What I Read in December 2024

Happy New Year, friends! Hope the holidays were good to you and that 2025 has been good to you so far. Today, I’m sharing the five books I read in December:

LOVELY ONE by Ketanji Brown Jackson

Naturally, I expected the memoir of the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court to be inspirational, which it absolutely is. My biggest takeaway from Lovely One was that the Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has lived such a full life. From having grown up as a debate kid in Florida to being a theatre kid in Harvard to successfully raising her two daughters with her college sweetheart while both continue to excel in their careers, she seems to do it all (Did you see she was on Broadway recently?!). Of course, it’s not without challenges and struggles which she shares in the book. She’s a great narrator (and singer at a few different points) so I would recommend listening to the audiobook for this one.

YOU’VE GOT THE MAP BACKWARDS by Brian Usobiaga

I was gifted an eBook of this novella by the author Brian Usobiaga, and I’m so glad I’ve had a chance to read this coming-of-age story! You’ve Got the Map Backwards is about two friends Sarah and Aisha who grew up as childhood besties. In recent years, they have drifted apart and are each fighting their battles alone. The friendship depicted in You’ve Got the Map Backwards felt real and relatable. The story doesn’t have a perfectly happy ending with a nice bow on top which does contribute to the authenticity though a part of me wishes this was longer so we could’ve seen more of a resolution and hear more from Sarah and Aisha in general.

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART by Monika Kim

Of the books I’ve read, The Eyes Are the Best Part may be the most fitting for the horror genre. Following an abrupt departure by her dad, Ji-won’s life along with her mother and sisters’ seem to fall apart. After her mom starts dating this old white man named George who is creepy and uncomfortable, things even get worse and Ji-won starts to dream about eyes. I will let you read/imagine how those dreams tie back to the title of the book…

KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST by Adam Hochschild

This one was heavy. I only recently learned about the extent of the brutality that Belgium, King Leopod II in particular, exerted on the Congo. After the initial shock, I decided to learn more about the history which led me to King Leopold’s Ghost. It provided a comprehensive yet digestible enough of an introduction/summary to understand the how the King Leopold manipulated and lied, playing the long games, to privately own Belgium as his and extorted and exterminated the Congolese people.

THE FOX WIFE by Yangsze Choo

I totally didn’t realize until after starting The Fox Wife that it’s written by the same author as The Night Tiger, which I read back in 2020 and really enjoyed! Set during the Qing dynasty, The Fox Wife is told in two alternating POVs: Snow, who is supposedly “The Fox Wife”, on the hunt to avenge her child’s death and Bao, an investigator who is looking for the truth though he doesn’t quite know what that is or who it involves. Of course, these two’s stories merge as they are actually intertwined spanning several decades. As with The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo creates her own unique genre of mystery and magic in The Fox Wife.

P.S. I’m currently reading Intermezzo by Sally Rooney and listening to The Wedding People by Alison Espach!