December Reads


          2019 ended. I read forty-nine books out of my goal of fifty. All things considered; I feel pretty good about that final tally. Thanks to audio books, of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t have even gotten close to that. I also read/listened to thirteen of the twenty books off of the reading list I made at the beginning of the year. Realistically, that’s awesome. The other seven books I don’t even own yet, so I was held back by that limitation. I’ll just shift them over to this year’s reading list and hope to come across them in my bookstore excursions.

          Now, on to the books of December. I only read three. I was so close to finishing the fourth one. So close, in fact, that I finished it on January 4th. But of course, that means it doesn’t count for December. But that’s okay. This year I’m all about setting more realistic goals for myself so I don’t feel like a failure when I don’t meet them. With that in mind, future book blog posts might be a little shorter if I read less books. Anywho….

Grimdark Grimoires: A Dark Fantasy Anthology by A.A Medina (Editor), Alex De-Gruchy, Rob Francis, et al.

          Overall, I like this collection a lot. It had a nice variety of fantastical settings, characters, and events. The stories were entertaining and held my interest. Some had a few editing issues, but nothing that jarred me out of the story too badly.

          Apocrypha was probably my favorite of them all. I loved the magic. Noxyianna (love the name, too) really pulled me into her emotions and I wanted to help her find her missing brother for her. Her anger and desperation were palpable.

          Some of the stories threw you right into the middle of the action and didn’t have much in the way of explanation so they were a little more difficult to get into right away. But still enjoyable once I caught on.

          So, like I said, a good read. And I did actually read this one. I felt pretty good about that too.

The Fault in Our Stars By John Green

          This book had me crying – and I knew it would. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I knew enough about it beforehand that I expected the tears.

          I fell in love with Hazel right from the beginning. She was such a true teenager underneath all the cancer. Her attitude and sarcasm were the best. I related to her sass and her quick wit. No wonder Augustus fell for her right away.

          And speaking of Augustus. Wasn’t he just the dreamboat every teenage girl wants? Hazel could go on forever about the sound of his voice and his different smiles. He was also so sweet and genuine and understanding. The way he was with Isaac, how he helped him through his breakup; it was all so real. He was a really good person, friend, and boyfriend. Which made it all the more upsetting the further you get into the book.

          All of the characters were amazing and real. Their feelings and reactions were real. I cried with them all, for all of their hardships. I really have no more words to describe how this book made me feel. It was just great and I’m glad I finally read it. Now I’m off to watch the movie and ugly cry again.

We Sold Our Souls By Grady Hendrix

          This book was recommended to me by one of my best friends and I loved it. I tore through it; it was so good. And I love her even more for knowing that I was going to enjoy it.

          The characters were so amazing and relatable. Boyfriend is in a band and I know so much about how the scene works and how musicians are that I felt like I was able to get into this book even more.

          I also really like the conspiracy and the monsters. It added that mystical edge to what could have just been a normal story of a musician that sold out his band members. And the music behind the whole thing really pulled the whole story together.

          Everything was laid out in the end and there weren’t any unanswered questions, and yet I just wanted to keep reading. It could have gone on for ten more years of their lives and I would have kept turning pages. I couldn’t get enough of it.

          I’ve told so many more people about it, too. Especially Boyfriend and his bandmates. And that’s a sign of a really great book, when you just can’t shut up about it. So, go read it 😊

          New year, new books. I’m still compiling my reading list for 2020. I’ve got the craft book section filled out (and I own all the books on it so I can actually read them, thanks Mom) and I have a few contemporaries listed. I really need some good horror and suspense books to fill in my comps. If you’ve got any recommendations, shoot them my way. Happy reading 😊