Monthly Wrap || December 2020

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December 2020

Oh, thank goodness, it’s over. 2020 is behind us, and even if the barrier between years is just an arbitrary chunk of time, I’m still ready to have it in the rearview mirror. And to make it official, let’s dig into the December 2020 Monthly Wrap! 😳

Life Beyond the Blog

After the entire year dragging by, it feels like December 2020 decided to slingshot way too far ahead. In this month alone, I’ve gotten sick with a sinus cold, hurt my hand badly enough that I couldn’t open a peanut butter jar for a few days, frantically tracked at least eight different packages through the mail, finished hand-crafting my first ever plushie, and hatched a shiny Sobble in my copy of Pokémon Sword.

And to boot, I barely read a thing. We’ll get into that part in the next section, but wow. For all the things that happened, bookish things were just super not on the agenda!

In the middle of all of this, I feel like I lost track of time. The month slipped past me so fast, and here on the last day, I feel like I’m grasping at straws, trying to finish up all the things I didn’t get around to. And to cap it off, I’m making things more difficult for myself, joining a small D&D campaign with one friend and planning a modified one for my little sister. The former will feature a tiny gnome cleric overwhelmed at sea, and the latter is (hopefully) going to be a very homebrew version of 5e, with modifications to make it Pokémon Mystery Dungeon! Both, I think, are going to be great ways of spending meaningful time with meaningful people.

And the holidays proved wonderful for my family and I despite the chaos. The last few days of the year became really relaxing ones. I’m so excited to put 2020 behind me, but I’m also really grateful it offered some peaceful moments on the way out. And some really good food, too. We’ve eaten SO MANY Christmas treats, and my little brother (who loves learning to cook new things) made us chicken tikka masala as Christmas dinner. There were no leftovers, and every single one of us wishes there were! Plus, we’re really proud of his cooking skills. He’s grown a lot this year as the house’s sometimes chef!

 

Books Read and Reviewed

Like I already said, this wasn’t the most productive of months for reading. I managed to get to The Invisible Life of Addie La RueA Universe of WishesMexican Gothic, and Deeplight, all of which I reviewed this month. As you read this, too, I’m working on finishing Ruinsong, which I started on the evening of the 28th before promptly getting distracted by a million other things. If all goes well, my review for that will be available next Monday, but I make no promises, seeing as I’m still not done.

There’s too many plates spinning right now for promises. 😰

 

Next Month’s Reads

Isn’t this a tricky section now that I’ve admitted reading is hard right now? Whoops. That said, I’m hoping to get through Cast in FirelightDon’t Tell a SoulPet, and The Project to start (once I get Ruinsong onto my complete reads shelf!). Any other reads will be bonuses after that. Reading an average of four or five books a month this year has kicked my self-esteem’s butt, so we’re going to set the bar nice and low to start 2021 off!

 

My Top 3 Posts

For all the messiness of December 2020, I’m still pleased with the posts I put out. These three are the ones I had the most fun sharing, and I hope you enjoy them too!

1. Top 5 Tuesday || Posts of 2020

2. Mexican Gothic Review

3. 2021 Blogging Resolutions

 

Favorites From Around the Blogging World

What would a Monthly Wrap be, though, without the highlights from all of you? This last year has been an amazing one for posts, and it’s always so hard to narrow it down to just a few. I’ve crossed my fingers that you enjoy these stars of my reading lists as much as I did, and that you find something useful in there too!

Lisa @ Way Too Fantasy talks about why she’s limiting her participation in reading challenges for 2021!

CW @ The Quiet Pond offers a list of suggestions for tackling reviews that make you feel like you’re out of your depth!

Charlotte @ Reads Rainbow recommends 10 contemporary LGBTQIA+ books that aren’t about coming out!

Kal @ Reader Voracious unveils her 2021 Reader Spreadsheet in all its glory!

Shruti @ This is Lit points out 11 releases to watch out for in 2021 featuring fat main characters!

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane shares her top 5 tips for time management as a blogger!

 

And that’s it for this month! I wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope to see nothing but good things for you in 2021.  🎆🎉

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