I considered whether to even write a December wrap-up given that I’ve already posted my Best Books Read in 2025 list, but since December was such an epic month I figured why not?

The holidays are easily my favourite time of year. I love all the Christmas lights, the family traditions, the excuses to see loved ones, and perhaps most of all, the time off. This year I had a full two and a half weeks at home with baby girl and my husband and let me tell you, it was much needed.  

Having a little one at the holidays made things exponentially busier than they’d been in past years, but in all the best ways. We had a lot of coordination with families to make sure she got to see and celebrate with everyone, and while she’s still only 15 months, she is old enough to appreciate some Christmas magic, so we spent a good amount of time trying to bring the season to life for her. Seeing the shock and awe on her little face when she got to dive head-first into a ball pit in the middle of the living room will forever live inside my core memories.

Usually when life gets hectic, I have zero time to read, and most of December I felt like I wasn’t reading at all but looking back now, I somehow managed to squeeze in three whole books. This brought my annual total to a comfortable 49. If you had of asked me in January how many books I’d read this year, I probably would have said 12 at best, so I’m incredibly proud of this number, even if it is significantly smaller than years past. 

In December, I covered:

1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman: this might be the only book this year that made me ugly cry and I absolutely loved it. I genuinely loved the story of grumpy Ove, and even though there were serious and heavy themes laid throughout the narrative, I felt warm and fuzzy as often as I felt sad. This was such a beautiful novel and it won’t be my last Backman story. Five stars with a full review to come.
2. Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner: this is the second in the Fallen Gods high fantasy series and it was excellent. The found family that formed in the first book strained at the seams through most of this story, and the themes felt heavier at times than they did in the first, which added a lot more depth both to the characters and to the world around them. I really enjoyed this addition to the story and rated it 4 stars, with a full review to come.
3. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green: this story of mental illness and adolescence was a little outside my usual reading preferences, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. Green was able to depict mental illness in a way that I felt was very authentic, but I did have a little trouble finding the characters to be believable. I rated this one 3.5 stars.

TBR List

While much of my 2.5 weeks off has been spent chasing a now-running toddler in circles around the house, during naptimes I was able to take note of a handful of books that I’m excited to be adding to my TBR. I’m going to be attempting to leverage the library more often in the coming months, so these are some of the ones I’ll either be adding to my holds list or picking up depending on availability:

• Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber: I’ve seen a lot of hype for this book from lovers of the Once Upon A Broken Heart series, but I was pretty lukewarm on those books, so it took me a while to look into this newer release. That said, this urban fantasy that follows a girl destined to die unless she can find a magical object sounds really intriguing to me, so I’ve added it to my TBR.
• The Exorcism of Faeries by JL Vampa: a student/professor dark academia novel that follows the two main characters as they exorcize the fae possessing the good people of Dublin. This one is described as being somewhat in the same vein as Ninth House, which I absolutely loved, so I’m keen to give it a try.
• The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper: a reimagining of the lives of women enslaved in Pompeii’s brothels, this story follows Amara as she seeks to change her fortune and escape her circumstances. One of my goals for this year is to expand the genres I’m reading in more and The Wolf Den sounds exactly like my style of historical fiction. 
• Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum: this series of essays explores the meaning behind reading and promises quiet moments of introspection and reflection. I love a good book about books and have seen this one recommended a few times, so I’m looking forward to picking it up.
• The Second Death of Locke by VL Bovalino: I feel like I’ve seen this one a lot over the past month. It’s an epic romantic fantasy about a mage and a knight who must decide what they are willing to both protect and sacrifice when it comes to each other and to their realms. I love the combination of epic fantasy and romance, with a good balance between the two, and this one promises just that.

What I’m Loving Right Now

Having spent the last couple of weeks exclusively hanging out with my family, I’m coming into 2026 feeling really good. While things were very busy with a tornado of a toddler, I still managed to get a good amount of time to reflect and recentre on what’s important to me and what I want to accomplish in the new year. That in and of itself is making me happy, combined with some other regular life things as well. 

Here are a few highlights of what’s been making me happiest in these past few days:

Setting Reading Intentions for 2026

This year, instead of setting hard and fast goals for reading, I focused more on the concept of “intentions”. This season of life is so chaotic that I wanted to make sure that the limited time I get to spend reading is meaningful, and I’m feeling really good about the direction I’m headed in. I wrote a full post on my reading intentions here if you’re interested.

Refocusing My Content In Ways That Spark Joy

By the end of 2026, I was feeling a little burnt out on my book account on Instagram. On the blog here, I generally only prioritize content I really care about, things I feel passionate about discussing, but the pressure to show up on Instagram is very different. The whole system is designed to have you constantly churning out content regardless of quality just to remain relevant, and I felt like the things I was producing were for the benefit of the algorithm, not because I was creatively invested.

I took some time on the break to step back and remind myself of what I actually enjoy pouring my creativity into, and I’ve recentered my content to focus more on that. It’ll mean more varied content then just explicitly posts related to books, but that’s where I currently am. I’m enjoying romanticizing the little things in life, indulging in small luxuries, seeking coziness wherever I can find it. These areas often intersect with my reading life, but sometimes they don’t, and I’m enjoying finding ways to highlight them anyway. At the end of the day, my accounts are for my own enjoyment, and I’m prioritizing keeping that at the forefront of my mentality in 2026. 

The Lightspeed Evolution of Toddlerhood

Wow do kids ever grow fast!! I have nieces and nephews so conceptually, I do understand that kids really put the passing of time into perspective, but nothing could have prepared me for experiencing it firsthand through the eyes of my daughter. I feel like every day she wakes up an entirely new person, one with more words, more abilities, and a sharper sense of the world around her. I feel like I’m the one trying to catch up to all the ways that she’s developing, and I’m constantly amazed at how quickly she’s growing and grasping new skills. Having more than two weeks to just hang out with her and really witness this growth in real-time was such a blessing and I can’t wait to continue learning about the little human she’s becoming.

So that was December! I’m ready to take on 2026 and excited to see all that it has in store.