What a cup-filling month December was. I spent roughly half of it on vacation, which was exactly what I needed to come into 2024 feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. 

I love the holiday season. My family has so many traditions and this year, we spent a great amount of time just being together and enjoying each other’s presence. There were times when things were incredibly busy, but for the most part, I’m feeling very relaxed and like I’m ready to take on the new year. 

In terms of reading, I managed to get a good number of books in during the first half of the month, and I hit my reading goal of 100 books read in 2023! I recently posted an article on my top books read in 2023, and I have some more reflections coming later this week about what a 100-book year meant to me and how I accomplished it.

For December specifically, I didn’t get a ton of reading done in the second half of the month because I was too busy enjoying time with my loved ones. However, now that the break is coming to a close, I’m feeling really good about the year to come and I’m ready to jump back into my reading goals and some new great stories.

Books Read in December 2023

Despite feeling a little slow, I did manage to get a lot of good books in during December. Here are the ones I covered:

1. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner—I picked up this historical fiction audiobook on a whim but ended up enjoying it. I rated it 4 stars and you can read my review here.
2. The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers—what an outstanding ARC. I was so grateful to get an early edition of this thrilling fantasy and it blew me away, a 5-star read for me with my full review available here.
3. Gold by Raven Kennedy: this might have been one of my most anticipated reads of 2023, and I really enjoyed it. The book is mostly a build to what will inevitably be an epic conclusion but I love this world so much that I didn’t mind that we didn’t get a lot of answers. I rated this book 4 stars and my full review is available here.
4. A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark: what a ridiculously fun book, set in a universe that was so stunning that I would definitely go back. I loved this creative fantasy approach to early 1900s Cairo. I rated this book 4 stars and my full review is available here.
5. Starling House by Alix E. Harrow: a gorgeous gothic fantasy with such a gripping plot that I couldn’t stop reading. I devoured this in a couple of days and rated it 5 stars, I’ll have a full review for this one posted this week.
6. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion: this was a hard read to get through while walking through a season of grief, but it was also somewhat therapeutic to read about someone else’s processing of tragedy. I enjoyed this book, I felt like it was so well presented. I rated it 5 stars with a full review to come later this week.
7. On Christmas Avenue by Ginny Baird: a literal Hallmark Christmas movie in book form. It was predictable but also had me swooning at times. This book got me into the Christmas spirit and I rated it 4 stars.
8. Vox by Christina Dalcher: I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that kept me so consistently enraged. The premise of this one was equal parts fascinating and anger-inducing and had me thinking the whole way through. I rated this book 4 stars with a full review to come.
9. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood: I’m not a huge romance reader, but Ali Hazelwood always hits for me. I felt like this was a great book despite some infuriating miscommunication tropes. I rated this book 4 stars with a full review to come.

TBR Lists

As always, I was taking note all month long of book recs across the internet, particularly as many started releasing their favourite books of 2023 and most anticipated reads for 2024. Here are the books that ended up getting added to my TBR in December:

• House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Menard: described as a fantasy mix between Peaky Blinders and the Grishaverse, I couldn’t resist adding this one given that those are two of my favourite series.
• Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson: technically this is book 28 in Sanderson’s established universe (that I have not read) but it sounds as though it can be read in isolation. It’s marketed as a fantasy for lovers of The Princess Bride, of which I am an ardent fan.
• The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter: an epic, brutal fantasy involving powerful women AND dragons. I’m in.
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse: a fantasy based on pre-Columbian Americas with celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: this is a fantasy I’ve been recommended several times, but after reading All My Rage, I’m now super keen to get to this series.
• The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo: a historical fantasy set in the Spanish golden age and, most importantly, from the queen of fantasy herself. There is much I would do to get my hands on an ARC of this book. 

What I’m Loving Right Now

I’m grateful that December was mostly a month of rest because January is the near opposite of that. Because of this, I’ve spent some time over my holidays organizing myself, which is very therapeutic to me. I love feeling organized and prepared, so that’s really what most of What I’m Loving Right Now is focused on this month.

Specific things I’m loving include:

My New Legend Planner

I’m such a planner nerd, I always have a work one and a personal one on the go. This gorgeous planner is designed to focus on identifying and achieving goals, which felt perfect for heading into the new year. 

Notion 

In addition to my planners, I wanted something digital that could help me track all of the fun creative projects that I have on the go and personal projects that I’m juggling. I’ve seen Notion recommended several times and while I’m still learning the ins and outs of it, it’s already immensely helpful to have all the really specific aspects of the projects that I’m working on in one place.

Routines

I am such a routine person, it makes me feel infinitely more relaxed to follow a process that I’ve set for myself to maximize my happiness and productivity. Because I’ve had a decent-sized break, I’ve been able to build a few new routines, like walking daily, drinking more water, and organizing my day which I’m excited to bring into 2024. 

So that was December! A lot of great things happened in 2023, but I’m even more excited for what 2024 will bring.