My Favorite Books of December

It’s tough going into the last month of the year knowing that you aren’t going to meet your reading goal. That’s exactly what I did this year.

I went into December somehow holding out hope that I could read 32 books to reach my 150-book total. Never mind that I average like 11 books a month. Ah, forever the optimist.

I didn’t get far into the month before realizing my goal was impossible given that I have other obligations aside from reading, and I needed just to go ahead and enjoy the last reading month of the year.

Best Books of December 2022

I read 14 books in December to end the year having read 132 books. Of those 14, I gave two nonfiction and three fiction books perfect grades. Here are my reviews.

Are You Sara?

I love a unique storyline! When you read as much as I do, you start feeling like a lot of books are the same. It’s difficult to find a book that doesn’t read like something you’ve already read or isn’t easy to figure out almost immediately. Are You Sara? by S.C. Lalli wasn’t one of those books.

Sara and Sarah meet in a bar. Sara works there, and Sarah is a drunk customer that she is trying to help back home at the end of the night. The two hit it off, uniting over sharing a name. Sara orders them both rides, but when the other girl ends up dead in Sara’s neighborhood, she questions whether she actually was the target. Either way, who wanted one of them dead?

Doing Life With Your Adult Children

We’re in a unique time in our little family. Our children are legally adults, but they’re not quite completely independent yet. This new stage in our family attracted me to Jim Burns’ book, Doing Life with Your Adult Children. I think all parents in this stage would benefit from reading the book. Because, honestly, you’re still their parents, but you need a roadmap for how to have healthy adult relationships with your children.

It Starts With Us

A lot of readers in my social media groups didn’t like Colleen Hoover’s It Starts With Us. The book is the sequel to It Ends With Us, which was a powerful, important read on domestic violence. It seems a lot of readers didn’t think this next book did the first one justice. I disagree.

The new book picks up the story of Lily and how she’s making her own life for herself and her daughter after divorcing Ryle. Of course, because of their child together, Ryle is still part of Lily’s life, and she’s working to set boundaries and establish ways for him to be with his child safely.

As Lily is working to manage Ryle’s hopes of reconciling and doing what’s best for their daughter, her first love, Atlas, enters her life again. Will they finally get their happily ever after?

The Book of Boundaries

I almost didn’t give The Book of Boundaries a perfect grade. I wasn’t sure Melissa Urban was the best source of boundary information, given the way she presented her past struggles at the beginning of the book and because she’s most commonly associated with Whole 30. I’m going through this whole rejecting diet culture thing that made me pause before taking her advice. But then I couldn’t stop thinking about the practical way she wrote this book.

There are multiple books about boundaries out there, probably because we’re not too good at setting or enforcing them. What makes this one different is the scripts. The author provides more than 130 specific scripts to use with the people in your life who aren’t listening to or respecting your boundaries. So, she’s not just telling you that you need to set a boundary. She’s telling you how to do it, even when people refuse to listen.

The Child Finder

I’m not really a series reader, but every once in a while a book comes along that makes me want to read more about a character. The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld did that.

Naomi is “the child finder.” The private investigator is a kidnapping survivor with a talent for finding missing children.

Madison Culver went missing three years ago while cutting down a Christmas tree with her parents. The girl would be 8 years old now, and it seems the police have given up on finding her, especially alive. That’s when the Culvers turn to Naomi. 

Happy Reading!

There they are, my favorite books of December. While I didn’t meet my reading goal, I still read some amazing books, including two nonfiction books that helped me develop as a person. That’s a real win! 

What did you read and love in December? You know I love your recommendations. And, as always, happy reading!