Happy 2024! (What I Read in November and December)

I know, I know - I skipped November! It's been a very busy last two months of the year! In November, we traveled to Kansas City for my cousin's wedding, spent a week in Detroit for Thanksgiving. Poppy's Paints really took off in December, with a pop up event and a table at the Chicago Artisan Market. And then we headed to KC and then Denver/Bailey to celebrate Christmas and see where my brother lives and explore Denver a bit. Today we closed out 2023 with a Mr. Dave New Year's Eve Baby Rave, including a countdown to noon. It was awesome :D

I usually am able to read a ton while traveling, and I also took a good chunk of time off of work that I was hoping to use to relax and read, but...best laid plans :) Still got some good reading in, though, and actually I'd recommend everything that I read in these two months:

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren: Very cute teen romance, with a bit of an outlandish ending for all your high school drama dreams. Would recommend!

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman: A feel-good, fun friend-mance book about Christmas and friendships evolving over time. This was written by a long-time book podcaster, and was exciting to see a vocally aspiring author have her work published! Would recommend!

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Susan: Reminded me quite a bit of Romantic Comedy (even in the cover design) - which is a good thing! A romance about a writer and Hollywood with main characters in their 30s. Would recommend!

My Murder by Katie Williams: A futuristic not-quite-mystery. Hard to describe the book without giving much away, so I'll just leave it at that! A friend who is also a book blogger (shout out @katyisreading) recommended, and so I added it to my Libby. Not similar to what I normally read, but would recommend!

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin: I don't remember where I got this recommendation, but glad I did! Some teen drama, some romance, some friendship. Also a bit different from my "typical" romcom. Would recommend!

Which brings my Total Books for 2023: 40. Not a competition or a race, but definitely interesting to track! A few years ago, I had felt like I had fallen off of a good reading habit, and it is something I've enjoyed since I was little, so wanted to get back into it. Then, two summers ago I was chatting with my sister-in-law who is a librarian and was commenting on how I don't know how all these book bloggers read so many books in a year. Well - here we are! I know many people read more and many people read less (and I still can't get through my darn TBR pile and all the recommendations I get!) but glad to have reignited the spark for reading!

I can't pick a single favorite, but I'll go with a few highlights:

Lessons in Chemistry

Remarkably Bright Creatures

All My Rage

Carrie Soto is Back

Romantic Comedy

Tom Lake

And in honor of the new year, here are my Ins and Outs for 2024:

In:

Trying new things

Romanticizing your life

Crafting (obviously)

Reading (still) 

FaceTiming family

Making new connections/friends/peers/mentors who help you achieve your goals

Planning ahead

Setting boundaries

Exercising to feel good

Optimism

Being your own biggest fan

Out:

Perfection

Clothes you've outgrown (literally or figuratively) taking up space in your closet

Spending our 5-9 on our 9-5

Low-fat / non-fat (except Diet Coke)

Skipping the stretch

Worrying about being uncool online or in person

Only doing things you enjoy after your chores are done

Everything bagels (but bagels are still very much in)

xoxo,

Emma