What to say about December… well, unlike last year, at least I stayed employed! So a bit less reading and blogging than Dec 2024, but I still read the most books of any month in 2025. I received two books as Christmas gifts: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček and The Art of Mercy in Middle-earth: Paintings Inspired by Tolkien’s Legendarium by Miriam Ellis. I also ordered myself the 2026 Tolkien Calendar.
Books Finished
- Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children #11) by Seanan McGuire (adult specfic)
- Plague Thieves by Caroline Fernandez (middle grade historical)
- The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (adult historical)
- All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety by David A. Robertson (adult memoir)
- Nightbooks by J.A. White (middle grade horror)
- 13 Ways to Say Goodbye by Kate Fussner (middle grade contemporary)
- Swan: The Girl Who Grew by Sidura Ludwig (middle grade historical)
- The Summer War by Naomi Novik (adult fantasy)
- The Lost Ryū by Emi Watanabe Cohen (middle grade historical specfic)
- Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many by Thomas P. Hillman (adult non-fiction)
- A History of Children’s Books in 100 Books by Roderick Cave and Sa (adult non-fiction)
- Karluk A Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration by William Laird McKinlay (adult non-fiction)
Posts Written
- Completed the 2025 End of Year Book Survey
- “I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read That Yet #31” in which I shared a few thoughts on The Ninth Rain and asked for votes on which Tolkien book to read next.
- Dad and I discussed middle grade horror novel Nightbooks by JA White for Family Reads
- Reviewed Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (middle grade fantasy)
- Reviewed Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children #11) by Seanan McGuire (adult specfic)
Challenges Check-In
To be reviewed in-depth in January 3rd’s Wrapping Up, Looking Forward post. For now, I will just note my two month-specific stats:
- 6/6-8 posts in December
- 1,794/2,600 views in December
- By far my lowest viewed month of 2025. Celeste @ A Literary Escape noted that Google did a core update in December, which seems to account for the plummeting views among book bloggers. Not a very nice end to the year, not that it’s something I could do anything about. 😑
Shared on Bluesky
On My Radar in January
27 Jan – Release date of A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alic Evelyn Yang (adult historical fiction/magical realism)
How was your December? What new books, or bookish events, are you looking forward to this month?
