Lately With Lila December 2020 | Goodbye 2020 & Good Riddance!

Hey, friends, how’re you all doing? I hope you are well, safe, happy, and healthy and if not, I hope brighter days head your way soon!

I cannot believe we made it through the last month of the eternity that was 2020 and into 2021. I, for one, am really hoping this year will be better, but I’m being cautious with my optimism.

Anyhoo, when it comes to my media consumption in December 2020, it was pretty sparse. Between my college finals and the holiday season, I didn’t have much time to read or watch movies or shows. But, what I did manage to get to was pretty enjoyable, so, let’s take a look…

BLOG UPDATES

I decided to get my blog a “Christmas Present” of sorts in the form of a re-brand using a design I’ve wanted for ages that was finally on sale! I really love my new blog design, it feels so special and uniquely “me,” so I don’t foresee it changing anymore for a good long while!

WHAT I POSTED

• Lately With Lila | November 2020
• Five Graphic Novels/Comics To Pick Up During A Readathon
• Five Books I’ve Picked Up And Re-Shelved
• Thinking Out Loud | Hi, I Have No Internal Monologue And This Is How I Think
• The Stuck At Home Book Tag
• “Written in the Margins” Traveling Book Club Announcement
• BONUS! I contributed to Kate at Reading Through Infinity‘s post about books that helped us get through 2020!

WHAT I READ

• Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco ★★★.5 While I enjoyed this book, I actually ended up eventually lowering its rating after some thought. Kingdom of the Wicked was absolutely a wildly fun guilty pleasure kind of read, but it also wasn’t the best written. This was largely due to the fact that characters read a bit like stock characters and the main character in particular came off as slightly airheaded. The romance also seemed a little typical of YA romances nowadays. And, finally, I guessed literally every twist the book tried to pull off. That all being said, I did find this book to be enjoyable and fun, so in the end I gave it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

WHAT I PURCHASED

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WHAT I ACQUIRED FROM PUBLISHERS

Thank you to the lovely publishers who allowed me access to these ARCs!

WHAT I PLAN ON READING

• Lightbringer by Claire Legrand I’m already a quarter of the way through this one and *aaaaaah the stress is already hitting me*!! Legrand is a master of that kind of slow motion type of tension that just makes my stomach tie itself in knots. It’s both bittersweet and anxiety-producing knowing this is the end of one of my favorite series, but I have faith in Legrand to end it well.
• A Sky Beyond The Storm by Sabaa Tahir And here’s yet another bittersweet ending that I’ve been trying to delay!
• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow Have I talked enough about how I want to read this book without actually reading it enough? Yes? Okay…
• The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab I started this one back when it released but set it down because I had finals. I loved what I read of it and am hoping to finish it up soon!

WHAT I WATCHED

Sadly, I didn’t really watch much in December 😦

WHAT I LISTENED TO

HIGH NOTES

• “Fade Away” by Logic Logic is just one of those music artists whose work I always end up loving, so it’s no surprise that I’ve been groovin’ to “Fade Away” all month long.
• “Dynamite” by BTS I don’t really feel any kinda way about BTS in general, but every once in a while they release a straight up bop and this is one of those times!
• “Juice” by Lizzo Another fun, groovy, feel-good song that I love from Lizzo? *Miranda Priestly voice* Groundbreaking.

WHAT I BOOKMARKED

FOR READERS

• Ely took the opportunity to gush about books she didn’t talk enough about in 2020 and to discuss what she wants to read more of in 2021
• Cat compared book covers to world famous paintings
• Prutha got ahead of the curve and shared her most anticipated 2021 releases
• Jawahir made a playlist based on Henry Strauss from The Invisible Life of Addie Larue and also paired books and teas
• Stephanie showed off her favorite audiobooks of 2020 and shared her journey reading more POC authors and what she learned on the way
• Laura recommended graphic novels to help you catch up on you Goodreads goal
• Sofia talked about upcoming book-to-screen adaptations she’s looking forward to and about re-reading books
• Shealea shared a database of 2021 Asian-authored books
• 24hryabookblog tipped us off to YA books of 2021 that are by POC authors that we should add to our TBR
• Rosina gave us a newbie’s guide to Romance novels
• Maria started a booktube channel
• Sabrina celebrated her birthday (happy belated birthday!!!) by sharing 25 sequels she wants to read before she turns 25
• Lydia spilled the beans about great bookish gifts
• The Orangutan Librarian reflected on books they found relatable
• Clo recommended bookish businesses she’s made purchases from
• Jess showed us some bookish Christmas gift ideas
• The ladies of The Quiet Pond recommended diverse modern retellings of classics
• Amy told us why we should watch Netflix’s adaptation of Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares
• Cosette discussed trigger warnings in books
• Sage expressed their frustration over books constantly being compared to Six of Crows
• Hollie reasoned out why you should stop buying books from Amazon (if you can)
• Aentee made phone wallpapers based on R.F. Kuang’s The Burning God
• Veronika recommended books based on her favorite albums

FOR BLOGGERS

• Enjoy tracking your reading? Plenty of bloggers have shared their reading spreadsheets! Check them out!
  • Kal at Reader Voracious shared their ultimate blogger reading spreadsheet for 2021
  • Shealea of Shut Up, Shealea shared her reading spreadsheet as well
• Marie gave tips for time management as a blogger
• Sofii is creating a definitive book blogger list
• CW shared resources they used to revamp their blog
• Krysta talked over being okay with not being paid as a blogger

FOR FUN

• The gals at Northern Plunder talked about tarot spreads for the new year
• Ely shared what she learned from 2020’s NaNoWriMo

WHAT HAPPENNED IN DECEMBER 2020

To be honest, my mental health took a massive plummet in December. It just kinda feels like the whole year finally kind of crashed into me, ya know? I felt lonely and isolated and sad and, if I’m being honest, those feelings haven’t really resolved themselves. What can I say, life’s not always rainbows and sunshine and while it’s totally okay to go through emotional rough patches, that doesn’t stop it from feeling really sucky when you’re in the thick of it.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR JANUARY 2021

Well, school starts again, which is something I guess? I’m enrolled in Principles of Anthropology II, Anatomy and Physiology I, and History of the American Indian—all classes which I’m really excited for! As someone who’s part Cherokee, I’m particularly excited for that history course, which focuses on the history and culture of Indigenous Americans from a non-Western perspective. Other than school, though, there’s not much on the docket. Guess I’ll have to wait and see what the first month of 2021 has in store. After all, what could possibly go wrong after the hellscape that was 2020?

SPILL THE BEANS, FRIENDS!

How was your December? Did you read anything good in the past month? Are you looking forward to anything in this coming January? What books on your TBR are you excited about?