite of the series, but we got lots of quality Aelin and Rowan time, which I appreciated.
3.5/5 extremely attractive Fae males

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin***
Book Hangover Alert**
CW: racism, xenophobia
SO GOOD. It’s an urban fantasy/sci-fi that reminded me a bit of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, except about New York instead of London. This book was about the personification of New York City and multi-dimensional alien threats. Even though I don’t live in New York, I do love the city and I felt the way Jemisin represented each of the boroughs of New York was (*chef’s kiss*) spot on. Her characters were so real and so vibrant and even though there was a lot of the characters standing around and talking, trying to decide what to do, I didn’t mind because I loved the characters. I would have read more of them just chatting to each other honestly. I don’t know if there will be another book, but I really hope so.
5/5 city avatars

Wilder Girls by Rory Power***
Book Hangover Alert**
CW (provided by Rory Power’s website): graphic violence and body horror, gore, on the page character death, parental death, and animal death (the animals are not pets), behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such, food scarcity and starvation, emesis, a scene depicting chemical gassing, suicide and suicidal ideation, non-consensual medical treatment.
This isn’t in the content warning, but I also want to acknowledge that this book is about a mysterious and deadly disease and a lockdown, so if that’s not something you want to think about when you’re reading during COVID times, I totally get it. That being said, this book was great. I read it because I saw it on Book Tok and the Tik Tok reviewer said “it’s gay and it slaps.” Reader, she was correct. I loved the style; the characterization was really strong. The prose was spare and still very expressive. I’m definitely ready for book two, so hopefully that’s a thing that’s coming. I also liked the themes of environmentalism and disability that threaded through the novel.
4/5 mutant deer

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
CW: anti-semitism, n-word
I always feel like reading Dickens in the winter, but I usually just read one of his Christmas books. This year I thought I’d give Oliver Twist a try. I really liked it. I love the way Dickens critiques the classism and social welfare of his day, and how he does it such an amusing way. The characters are vibrant and I love how neatly all the characters and threads of the story get tied up at the end. Now, that being said, holy anti-semitism, Batman. The character of Fagin is super problematic. I recently watched a Tik Tok video about how anti-semitism is a different kind of oppression because it assumes that Jews are both superior and inferior to white people. There are stereotypes that Jews are misers that control everything, the banks, etc. (superior), and that they’re rat-like parasites who feed off white people (inferior). Fagin perfectly embodies this caricature of the Jew; his hands are described as rat-like claws, his large nose is referenced many times, he is a robber who steals (from white people) to live, but he also controls this whole network of petty thieves that reports to him and he keeps all the best things to sell himself. Dickens, like many writers of this time, also equates physical beauty to goodness and virtue, which I also don’t love; but he does subvert society in other ways, critiquing the church and institutions like workhouses, both of which were supposed to help the poor and didn’t really, and critiquing the classism that kept people from marrying for love, instead choosing status or worrying what other people would think if they didn’t.
3/5 virtuous orphans

Custer Died for Your Sins by Vine Deloria Jr. ***
It’s important to note that this book is a little old, published in 1969. It discusses the state of Indian Affairs, so it’s important to remember its context is the 1960s, however, I’m sure many of the issues covered in the book are not as solved as we would hope 50 years later. This books is a good one to read to learn more about how the government has treated Native Americans from first contact to contemporary times. Though policy is very important, it’s not always the most exciting thing to read about. My favorite chapter was the one on Indian Humor; since Native Americans are usually portrayed as stoic and serious, it’s nice to read about how humor is actually integral to the Native experience.
3/5 anthropologists

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
My aunt lent this to me in like March, but I’ve finally finished it. What I liked most about Harari’s book was that it was accessible. I’m not someone who knows a lot about science, but the way he writes and explains things made it easy to understand what he was talking about. The premise of the book is kind of a projection of the future and the goals of humans might be after we’ve solved the problems of war, famine, and plague. (LOL the book was written in 2016 and published in 2017; it’s pretty clear we haven’t solved problems like plague yet!) It was really interesting and also a bit scary (thinking about the future often is). Harari makes a strong argument and as someone who doesn’t read a ton of contemporary science and philosophy, most of his points seem sound to me. So I’d recommend also reading this New York Times review, which adds a few grains of salt with which to take Harari’s work.
3/5 micro robots

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files book 4 of 17
Still trucking slowly through these. No spoilers, because this is book four, but Harry Dresden is still alive. I appreciated that in this book we got to meet some more wizards. I also appreciated that, for a book written in 2002, the White Council is pretty diverse. Now, that being said a lot of the representations are pretty stereotypical, but I’d like to think Butcher got better at it as he went along. Most straight, cis, white men aren’t going to get it right on the first try. So hopefully he’s doing better now, or we have a problem.
3.5/5 malicious faerie queens

***This book is part of my Books for a Social Conscience series! Read The City We Became to learn more about the diversity that makes up New York and America as a whole. Read Wilder Girls to see more queer people represented in YA and to consider environmental and disability issues. Read Custer Died for Your Sins to learn more about Indian Affairs, and Native issues and history.
Reads marked as part of the Books for a Social Conscience series will regularly address topics like race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, LGBTQ+ experience, feminism, BIPOC experience, social and political issues, history, identity, class, disability experience, immigration, gun violence, poverty, colorism, environmentalism, and more! The goal of these books is to diversify the stories we’re reading, grow our empathy for those who are different from us, and amplify voices who are often silenced.