#SBS December Monthly Wrap-Up

Welcome to our monthly feature where we talk about what we read, adopted into our libraries, and what’s on our minds. After hosting #SignedBookSundays on instagram for 4+ years, we are transitioning to this format as a way to share signed books and talk about bookish (and personal) highlights. Join us the last Sunday or last day of every month (or whatever day today is…we are busy!)!

In Case You Missed It

• We posted our end of year/best of lists – with a giveaway!
• Is that…is that a COMIC CRUSH post? Yeah I think I’ve posted like 2 this year.
• It’s never too late to start your holiday 2022 TBR with some picks from us!
• Remember when December was a month of catching up on the books you missed this year? Not anymore. We have your December release round up right here.
• We curate a Bookshop page with most of the YA New Releases – please consider supporting us by buying books through our links or shop, or we have a Ko-Fi!

What We Read

Kelly: I read 8 books in December and that was pretty good for me this year, and I managed to finished my reading challenge of 75 books with a total of 84!
My standouts were:

• If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich – fun yet serious about boy band, fame, and self discovery & love.
• The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling – queer sapphic revengeful vampire, but give it a secret society and a murder mystery!
• Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer – what a unique and fast paced fantasy!

Christy: I wish December had more days. I usually read the most books in Dec/Jan and while I didn’t hit quite as many as I usually do, I read some really great ones.

• What I Carry by Jennifer Longo – Foster care books can be so triggering for me but this one was excellent. I picked it up after seeing it on a best of list (the first time seeing it EVER – Book world, why are you like this?) and wow. Absolutely loved it.
• So, This is Christmas by Tracy Andreen – This is gonna be a Netflix movie, right? This is a Christmas book you can visualize and I need it!
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – We all agree that TJR is the queen of character stories, yes?

What We Hauled – Thanks, Barnes & Noble

You too can be obsessed with signed books, look here for where to buy a copy from your favorite author’s local indie or preorder incentives that include bookplates.

Kelly’s Highlights

• Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao – I read this back in January and it’s such a good holiday book spans Thanksgiving till Lunar New Year, and when I recommended in my Holiday Reads post, realized I didn’t own a physical copy so can’t beat 50% off!
• A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske – seen this one on booksta a lot figured I should grab it (didn’t remember it was coming from IC)
• Sistersong by Lucy Holland – another booksta recommendation since I don’t blog about a ton of adult books so I rely on the people whom I’ve come to trust their recommendations.
• Lore Olympus (BN Exclusive Edition) by Rachel Smythe – even though I bought the Illumicrate edition, who can pass up 50% off!
• Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison – I haven’t started the resurrection of this long running urban fantasy series but adult books are expensive and why yes I will buy this (I own all the rest!)
• Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura – didn’t own this one physically and who can resist a Poe cover!
• We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley – saw a signed copy and that’s enough for me to grab off the shelf!

So the take away is that I hauled a lot in December but mostly books from the BN 50% off sale and I’ll be posting the entire haul on Instagram!

Christy’s Highlights

• Cravings All Together by Chrissy Teigen – I love these indulgent cookbooks.
• The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly AND Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton – I love both of these books and am excited to have them in my collection!
• Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes – I just know I am going to love this
• Skywalker: A Family at War by Kristin Baver – A deep dive into the Skywalkers? Yes.
• Himawari House by Harmony Becker – I preordered this a while ago and am so happy it arrived!
• This is Not the Real World by Anna Cary (ARC) – *insert flailing Kermit gif* I lost my shit when this arrived! TY, Quirk Books!

My full list of BN books will be on IG sometime soon! I also received a lovely gift from Scholastic, which included K-Pop Revolution by Stephen Lee, Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud, and Bluebird by Sharon Cameron. TY – I am so excited for these books!

What We Hope to Read

We have a whole post on this coming soon!!

On the Top of Our Minds

Kelly: I’m not sure this month was even real and now it’s 2022, how dare! I can think of nothing other than we put a new roof on the house and it’s been raining on an off the whole time they were working (honestly, feels like it rained this entire year) and is downpouring as I write this and I’m still anxious cause I’m so used to it leaking…homeownership is a real stressor but I’m also so thankful to have a home. Do I want a new one, sure do!

I barely accomplished anything other than starting some more home projects and constantly testing for COVID since everyone we know has been exposed.

I also got some amazing bookish presents because my friends are the best and can’t wait to show them off!

Also hard to believe, but 8/2022 is the blogs 10th anniversary!

Christy: I blinked and suddenly it’s 2022. How quickly things change in a year! This time last year we were settled into our new (CA) home. I was struggling HARD with a toxic job. I had been accepted to grad school!

It’s weird for it to be a year later and we are settled into our new (CO) home, I just started a new job, and I’m almost done with grad school! I’m watching snow fall in my back yard and thinking about how I am going to organize the project I am working on. Listening to a book I bought last week but meant to read months ago. Thinking about how I need to finish this post so I can shelve the books I bought this month haha.

I did that Ironman last month. It was not a great experience – kind of deflating. But it helped me realize how I want my fitness goals to go in 2022. I quit all coaching, probably for good. I’m not focused on my weight but on feeling my strongest and making fitness fun. I’m sure I’ll be talking about this more on my fitsta!

As we usually do, we will do a blogging goals recap and set some new ones, so watch out for that. I hope your 2022 is safe, happy, and healthy!