December Recommendations
December Recommendations
Cozy and not-so-cozy mysteries and how-to-friendship.
Lil Ube Reads is a monthly newsletter, featuring seasonal book recommendations and bookish updates from Jenna. Click the subscribe button below to be notified of future posts!
Welcome to the end of 2023! This year has flown by and I still have so many more books I want to read. I can’t wait for my holiday time off so I can curl up on the couch with a warm drink ☕ and some good reads. If you're looking for a few wintry stories to curl up with this month, read on for my recommendations!
To kick off this list, I'm going to start with Winterhouse by Ben Guterson. It's a middle grade book that perfectly encapsulates the essence of the winter season. The story features a young orphan named Elizabeth who stays at a hotel and discovers a mysterious curse haunting the owners. If you liked watching clever kids save the day, like in the Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, or an eccentric whimsical feel, like the one found in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, this would be a great read for you! I really enjoyed the word puzzles scattered through this book and was quite charmed by Elizabeth's love of lists. 📝
If you're looking for a mystery that is not-so-cozy, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a fast-paced fictional thriller exploring the mystery of why Alicia, a famous painter, violently murdered her husband. This book won the Goodreads award for Best Mystery & Thriller in 2019 and has a 4.18 rating on Goodreads, but I found that it's a rather divisive book. Some people love the "twist" in this book and some people hate it. Regardless, I think it's a very interesting read and a great book to get lost in this December, especially with the recurring symbol of snow ❄ and atmospheric feel of loneliness and angst!
And for those you are feeling rather lonely this holiday season, a good self-help and pop psychology book to check out is Platonic by Marisa Franco. This book talks about the science of making and keeping friendships which has been interesting as I've entered adulthood. The challenges of friendship are different from the difficulties I faced as a kid. When I was young, I wanted more and more autonomy around when and where I can see my friends, but as an adult (especially as one that works remotely), I miss the shared activities where I regularly saw others and now have to take more initiative in seeking out those opportunities. I think this book will leave you feeling encouraged and inspired to make new friendships and grow the ones you already have. 🤝
Last month, I took my Kindle abroad with me while I traveled in South Korea and it was SO CONVENIENT. It was easy to carry around and allowed me to read on the plane, in the metro, and in all of the various cafes we visited. It also was very light compared to bringing around a ton of books, so my luggage was very happy! However, since my Kindle doesn’t have a backlight, I was stuck using a very bright and obnoxious booklight on dark places like the airplane. (Unlike my husband with his new fancy Kobo… 🙄)
In addition to reading, we also visited a few bookish places, including the Starfield Library in COEX Mall, the Bosu Dong Book Street in Busan, and the book staircase in Gamcheon Cultural Village!
In 2022, I read 93 books and was so painfully close to my goal of 100 books, so this year, I set out to prioritize and be more intentional about reading more.
I’m excited to announce that I finally hit (and have since surpassed!) my reading goal of 100 books! I'm over the moon about completing this challenge, especially since I had initially set it as a joke.
To motivate myself to read more this past year, I joined several book clubs and also started this newsletter! A special shoutout to Silent Book Club at That’s Novel Books which forced me to just sit and read in silence once a month. I recommend checking to see if there’s any silent book clubs near you if you like reading with others around! 😊 Without people to share books with, I think reading would feel rather empty, so thank you to all those who read with me and who also follow Lil Ube Reads!
I look forward to sharing more seasonal recommendations and bookish updates in the new year and wish you a fantastic December! ✨
Stay cozy whether you're near or far from home,
Jenna
“Our friends advertise the kaleidoscope of ways we can live. They expose us to new ways of being in the world, showing us another life is possible.”
― Marisa G. Franco, Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends
Read these books before? Got any other recommendations? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 💖