December 2020 Wrap-Up

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you have a wonderful 2021 and reach/surpass all your bookish, personal and professional goals. Before we dive into a summary of December 2020 books that Ariel and I read, we want to take a moment to thank you for your continuous support in reading Armed with A Book. It is always a pleasure to hear from you so tell us one unforgettable book from 2020 and let’s start the year with getting to know you a little better. 🙂

Kriti’s Selection

October and November were rough months for me for so many reasons. Early December, I got some good news and that was an eye-opening experience because, as you will see below, with minimal stress, I read a ton more (double, really) than my last couple months. I have been loving reading historical fiction and found one of my favorites books that combines that genre with libraries – The Paris Library.

A slideshow of all my reviews and reading experiences can be found at the end of the list.

• A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe – Historical Fiction – Review on Armed with A Book and Instagram
• The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick – Contemporary Fiction –  Discussion with Ariel and review on Instagram
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey – Western Style Dystopia 
• Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton – Literary Fiction – Staging on Instagram and review on Armed with A Book on January 11th
• Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – Contemporary Romance – Review on Armed with A Book and Instagram
• Are You Listening? – Magical Realism Graphic Novel – Review on Armed with A Book and Instagram
• Aimlessness by Tom Lutz – Non-Fiction Essays – Review on Instagram and Armed with A Book on January 5th
• Breath: The New Science of a lost art by James Neston – Non-Fiction
• The Whisper Man by Alex North – Thriller – Discussion with Ariel
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – Science Fiction – Discussion with Meisha and review on Instagram
• The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles – Historical Fiction – Review on Instagram and Armed with A Book on January 2nd
• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – YA Fantasy – Discussion with Meisha coming in January and review on Instagram
• Wool by Hugh Howey – Dystopia – Staging on Instagram and Armed with A Book on January 7th
• Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour – Paranormal Fiction – Review on Armed with A Book coming in January

Summary:

This is a lot of books for me to read in a month. A few like Aimlessness, Upright Women Wanted and Watch Over Me were shorter works, but often I find, it is these very books that have so much more packed into them. Looking back at December 2020, I am proud to have read a variety of genres and perspectives and enjoyed so many buddy reads.

Number of library books: 10/14
Review copies: 3/14
Buddy Reads: 6/14
Owned Books: 1/14 (I got Wool from the library initially but I was annotating it like crazy so had to go get a copy for myself)

You might already know my buddy reading plans with Ariel for 2021! I am hoping to be a little bit more organized with books, especially when it comes to buying them. By focusing on reading from the library and ARCs as well as the book I already own, I am going to make my home library more of the books I love.

A quick note about the books that I started in 2020 and will continue to read (at hopefully not snail speed) in 2021: House of Leaves, The Priory of the Orange Tree, The Book Thief and A Conflict of Visions.

Ariel’s Selection for December 2020

I worked on reading books that had been on my TBR for awhile, such as Jade City, Darius the Great is Not Okay, and Daisy Jones and the Six. It felt productive to knock those off my TBR, and in doing so, discovered one of my favorite urban-fantasy trilogies: The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. After reading Jade City and bringing in the new year halfway through Jade War, I am very excited to read the final book, Jade Legacy, when it is released. 

General Stats:
Books: 8
Audiobooks: 6
Buddy reads: 3
Netgalley: 2

Storygraph Stats:
Most Common Mood: Emotional
Most Common Pace: Medium
Most Common Length: Between 300-400 pages
Average Rating: 4.04 stars

Summary:

This month was full of planning and searching book lists with Kriti, and it was really fun to look at a spreadsheet of potential reads and adventures we will be embarking on in 2021. Looking back on the month and year as a whole, I read more books in number than in any previous years. Seeing that, it made me realize that I want to focus more on quality rather than quantity of my reads, which will take a little more planning and intention beyond my usual “take what the library has at the moment.” Looking forward to a new year and new bookish adventures!

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What are your plans for 2021? Do you have a couple of books scheduled to be read already?

We are excited to get started with Midnight’s Children, our first buddy read of the year. Check out our full list here.