December is… done?! Where did this month (and YEAR) go?!?! Decembers always tend to be whirlwinds of celebrations, seeing friends and family, and frantically trying to wrap everything up before the new year comes around once again. In case you’re curious, here’s what I was up to in December:
In December I read a total of 17 books (HOW?! I honestly have no idea):
- The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
- The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
- A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- The Hamlet by William Faulkner
- Woman and Labor by Olive Schreiner
- Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
- Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination by Toni Morrison
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Memorial by Alice Oswald
- Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
- Ann Veronica by H.G. Wells
I read a lot of fantastic books in December, which makes choosing a favorite quite difficult (as per usual). However, the book I’ve been thinking the most about this past month is definitely Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (which you can read my review of here). This novel exceeded all of my expectations and proved that not everything falls prey to the hype monster one hundred percent of the time!
For some reason it simultaneously feels like so much and nothing at all happened in December. In actuality, I guess a lot did occur: I flew back home from Oxford, transitioned back to living in the States, visited Wheaton, spent time with my family and friends, saw Watsky (!!!), celebrated Christmas, and read, read, read. It’s been strange being back home after living in Oxford for a few months, but I’ve really enjoyed simply spending time at home. I have plenty of prep reading to get through before term starts again, but I’ve also made sure to carve out some time to read for fun. I missed reading for pleasure so much!!
This month I also finished the third season of Fargo (SO ANGRY) and watched the new Star Wars movie, which I really enjoyed. (PORGS, people!)
Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:
- OXMAS | Holly Goes Abroad
- Feminist Fridays: Taylor Swift as a Problematic Poet
- Why I Love Character Maps | Discussion
- Spreading Blogger (and Christmas!) Cheer
- Feminist Fridays: Nonfiction for 2018
- Looking Back on 2017
Here are some posts that I loved reading this month (there are so many!!):
- Rick asks the age old question of what makes a book a classic
- Sarah kindly spreads some positive blogger love
- Briana highlights the amazing Project Gutenberg
- Jamie lists 42 books that will hit the big (and little!) screen in 2018
- Shar shares this handy flowchart for navigating rereads
- Grace gives insightful gift-giving advice for all sorts of readers
- Alise puts the spotlight on 5 girls that embody brains over brawn
- Hazel turns 10 YA books into adorable Christmas sweaters
- Cam shares 5 tips for writing book reviews
- Adam wonders what we mean when we call something “literary”
- Hannah discusses feeling lost amidst the pressures of “relevant” reading
How was your month of December? What was the best book you read? Did you do anything really fun or exciting? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
book oats 
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