Amber Can Read : December 2020 Edition

I know you have all on the edge of your seats wondering if I hit my Goodreads goal for 2020. Drum roll, please.

I did not. 

I made it to 77 books, which put me slightly above halfway to my goal of 150 books for the year. I had so much trouble getting into reading and focusing, so instead of being frustrated about falling short, I'm going to be happy that I still read as many books as I did! 

This year, I decided to go for 150 books as my goal, which is the exact same as last year. I feel better about this year though, even if we still are quarantined/locked down for a good part of it. I can't wait to dive into this year of reading and crush this goal!

But first, let's look at what I read in December!

Disclaimer: If you click on the picture of the book, then it will take you to an Amazon purchase link. If you choose to buy the book from that link, I will earn a few pennies from it. It won't cost you anything extra, so it's a win-win situation! 😉 If you click on the title of the book, it will take you to a Goodreads link for the book. Last thing - if you want to be friends on Goodreads, add me! 

Books read in December: 6

Books read in 2020: 77

1. More Myself by Alicia Keys

I've made it no secret that I enjoy celebrity memoirs, and I like her music (okay, I'm a surface fan; I like her music that I've heard on the radio), so I thought I would enjoy this one. At the beginning, I did. It was inspiring to read about how the daughter of a single mother worked hard, used her talent, and got signed for her first record deal. However, I liked her less and less as the book dragged on, and by the end, I was rolling my eyes and just skimming through it. I think what flipped the switch was when she started talking about her concept (borrowed from Oprah) of the resounding yes, making space in her life after tours/recording/events to have time alone with her family, her charitable work, etc. I'm all for confidence and being proud of who you are, but it read like a #humblebrag (only without the humble). It's absolutely wonderful that you can take the time off between your tours to be with your family and experience the peace of being at home. I'm so incredibly glad that you're able to only say yes to the events that nourish your soul. It's not that I don't think this is realistic for actual people; I think there's an opportunity for all of to do some variation of this. I think it's just the way that she puts it into words and presents it as "this is what I do, and if you don't like it, then tough on you." There's a part where she goes into the whole #nomakeup movement that evidently she was instrumental in starting, then another part where she talks about wearing makeup while being a judge on The Voice. Don't worry though - when another judge said that he thought she didn't wear makeup, she made sure to let him know that she does "whatever the f she wants to." Cool, cool. 

I didn't mean to go on such a rant about this book, but I think reading it in 2020 when life was exceedingly difficult for a number of people (including my family at times) just made me super salty. When you're having day-to-day issues, it's hard to cheer for someone who devotes time talking about how she and her husband like to give each other extravagant gifts and outdo each other every birthday. Wonderful. Meanwhile, I'll continue to keep my grocery order under $100 this week because, you know, we live in the actual world.

Recommended for: Anyone who is a huge fan of hers and won't care about all of the stuff I've complained about above, anyone who has low blood pressure and needs to raise theirs by reading about the struggles she has endured (particularly if you've just finished paying utility bills or something similar).

2. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward

I didn't like this one at all. I wanted to. There was one character (Cord) who I liked the most, and I was interested in his sister Reagan's sub-story, but that was about it. I found this book scattered, and I thought it was difficult to really care about any of the characters (except Cord). The only reason I finished it was because I wanted to see if there would be a good resolution to the events, but even that let me down. This book also had such an unsatisfying and abrupt ending. I was so mad, but since I finished it after Will was asleep, I couldn't even share how annoyed I was! I'm sure he's sad he missed that...

Recommended for: No one, unless you like disappointment and books about whiny families where the issues never fully get resolved. 

3. The End of October by Lawrence Wright

 

This felt like a couple of books mushed together. It was about an infectious disease scientist trying to contain a worldwide pandemic (seems a little familiar), but it was also about how his family was affected by it, a political scandal, a submarine, something about an old colleague of his, maybe 10 or 12 other sub-stories too, I don't know. It felt like too much disjointed content trying to fit together. Plus, I don't know the author's background, but he either is really good at research or has a history in some of this stuff because the writing was so boring at times, I can only assume he has written academic, peer-researched papers about these things. I didn't quit this one only because I wanted to see what would happen to the scientist and his family. I should've just looked it up online because it was such a blah book that wasted my time.

Recommended for: Fans of sci-fi-ish type stories who can handle boring and technical writing, people who can keep up with multiple plotlines better than I can.

4. Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

Lest you think my December was full of literary losers, this book has come to provide a little hope! This was the story of a woman who found a body floating under the deck in a lake near her home. After her husband finds out, he disappears for a few days, leaving her to try to solve the mystery of who the woman was. If that wasn't enough, it turns out that this is the second body that has been found in that lake; the first one belonged to her husband's first wife. This was a good mystery that showed how far people would go to protect their friendships and relationships. And honestly, I was just so excited to finally like a book this month!

Recommended for: Mystery fans, people who think lakes are disgusting and want another reason to stay out of them

5. Fly Guy Presents: Monster Trucks by Tedd Arnold

I got this one in a Book Fair preview pack during my school librarian days. I read it on Christmas Eve so I could give it to our younger nephew on Christmas (not as a gift - just as a book that Aunt Amber thought he'd find interesting!). I had never read any Fly Guy books, but I know that they're popular. This is a non-fiction title that gives information about a certain topic (obviously monster trucks in this case). It was quick and informative. Thanks to this book, I was able to recognize that our nephew got the "Gravedigger" truck for Christmas. See, reading does help you learn...

Recommended for: Kids or adults who want to be cool and learn to recognize popular monster trucks so they can briefly impress their nephews on Christmas day...

6. The Cousins by Karen McManus

I've read her other books (One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next) and while this one wasn't bad, it didn't capture me as much as the other two did. Maybe it's because this was set in a new place with different characters than the other two. Three cousins are summoned by their grandmother to spend a summer working at her resort. All of their parents encourage them to go since their grandmother disowned all of them years earlier via a letter and refused to have any contact with them. When the cousins get to the island where the resort is, their grandmother immediately leaves. Things just get weirder from there because of course they do!

Recommended for: Anyone who isn't close to their family and thinks that they need to change that, mystery fans

Didn't finish 

1. Notes from an Apocalypse by Mark O'Connell

This was on my library eBook's app under the "It's your lucky day" section, which I assume means that it's a popular title and it was my lucky day that it was available for checkout. Otherwise, they're pranking me because I did not feel like it was my lucky day to start reading this one. I got a couple of pages in and determined that it could be someone else's lucky day...

2. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

I was so excited about this one. I loved her Hyperbole and a Half comics and the subsequent book, but I just could not get into this one. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right head space for it or what, but I slogged through a good bit of it before deciding to return it early and be done with it. Have any of you read it? Should I go back and give it another try?

This month's favorite book: Definitely Stranger in the Lake because not only did it break my streak of crappy books but it was also just an enjoyable read!

This month's least favorite book: More Myself hands down. I mean, look at that rant. I think we all could've guessed this one...

Read any good books lately? Let me know in the comments!

Linking up with Steph and Jana!