December is basically over, which brings me to another monthly book blog wrap-up post! Since I plan on spending time putting together some 2022-related posts, I’ll keep this one rather brief. Part of me wants to apologize for a light and heavier month of book reviews and memes, respectively. But I won’t. I needed to take some time for myself. And the days around Christmas ended up busier than expected. Which brings me to the topic at hand: my December wrap-up. Let’s go!
Book Reviews
I posted three reviews in December, one of which was a micro review for a short story. From earliest to latest they are:
- A Thousand Steps Into Night by Traci Chee
- The Man and the Crow by Rebecca Crunden
- How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there.
My top five posts for unique page views in December are:
- Top Five Powerful Books I Read in 2022: 26 views
- Smash or Pass Book Tag: 21 views
- ARC Review: Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan: 20 views
- Monthly Book Blog Wrap-Up: November 2022: 18 views
- 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag: 18 views
I also gained two followers this month to bring my total to 112.
Naturally, since I took some time off from blogging, my statistics are down a little bit, but that’s ok. They’re similar to my October statistics despite posting less often in December.
#BeatTheBacklog
I didn’t read a single book that I added to my TBR prior to 2022. This was an easy section to write.
NetGalley
Another short section wrap-up here: I didn’t read any ARCs and thus didn’t review anything on NG. My feedback ratio stayed at 79%.
Other Bookish Items
I didn’t participate in any type of group bookish activities. But I did a bit of mood reading once I finished all of my BBNYA full length novel assignments. I read LOVE ON THE BRAIN by Ali Hazelwood, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER by Olivie Blake, and LEDGE by Stacey McEwan. I wrote a review for LOVE ON THE BRAIN (not yet posted) and now need to do so for the last two books listed. Regardless, I enjoyed LOVE ON THE BRAIN a smidge more than THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS. It was a fun, quick read, which was a good thing because the library holds list is several miles long for this book.
My gut instinct proved correct about ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER. I deliberated a while about purchasing one of the upcoming special editions or the standard edition. Target had an offer that I couldn’t refuse, so I bought the standard edition. Anyway, this is a roundabout way of getting to my point of: I loved that book. Olivie Blake writes so intentionally. After reading it I think she might become my first auto-buy author. (Although, if I’m honest, Sarah J. Maas is there already.)
And yes, I received some books for Christmas, none of which I expected. I’m too lazy to rustle around and find their titles, so you’ll have to take my word for it. The only one of which I was aware is a Ball canning recipe book. Because yes, sometimes that’s what you need to do when you have an overabundance of home-grown jalapenos and tomatoes.
How was your bookish December?
