December Wrap-Up 2019

How is it the last month of the year already?! I’m already writing my wrap-up for the end of the year and that feels ridiculous! I ended my year on a high with reading though, with a lot of graphic novels that i’d been meaning to get through. Let’s take a look at what i read in December.

My Brothers Husband Vol 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second volume of My Brothers Husband for a month or two since i read the first, and i jumped right in to it once i had it in my hands. I absolutely adore this manga series and how precious and wholesome it is. I cannot express how much i truly adore it. It follows a heartbroken family in Japan as they mourn their brothers death and are introduced to his Canadian husband. It’s LGBTQ+, sweet, funny and just overwhelmingly adorable.

The Bad Doctor by Ian Williams
I picked up The Bad Doctor because i’d heard some good things about it. It passed me by when it was released, and whereas i found it an easy and funny graphic novel, i can’t say it really struck me. I have an interest in anything medical (a very surface level interest), and love novels about anything medical or graphic novels, or even TV shows. This was right up my alley with the art style and story. I just wish it was executed a little better.

My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen
For no reason at all, i’d wanted to get my hands on My Thoughts Exactly since it’s release. I’ve never been a Lily Allen fan, i’ve never overly cared for her as a person, but something really drew me to this book. I listened to the whole thing in a day whilst working, and i found it incredibly addictive. Lily has such a strong and unique voice you hang on every word of hers. Her life spans far more than i ever imagined and this autobiography honestly gave me a lot of respect for her as a person and a woman. I’d definitely recommend this!

10 Blind Dates By Ashley Elston
I first heard of 10 Blind Dates from a YouTube video, and it seemed like something i’d definitely enjoy around Christmas time. It’s a shame i really didn’t enjoy it as much as i thought i would. The book is based around a girl who breaks up with her boyfriend just before Christmas. As a way for her to get over him, her whole family arranges 10 blind dates with guys around Christmas. I found the whole thing to be quite childish, and i just didn’t click with any of the writing!

Blankets by Craig Thompson
Blankets is another graphic novel that i’d been really excited to read for a very long time, in fact, this was the oldest book on my wishlist. I didn’t really know what to expect going in to this, and i wasn’t expecting it to be so sad and heart wrenching. I did enjoy the story and i definitely enjoyed the art style of it! It’s a pretty hefty graphic novel so make sure you’re prepared before sitting down with it!

Seconds by Brian Lee O’Malley
I’m sure you can tell i was pretty in to graphic novels this month… in reality i checked a load out of the library and needed to return them all, hense all the graphic novels. Seconds is one that i had planned on reading for quite some time, just because of how famous it is. It was no way anything like i expected. I thought it would be some kind of cool space graphic novel, in fact it was built arounda restaurant and time travel. Still, pretty great and creative!

The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James
I absolutely adore Lauren James, and i wanted to finish off reading everything she’s written. The Starlight Watchmaker is her debut in to books for dyslexia. It’s a really simple and easy story, short and has large print for younger readers and readers who struggle to read. The whole story is based around a cute little robot who fixes watches at a school. I found the story adorable and i read it in one sitting. It definitely lives up to the rest of Lauren James’ novels!

The Lady Doctor by Ian Thompson
The Lady Doctor follows on (sort of) from The Bad Doctor in a way that it follows a similar format. There’s a theme that follows on in these books of similar characters, with similar jobs and similar story-lines. This book follows a female doctor and her life, including some of her patients. This is definitely more of a personal aspect to it with much more of a story on the doctors personal life.

The Christmasaurus & The Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher
If you didn’t know, i really love Tom Fletcher and his books. I think he’s such a creative thinker and his books absolutely show all his personality. The Christmasaurus was one of my favourite Christmas books of the last couple of years, so to read the second right before Christmas made me very happy! The story-line of this book was so clever for a children’s book, and i loved learning more about the world these books are based in.

Chinglish by Sue Cheung
Chinglish has been on my radar since YALC, with the hype around it’s release, a lot of people were talking about it and getting the ARCs around that time! It peaked my interest as it was somewhat of a autobiography. The story follows a family from China as their children are trying to move away from the family home and the takeaway business. There is plenty more drama and topics discussed, it’s a really good book for younger teens. I didn’t completely connect with any of the characters but i enjoyed the writing a lot, and it was funny! Trigger warning: there is detailed conversation about abuse.

The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace
I’ve been slowly making my way through this poetry series for a couple of months, and i’m really enjoying how empowered these books are making me feel! They focus on feminism, abuse, love, loss and pretty much anything else. They truly make you feel empowered to be a woman and have given me a lot of things to think about in regards to self care and what i should be putting up with! I cannot wait to read the last one.

I really need to catch up on some review books in the next month or so, so hopefully you’ll be seeing a lot of that from me in January! I’m so incredibly happy with what i’ve read in 2019, and especially in December. Hopefully i’ll be keeping this up in to 2020.

Books read: 11

Books read this year: 82

Pages read: 3,540

Pages Per Day: 114

Average Rating: 3