December 2025 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
I can't believe it's New Year's Eve. Tomorrow is a brand new year! I'm not sure how I feel about that...I'm not ready yet. But at the same time, I've been setting up my 2026 stuff since September, so one could argue that I'm well past ready.
Enough talk about next year. I still need to talk about December!
In the month of December, I read a grand total of 11 books: 9 novels, 1 nonfiction, and 1 manga volume. 4 were from the library, 2 were from my physical TBR, 4 were books that I bought this year, and 1 was a reread. I participated in Bella's Naughty or Nice-athon for the first three weeks of December, and 9 of these books were my TBR (the last two I read after the readathon ended). 6 of the books were translated from another language, and I even added a new country to my Read Around the World checklist. There was a mix of genres, from fantasy and horror to literary fiction and memoir. 2 books were YA and the rest were adult.
Let's go into some detail!
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Novels
1. Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Translated from the French by Grace Frick
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 out of 5 stars/7.56 CAWPILE
Page count: 347 pages
Day(s) read: 12.02 - 12.13
Final thoughts: This was excellent. I knew in my heart that it would be, but it still bears mentioning. The prose was slow and introspective and reminded me quite a lot of journals and other writings from that time period (~100 CE), like Seneca's Letters From a Stoic. I learned quite a bit about Hadrian and his various deeds and projects (for example, did you know that Hadrian is responsible for commissioning the Pantheon to be built? He also named Palestine. Like, he gave that stretch of land the name Palestine. I thought that was fascinating). He did so much for the Roman Empire, I'm actually quite impressed by him.
2. Dead Souls by Nikolay Gogol
Translated from the Russian by Robert A. Maguire
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 out of 5 stars/7.50 CAWPILE
Page count: 464 pages
Day(s) read: 12.04 - 12.29
Final thoughts: Not at all what I was expecting, going into it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Given that it's satire, it's no surprise that the prose is over-the-top dramatic and nearly inconceivable to comprehend, but that only adds to its charm. I wish Gogol hadn't burned the manuscript, because I would have loved to have seen where the story was supposed to go.
All that being said, it was incredibly slow going. If I hadn't managed to find the audiobook and listen to part two instead, I'm not sure I would have been able to finish it within the month. The writing was beautiful, but so dense! It took me forever just to get through a single page.
3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Means of reading: Mixed Media
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 out of 5 stars/5.59 CAWPILE
Page count: 288 pages (7 hrs 24 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.08 - 12.09
Final thoughts: It feels a bit sacrilegious to only give this book 3 stars, but it genuinely feels like a three star read. I by no means hated it, but I didn't particularly enjoy it, either. It was just...middle of the road for me. I can't tell if this is because I'm too depressed, or not depressed enough (I say this as a joke, but honestly I do think you have to be in the right headspace to truly enjoy this book).
The thing is, I completely understand Esther as a character, and through her I understand the author, Sylvia. If anything, I can confirm that Sylvia really was going through it because the things that Esther is feeling are exactly what I was feeling when I was at my lowest point. It came across as very authentic to me. I just wasn't emotionally affected by what was happening on page. If I had read it 8 years ago, maybe that would have been different.
4. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 653 pages
Day(s) read: 12.10 - 12.11
Final thoughts: Very good! I still think The Shining is better, but I do think I like this book more than Pet Sematary. I don't know...that one was more introspective and emotional, whereas this was more the classic monster horror story. While there were definitely some creepy scenes, I didn't really feel all that scared by the book (though I did have some rather impressive nightmares). I was more emotionally attached to the characters in this book, and the deaths of some characters really got to me, not gonna lie. I also appreciated the ending and the absence of a certain trope that is popular in monster stories. I can't say much because spoilers, but if you know, you know.
5. The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
Translated from the Norwegian by Elizabeth Rokkan
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 out of 5 stars/7.05 CAWPILE
Page count: 139 pages
Day(s) read: 12.13 - 12.15
Final thoughts: I wasn't expecting this book to rip my heart out and stomp on it, but here we are I guess. I thought this was going to be a sort of magical realism story like Spirited Away, but no. It's Norwegian Bridge to Terabithia. Just child trauma and uncontrollable tears everywhere.
What an atmosphere, though. I can see why Emma loves this book so much, the descriptions of the ice and snow are amazing. I could quite literally feel the cold as I was reading. And while there wasn't much about Norwegian life or culture, I still felt deeply attached to these characters because of my heritage. I'm so glad this was my first Norwegian novel that I read.
6. Babel by R.F. Kuang (REREAD)
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 out of 5 stars/9.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 544 pages
Day(s) read: 12.15 - 12.21
Final thoughts: Read for the Game of Tomes book club.
This was a great reread. I'm pretty sure that Babel is my favorite R.F. Kuang book, but I'll have to do a reread of The Poppy War trilogy to be sure. I love the themes explored, from education and translation to colonialism and revolution. This book just doesn't miss. It's very, very close to being a perfect novel in my opinion, at least as close to perfect as a book can get.
The second half of the book is so intense that hardly a page went by where I didn't highlight at least something. Most pages had multiple lines, if not whole paragraphs, highlighted.
7. A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.68 CAWPILE
Page count: 352 pages
Day(s) read: 12.17 - 12.18
Final thoughts: This was Erin A. Craig's adult debut, and while I didn't like it quite as much as her YA novels, I still thought it was very good. I was truly fascinated by the premise, I just think that there was a little too much going on. It was definitely not the same caliber as her YA. I think maybe she was just a bit overambitious. That being said, I definitely still enjoyed my time with the story. I have learned a new piece of mythology/folklore, which you know I always appreciate. I will absolutely be looking up more about Scottish vampires. The worldbuilding was solid, but the characters did not feel quite as fleshed out as her usual ilk.
8. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 out of 5 stars/5.70 CAWPILE
Page count: 366 pages
Day(s) read: 12.18 - 12.22
Final thoughts: Well, that made me cry. I wasn't expecting that. In fact, I was actually considering DNFing about 100 pages through, because I wasn't feeling very attached or emotionally involved, so I put it down to think, and then when I picked it back up I ended up finishing it in one sitting. I was having issues with the writing, it felt very detached and empty. However, the characters sealed the deal for me. Maybe because I also had a horrible middle-school experience, but I felt so protective over all of the characters, but especially Kokoro and Ureshino since they were both dealing with bullies. Aki's backstory was painful to read about and made me tear up, but it was Rion's life that made those tears fall.
9. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien
Means of reading: Mixed Media
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 out of 5 stars/5.43 CAWPILE
Page count: 313 pages (7 hrs 51 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.24 - 12.28
Final thoughts: I thought this was fine. I liked that the audiobook was narrated by Christopher Lee, that felt very appropriate and made my LOTR-loving heart very happy. But honestly I just wasn't that invested in the story or the characters. Plus a shorter version of this story was already told in The Silmarillion, which I read a few months ago. This was just an expanded version. I probably won't end up keeping my copy, just because I don't think I'll ever feel the need to reread it.
Nonfiction
1. Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez
Translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
Means of reading: Audiobook
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 352 pages (13 hrs 45 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 12.01 - 12.06
Final thoughts: I thought this was very intriguing, and somehow a concept that only Mariana Enriquez could have come up with and execute well. Essentially, she is walking the reader through the various cemeteries that she has visited throughout the years. Interspersed are historical facts about the tenants of the various cemeteries, as well as personal anecdotes about her own history, the friends she stays with and meets while traveling, and her connections to the people she had come to pay homage to at their final resting places.
Speaking about the audiobook, I thought it was very well done. I enjoyed the narrator's voice and the descriptions were very strong. I simply wish I had a physical copy to flip through as well, as I'm sure that there are pictures sprinkled throughout, and I really wanted visual aids to help picture the places being described.
Manga
1. The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 6 by Mokumokuren
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 204 pages
Day(s) read: 12.30 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: N/A
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Total page count: 4,022 pages (29 hrs total audio)
Favorite book of December (not including Babel): Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
No unfinished books this month
No DNFs this month
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And that's a wrap, both on December and 2025! What a year, huh?
I'd love to know what your favorite book of December was! Leave a comment below, or DM me on Instagram (link in sidebar under the heading "Socials").
Until next year, friends!
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