December was… interesting.
There were a lot of things that happened last month, and a majority of them were fortunately good! Overall I feel like it was just crammed with A Lot: midterms, winter break, rushing to finish my Goodreads challenge, dance.
And it wasn’t a bad way to end the year either! Even though I finished like three books in the last hour of the year, and still had breakdowns, it was definitely not the worst way 2018 could have ended, and for that I’m thankful.
I am so proud of myself for how much I read in December, because I read 16 books, aka the number I needed to finish my 100 books Goodreads reading challenge! To be fair, only 5/16 were actual books of prose, but I’M STILL IMMENSELY PROUD!!
This month I also got 8 books for the holidays, and I’m so happy about them all! I didn’t realize until a week after that they were all queer and honestly? I should have seen that coming. Half of them I’ve already read but I loved them so much I wanted to own them!
- The Prince and the Dressmaker Jen Wang // so cute! the art is beautiful ★★★★☆
- Spinning Tillie Walden // art is stunning but I didn’t connect to it ★★★☆☆ [2.5]
- Shoot Around (season #1) Suspu // so amazingly diverse! the characters are all so cute and I love them and I love their found family ★★★★☆
- The Fever King Victoria Lee // AMAZING I LOVE IT SO MUCH?? the ending makes me want to die but the characters and the romance is so good (best slowburn ever) ★★★★★
- The Lightning Thief (graphic novel) Robert Venditti // why do the characters look so ugly and why is everything so choppy? ★★☆☆☆
- Shoot Around (season #2) Suspu // even funnier than #1 and I love the ending ★★★★★ [4.5]
- The Sea of Monsters (GN) Robert Venditti // better than #1 but nothing special ★★★☆☆
- Flowerpot Leehama // didn’t know it was on hiatus so I’m sad? but the art is really nice and everything is so cute! ★★★★☆
- Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo // my third reread! I hate it so much! why do I keep being self-destructive and rereading it! ★★★★★
- Clockwork Angel Cassandra Clare // look at me reading Cassie who am I?? I surprisingly liked this and I’m intrigued about the next books (even though I’ve spoiled myself) ★★★★☆
- The Titan’s Curse (GN) Robert Venditti // definitely better than the first two but -1 star for not including the dam scene ★★★☆☆
- In Real Life Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang // didn’t get it at all and was very confused ★★☆☆☆
- Crooked Kingdom Leigh Bardugo // third reread! why do I do this to myself! I hate it with my whole heart! ★★★★★
- sunfish Shelby Eileen // better than her debut but still couldn’t connect as much ★★★☆☆
- For Every One Jason Reynolds // my first Jason Reynolds book and I liked it! love his metaphors so much ★★★★☆
- The Brightsiders Jen Wilde // I liked this a lot more than I expected even though it was kinda cringy? it made me happy and I was really engaged! ★★★★☆
book haul?
This month was the month of holidays, so I got a lot of books!
Thank you to Ilsa @ A Whisper Of Ink for The Foxhole Court and Summer of Salt, I love them both so very much! And thank you to my family for the other 6 books, they know me so well!! (Just kidding I sent them a wishlist comprised of those 6 books.)
favorite book?
The Fever King was absolutely AMAZING and I literally cannot wait for the rest of the world to be able to read it. I’m in love with the characters, the writing, the romance, and it was just so so good. (Even though the ending made me want to shoot myself!)
disappointment?
I wasn’t sorely disappointed by anything in December, thankfully. I guess I thought I would enjoy In Real Life more but it wasn’t like a huge crushing disappointment??
updates?
- Even though I had half my winter break, I still sucked at interacting! But it’s the new year and I am DETERMINED to do better. I’m hoping to return to replying comments and commenting on others’ blogs on time again!
- I definitely feel like December put me in a blogging mood, though, with all the end-year wrap-up posts. (They’re some of my favorites to write and I got so excited to sit down at my computer to type them up!)
top posts?
favorite post?
My favorite post was probably the post I wrote about all the books I cried/teared up over in 2018 (linked above!). It was a lot of fun to think back on those emotion-destroying books, and I liked giving those books more exposure to destroy other people’s feelings too!!
- I wrote a poem for my English class as part of my midterm and that was pretty much all the writing I did this month!
- (But I’m really proud of it and going over my writing made me really nostalgic for when I wrote a lot.)
- So there was a LOT going on in December. First of all, I had midterms, and of the 4/7 grades I have received, I did really well on them!! They were all very stressful, art most of all (I didn’t even finish painting my sculpture on time), but I survived. Mostly.
- There was also a lovely winter break, which I’m thankfully still on! Christmas passed, and like I’ve said before, I do all the “traditions” of putting up a tree and decorating, and opening gifts on Christmas day, but not as a Christian.
- Then my family and I took an impromptu trip to Dallas, where I got new earbuds and lost them a day later! It was cold but we got to visit some cool places, like a museum and Reunion Tower.
- I started watching just the tiniest bit of The Good Place on the road trip, but I did get to watch Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse, which was so good! I loved it and the characters a lot, and I’ve had one song from the soundtrack stuck constantly in my head.
- There was also a pretty big thing that happened near Christmas and it’s made me really happy! I’m not entirely comfortable talking about it here, but if you follow me on Twitter then you probably know what I’m talking about.
- My mental health was kind of all over the place. Definitely was not the best month, but the good days outnumbered the bad, luckily! I would say it was from school stress, but it really wasn’t confined to just that. (Prepared for my mental health to plummet when I go back to school though!)
- Oh! I almost forgot: At the very beginning of the month, I had a dance convention/competition. It was my first time in the most advanced room and it was a lot of fun! I can tell I’ve improved a lot more in dance, since I picked up choreography quickly and actually understood what was being taught!!!
hm I wonder why being on a break from school means I actually accomplish things
- read 16 books ✓ (YES I DID! I would not have let myself read any less because I’m so competitive)
- read more webcomics ✓ (I did!! it was more graphic novel month than webcomic month but still!)
- write & upload ARC reviews! ㄨ (oh my god I have two unread overdue ARCs oh jesus)
- take a break from writing! ✓ (I only wrote because I had to and I feel a lot better and more inspired for writing in 2019!)
- reply to comments from June to December? ㄨ (yeah. sure)
- do not go to sleep past 1:30 during the break ✓ (I actually did this! I’m so surprised?? usually I stayed up till 11:30-12:30 and not later!)
- make plans to hang out with friends! ✓ (yes!! I love my friends a lot)
- read 9 books (reading 8-9 books a month will keep me on track for reading 100 books this year instead of rushing to finish like I did in 2018)
- read my overdue ARCs!!! (this is like. really important lmao)
- write some reviews! (I’m feeling in the mood to write reviews so hopefully?)
- start up poetry again? (this is one of my 2019 goals and I want to get an early start!)
- start plotting my WIP again (my WIP has such a bad plot. aka no plot)
- stretch (I want to improve my flexibility but I also haven’t stretched in over a week so it’s going to be painful)
- practice! self! care! (meaning: drink water! get enough sleep! take care of my face! don’t procrastinate!)
Going back to school. I am really not looking forward to returning for my second semester, especially since when I did this in 2018, I got into a depressive phase that lasted five months. Really hoping I can manage my time and stress better this sem but who knows with me!
Lots of blogging! At least, I hope so? I really want to get back into the habit of commenting on blogs daily and replying to my own comments ON TIME, instead of just, you know, posting things and leaving it at that. Also, my 2-year blogiversary is this month (the 22nd) and I’m already feeling nostalgic!!
Things going “back to normal”. Aka, I won’t be rushing to finish my Goodreads challenge so I can read the regular prose YA novels. And I’ll be going back to dance and Saturday rehearsals early in the morning. And I’ll hopefully start writing again and reviewing again and just DOING THINGS.
You read 16 books?! WOW. And oh yes Jen Wilde is queeen!!!
I’m glad that December was a pretty good month for you and I can’t wait to see where you go in 2019!!! xxxx
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Haha I’m a bit shocked at myself for reading that many books too! And I’m super glad I liked my first book from Jen Wilde!! Thank you so much Rhi, and I hope you have a great 2019 as well <3
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I only saw this now!! No worries – here’s to amazing years 💜
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looks like your December was a great month! I can’t wait to see where 2019 bring you and your blog!
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It was a pretty good month, Noel, thank you! And you’re so sweet, I hope 2019 is as kind to you as you are! <3
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Wow, I honestly love your moments of the month posts omg. You read so many great books (s/o to Six of Crows even though it’s so painful sksksk) and I’m glad December was a good month for you! Have a lovely 2019!
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TAASIA!! Thank you so much aahh I always love writing these posts but never know if others like reading it as much 🙈 And yess Six of Crows is amazing even though it’s painful — and I hope you have a great 2019 as well !! <3
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You read a lot of books with beautiful covers!
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What can I say, I have great taste 😎😂
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WHOOO congrats on finishing your Goodreads challenge!! Also, how did I not know you danced?? I grew up dancing ballet and competing too, so hearing about other people who do the same kinda touches me in the feels <3 Congrats also on finishing your midterms :) I hope you hear great news on the rest. *fingers crossed* for you. Also, I'm so happy you like Clockwork Angel!! I definitely think The Infernal Devices trilogy is Cassandra Clare's best work.
I hope you have an ever better January <3
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Thank you so much Tiffany!! And omg I had no idea you danced either?? I love finding out that other people dance as well! Did you do any other styles or just ballet? <3 And aah thank you so much! I know school was eating up a lot of time for you so I hope it gets better in 2019 <3 And I have to say that I'm enjoying TID a lot more than TMI lmao!
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YESSS! So happy that you enjoy it more <3 I danced mainly ballet but I also did a little bit of contemporary (spoiler alert i was horrible at it) but it was still super fun :) Best wishes for 2019!!
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16 Books in December is so great. I always struggle to read anything in December. I’m glad that the good days outweigh the bad. :)
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Thank you so much Annemieke!! I always read a lot more on breaks from school haha. Hope you have a lovely 2019!! <3
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16 books is amazing! And I’m happy to hear you enjoyed The Fever King! It’s one of my anticipated reads of the year. :) And congrats on your midterms! I hope your second semester is a good and healthy one. <3
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Aaahh thank you, Kathy!! Yess, The Fever King is sooo good and I really hope you love it if you get the chance to read it this year! <3 Thank you so much, I hope your 2019 is as lovely as you are!!
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Ahh congratulations on your goodreads challenge and you’ve read so much, that’s amazing! I’m so curious about The Princess and the Dressmaker, that one sounds really good. And The Fever King, all of this high praise is making me SO curious to read that one, I can’t wait for it to be released :)
I’m glad to hear this month was overall good and I hope that you’ll manage to practice self-care, I know how hard it can be at times, but fingers crossed you can do it, little by little. I’m sending you all the love <3
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Aahh thank you so much Marie!! You are the sweetest <3 and yess I can't think of one negative review I've read of The Fever King — I hope you love it if you read it this year!! And thank you, I hope you are able to practice some self-care this month as well since I know it's something you (and everyone!) has a hard time with <3
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I didn’t know you recently rated a book FIVE stars. i must check out the fever king ASAP. And i hope you get to do all the things, like getting back into commenting and dance and reading and doing things oN TIME! And wow i’m so proud of you for not staying up too late? I have been the opposite (well for me, anyways) as in like I’m going to bed pretttyyy late because of the holidays! And I don’t know how I’m going to wake up early for school RIP me. I really really hope you start poetry again BECAUSE LIKE YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD WRITER and i love your poems jhdfjdfhdgf. ALSO YOU BETTER PRACTICE SELF CARE AND TREAT YOURSELF LIKE A QUEEN.
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okay I genuinely thought I rated more books 5 stars in 2018 but literally like half of them were rereads??? I am in shock. and aahh THANK YOU!!! I’m starting to slowly slip myself back into commenting again (though I still have a long way to go lmao) and nooo go to bed early! I mean I literally go to sleep at 12 and wake up at 11 every day so at least it’s…..consistent? and aahh thank you so much! I was having a bad night last night and I wrote a really bad poem but it was something lmao
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1) I go to sleep at 12 everynight to and wake up at 11. oops
2) YOU WROTE A POEM SEND IT TO ME.
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I’m glad you had a nice break! And you got some great books for the holiday!
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Thank you so much Briana! I hope you have a lovely 2019 and a great reading year!! <3
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Oh! I’m so jealous of your December reading because I literally only read one book in December. Opps. And I LOVE DALLAS. Meaning, I live only an hr from the city and love getting to visit downtown, haha. I don’t want to live here though, because I want to live in a city with A BETTER MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM. And I just love the East Coast SO MUCH!
Okay, back to talking about your December! Dance sounds so fun! And that very happy event is so exciting!!! So happy for you!
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Aahh one book is great Elizabeth!! It’s one book more than nothing haha. And oh that’s so great! I live about an hour away from downtown Austin and I have to say I like it more than Dallas, though Austin’s transportation isn’t any better than Dallas haha. And aww, thank you so much, Elizabeth!! I hope you have a fantastic 2019 <3
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Congrats on managing to finish your Goodreads goal – wow!! I’m glad you liked The Prince and the Dressmaker! That was one of my favorite graphic novels from the year ☺️ And I also LOVED Into the Spider Verse!!! Happy New Year, and good luck with your January goals!
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Thank you so much, Margaret! The Prince and the Dressmaker was so so sweet, I adored it. And yesss Into the Spider Verse was fantastic! Hope your 2019 is as lovely as you are!! <3
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Ahh, I’m so glad your December was pretty good (minus the midterms, but congrats on doing well on them)! The dance convention sounds really cool, and it’s always such a good feeling to see your improvement, too.
You went to Dallas?! That’s kind of my city- I mean, I don’t live in Dallas proper, but when people ask where I’m from, I always say Dallas. The Reunion Tower view is SO pretty, and even though I feel as if there’s nothing to do in Dallas sometimes, it really is such a cool city with lots of cool stuff, I hope you had fun. :) If you don’t mind saying, what museum did y’all go to? There are a few really interesting ones downtown (I think my favorite is The Sixth Floor Museum).
I hope you have a great January, and that you enjoy the rest of your break!
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Thank you so much, Olivia!! And yess it feels great when I can see my improvement in dance, especially since I’ve never felt particularly confident about it haha!
Aww, your whole thing with Dallas is similar to me and Austin! I mean, don’t live in the city, but I always say Austin when people ask me where I’m from, just like you and Dallas haha! And yesss the Reunion Tower had such gorgeous views and I’m so glad I went! And I went to the Perot museum! We were using a city pass so we didn’t visit any other museums haha (but I just googled the Sixth Floor Museum and it sounds so cool!)
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Ahh, that’s so cool! I’ve been to Austin a few times and it was really pretty. OH, The Perot Museum is amazing, I went there on a field trip once and it was so cool?! I should go back sometime. XD I’m glad you had fun!
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I also read fever king. I have to say I was disappointed 😞
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Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! I really loved the book haha
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Yeah, I saw. I probably overhyped it for myself. Glad you enjoyed it so much 😀
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Overhyping tends to ruin a lot of books for me too haha! Hope your next reads are better <3
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It sounds like you had a very full on December May, but wow you got through so many books I’m actually a little jealous! :) The Six of Crows duology is one I need to re-read, and one I will likely re-read over and over again. It’s just impossible to resist right? Also I’m so so glad you enjoyed Clockwork Angel. Is it the first book by Cassandra Clare you’ve read? The Infernal Devices is my favourite of her series so far so if it is you’ve picked the best to start out on.
Your trip to Dallas sounds like it was fun (except the whole losing your new earbuds thing) and I’ve heard so many amazing things about Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse. I really want to see if myself soon.
Great post, good luck for you goals for next month and I hope you have a brilliant 2019 as well. :) <3
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I SEE MY FAVOURITE WEBTOON/WEBCOMIC/JUST FAVOURITE COMIC IN GENERAL SHOOT AROUND I’M SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED IT
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you: there was a pretty big thing that happened near christmas
me: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe
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