December 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome to my very last blog post of 2023! 

I don't think I've ever cut it this close with my December wrap-up before: it's currently 9 PM where I live, so that means that the majority of the world has already crossed into the new year. It's really weird, and slightly creepy when you think about it.

Anyway, let's talk about my reading for the final month of the year. In December, I read a grand total of 12 books: 4 novels, 3 novellas, 3 graphic novels, and 2 manga volumes. I also DNF'd two books, and 3 of the books read (actually, all of the novellas) were read via audiobook. 

This was an overall sucky month for me, personally, so I'm hoping that I can actually leave that negative energy in 2023 and start the new year fresh. I know it doesn't usually work out like that, but I'm manifesting it with all I have to give. 

Let's get into the wrap-up!

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Novels

1. Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.43 CAWPILE
Page count: 448 pages
Day(s) read: 12.01 - 12.05
Goodreads thoughts: I am upsetti spaghetti, that's what I am. Octavia E. Butler either had to be a psychic or a time traveler, because there are things in this book that are wayyyy to realistic, especially for the times. It's more than a little eerie. I didn't love the addition of Larkin as a narrator, but I understand why it was necessary. And now I need to go curl up in a ball and rock back and forth, Squidward style.

2. The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (translated from the Chinese by Joel Martinsen)
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 512 pages
Day(s) read: 12.07 - 12.21
Goodreads thoughts: I kind of got lost in the sauce for a minute there, but the last two hundred pages really escalated to a point that I honestly wasn’t expecting. I’m very excited to read the final book in the trilogy!

3. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 483 pages
Day(s) read: 12.19 - 12.25
Goodreads thoughts: This was a great beginning to a new series, one that I'm sure will be very fun overall. I enjoyed the distinct voice of Amina, and of course it's always a bonus to read about a culture/history/mythology that I am unfamiliar with. I'm looking forward to continuing this series.

4. Death's End by Cixin Liu (translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu)
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 604 pages
Day(s) read: 12.26 - 12.31
Goodreads thoughts: Now I pride myself on my intelligence; I know that I'm smart. But this series? I feel like a worm reading this series...I'm too dumb for this shit lol

Novellas

1. Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.43 CAWPILE
Page count: 272 pages (6 hrs 23 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.05
Goodreads thoughts: Lift makes me laugh. It's nice to have such a carefree character in a story with such grave responsibilities and consequences. Plus, the postscript has me eagerly anticipating when she takes a more central role in the Stormlight Archive.

2. Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot)
Genre: Literary Fiction, Speculative, Magical Realism, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 stars/4.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 173 pages (4 hrs 40 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.08
Goodreads thoughts: These books have gotten so repetitive. The first was novel, the second bearable, but the third and forth were just boring, because absolutely nothing changes. I could recite the rules of the coffee shop in my sleep at this point. If there is another book in this series, I think I might pass it by. I'm just done with this storyline.

3. Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 293 pages (7 hrs 5 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.13 - 12.14
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

Graphic Novels

1. The Tea Dragon Festival by K. O'Neill
Genre: Fantasy, Coming of Age, Middle-Grade
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 135 pages
Day(s) read: 12.25
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

2. The Tea Dragon Tapestry by K. O'Neill
Genre: Fantasy, Coming of Age, Middle-Grade
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.00 CAWPILE 
Page count: 135 pages
Day(s) read: 12.25
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

3. Heartstopper vol. 5 by Alice Oseman
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4.5 stars/8.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 336 pages
Day(s) read: 12.31
Goodreads thoughts: A perfect ending to 2023. I needed some sweetness before the new year.

Manga

1. Toilet Bound Hanako-kun vol. 0 by AidaIro
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Shonen
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 194 pages
Day(s) read: 12.01
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

2. Komi Can't Communicate vol. 24 by Tomohito Oda
Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age, Shonen
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 192 pages
Day(s) read: 12.30
Goodreads thoughts: ...eh

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Total page count: 3,777 pages

Favorite book of December: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

DNFs this month: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
                                Komi Can't Communicate vol. 25 by Tomohito Oda (I also DNF'd this series)

No unfinished books this month

December book haul: Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
                                        Heartstopper vol. 5 by Alice Oseman
                                        How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
                                        The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
                                        Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
                                        Castle in the Air by Diana Wynn Jones
                                        When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry

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Alrighty folks, there you have it! I hope your December went way better than mine, and here's to a brand new year. 

See you in 2024!