December 2023 Reading Wrap-Up
Christmas-themed reading, a series finale, two classics, and some nonfiction
I finished the year with nine books last month, all of which I enjoyed and am glad I read. Three of my reads were four stars while the rest were five stars. The last book I read even turned out to be my favourite of 2023!
Defiant by Brandon Sanderson
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This book was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, and it did not disappoint! For those who do not know, it is the fourth and final book in the young adult science fiction series, Skyward. Set at some point in the distant future after Earth has been destroyed, humans have migrated to another planet that is under attack from a mysterious enemy known as the Krell. The protagonist is a young woman by the name of Spensa who is in training to become a pilot. Defiant is a wild ride filled with amazing characters, intense action, and lots of aliens.
Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John Walton
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My first time reading a book by John Walton was this one and I found it quite informative. I find this kind of thing fascinating, so I really enjoyed it. The book is about the way that the worldview of the ancient Near East impacted the Bible. Understanding this kind of thing is very important to know the Bible’s context because it can be vastly different from what we as modern people think. My favourite parts were the explanation of how ancient people thought of the Earth and the solar system and the things about ancient religious beliefs. Anyone looking to get a better understanding of the Old Testament should definitely pick this one up.
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
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This book is about a 16-year-old blogger named Tessa who loses her eyesight in a car crash for 100 days. During this time, she meets a boy named Weston who offers to type her poetry so she can still post things on her blog. Weston has had both of his legs amputated at the knees but he does not tell Tessa about this because he is tired of it being the first thing people notice about him. It is a young adult contemporary romance book, which is not something that I read much of but I liked this one. Of course, the blogger aspect was relatable for me and was fun to read about. I also loved both of the protagonists and thought the disability representation was very well done. Overall, it was a sweet story that sucked me in.
Tessa & Weston: The Best Christmas Ever
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Tessa’s and Weston’s Christmas story was not nearly as enjoyable as 100 Days of Sunlight but was still a super fun and cozy read. I read it in one day and finished while wearing my Christmas pyjamas with the Christmas lights on in my room, so that was pretty cool. There were some sappy and overly emotional moments that I found annoying, as I am not a very emotional person and I find extremely romantic scenes to be quite cringey. All that aside, I genuinely liked this book and was glad to have read it this holiday season.
The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles
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These are three ancient Greek tragedies about the family of Oedipus and are the first Greek plays I have ever read. Oedipus is well known for being the man who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. The first play is about him discovering this fact, the second takes place years later and ends in his death, and the third focuses on the tragic life of his daughter and sister, Antigone. Some parts of it were a bit slow but I did like it and it was an interesting read.
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson
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This book is exactly what it sounds like - an overview of the entire history of ancient Egypt. As someone who has a bit of an obsession with ancient Egypt, I found it to be absolutely thrilling and informative. It obviously does not go into much detail regarding specific events since it covers such a long time and is a fairly accessible read to those with minimal knowledge of the subject. My favourite parts were those regarding the New Kingdom since I think it is the most interesting time in Egypt’s history.
Juniper’s Christmas by Eoin Colfer
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Juniper’s Christmas is a light and fun middle-grade fantasy book set in the UK during the Christmas season and features eleven-year-old Juniper as the protagonist. Santa Claus has not delivered any gifts in nearly ten years and it is up to Juniper to help him remember why he gave gifts in the first place. I thought it was such a sweet holiday read with positive messages such as the importance of family and friends that also touched on the heavier subject of losing a loved one. It was enjoyable to read but I did not find it to be anything fantastic.
The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad
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My final nonfiction book of the year was an excellent one about how people in our current cultural climate ignore certain facts that do not fit with their preconceived notions about reality. I found it so refreshing to read a book like this since we are so often surrounded by absurd ideas that people adopt simply because they are told that not believing such things makes them bad people. The statistics about universities being so left-leaning were interesting to see and explain a lot about why things are the way they are, especially among students of such institutions. Gad Saad also touches on his experiences as a Lebanese Jew who immigrated to Canada due to the rampant anti-Semitism and violence against Jewish people that occurred, exposing the dangerous nature of many Islamic teachings.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
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Wuthering Heights is one of the most famous 19th-century British novels and my number one favourite standalone book I read in 2023. It traces the story of a very dysfunctional family using a story within a story within a story, similar to Frankenstein in that respect. A man named Lockwood wrote in his diary what he was told by Nelly, a servant who witnessed many of the events she described to him. The central focus of the book is on the romance of Catherine Earnshaw and her adopted brother, Heathcliff. Seven characters die over the course of the novel, and it is so very Gothic. I loved the almost otherworldly feel of the setting and thought it was so masterfully written. If you are at all interested in the Gothic genre, you have to read this book.
While December was not a very big reading month for me, I think it was a pretty good end to the year. I have exciting plans for reading in January, and the book I just started is really good so far. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you had a wonderful 2023!