december 2022

final month of 2022! what an eventful and book-filled year its been. in total, i read 61 books which included everything from john steinbeck & f. scott fitzgerald to the uber-popular colleen hoover (six!!) let’s see what december had in store.

the hunting party by lucy foley

alex’s rating: 7.5/10

when a group of college friends meet up for new years at a remote lodge in the wilderness, tensions are kind of high. there’s the new parents who couldn’t leave the baby for a weekend. the golden couple who appear to be arguing more than anything. the newcomer who’s dating a friend from the group, so really, she’s an outsider. the single, workaholic woman. all these personalities clash when one of the group goes missing. the story is told through multiple characters and before & after the character goes missing. it keeps you on the edge of your seat with short chapters and and unexpected ending.

funny you should ask by elissa sussman

alex’s rating: 9.5/10

funny you should ask is witty. it’s heartwarming. it’s a wholesome read. set in la, chani is a burgeoning writer who’s just been given an opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to interview hollywood’s heartthrob gabe parker. over the course of an entire weekend chani gets to know the famous icon and peel back the facade. this profile, of course, goes viral. she’s left burned by the end of the weekend however so although it launched her career, she’s happy she never has to speak to gabe parker again. that is, until a decade later when he wants to have another interview. now, he’s a recovering alcoholic with a tanking acting career. but she’s curious — did that flitting weekend mean anything to gabe? i smiled cheek to cheek the entire read !!!!!

all the dangerous things by stacy willingham

alex’s rating: 9.2/10

my very first book this year was a flicker in the dark by stacy willingham so i couldn’t pass up her latest, all the dangerous things. this somber story follows a mother whose infant is stolen away in the middle of the night. isabelle hasn’t slept in over a year, racking her brain for what she missed, what she could’ve done. a true crime podcast host (crime junkies unite!!) offers to help tell her story and at first she’s hesitant but soon, she agrees. what ensues is a wild ride of deception, mystery and plot twists! doubt can squander any one’s self esteem and make them believe fragments of the truth. i did not see this ending coming & it was a wild ride right down to the last page!

city of girls by elizabeth gilbert

alex’s rating: 10/10

i won’t lie, this book intimidated me at 466 pages but the inside sleeve proved too good to ignore. highlighting new york city’s glitz and glamor during the 1940s, we learn the story of costume designer, vivian morris. she hasn’t always been the brightest in the bunch (too cool for school type of gal) but she is insanely talented. when she goes to the city to live with her aunt peg she immediately falls in love. and make no mistake — this is a love story. just not the one you might have anticipated. she had flings, yes, but her true love is really the big apple. the trials and tribulations of life are ever apparent as the world prepares for the second world war. i could go on much longer, but i don’t want lose any of the appeal. this was one of my favorites this year.

normal people by sally rooney

alex’s rating: 9.9/10

colleen hoover, though it could be debated, does not have the monopoly on romance. sally rooney is right up there. normal people is tender and emotional and so damn good. put simply, it’s about the right people at the wrong time. miscommunication is a heavy trope in this novel that can become very irritating but at the end of the day it’s relatable. because we’re all just normal people. hulu made a mini-series after the book and because i loved that so much, i had to get the book (which rarely happens, if ever). i was swept up in marianne and connell’s relationship, and i didn’t want it to end.

beautiful little fools by jillian cantor

alex’s rating: 10/10

i read a book a few years back by jillian cantor called margot — a fictional story about anne frank’s sister margo, had she survived the holocaust. it was gripping. when i picked this up and saw that it was about the lives of famous characters daisy buchanan and jordan baker, i was immediately hooked. it’s essentially the great gatsby told through the eyes of three very different women and it is fantastic. cantor writes magically and completely captivates the reader with her attention to detail. she breathes new life into daisy, jordan and catherine (myrtle wilson’s sister).

the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald

alex’s rating:

reading about the roaring twenties inspired me to re-read the great gatsby, which i hadn’t picked it up since high school (remember annotating in the margins?) it’s such a classic and i was really glad i read it again. as you probably know, jay gatsby is at the center of the story, and the center of everyone’s attention. but who is he really? the etherial west egg is wonderfully told through fitzgerald’s descriptive prose and i enjoyed it just as much at 27 as i did at 17.

and with that, we bid adieu to 2022! looking forward to many more reads in the new year!