December 2020 In Review

Overview

My December started with a job interview and ended with an offer of returning to the job I left in March. 😄 This week I return to being a FT children’s librarian, at the location where I previously worked for five months. I dreamed that would happen but never imagined it would. You should have seen me dancing around my apartment when I go the news…

As for Christmas holidays – of course, I had to hunker down here and not return to my hometown to see family. This is the second time in my life I’ve been away from home at Christmas. I learnt from the first time (which was pretty miserable) and made plans to make this time far more enjoyable. I checked into a hotel with a view and enjoyed a few days of video calling family, reading books (Nevermoor 🥰), and gazing out the window. So between that wee holiday and the job news, 2020 finally ended on a high note for me!

Books Finished

• What Is Zen?: Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind by Norman Fischer
• The Oldest Living Things in the World by Rachel A. Sussman
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Language of Ghosts by Heather Fawcett
• The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh
• Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
• Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
• This is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Sceince is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
• Wundersmith: The calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
• Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Books Reviewed

• I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel (adult non-fiction)
• Bloom and Hatch by Kenneth Oppel (MG thriller/speculative fiction)
• The Girl and the Ghost (MG speculative fiction)
• The Language of Ghosts by Heather Fawcett (MG high fantasy)
• The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh (MG high fantasy)

Posts Written

• Listed 15 middle grade releases from 2020 still on my TBR
• Reflected on whether I’d made any of the changes from my “A Book Blogger’s Reflections” series a year prior
• Highlighted 2021 middle grade releases on my radar
• Completed the End of Year Book Survey

Goals Check-In

Skipping for this month, as I wrote an entire post yesterday about my final 2020 goals progress. 😊

Shared on Twitter

The Middle Grade and Picture Book edition of the 2021 South Asian books database is now up! Check out these beautiful upcoming stories about detective trios, magical kingdoms, and fitting in. https://t.co/vHygGNEMK1 pic.twitter.com/iq9xLOPUZn

— Mishma (@chasingfaes) December 14, 2020

https://twitter.com/13thShelf/status/1339067459546931200

Who do we see in Canadian children’s books? The Star’s second annual diversity survey tells the story https://t.co/hS3PhxdhKP

While the voices represented in children’s books published in this country are still overwhelmingly white, other voices are gaining incrementally. pic.twitter.com/6mJ4wJX8gp

— Librarianship.ca (@LibrarianshipCA) December 18, 2020

Introducing BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND, a 2021 calendar.

Black authors, traditional and independents, fill out the form if you want to be added to the calendar. Everybody else (I'm looking at you publishers) please boost and share.

Form: https://t.co/GYVDpA6ysg https://t.co/iBQTbgyIjJ pic.twitter.com/usG0blVNnI

— Kwame the Gr8 (@KSekouM) December 14, 2020

Hm, an interesting point for those of us not involved with booktube and wondering about the ‘worst books’ discussion https://t.co/OvbM6VGzjD

— Jenna (@fallingletters) December 20, 2020

What I have been up to these Christmas days, since I couldn’t go to Wpg? Enjoying this view from a hotel as I read Nevermoor, eat Christmas cookies, and video call family. pic.twitter.com/88e1YhqntG

— Jenna (@fallingletters) December 27, 2020

These three books I received as Christmas gifts from @smashleygrose are a good representation of my interests 😛 (I have previously read and loved each of these) 🎄 🎁 📚 pic.twitter.com/n8N0CbXuQz

— Jenna (@fallingletters) December 28, 2020

https://twitter.com/SierraWritesYA/status/1343740468186775557

The three books I shared (less eloquently than I might have liked 😝) were COG by @gregvaneekhout, THE GIRL AND THE GHOST by @yesitshanna, and THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO by @CathBarnhart. Now to add some of the other titles to my TBR! #MGLitBC https://t.co/AEwRDKThuZ pic.twitter.com/UaPsmjOdjR

— Jenna (@fallingletters) December 31, 2020

<100 pages left in HOLLOWPOX and I'm doing that thing where you procrastinate reading a good book because you don't want it to end… #MGLit pic.twitter.com/IvjBFYhIvi

— Jenna (@fallingletters) December 31, 2020

On My Radar in January

#OwnVoices indicated below AFAIK (I haven’t read these books). Please notify me of any errors or places where I can be more specific.

• Month long – Kathie and Laurie @ Bit About Books are hosting a Winter 2021 Reading Challenge with emphasis on reading middle grade from January to March.
• 5 Jan. – Release date of The Sea in Winter by Christine Day (MG contemporary, Indigenous #ownvoices), Root Magic by Eden Royce (MG historical speculative fiction, Black #ownvoices), and The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams (adult historical fiction, queer rep)
• 12 Jan. – Release date of Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan Mcguire (adult fantasy, intersex rep)
• 19 Jan. – Release date of The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick (adult fantasy, queer rep), Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long (adult fantasy) and The Comeback by E.L. Shen (MG contemporary, Chinese-American #ownvoices)
• 26 Jan. – Release date of While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown (MG memoir, Japanese-American #ownvoices) and Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles (MG contemporary, Black #ownvoices)

How was your December? What new books, or bookish events, are you looking forward to this month?