December felt super busy and Christmas really snuck up on me. I attribute that mainly to the fact we were on vacation for the first week of the month. No matter, I still somehow managed to read a respectful number of books. That means I have something to report for my December 2024 book blog wrap-up! Below you’ll find my list of book reviews, blog statistics, and what I read this month.
Book Reviews
I posted four book reviews in December. From earliest to latest they are:
- The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
- Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
- Silence is Silver by Andrew Watson
- The West Wind by Alexandria Warwick
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. These statistics are from Google Analytics 4.
My top five posts for total page views are (as of the evening of December 30):
- Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Heather Maehrer: 559 views
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 502 views
- Book Review: Gild by Raven Kennedy: 431 views
- ARC Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig: 365 views
- Book Review: Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer Armentrout: 313 views
Once again, my views this month fell. This is now three months in a row with declining viewership from internet searches. As I’ve said already, whatever Google did with its algorithm messed up my SEO. However, I still managed to gain a few subscribers and am up to 220 followers, or four more since November.
#BeattheBacklog
I finished three books that had been on my TBR prior to 2024. Those books are A FIRE ENDLESS by Rebecca Ross, WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama, and A MIDWINTER’S TAIL by Lili Hayward. If I finish SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT by tomorrow, then that will count toward this challenge, too.
Other Bookish Items
I finished eight books in December:
- DATING AND DRAGONS by Kristy Boyce (ARC)
- SILENCE IS SILVER by Andrew Watson (SFINCS)
- A FIRE ENDLESS by Rebecca Ross
- DREAMS OF SORROW by Shauna Lawless
- WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama
- A MIDWINTER’S TAIL by Lili Hayward
- IMMORTAL by Sue Lynn Tan
- SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT by Amelie Wen Zhao (audiobook)*
*Potentially finish…as of drafting this post I was still listening to it!
In case you missed it, I also posted about my anticipated First Quarter Book Releases in 2025.
We were in Boston for Christmas, so that meant I got to visit their newest bookstore, Lovestruck Books and Cafe. For a bookstore in the city it has a lot of shop real estate. It was impressive and, true to their name, nearly all the books are romance. There is a small section of non-romance books. It was super busy when I checked it out, which was understandable since it was their first week open. I purchased LOVE YOU A LATKE by Amanda Elliot. I also checked out three other book stores in the Harvard area. Thanks to my husband for putting together that fun afternoon!
Non-Bookish Items
As usual, December was pretty busy with holiday-related things. We traveled to Central Europe to visit the Christmas markets in Vienna (Austria), Brno (Czech Republic), Budapest (Hungary), and Bratislava (Slovakia). We also attended a handful of holiday parties and celebrated Christmas early with my parents before traveling to Boston to have Christmas with my husband’s family. I find December fairly draining because there are so many events that eat into my free time. But it’s also a good thing to get outside, so to speak, and do something different.
I found an oral surgeon I like to do my wisdom teeth extraction on January 2. Can’t wait for that (sarcasm). So I’m trying to enjoy all the regular food right now. Suffice it to say, I might not be in the best shape to do anything blog related for a few days.
And that’s it for my December 2024 Book Blog Wrap-Up! What did you all read this month?
December sounds like a good month for reading despite being so busy. Definitely ugh for the tooth extraction. I remember having mine done. Hope it’s not too unpleasant x
It surprisingly turned out ok even though I felt like I had so much less time to read. I hope it’s not too unpleasant either!
Good luck for your dentistry, I hope it all goes well.
Thank you!
I started following a woman on Instagram who runs a European Christmas market cruise and before that I had never heard about Christmas markets. Now I’m jealous that it doesn’t seem to be a thing here in the states! Good luck with your wisdom teeth, hopefully everything will go smoothly.
Oooo that sounds lovely! Coincidentally, my husband and I just watched a video by a travel couple about a European Christmas market cruise. It looked pretty nice!
Hope your wisdom teeth removal goes smoothly!
Thank you!
Yeah your top posts alone would eat 90% of my monthly 4k ish views 😂 the analytics and search data number seems to line up but it never clicked and I went back to not paying for it 😂 the travelling sounds fun!!
It took a little while for me to get used to SEO using the Yoast plugin. It’s not necessarily a “natural” way to think about writing a post, but it has certainly helped loads to bring in views.
I remember when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I recommend audiobooks with earbuds (NO headphones)!
Good idea, thanks! I do have a couple of audiobooks out on Libby, so I’m prepared!
How fun that you went to Europe to check out the Christmas markets. As a massive romance reader, that bookstore sounds like a dream! Also, I hope that your wisdom tooth extraction goes well tomorrow! I am a pro at avoiding the dentist but I probably shouldn’t as much as I do, lol. Happy new year, Celeste 🙂
I bet you’d love that store, Dini! And thank you for the well wishes about my dental procedure!
Sounds like you went on a Christmas market tour. It sounds fun.
Hope the recovery from the extraction isn’t very painful.
Thank you! I hope my recovery goes smoothly!