Monthly Wrapups

What I’ve been up to in December 🎄 Stress, Christmas & the end of the year

Caro @ bookcheshirecat

December Wrapup

Hello fellow bookworms 🎄 Happy new year!! I hope 2021 is a better year for all of us and brings us some peace 🙏 It’s so surreal that it’s already January again, I wasn’t at all ready for December and the end of the year. My mind was still stuck somewhere along the way in 2020 😱 My favorite time of the year wasn’t as festive this year with everything going on, but there were still some good things happening as well, the biggest being Christmas and my (kind of) winter break! ❄

I also decided to do my big exam hiatus from February to Mid March, as this is when I’ll be studying hard for my finals and doing my last assignments. Otherwise, I decided to not be on hiatus anymore, as I feel like I cannot 100% go back to doing as much as I did before. My Master’s Program is much harder than my Bachelor’s Program, so it’s a new situation for me. I’ll still be active on the blog, but I cannot promise 2 posts per week all the time. I’ll be posting as much as possible and blog hopping when I have time, but please be patient if it takes me a bit longer. I’ll be blogging as it relaxes me so much and is it’s own type of self care ❤

Important Resources

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whatiread

🔄 = Reread 💌 = Library Books 🌈 = Here and Queerathon

🐯 = #YARC2020 ✨= #StartOnYourShelfathon ⌛ = Digital Arc

I read 13 books in December, which I was surprised by as I still had lots of work to do for university. I hope this means that I’m slowly adjusting to the workload and finding my calm moments to just enjoy reading 🙏 I’d say that I had a good reading month and finished 2020 with a bang, especially as I read many festive books and participated in 2 festive Readathons: the Tistheseasonathon and Reindeer Readathon 🎄 Being excited for my seasonal Christmas/Winter reading definitely helped to keep me motivated and inspired to read. I also got a lot better at unwinding before bed by reading, which had been hard for me in November 🎉 There were sadly two disappointments this month – one a book that I was really looking forward to reading – but I also reread a ton of favorite books and discovered new ones! I still have a lot of reviews to catch up on, as between my uni work and doing blog work I haven’t had time to write them 😅 Nevertheless, I’m ready to dive into some new books in 2021!

OC Update

I read 2 books out of my comfort zone this month. Not really that much but overall I read over 50 books outside of my comfort zone in 2020, so I’m still happy with my progress! Both books were new adult romances and didn’t really blow me away. While Booked for Christmas was enjoyable, Wrapped Up in You sadly didn’t work for me 😔

OOCZ_ December

Booked for Christmas (Lily Menon) ⭐⭐⭐.5 ✨🐯

Wrapped Up in You (Talia Hibbert) ⭐⭐.5 💌🎧

tistheseason2020

Festive (2)

1. Let It Snow (Green, Myracle & Johnson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄 

2. A Boy Called Christmas (Lily Menon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ RTC!

3. Booked for Christmas (Lily Menon) ⭐⭐⭐.5 ✨🐯 ➽ Review

4. This Winter (Alice Oseman) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌🌈 ➽ Review

reindeerreadathon

Festive (3)

5. Memento (Kaufman & Kristoff) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ RTC!

6. My True Love Gave to Me (Anthology) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄

7. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄

8. Snow in Love (Stone, Friedman, De La Cruz, West) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄

9. The Christmasaurus (Tom Flechter) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ RTC!

Festive (6)

10. Heartstopper Vol 1. (Alice Oseman) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄 

11. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (Karina Yan Glaser) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ RTC!

12. One Way or Another (Kara McDowell) ⭐⭐.5 💌 ➽ RTC!

13. Wrapped Up in You (Talia Hibbert) ⭐⭐.5 💌 🎧 ➽ Review

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Favorite Book 💕

 

whatiposted

TIME TO GET FESTIVE 🎄 Tistheseasonathon & Reindeer Readathon TBR 🎄 Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas 👻 Ghosts, Banter and lots of yearning 

🎄 Books Under the Tree Tag 🎄 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎄 Review: The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan ✨ The end of the Percy Jacksonverse 

🎄 Winter Recommendations 2020 ❄ Festive & Wintery stories 🎄 Out of Your Comfort Zone 2020 Wrapup & 2021 Signup 💗 

🎄 Least Favorite Books 2020 🍵 discussing the disappointments of the year 🎄 Favorite Books of 2020 🏆 It’s time to talk favorites 💕

🎄 End of the Year Survey: 2020 Edition 💕 🎄 Goodbye 2020 🎇 An Annual Wrapup feat. my favorite quotes

faveposts

For this section of my wrapup I’m linking up with the Favorite Blog Posts of the Month Meme that has been created by Kristin @ kristinkravesbooks to showcase our favorite blogs of the month!

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life stuff

Work, work, work & not much festiveness 😴 December was so busy to me and I definitely felt that my Master’s course had a much bigger workload than I was used to. Online School didn’t help with this, as working through our lectures on my own and then doing more work afterwards took a lot out of me. As glad as I am not to have in-person classes right now, it was still challenging to spend so much time alone and working inside all day. That was why I started taking walks (see below) and also tried to meet up with a few classmates individually for walks outside. This was a bit harder as everyone was so busy as well, which I got, but also difficult for me as I live alone unlike the majority of the students. Of course I phoned my family and chatted with friends, but being by myself a lot got a bit tiring after a while, as it also meant I got swept up in doing work. I’m still glad that I moved and have my own space, but by the time my winter break started coming near, I was tired of working all day and not seeing anybody. I also didn’t feel much festive despite my efforts to rewatch my favorite movies and create a cozy atmosphere. This year was just so weird and difficult, it was hard to feel the usual wonder I have around this time. I know this isn’t the end of the world, but I was actually looking forward to feeling a bit better in December like I usually do.

Going Home for Christmas & Winter Break 🎄  I was fortunate enough to go home for Christmas and my Winter Break, which I know wasn’t possible for everyone. I wasn’t meeting up with anyone the week before I went back home and got picked up by my parents the week before Christmas. We spend the holidays with my Grandma who lives with us in the house but of course stayed home and didn’t visit any extended family. It was a quite and nice Christmas full of reflections and being grateful that we were all still here at the end of the year 🙏 It was honestly so nice to spend so much time with my family again, though I sadly had to work a bit as well after Christmas as I had presentations coming up and exercise questions to do. Still, I took it more slowly as I knew I needed to recharge during this break in order to be rested for the end of the semester.

Things that made me happy 😊

  • (Re)watching Christmas Movies 🎅 I’m not a movie person at all, except when it comes to Christmas movies! I rewatched my favorites and it put me at least a little bit into a festive mood 🥰 I also watched The Princess Switch 2 and Christmas Chronicles 2 with my friend Sandra 💕
  • I started to take a walk every day 🎄 This proved to be such an important part of my day, as I need a bit of movement and something to clear my mind after sitting inside all day. The Virus and Online Classes have me inside my flat all the time, so I always took a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood to recharge my batteries and unwind from work. I used to find walks boring, but now they provided me with an outline and having a few routes planned helped me so much 🥰
  • Getting into doing crosswords 📝 I didn’t find any new hobbies in quarantine but in the end of the year I really got into crosswords. My grandma loves doing them and when I tried one, I found that it was so much fun while still being challenging! It’s the perfect combination to keep my brain busy 😄
  • SNOW SNOW SNOW!!!!!!!!! There was snow for 12 days this year and it was the most magical thing ever! I moved to a town where it’s more likely to snow for university, and yet I was still surprised by how much snow we got. I cannot remember the last time I had this much snow. As someone who adores snow this made me very happy and I took a walk in my own Winter Wonderland every day 🥺❄

looking ahead

It’s the new year!! 🎆 There’s something so nice about a clean slate, even though the problems of the past year don’t naturally disappear. I’ve already started my classes again by the time you’re reading this and hope to do some of the assignments so I can focus on studying for my exams soon (which are at the end of February to Mid March). But I also hope to enjoy January as it’ll be a lot quieter than the upcoming months! I also want to stick to my resolutions and make time to care for myself and not let the stress take over. That’s easier said than done, but 2021 is the year of taking my mental and physical health more seriously 🌷 As for reading, I’ve got a few books I’d love to read and will be focusing on making time to enjoy them alongside my work. I want to be extra careful to read when I feel like it in 2021 without adding any pressure, so idk when I’ll do another Readathon, probably after my exams. Yet I’ve joined some 2021 Reading Challenges, which you’ll get to see very soon 🥰

Top 3 Priority Reads for 2021

  • Dead Voices (Katherine Arden) ✨
  • Network Effect (Martha Wells) 💗💌
  • Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead) 🔄 (St. Vladimir’s Readalong)

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What were you up to in December? What was your favorite book this month? I hope you’re staying safe 🎄

Published by Caro @ bookcheshirecat

33 thoughts on “What I’ve been up to in December 🎄 Stress, Christmas & the end of the year”

  1. Please do not stress about how often you post on here! I promise this is an outlet that is supposed to be fun and not a chore on top of a huge workload at uni. The blog will always be here for you, you got this! We’re happy to hear from you whenever you can fit it in 😀
    ❤ I hear you on these holidays not being as they usually are. I am glad you still got to spend it with your family in a safe way.
    Here's to hoping 2021 will be kinder!
    (As always, thanks for including me in the section with the shout outs to other blogs!!)

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    1. Sorry for the late reply! Thank you for the kind words, I was worried about how blogging would go and a bit sad to not be able to engage as much. But I’m happy to be back again now 🥰
      I hope you had nice holidays and a good start into the new year! 💕

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  2. This were such cute reads! I’m going to bookmark this post so I can come back to it next holiday season. Lovely post Caro, I cannot wait to see what you’ll read this month! Also, you read sooo much!! I’m so proud! Keep up the fantastic reading. And happy new year 2021!~~

    Best,
    ❤❤

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  3. I definitely relate to not feeling really festive this holiday time. Let’s hope 2021 will bring happiness!
    I’m glad you got to spend some time with your family, living on your own can definitely be challenging at times.
    The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street looks really cute, I have to put it on my tbr!
    Thank you so much for including my posts! 💚

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    1. Yes, I hope 2021 is a better year for us both 🙏 I was grateful to be able to spend some time with my family in the current situation, it was so nice to make the most of my winter break 😊 I picked up The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street on a whim and it turned out to be a lovely book! I especially loved the big family and chaotic sibling relationships 🥰
      You’re welcome! ❤

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  4. Happy New Year, Caro! It’s really inspiring how consistent you’ve been with blogging and how much you read while in your Masters program! I’m gonna miss your posts during the hiatus, but I’m glad that you’re able to give yourself the space to scale back 🙂. Aww, sorry that Wrapped Up in You didn’t work for you 😕 – I really enjoyed it haha 😅. But 12 days of snow sounds awesome 😍! I hope your year goes smoothly and that all your hard work pays off 🙂!

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    1. Happy New Year to you as well! 🥰 Aww thank you so much, that means a lot to me, Belle! 🥺❤ I love blogging (and it’s a nice break from studying), so I still have some posts planned 😊 I was really sad about Wrapped Up in You, but I still have Get a Life, Chloe Brown on my TBR & hope I like this book more 🙏 We’re still having soo much snow here! 🥰❄ Thank you! I hope everything works out for you as well!

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  6. I live for your Wrap Ups, your voice is so unique and honest!!! 🥺🥺✨✨ Thank you SO much for the mention, honey, you know that I’m deeply grateful for your support! ❤️
    I hope that 2021 brings you happiness and blessings, both for you and your loved ones & also A LOT OF GOOD READINGS 😍😍😍

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  7. I’m so glad you got to go home to your family and celebrate the holidays together. 🙂 It really sucks that you live alone and can’t meet up with your course mates a lot, but I’m happy you’re handling it well. (Or so it seems.) And yay for feeling like you’ve gotten better at handling the increased course work – I do hope your semester is going alright and that you’ll be able to have a not too stressful exam period. My semester starts in February, but I’ve now started working on my MA thesis and I’m already tired of it, haha.

    I try to walk 10.000 steps a day since quarantine started, so I’m glad you also enjoy walks. 😀 I’ll admit, though, a lot of the times I just don’t feel up to going out and I end up walking up and down our house as embarrassing as that is. I still remember my moms face the first time she saw it lmao. In any case, what I meant to say is that I love listening to podcasts (and audiobooks) while walking, so I definitely recommend that if you haven’t yet tried that. 😀

    My favorite book of the month was EASILY The House in the Cerulean Sea, which actually also became my favorite of the year. It’s such a wholesome, special novel. 😍 Happy 2021, Caro! And again, good luck for the rest of the semester!!

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    1. It was definitely nice to spend the holidays with my family! I usually do well with being on my own, but it is a bit sad that I don’t have as much contact with my classmates given the situation. The exam period was a lot, but at least I could study with one of my classmates! I wish you all the best luck with your thesis and new semester 💕

      Oh yes, it’s so important to keep moving, as it’s so easy to get restless! I actually haven’t tried that yet, but it sounds like a great idea!!
      I have heard such fantastic things about The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I’m happy to hear that you loved it! I hope to read it this year 🥰 Thank you! I hope you had a good start into the new year! 💕

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  8. I totally understand that you need to slow down on posts and take a hiatus for exams in the future. Honestly you blogging whilst doing such an intense university course is amazing to me, I’m in awe and all your posts are sooo good as well. I wish you all the best with it. I’m also happy to hear that blogging can be a form of self-care for you, that’s so wonderful.
    I’m sorry the Christmas period wasn’t able to be everything you wanted it to be this year. I wasn’t feeling the festive mood that much but the day itself ended up being really nice which I’m very thankful for. Today it is currently very frosty outside and I love looking outside to it !! It is so nice that you got to have such magical snowy scenery though !!
    Thank you so much for sharing my posts, I’m so glad you enjoyed them !! 🥰 I hope January is a great month for you !!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Sophie – I really appreciate them! ❤ It’s hard to balance blogging with my coursework, especially during exam season when I barely had time. So now I’m excited to finally have my exams behind me and more time to engage creatively with blogging, especially as it always makes me happy 🥰

      The festive season was truly strange this year, but I’m glad that you could still enjoy it! We also had some snow and it was so magical, I loved it! ❄ Thank you! I hope you had a good start into the new year ❤

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  9. ahh caro i really missed talking to you & commenting on your posts! i’m so sorry that it seems like your schedule is packed, but i have doubt that you’ll get through it & get the results you want ❤ online school really makes me feel so isolated & going for a walk each day is such a good idea bc i just spend the majority of the day in front of the screen on a zoom call or doing homework 😭😭 & unfortunately it doesn't snow here in the philippines, but i got to experience it when i went to japan last year & it was awesome 🥺 i hope you have a great new year's & that january 2021 goes well for you ❤

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    1. Aww that means so much to me, Caitlin! I missed that too ❤ It’s sad that I was so busy in the beginning of the year, but now I finally have some downtime again for blogging! 🥰 I feel you! Online Classes had me stuck inside all day and I need to take a walk to clear my head! I hope that you had a good start into the new year ❤🙏

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  10. ahh congrats on reading 13 books, that’s amazing!! and i’m so sorry that school wasn’t the best in december 😭😭 i’m glad you were still able to have a quiet and nice christmas! ahh i’m so jealous you got snow, it never snows where i live lmao so i had a sunny holiday season 😅 and thank you so much for sharing my post 🥺💖

    i hope you have a beautiful january and 2021, caro!! 🥰

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    1. Thank you! I hope you had a nice Christmas as well! I haven’t seen much snow in the past years, so I was very excited! It even snowed a lot in the new year and we got a second wave of snow 🥰❄ Very Happy to share your post!!

      I hope you had a good start into the new year, Ash! 💕

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  11. i totally feel you on things not feeling very festive this year!! i was in the holiday mood for the beginning of the month, but then it just faded away 😭 and yes for reading 13 books! i was also able to read the same amount, even with all the hecticness of the end of the year. i’m glad you were able to unwind before bed by reading — i really want to try to get better at that! i hope you have a great january ❤

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    1. Same, I was so busy with university that the stress kind of took away from my holiday excitement 🥺 I really compensated for all the stress by reading & it was great 😄 Happy to hear you were able to read lots of books as well! Making reading before bed a habit has been great 🥰 I hope you have a great month as well! ❤

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  12. Ooh so many fun and festive books! I’m so glad you were able to find time to read amid all your university work ☺

    Ahh I’m sorry that your holiday season wasn’t terribly festive, and I totally understand the disappointment that comes with that. It was definitely a weird Christmas. Glad you were able to spend some time with family, though!

    I hope your new year is full of many wonderful things ❤ Thanks so much for sharing my posts, and happy reading!

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    1. It was such a strange Christmas and end of the year, with everything that happened in 2020, but I still had a nice time! I hope you also had a good start into the new year and have found many great new books to love ❤

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  13. I’m really happy to hear you could go back to your family for the christmas season, that’s wonderful ❤ it's been especially tough this year and I get the whole not feeling festive at all, I wasn't, either. Though… I never really am haha.
    I hope you can make some time for yourself and that you won't put too much pressure on your reading or blogging, Caro . Take care of yourself first and always ❤ Sendingg you tons of love ❤

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    1. It was nice to spend Christmas with my family and have a quick break from university! 🥰 I’m relieved I’m done with my exams now, it was really hard to find time for blogging and relaxing 😔 Thank you for the kind words!! ❤

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  14. Pingback: The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award – Morgan Is Reading Again

  15. Omg, first of all, thank you so much for mentioning my TWO posts, Caro. You are too kind xoxo

    And secondly, I’m sorry that December was stressful to you and I hope that January is treating you well (I’m a bit late to this post whoops). But yay for all the Christmas books you read, my reading month was definitely not as festive hahah. Also very glad that you managed to do things that allowed you to distress. Crosswords and walks sound so calming

    Sending all the love your way <3<3

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    1. Always happy to share your posts 💕 I’m definitely feeling better now, especially as I have my exams behind me! Crosswords and walks are great for destressing and I’ve also been using my coloring books 🥰 I hope you had a good start into 2021! ❤

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  17. Please don’t stress about how frequently you post! If I have learned anything, followers really don’t care and prefer that you take care of yourself.

    Watching Christmas movies is something that brings me so much joy, and I swear I watched a few of them like 15 times in December! I needed a lot of joy! I hope 2021 is treating you okay and exam preparation is going well.

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    1. I’m really trying to be more relaxed about my posting times and just post as much as I can depending on how much time I have 🙏 Thank you for the kind words 🥰

      I also watched so many Christmas movies back in December, they are so great for escapism! I hope you had a good start into 2021, Kal!! 💕

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