Rounding off the final month of 2021, I managed to finish four books in December. Not the most I’ve read in a month, but a month that contained the longest Harry Potter book so I think I can let myself off. Also, it was a month where for a solid week I did no reading as I was eating, with family or drinking!
However, I did read a couple of great books in December and some not-so-great books too. Keep swiping scrolling to see which is which and whether you agree with my final verdicts and whether you’ve read any of these books either.
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Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
My summary of Ready Player Two: “As I stated earlier, Ready Player One ticked so many nerdy boxes for me and I absolutely adored it putting it in the upper tier of books I’d definitely reread. Ready Player Two on the other hand screams “sequel for the sake of a sequel”. I mean, fair play to Cline for writing a sequel, who wouldn’t after the hit success of the first? I just feel like it was too similar to the first but lacked any of the elements that made the first enjoyable.
If you enjoyed Ready Player One, temper your expectations for the sequel. It’s an OK-enough book if you’re into the cultural references used, however, don’t come expecting a sweeping storyline or well-developed characters.”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
I didn’t actually fully review this one as I haven’t yet reviewed all of the previous books in the series. However, I’m thoroughly enjoying going through a reread of all of the Harry Potter books with Stephen Fry narrating them all for me. The Order of the Phoenix is the first Harry Potter book where things start to get a little dark. Voldemort is at large and everybody is popping themselves that people are going missing. It’s brilliant, it’s magical and it’s sad that I know the reread will be done in two more books time.
If you’ve never read Harry Potter… well, why not. if you’ve seen the films, enjoyed them and think that’s enough, well it’s not. The books have so many more plot points and things obviously removed from the films to allow them to fit into 2 hours. I’d definitely recommend reading the books if you still haven’t.
- You can read my full review of The Philosopher’s Stonehere.
- Get your copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix here.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte
My summary of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte is bloody brilliant. Am I just saying this because I’m a dinosaur fan? Well isn’t there a certain aspect to fictional books that we much prefer reading genres that pique our interest? This could have easily been a boring information dump of a book. However, the way Brusatte describes events incorporates human stories and the speed with which he progresses through the timeline of events is brilliant.
If you’re a history or a dinosaur fan, I’d definitely recommend The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs or even if you’re not but enjoy educating yourself, it’s definitely worth a read.”
- Read my full review of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurshere.
- Get your copy of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurshere.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
My summary of Graceling: “I’d heard a lot of good things about Graceling before I went into it. I’d heard it had fun loveable characters and an interesting world. Don’t get me wrong, there’s potential here that I feel Cashore could fill out in the following books but Graceling itself just felt very hollow, rushed and unfinished.
If you want an easy and relatively easy read, I’d say Graceling may be up your street. If you’re new to fantasy and don’t want too many fantastical elements, politics or depth, then Graceling will suit you. However, if you’re slightly more experienced with fantasy or like deep characters and a twisting plot, I can’t really recommend Graceling.”
To summarise…
December was a busy month – work ramped up and so I was getting home more tired than normal and so wanting to relax in the evenings. Also there was a small annual event called Christmas to contend with which involved lots of relaxing, food, drink and seeing family which is never a bad thing. Therefore, I didn’t get through too many books this month, despite it being the season for cuddling up with a good book.
However, I did read a couple of bangers and am now over the peak of the Harry Potter hurdle with the next two books being far shorter reads. I’m over halfway through Half-Blood Prince and absolutely loving it, of course, so hoping to have the series finished by Feb/March time. I’ll likely start doing individual book reviews of each book and then do a series review!
I read and reviewed my first non-fiction book of the year in The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, which I found absolutely fascinating – probably mostly in part to my huge fascination with Dinosaurs.
What did you read in December? How many books did you read? Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Do you agree with my views?
