#december wrap-up

[lacebird]

@lacebird's december wrap-up | movies i watched in 2021:

♡ THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017)

“What am I? I move my mouth, like him. I make no sound, like him. What does that make me? All that I am,  all that I have ever been, brought me here to him. When he looks at me – the way he looks at me – he does not know what I lack or how I am incomplete. He sees me for what I am, as I am. He's happy to see me. Every time, every day. And now I can either save him or let him die.”

[wildwood-reader]

DECEMBER 2022 BOOK WRAP-UP

I finished 2 novels, 1 novella, 1 picture book, 2 non-fiction books and 1 volume of a manga. ✨️

This was likely my best reading month in 2022 which I'm very happy about. 👌🏻

The books will be in the order that I finished them. My favorite book¹ of the month will be marked with a 🌟.

Understanding Chinese Fantasy Genres by Jeremy Bai

◇ Non-Fiction

◇ Finished on December 1

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑

◆ What I Disliked: It wasn't nearly as comprehensive as I was hoping it would be, which I guess I should have seen coming given the number of pages, but it was still disappointing. The author did warn in the introduction of this book that it is there to give a brief overview over certain topics, but of course I didn't know that until I had it in my hands already. As a fanfic writer for C-drama characters with very limited research resources in English about the wuxia, xianxia and xuanhuan genres, I was very hopeful this might give me a much better understanding of how the genres, tropes, and cultivation techniques (specifically for xianxia) work, but unfortunately I didn't get as much out of it as I would have liked.

◆ What I Liked: Despite my initial disappointment, the author did touch on some things I didn't know yet, so it still held educative value for me and was worth the purchase. Especially explanations in regards to qi deviation and the like were quite helpful for my understanding of it. The author has a YT channel where he still makes videos about China and Chinese culture, so perhaps he'll release a sequel with more information in the future.

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The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, in collaboration with Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan (feat. illustrations by Cassandra Jean)

◇ Considered chronologically Book 0 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles

◇ Finished on December 5

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

◆ What I Disliked: The writing style felt a little bit clumsy at times in the beginning and it took me one or two stories to get used to it.

◆ What I Liked: Magnus is one of my favorite characters in the Shadowhunter world and I loved reading about all of his adventures before and during the existence of the characters we already know from the different series. Cassandra Jean's art was, as always, a beautiful bonus. Magnus has lived for a long time, so seeing the world and our mortality truly through his perspective offered a much better understanding about some of the choices he made throughout the differents book series set in the shadow world. This was the start of my re-read of the Shadowhunter Chronicles and I'm excited to revisit all the books in it I've already read before and the ones I have yet to read for the first time.

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The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton

◇ Finished on December 7

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

◆ What I Disliked: That it's so short, perhaps.

◆ What I Liked: From the whimsical rhymes to Tim Burton's enchanting art style, this was once again a delightful short read and a great bridge between Halloween and Christmas.

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🌟 The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

◇ Non-Fiction

◇ Finished on December 23

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

◆ What I Disliked: This is not really the author's fault at all and instead due to my very science-incompatible brain, but it was very hard for me to grasp the science a lot of the time. What probably also didn't help that was the fact that I decided to listen to the audiobook of this instead of reading it with my own two eyes; if I had, that might have made it a little easier for me to understand some of the things the author talked about in scientific terms.

◆ What I Liked: Despite my struggle to comprehend some of the things discussed in the book, the different ways the universe might end one day is a very fascinating topic and I had a lot of fun listening to the audiobook. The way she described things was very engaging with a touch of humor here and there (I guess I'll never know whether that one fire and that one explosion during her college days really weren't her fault 🤣) which made the experience quite enjoyable.

I learned a lot and found that Vacuum Decay (Possibility #4) was likely the most interesting way to me for the universe to end. The fifth possibility (I forgot what she called it) I've heard about before in a documentary and it was fun to hear about something I recognized and had a little bit of information about beforehand.

One of the coolest things I learned about was that it's possible with one of those million-dollar telescopes to look so far away (thus so far into the past since the light we see is billions of years old) into space that we can actually see evidence of the Big Bang, that kinda blew my mind and now I wish I could go somewhere with one of those telescopes where someone can show me that.

For those with a fondness for all things space and who enjoy hearing about the ways everything might end one day, I highly recommend it; I really enjoyed it.

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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

◇ Finished on December 26

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

◆ What I Disliked: Some of Dickens's expressions and wordings of the time that wouldn't fly today, obviously, but aside from that, nothing much.

◆ What I Liked: What I love most about this story is the notion that it's never too late to change yourself to the better, to right at least some of the wrongs you've committed in your life, to leave the dark path you've been walking on for so long and find one that lights you a better way.

What's also interesting is that even though Scrooge was very adamant and firm in his lack of sympathy in the beginning, he cracked and showed compassion almost immediately once the ghosts took him on his journey, which tells me that the uncaring grump is not just a mask for the people around Scrooge, but also for Scrooge himself, so much so that he seems to have forgotten that it's only a mask and has become convinced it's his true nature. In the end he was so scared of dying alone with no one to mourn him, especially after seeing all the love and grief expressed after Tiny Tim's passing in the potential future, that it made him realize how much he really longs to be loved. It's a great, nearly timeless story that still holds value today.

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Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

◇ Book 1 in The Infernal Devices trilogy

◇ Finished on December 29

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

◆ What I Disliked: The pacing and atmosphere felt a little bit off sometimes, but other than that, not much.

◆ What I Liked: The Infernal Devices is my favorite series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles, so I was really excited to start reading it again. Jem, my favorite character, was even more lovable than I remembered, as was Charlotte. I love the setting and the characters and the tension between them, as well as the mystery and the plot twist, they were very fun to rediscover. I look forward to continuing my re-read of the trilogy in January.

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Nana (Vol. 1) by Ai Yazawa

◇ Finished on December 31

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

◆ What I Disliked: Asano, obviously, and Shouji, even though that's not very relevant in this volume, yet. xD

◆ What I Liked: The complexity of the characters (*sigh* yes, yes, even Shouji in a way, though I am still not his biggest fan), the art style, pretty much almost everything. NANA has been one of my favorite manga series since I was a teenager. I also loved the live-action movies (especially the first one). I've been in the mood to re-read them, so it's fun to rediscover the story, even though I know it was never finished (which still makes me sad 🥲).

And that's it! It was a pretty good reading month, I enjoyed pretty much everything I read to varying degrees, so I'd say it went well. 😋

I haven't decided yet whether I want to make a post about my favorite books of the year, but maybe, we'll see.

Anyway, Happy New Year, everybody! 🎆✨️💖

¹ Only first reads are eligible for this, re-reads don’t count

[whilereadingandwalking]

December Wrap-Up

My final wrap-up of 2017! This month was a race to the finish, and yet, stunningly, I never felt rushed. What a perfect reading challenge for this year! I read some truly superb books this December, from the Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin to We Are Never Meeting in Real Life to YA gems like We Are Okay and Like Water. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson 

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett  

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 

Sula by Toni Morrison 

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby 

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour 

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing 

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi 

Like Water by Rebecca Podos 

No One Cares About Crazy People by Ron Powers 

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio 

The Atlas of Lost Cities by Aude de Tocqueville  

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin 

[theboywhocriedbooks]

FINALLY, after taking a sort-of internet break, here is my December Wrap-Up!!! Look forward to another video that should be up pretty soon!! 

[lacebird]

@lacebird’s december wrap-up | movies i watched in 2021:

♡ CRUELLA (2021)

“Love me into shape, I suppose, was the plan. And I tried. I really, I tried because I loved you. But the thing is, I'm not sweet Estella, try as I might. I never was. I'm Cruella, born brilliant, born bad, and a little bit mad. I am not like her. I'm better.”

[tinynavajoreads]

December Wrap-Up

Read a total of 6 books, which isn't much, but I enjoyed all of the books that I read this month! And I'll post a yearly wrap-up tomorrow about all of my reading in 2025.

[harasnicole]

I read 5 books in December // Reindeer Readathon Wrapup

I read 5 books in December // Reindeer Readathon Wrapup

This is the other wrap-up video I told you about that would come after the last video I posted here. Sorry it took me so long. I kept forgetting, and I’m still getting back into remembering that I have a blog. Anyway, in December, I participated in the month-long Reindeer Readathon and I was on Team Stocking (we lost, but it’s okay). There were nine prompts that I had found a book for each one,…

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[heavenlybookish]

Wrap-Up | December

Hello book loves, I hope everyone is doing well! It’s 2021! Happy New Year! I won’t be posting as much the first two weeks of the year because I have exams right now. However, I will try to post at least twice a week! As usual, you can find all my English reviews here and all my Dutch reviews here. Hoi boeklieverds, ik hoop dat het goed gaat met iedereen! Het is 2021! Gelukkig nieuwjaar…

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