Everything I Read in December

I had read 119 books as of November 30th. I did not think there was any way I would surpass my 2023 reading high of 135 books. But then I had two weeks off work. During that time, I listened to three audiobooks. I also challenged myself to read at least one hour a day. Voila! I got to 136 by 12/29, and that was even before adding in year end books like our devotional and the Bible. Sure, I was still distracted. Yes, I also spent a lot of time on social media, dilly-dallying about, etc., but I also got in some very good books! Praise the Lord! Here's my final list:

120) So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones—Bella Kirkwood moves from Manhattan, New York to Truman, Oklahoma when her mother remarried. She’s snobby and rude and prissy and materialistic, as well as overly self-focused, but over time, all this starts to change. While this is definitely a book about Hugh schoolers written for young adults, it has some depth to it along with the slapstick silly humor. It also has some mystery to it added by Bella’s piece about the football team. Add hints of romance with a frenemy, and it made for a fun, clean read—for this adult as well as for the teens for whom Jenny B. Jones wrote it.

121) I’m So Sure by Jenny B. Jones—Book two in this series has Bella Kirkwood maturing, but still having way too many klutzy moments, and this time on camera, since her stepdad Jake is on a wrestling reality show. After Bella’s exposure of the football team brotherhood, people keep coming to her to solve mysteries. The big mystery item is the sabotage of the prom queen race at Truman High School. (It’s not who I expected!) Newspaper Editor Luke Sullivan wants them to solve the mystery together (in part so he can protect Bella), but they have a love/hate relationship that makes that difficult. Then there is the issue of Hunter Penbrook, Bella’s ex-boyfriend who seems to be having a change of heart and coming to Christ. This book is silly, and serious, and a little bit Miss Congeniality-es que. While it doesn’t spellbind readers, it is sure to elicit some laughs, and I enjoyed it for a fun, easy read.

122) Loving Your Husband Well: A 52-Week Devotional for the Deeper, Richer Marriage Your Desire by Lisa Jacobson—This was a good, and convicting devotional to read. I did start late, and so ended up reading more than one devotional a week to get through in a year. Each devotional was well-laid out, though, based around a scripture with reflection and application questions, as well as a prayer to pray. Through this book, I was convicted about the many ways I can learn to love my husband better—through physical affection, selfless service and more—for the sake of the good of our marriage and the glory of the gospel. I highly recommend this book for Christian wives!

123) So Over My Head by Jenny B. Jones—Klutzy high school reporter Bella Kirkwood is back at it again, and in over her head trying to solve both a mystery regarding her father in New York, as well as a murder at a circus in Truman, Oklahoma. She has broken up with her editor turned boyfriend Luke Sullivan and is having trust issues. She is realizing what really matters, and still getting herself into predicaments. As with the last two books in these series, I was not rapt in reading, but it was fun, easy, and lighthearted. Sometimes it is good to not be in over my head with a book and rather ease in and out of it.

124) The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture by Haley Stewart—Haley and Daniel Stewart converted to Catholicism while in college. In their early marriage, they moved from Florida to Waco, Texas to pursue a farm internship for Daniel, and a simpler way of life. This book is an ode to their journey, to eschewing the throwaway culture and living for God and people instead of materialism. There are plenty of references to the saints (and even Harry Potter), but overall this book reminded me about what really matters and reminded me to embrace it, especially in this very worldly season of Christmas time.

125) All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon—This book definitely makes my best reads of the year list. The author develops characters Mackenzie Graham and Jeremy Fletcher with depth. The plot of a work contest and subplots of the individual’s personal lives are both comedic and poignant. The book contains scriptural and psychological truths about anxiety and management of it. Happily ever after does work out in the end, but with a workplace conclusion I did not expect. Overall, this is great book about finding the meaning of Christmas in serving others rather than amassing gains for self. I applaud this author and wish my library had more of her books for me to read!

126) Small Town Christmas by Gail Gaymer Martin—This was a quick Christmas novella about Chicago city teacher Amy Carroll who goes home to Harrisville to work as a temporary teacher. There, she falls for twin mischief makers Holly and Ivy (born December 24) and their widowed father, Mike Russet. There are some sweet and poignant moments here, as well as a call to trust God and look to Him for joy. The book is too short to develop a very sophisticated plot, but that just makes it a good short and small read for Christmas time.

127) Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright: A Play by Jeffrey Hatcher, Directed by Eric Simonsen & Brenden Fox Starring Robert Foxworth and Amy Brenneman—I gained an interest in Frank Lloyd Wright after living near the sites of several of his buildings, as well as a blog depicting visits to some of his other works (The Birchwood Pie Project). Through this fictional play, I learned more about Wright’s life and projects. Overall, as the commentators to the play state, Wright was a great architect, but not a great man. He was a womanizer, an absent father, a manipulator, a poor financial manager, and more. He was also known for his lack of truthfulness, which leads to no one really knowing what went on in his life. Though short, this play does intrigue me and make me want to learn more about the man and his work, unsavory though he was.

128) Her Christmas Cowboy by Brenda Minton—Russian adoptee turned Oklahoma bull rider and cowboy Travis Cooper is a flirt and has never dated a woman long enough to see a future with her. Elizabeth Harden is a businesswoman from St. Louis, recently jilted by her fiancee, and in town only long enough to fulfill publicity duties for her father. Then an ice storm hits, and she is forced to stay in town. She and Travis hit it off, and yes, in one week, fall in love, but not without some misunderstandings. I enjoyed the focus on faith, family, and presence in this book. It made for a nice short and sweet read before the holidays.

129) I’ll Be There (But I’ll Be Wearing Sweatpants): Finding Unexpected, Real-Life Friendships in This Crazy, Chaotic World by Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston—This book was not life-changing, but it was real. As such it focused on the real-life struggles of friendships: the insecurities, the breakups, and the drifting apart. It also focused on the power of communication, genuineness, and vulnerability. Written by two real life friends, complete with personal stories, and read in their own voices (I listed on audio), it was a good reminder that being friends takes time and work, but that maintaining friends is vital to personal and communal health.

130) The Cowboy’s Christmas Courtship by Brenda Minton—After an injury on the bull riding circuit, Gage Cooper comes home to Dawson Creek to make amends. That stays with Layla Silvers, the high school friend he jilted. Layla is trying to keep it all together raise her 15 year-old brother Brandon. She doesn’t ask for help, even though she needs it. Gage offers help, even imposes it, and before long, he is falling for her. The problem is that he doesn’t have a history of staying around. Rather, he runs when things get hard. This is a Christmas tale of two people facing painful pasts and in the midst of that, learning to love. Sure, three weeks of renewed friendship is short to turn into a courtship, but hey, it’s a Christmas novella and that’s the way things work!

131) Season of Hope by Virginia Carmichael—Evie Thorne and Dr. Gavin Sawyer meet on The Mission finance committee. They're a bit star struck, even in their harried states, and they only grow more so as time passes. The problem is that they are both fighting guilt. Evie is wrestling with a decision she made years ago. Gavin is trying to save the city from a Pertussis outbreak. Paths collide and Gavin's sister Allison and her son Sean enter the mix. This is sweet story about love, forgiveness, and hope for the future. More poignant than some Christmas novellas, it was a good read.

132) Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry—I listened to this book on audio, and boy was it a doozy! I don’t recommend if you are triggered by talk of abandonment, addiction, drugs, or sex. It has lots of those. It is also full of bad language. So why did I listen? Because I always wonder about people’s stories. Though I never watched the show Friends, I watched the world mourn after Perry’s abrupt and unexpected death. I wondered what happened. This book pretty much explains it. He eerily writes that this is his “after death book, and at this point, it sadly is. In the book, he is writing after colon surgery and pneumonia that left him, at one point, on an ECMO machine. That is the interludes of the story, though. The rest is the story of a young baby given phenobarbital for colic, a boy feeling abandoned by his parents, an adult struggling with addiction, and a man who wanted love, but could not stomach the risks of it. Perry writes of 65 detoxes and not thinking he could make it through another one. Sadly, this was the true story. He writes of encounters with “God,” but never with Jesus. He never talks about true salvation. He writes of thinking his purpose was to help other addicts, all the while wanting a different brain that would not be addicted. This is really a sad tale, a reminder that loneliness is truly terrible, that everyone needs someone—even a very rich and famous person—and that addiction (“the big terrible thing”) is a real disease that needs ongoing support and treatment. While I would not recommend this book, it was sadly insightful and I hope it motivates me, if nothing else, to have more empathy and compassion for the people around me.

133) Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro—Author Dani Shapiro’s world changed when she got back the results of her genetic test. She wasn’t related to her half-sister, at all. Thus started a winding path to discovering that she was conceived via artificial insemination, at a time when this was far from kosher for her Orthodox Jewish parents. Shapiro goes from thinking her parents knew, to understanding that they did not. She goes on a long search to find her biological father, and surprise, she actually does. She goes on to see if building a relationship with him will answer her questions and feel the father-shaped hole within her. In the end, she is forced to make peace with uncertainty, to let life be as it may, and to embrace all of herself, even the parts she never knew, but now does, forcing her to understand her identity in new ways. Her inheritance is so much more than biology, but it is biology, too.

134) Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross—Hazel Greenberg Blum says, “No,” when propositioned by her new high school principal. That sets off a firestorm of events in her town, and in her family. Through it, she learns how to keep standing up for herself, saying, “No” to things that aren’t right for her, and even an occasional yes. I read this book after a recommendation from Kendra Adachi in her Lazy Genius newsletter. Honestly, I am kind of surprised she recommended it because of the content matters and because of the language. Yes, it’s well written (and possibly part autobiographical of the author?), but the subject matter is intense. Definitely read with care, and it is okay to say, “No to this book, too.

135) When Making Others Happy is Making You Miserable by Karen Ehman—This was a good book! While I no longer think of myself as a people pleaser, (I say, “No,” a lot, probably most of the time), I do think I care too much about what people think of me. Through her own stories, as well as practical advice, Ehman challenges readers to live for God’s pleasure first, loving others second. Fearing man is idolatry, she states. Ouch! Ehman reminds readers that being capable of doing something does not necessarily indicate calling. Every, “Yes” is a “No” to something else. As I consider this next year and seek out what God has for me, I need these reminders. Although I consider myself a, “No,” woman, I still think I am giving away too many of my, “Yeses.”

136) The Marriage Devotional: 52 Days to Strengthen the Soul of Your Marriage by Levi and Jennie Lusko—This was our weekly devotional for 2025, and it was solid. Compromised of 12 different topical sections, it covered a comprehensive list of marriage topics, from the biblical purpose of marriage, to dating, to sex, to planning for the future, and so much more. Written in the voices of Levi and Jennie Lusko (sometimes together, sometimes separate), each week’s reading had a “Bring it Home” section, as well as “Conversation Starters” and a prayer. Questions and activities did help us deepen our connection, understand one another better, and grow in the Lord. I would definitely recommend this marriage devotional to others, and I think I will keep it around to revisit in another few years. It’s that good!

137) The Bible—Another trip through the Bible—thank you, Lord! (Side note, does this count as one book or 66 books?) This year, I made my first trip through the English Standard Version, using, for the first time, a chronological Bible reading plan, in conjunction with the Bible Recap podcast. I listened to and/or watched each book’s introduction from The Bible Project. It was good to get a fresh look on the Bible through these means. I found it both helpful and difficult to read such big chunks of the Bible at a time. (In past plans, I read a little from four parts of the Bible at once, rather than all from one part.) I did learn a lot. I continue to be convicted that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12, ESV). I hope that I get to continue reading the Bible for as I live and have the cognitive and physical abilities to do so.

138) There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones—Another one by Jenny B. Jones, and though it is a young adult book, this one packs some punches (and was made into a movie). Set primarily in Ireland, it is the story of hotel heiress Finley Sinclair’s foreign exchange year, a year she hopes will reset her life after it fell into smithereens when her older brother died. Along the way, she meets actor Beckett Rush, a man she is determined not to like, but somehow does. This book hits some hard topics like cancer, eating disorders, and grief. It has some funny moments, but also some very poignant ones. Lessons about connection to God, presence, and learning to stay, even when things get hard stand out. This is a good book, but might should be read with support or check-ins for some youth, especially younger ones.

139) Catching Whimsy: 365 Days of Possibility by Bob Goff—I am a big Bob Goff fan, and this devotional delivers spiritual truth in his signature style. Some stories I have heard before, and some are new. With each reading comes Scripture, encouragement to embrace Jesus and who he made you to be, and a call to go out and love the world with that. I appreciated this devotional’s dedication to practical, lived out faith, as well as the encouragement to embrace some whimsy and delight while doing it.

140) The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines with Mark Dagostino—This is the story of Fixer Upper: from the pilot episode shoot, back to when Chip and Joanna met and got married, to building the silos sight they have now. They write about financial troubles, about focusing on perfection instead of family, about miracles that helped them achieve their dreams, and about finding contentment in the journey. They write some about their faith, but vaguely. That fits, because this is the story of their company. I would be interested to read more about their faith and how that affected their life, family, and work as well. They have a few more books for me to explore, so maybe I just have not read that story yet.

Note: In this audio book, Chip and Joanna alternate reading, making for a very entertaining listen. I recommend audiobook format if accessible!
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Readers, what do you think? Should I keep recapping my reading like this? Is there anything else you would like to see in my reading reviews? Please let me know in the comments.