Book Review: December 2023
And here we are! The end of the year, a full 12 months of book reviews. I didn’t read as much as I was hoping to in December but still got in some fantastic books. My goal was to consume (listening or reading) 75 books in 2023 and I got to 77! Yippeee! So does that mean I up it to 80 books for 2024? Probably not, I think I’m going to stick with 75 as the goal because that is a lot of reading! haha! Check out these reviews and let me know what you think.
"Beyond that, the Sea" by Laura Spence-Ash
4 stars
This was a compelling WW2 historical fiction rooted in both sides of the Atlantic. I found the character development good and I felt connected to the various points in history. Some parts were really heartbreaking while at other times I was cheering for characters. I found it a bit boring towards the end and feel like it It could have been a little bit shorter but still good.
"Conversations on Love" by Natasha Lunn
4 stars
Sweet and sad, loving and tragic. We love so many people over the course of our lives with different intensity and in different ways. There is no one perfect way to love or be loved by another human. We love people for different reasons and for different lengths of time. The depth of relationships has always been of interest to me and I enjoyed reflecting to who I love and in what capacity. As humans we evolve and change and so our relationships will mirror that. A lovely book.
"Women without Kids" by Ruby Warrington
5 stars
The book I needed to read, the book I wanted to write. Ruby’s book felt like my manifesto. Why and how women decide not to have kids is personal and yet we’re often treated like outsiders or weridos if we don’t want to procreate. I have known for my whole life that I never wanted to be a mom. I love caring for others and the Aunt life is awesome. But the environmental, financial, emotional and spiritual cost of having a child is not something I want to or will take on in this lifetime. Ruby gives language to so many things I have thought and conversations I have had with other women my age who are Childfree by Choice. Really incredible and insightful, no matter where you are on the motherhood spectrum. More information here.
“Rest is Resistance” by Trisha Hersey
4 stars
A really good book to close 2023 with. Resting is hard for many of us, myself included, and treating it as our birthright, not a luxury is a mindset shift. Thinking of rest as a political statement is fascinating. That my body will not be used for capitalism to make, grow and consume more and more. That I will rest not so I can come back and produce ore but so my rest is a connection to my ancestors and the divine. Yes, please, that’s what I’m talking about! More about Trisha Hersey and her work with the Nap Ministry as a form of racial justice can be found here.
Monthly book total: 4
Annual book total: 77