Oh, wow! It’s December tomorrow! We’re going to get a Christmas tree this afternoon, so I think it will soon start to feel like December in our house, but as of right now, I can’t quite process it yet. My favorite reading season has drawn to a close, and I of course still had some books I didn’t get to, largely due to trying to wrap up 2023 reading challenges and goals. I have a few books I want to prioritize in December, based on their holiday vibes, but other than that I think I am going to steer clear of a Winter TBR. Let 2024 bring whatever it will. I want to start the year off reading whatever I feel like, and I think that will be great.
I did have some pretty excellent reading experiences in November, and some just okay ones. Here’s what I read:
Iron Flame, by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower 2023): Yes, I, like the rest of the romantsy world, bought and read the second in the Empyrean series this month, and although I’ve been seeing mixed reviews, I loved it as much as the first. The violence and the steam is not for the faint of heart (maybe the most open door I’ve ever read?? while at my 4 year old’s gymnastics class??), but these characters and this twisty plot have captured my imagination that’s for sure. Full review to come.
The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young (Delacorte Press 2023): I lovvved my reading experience with this one, which I devoured in just a handful of days. It’s so fun to get lost in a story, and this one did that for me. I loved the twists and felt June’s desperation to figure out what was happening right along with her. Read my full review here. 
Remember Us, by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books 2023): It’s no secret I’m a Jackie Woodson fangirl, and her newest middle grade novel is full of just what I’ve come to expect from her: a slim character-driven work full of heart, emotion, and gosh darn beautiful writing. It’s hard to parse out the intended audience for each of her novels because she doesn’t alter the quality in the least. Full review to come.
The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich; read by the author (HarperAudio 2021): So glad I snuck this audiobook in here this month during Native American Heritage Month. I’ve had this book on my shelf for over a year, and was excited the author reads the audio herself. It’s got great narrative voice and a weird little plot, and has a unique setting of a small bookstore in Minneapolis during 2020, the epicenter of so much of the racial reckoning that happened that year. Read my full review here.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor 2017): The second in the Wayward Children series is a prequel showing the backstory for one of my favorite characters from the first. It wasn’t quite as “fun” as the first one was, but still top notch writing and a very clever premise. Excited to continue making my way through this series. Full review to come.
Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, by David Litt (HarperAudio 2017): This was not the Obama book I thought I was going to be listening to this month (after getting a rec for Grace from a booksta friend), but I found this one on Hoopla too, and it’s been on my bookshelf for years! This was fun and the author grew on me over the course of the book, although it kept to pretty surface-level behind-the-scenes White House shenanigans. Full review to come.
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers 2023): Read this one to fill in a reading challenge, even though I normally wouldn’t be caught dead reading about summer camp during November (and which probably effected my rating, honestly). It definitely brought me back to my camper and counselor years, and gave very interesting perspective into that feeling of not being enough to fit in one group but too much to fit in the other. Full review to come.
My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix, by Kalynn Bayron; narrated by Clifford Samuel (Macmillan Audio 2023): I finished this at the beginning of the month, and while I thought it was a great concept and atmospheric, it didn’t quite do what I was hoping. Still looking forward to this author’s newest though. Read my full review here.
The Woman in Me, by Britney Spears; narrated by Michelle Williams (Simon & Schuster Audio 2023): This felt like an obligation as a millennial, and while it’s not one I’m regretting, I didn’t find it as compelling as a lot of readers have. I think Britney’s story needed to be told, and told by her, but I think it could have just as easily been done in a long form journalism piece than an entire book. Full review to come (probably, because I already took the pic with all my old mix CDs).
I also read the majority of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, but rather than cram the remaining section into the last few days of November to have it done as planned (for Native American Heritage Month + Nonfiction November), I’m going to continue to savor it a little bit into December. It’s truly a gift and I am so grateful for my reading experience of this one.
December is upon us, friends, with all the stress and coziness and tasty treats that implies! I hope you find some snuggly reading time among it all!
She Can't Stop Reading 