December 2018 Reading Wrap-Up and Year-End Reflections

 

Happy New Year! I cannot believe how quickly 2018 has flown by.  I usually only do a wrap-up for the month, but I thought I’d reflect a little on the past year as well. Let’s get to it!

 

Books I read

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean (review)

The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (review)

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana (review)

The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

Pages and Co. by Anna James (review)

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri (review)

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

 

Books I acquired

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (charity shop)

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (charity shop)

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (charity shop)

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Braken (charity shop)

The Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn (used on Amazon)

Contact by Carl Sagan (used on Amazon)

Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon (used on Amazon)

Throne of Glass 1-4 by Sarah J. Maas (unhaul pile)

The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill (unhaul pile)

Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst (subscription box)

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson (subscription box)

The Lioness Rampant quartet by Tamora Pierce (Christmas present)

Furyborn by Claire Legrand (Christmas present)

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd (Christmas present)

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker (Christmas present)

Six of Crows collector’s edition by Leigh Bardugo (Christmas present)

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Christmas present)

How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin (Christmas giftcard)

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (Christmas giftcard)

The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark (Christmas giftcard)

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin (Christmas giftcard)

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (Christmas giftcard)

Nevermoor by Jessica Towsend (Christmas giftcard)

Vita Nostra by Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko (Christmas giftcard)

Snakewood by Adrian Selby (Christmas giftcard)

Torn by Rowena Miller (Christmas giftcard)

Whew! Lots of books came in this month, but to be fair, I didn’t pay full price on any of them (in case you were all worried about the state of my bank account).

 

Book post

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Enchantee by Gita Trelease

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

The Antidote by Shelley Sackier

This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson

 

NetGalley approvals

The Descendant of the Crane by Jean He

Descent of Shadows by Ryanne Glenn

The Furies by Katie Lowe

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

A Time of Blood by John Gwynne

Master of Sorrows by Justin Call

Kick the Moon by Muhammad Khan

 

 

2018 has been such a great year for reading, blogging, and YouTube. I hit a number of milestones this year including over 10,000 views and 450 followers on this blog, breaking 600 subscribers and 20,000 views on YouTube, and 1,500 followers on Twitter. I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who subscribes, follows, and engages with my platforms — you all are the best.

This was also a fantastic year for making friends!  I am lucky enough to have bookish pals across the UK and US, as well as in Canada, India, and Europe! Not only that, I’ve actually met a few of you at blogger meet-ups and events and become real life friends with the marvelous Judith and Asha. You all are the absolute best!

I read so much this year, and I feel like I’m beginning to figure out what books I like and should avoid. As a result, I managed to read 116 books this year and had an average rating of 4.2 stars. I like to think that I am a tough critic — I don’t have a problem writing negative reviews or giving books low ratings if I feel like they are deserved — so clearly I’ve been finding books I love. 2019 is going to be a fantastic year for new releases and I cannot wait to dive in. Keep an eye out for reading goals and resolutions, as well as a readathon announcement!

 

Here’s to 2019 being an even more amazing year!

 

 

What did you read in December? Was it a good reading year for you? What were some of your highlights? Let me know!