In an attempt to be more organized and mindful, I’m going to start sharing my reading updates on a monthly basis. Here are the books I finished in December.

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a fast, enjoyable read that could have been much better if the characters had been fleshed out more. The plot is fairly predictable, as is the connection between the two women it centers around. What made it stand out for me was the settings, the descriptions of San Francisco in the early 1900s and the suburbs of Connecticut in the 1960s. The insight into grief and the way people react to it were good and I would have liked to have more of that and less of the unhappy housewife plot. Worth reading, just don’t expect something exceptional.

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had to keep reminding myself that this is a novel because it reads much more like a memoir. However it’s categorized, it’s excellent, full of difficult realities and harsh realizations about the American lifestyle and what it’s like to be a Muslim in our post 9/11 world. Highly recommended.

The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a beautifully written coming of age story, illustrating the impact of a traumatic event on 3 siblings. I appreciated how the author switched between each of the children in telling the story and I thought the author brilliantly captured the impact of their parents lives on the children as well. The ending is satisfying without being too perfect. Highly recommended.

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My goal was for us to travel the South looking for sites of cultural and culinary memory while researching my family history and seeing the food culture of the region as it stood in the early twenty-first century.
This is a deeply personal account of Twitty’s exploration of his genetic make up and how it impacts the food he prepares and shares with others. It’s a bit scattered and sometimes the genealogy is confusing, but the descriptions of meals and the retelling of stories of his enslaved ancestors make for a unique and important approach to the discussion of race and racism in society.

Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere by Ree Drummond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The first time I heard of Ree Drummond was when a friend linked to her blog and a recipe for French Breakfast Puffs – a muffin that is dipped in melted butter and then rolled in cinnamon sugar. I was immediately hooked by her down-to-earth style of writing and the recipes she shared, most of which were family oriented and the epitome of comfort cooking. Not much has changed in those 10 years except that Ree is now wildly successful and her brand has expanded far beyond her blog. This book isn’t great quality literature but it’s sweet and funny and I could hear Ree’s voice in my head when I read it. Recommended for readers of her blog and other followers.

It’s a bit of a shorter list than usual because the last book update I did included the first book I finished in December. Even as I typed that sentence, though, I thought . . . who cares? ha!

I have set my Reading Challenge for 2021 at 75 books, the same as the last few years. GoodReads tells me I’m already behind. And to that I say again . . . who cares?!

Happy Reading, friends. That’s really the best thing to care about.