December 2022 Reading Wrap Up
At the end of December, are you reminiscing about your reading month?
Here’s my December 2022 Reading Wrap Up.
December was a “mixed bag” reading month as you can tell from my star ratings. Out of the 11 books completed, I had zero 5-star reads, one 4.5-star read, four 4-star reads, four 3-3.5–star reads, two 2-star reads. I had two DNFs. Not a stellar way to end the year.
My most memorable fiction read this month is The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, a classical music mystery. My most memorable nonfiction is Finding Me by Viola Davis (review coming soon).
Coming Soon:
My 2022 Stats/2023 Goals Post is Scheduled for 12/29/22.
My Most Memorable Reads (Top Ten) is Scheduled for 1/3/23.
ICYMI: My Especially Satisfying Reads of 2022 here.
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Titles are Amazon affiliate links or my linked reviews.
ARC=Advanced Readers Copy (complimentary copy for review before pub date)
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
4.5 Stars. Contemporary Diverse Read. Classical Music Mystery. Full review of Violin Conspiracy here.
Finding Me by Viola Davis
4 Stars. Nonfiction Memoir. Tragic with some disturbing content. (many content warnings apply) My review of Finding Me here.
Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff (ARC)
4 Stars. (ARC) WW11 Historical Fiction. (Review coming soon)
The Maid of Balleymacool by Jennifer Deibel (ARC)
4 Stars.(ARC) Historical Fiction. (Review coming soon)
The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan
4 Stars. Women’s Fiction. Siblings. (not reviewed)
Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstanblatt (ARC)
3.5-4 Stars. (ARC) Historical Fiction. Great fire of Nantucket. (review coming soon)
Hopefully Ever After by Beth Wiseman (ARC)
3.5-4 Stars. (ARC) Amish Contemporary Fiction. (review coming soon)
The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop by Cressida McLaughlin
3.5 Stars. (Series) Women’s Fiction/Romance. Books About Bookshops. (not reviewed)
The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas (ARC)
3.5 Stars. (ARC) Women’s Fiction. Book About Books. (review coming soon)
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
2 Stars. Mystery/Detective. Disturbing Content. (not reviewed)
Christmas Surprises at Mermaid’s Point by Sarah Bennett
2 Stars. Part of a series (probably more enjoyable if you’ve read the series). No story here…simply an introduction of multiple characters (each chapter is a vignette). (not reviewed)
DNF
Two more to add to my record year of DNFs
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle (DNF 27%), unlikable character, bored with premise
Iona Iverson’s Rules For Commuting (DNF 38%), not feeling the quirkiness
December Wrap UP QOTD:
Did we read any of the same books?
Did you have a favorite December read?
December Blog Posts:
2022 Reading Stats and 2023 Reading Goals (posted soon)
Especially Satisfying Reads of 2022
The Violin Conspiracy Review
Confessions From an Outlier
Winter 2022/2023 TBR
Book Gifts 2022
The Next Ship Home Review
Under A Veiled Moon Exerpt
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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What an interesting list. I’m interested in the book by Viola Davis, looking forward to your review.
It’s always disappointing when books you’ve read don’t hit the mark. When this happens to me, I turn to a favorite author’s backlist to read something that I’ve got a good chance of liking. The Violin Conspiracy is definitely on my 2023 TBR.
I started this month reading Christmas romance novels, but after a few, I quickly got bored. I then found the Winter Street series by Elin Hilderbrand, and these novels were exactly what I wanted. Easy to read, plenty of family drama, and characters whom I liked. I now want to visit Nantucket!
I hope you enjoy Violin Conspiracy! I found The Daughters of Nantucket interesting from a historical perspective! Happy reading in 2023 Adrienne!
What a disappointing end to your year. Hope it all turns around in January
Thankful for Violin Conspiracy though as a bright spot!
Code Name Sapphire is on my TBR. I hope I like it.
I hope you like it as well. It will be a difficult review for me I think. Because I read it the day before Christmas, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for heavy, sad content. It had more detainment camp content than I expected. I didn’t enjoy the ending. One character I liked dies. I’m sure the author did her research and the story is inspired by historical events and real people, but it didn’t captivate me. Christmas was probably the wrong week to read this!
What a great month of reading! I loved Finding Me. And the Mermaid point book is the last in the series, and it’s one of those series that needs to be read in order. I hope you have a great 2023 for reading!
The beginning of Finding Me was so difficult to read but I so appreciate her choices to not let her childhood define her. I found the fact that she continued to care for her family very compelling. I like that her story was much more than a recounting of trauma. Happy 2023 reading!
You did have a mixed bag in December! It is always discouraging to have DNFs. I am interested in your review of Code Name Sapphire. I am reading the Beth Wiseman series as well. I just posted my December Reading Wrap-Up. Looking forward to your Stats post and your Favorites. Happy New Year!
I liked the first two in the Wiseman series better than this one but I’m glad I read it! I read Sapphire the day before Christmas and wasn’t in the right frame of mind for a heavy read! I also found the ending unsatisfactory (although probably realistic). Happy 2023 reading Gretchen!
So good to have your book tips! Ready to start reading more again after the Christmas hub-bub!
Thanks Rhonda! I think January is a fabulous month for reading!