#december 2024 wrap up

[the---hermit]

December 2024 wrap up!I love how you can tell when the storygraph introduced the pause update lmao.

01|01|2025

Happy new year! I haven't really realized yet we are in a new year, I will definitely mess up the date for the next few weeks. I have started my year as just another day, I did my normal study routine, and I continued reviewing out loud my notes. It was a quiet day, I still managed to get some rest since I haven't had the best night of sleep, and overall I am happy with how the day turned out, I felt productive without feeling like I overworked myself.

Today's productivity:

Continued my first outloud review for my history of Sabaudian states exam

Signed up for the exam

Duolingo

📖: Iliad by Homer

[bloodstaineddarling]

december 2024 book wrap up

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab ☆☆☆☆

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent ☆☆

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor ☆☆☆☆

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow ☆☆☆☆☆

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang ☆☆

Book Lovers by Emily Henry ☆☆☆☆

A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber ☆☆

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer ☆☆☆

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer ☆☆

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer ☆

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang ☆☆☆

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke ☆☆☆☆☆

This month was a mixed bag because I wanted to finish all the series I had started, including Twilight. I love the first book—it’s still a 5/5 for me and totally iconic—but those last books… wow, they were tough to get through sometimes.

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King was bad. The first one I remember liking. It was fine. This... I did not enjoy at all. I will not be reading anything else from this series.

I also finished the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, and honestly, the last book was a bit of a letdown. It was good up to a point, but the last 100 pages left me confused, and I’m not sure I liked where it went. Still, the trilogy as a whole was definitely worth reading. I loved the world and characters; it felt so unique compared to a lot of fantasy out there.

The Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy was fun and cute—until the last book. It felt rushed, like it needed more time to develop. It wasn’t terrible, but it could have been so much better if it had been given more time to “cook.”

I also finished The Poppy War trilogy, and I can gladly say the last book was really good. For some reason, the first two books didn’t resonate with me as much. I recently found out the author was 19 when she wrote it, and honestly, that makes sense. I feel like she might write it differently today. I can see why it gets so many rave reviews, but to me, it felt heavy-handed at times, and the pacing was weird. Plus, I couldn’t get over the fact that they were teenagers doing all of that! That said, knowing it was inspired by real events makes me pause because, well… what do I know? At the end of the day, creating such a complex story is incredibly impressive. And as I mentioned, I really liked the last book and loved the ending. I’m glad I read it. I’ve seen some negative reviews of the series, and while I somewhat agree with them, I’m not going to dig into it here.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was okay. The ending broke me, but I wish the book hadn’t been so long. I understand why it was, but I also see why that’s a common criticism. Honestly, Peaches & Honey, which has a similar concept, did it better. Still, I enjoyed Addie—even though it took me a while to really get into it.

Book Lovers was the last Emily Henry book I hadn’t read, and it was great! That said, Funny Story is still my number one. Charlie is my ideal man (unfortunately), and Nora hits a little too close to home. Emily Henry,as you know, I am up your ass and will read anything you write.

The Six Deaths of the Saint is only 30 pages long, and everyone needs to read it. The fact that so much is accomplished in so few pages should be illegal. I hope we’ll get a full-length book one day!

Finally, I closed out the year with Letters to a Young Poet, and it rewired my brain. A great book to end on.

[thefreelanceangel]

GPose Wrapped 2024

January: C'allie & Thrav February: The start of Anna's mad scientist phase March: Hades / Emet-Selch (my most popular Tumblr post ever) April: Selfie (a phooka with hats) May: Imayo Mikomori (and the summoning of Kokoro) June: Meli Iliakos {For Count (Down) to Dawntrail} July: Tender Valley (Dawntrail dungeon landscape) August: SQUEAK OBTAINED! September: Imayo Mikomori October: Seifer (as Alucard) November: Anna & Seifer December: (The hidden background!)

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

to those of you posting your end of year wrap ups already: i applaud your ability to Call It at this late stage of december.

i, however, am on page two hundred and eight of three hundred and sixty-three in my LAST planned 24 in 2024 book, so. i shall be belaying such a wrap until i make it to the acknowledgements page, thanks,

[klaineadvent]

art by @justasmallbloginabigklainefandom

[theinquisitxor]

December 2024 Reading Wrap Up

This is it folks! Last wrap up of the year! I read 8 books in December and had 1 dnf. I was able to complete the two series I wanted to before the end of the year, and finished my on-going goals.

1.Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Mariller, 4/5 stars. This is the 5th book in the series, and a solid installment. Not my favorite of the series, but not bad. I just didn't love it as much as the other books, and things felt very slow at times.

2.Conrad's Fate (Chrestomanci 5) by Diana Wynne Jones, 4/5 stars. I enjoyed this one more than the previous two I read, and really liked being with Christopher and Millie again on a new adventure.

3.The Pinhoe Egg (Chrestomanci 6) by Diana Wynne Jones, 3.5/5 stars. I finished this series-yay! This was a fun installment, and it was nice to catch up with Cat. I'm glad I was able to read some new DJW this year.

4.The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe by Matthew Gabriele. My nonfiction book for the month, and one of my Random TBR picks. I thought this was a good overview of the middle ages, debunking the "dark ages" stereotype around this time period.

5.Midnight In Everwood by Maria Kuzinar, 2/5 stars. This was my other Random TBR pick for the month. I was actually very happy I got this, as it is a christmas-y book and nutcracker retelling. I love the nutcracker fairy tale, so I was interested in this retelling, but this book was so bad. The writing was bad, the plot was bad, the ending was bad 😂

6. Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters 6) by Juliet Marillier, 4.5/5 stars. This was a good conclusion to this series and the second story arc. I liked Maeve a lot as a character and her journey. This one reminded me a bit of Heir to Sevenwaters. The romance in this book was the only thing that was a little weird to me.

7.The Fur Person by May Sarton, 5/5 stars. This is a novella from the perspective of Sarton's cat. It's one of the best representations of a cat's pov in my opinion, and follows Tom Jones as he goes from being a 'Cat About Town' to a housecat. It was a lovely little read.

8. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, 4/5 stars. This is a collection of essays about land conservation from Leopold's farm in Wisconsin. This is a foundational piece of nature writing that I wanted to read.

DNF: At the beginning of December I picked up The Virgin in the Garden by AS Byatt, as I've been wanting to read more Byatt books. I read about 20%, but I could just not get into it. Maybe one day I'll pick it back up.

[freckles-and-books]

Bringing Braiding Sweetgrass, The Spear Cuts Through Water, and I Contain Multitudes into the new year.

[dewitty1]

Yes, Santa reads Fanfiction, but if it's to kids, it's only rated G, no worries.

Fic Recs Wrap Up December 2024 ✩°｡⋆ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚･˳˚̊̊⌖∙:.◌˳⚛ .｡˳̊̊̊☃˚˳̊..:◌˚̊⌖♡*｡*･*☆

Never Mind the Bollocks by The_Sinking_Ship @the-sinking-ship

If someone told Harry six months ago that by autumn he would be single, living on whisky and toast, and dancing the night away with Draco Malfoy, he would have told them to get their head checked. Rec Post

A Convenient Impracticality by firethesound @firethesound

Somehow Harry ends up agreeing to a fake relationship with his ex-nemesis-turned-friendly-acquaintance-with-benefits, except for some reason it involves an awful lot of actual dating and, sadly, not much sex. Confused? Harry is too, but when has anything with Draco Malfoy ever been as straightforward as it seems? Rec Post

Blackbird Rising by Omi_Ohmy

Harry longs to feel at home again, but he has been away for a long time, and he has a lot to contend with on his return to London: a magical mystery to investigate, a polite but prickly blond work partner with a disarming habit of blushing, a house with personality, the echoes of the war all around him, and a secret of his own. Rec Post

Lettered by pir8fancier

Harry has a secret penpal, whose identity is as plain as the nose on his face. Except he’s not wearing his glasses. Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well!(੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)੭. * ･ ｡ﾟ☆

The Most Splendid Thing by Anonymous for @hd-erised

Star Quidditch rivals Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter become accidentally bonded. They still hate each other, but now it’s untenable to leave each other’s sides—and my, but it feels oh so good to touch. They’re either going to murder one another, or fall in love. OR: A story in which Draco finally allows himself happiness, and Harry finally learns that he deserves to be whole.

The Superfluous Man by peu_a_peu

A child for Harry Potter is a miracle of magic. And it's the second act of Draco Malfoy's sorry little life.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading!

Here's hoping 2025 (OMG REALLY?!?!?!) is better! PLEASE! Or at least the revolution happens! (I'm with you comrades! Let's gooooooo!) Anyway... Love Y'all! Thanks for sticking around! xoxo Carey  (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

[godzilla-reads]

☘️ December Reading Wrap Up ☘️

Hello 🩵 and welcome to the last day of December 2024 🎉 This month I finished 11 books, bringing my final yearly total to 145 books finished! Huzzah! 🥳

My Top 3 Choices were “Crush” by Richard Siken; “Song of the Golden Hare” by Jackie Morris; and “La Bastarda” by Trifonia Melibea Obono (trans. Lawrence Schimel). The other great books I read were:

🩵 Winter: A Folio Anthology edited by Sue Bradbury

🥀 Roses: A Romantic History with a Guide to Cultivation by Janet Browne

🐦‍⬛ Crows: An Old Rhyme by Heidi Holder

🐛 In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

🍃 Nature Myths by Margaret W. Metcalfe

🦢 The Names Upon the Harp: Irish Myth & Legend by Marie Heaney and P.J. Lynch

🌲 Flower Fairies of the Winter by Cicely Mary Barker

🧚‍♀️ The Faerie Queen’s Creed by Annie Dowdell

What did you read?

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Read in December 2024

one more amazing reading month to top off the year 😌 I finally got through The Locked Tomb books and I had so much fun with them. I tried Murderbot again with a little less success BUT I discovered Daniel Kraus and I definitely have a new favourite author on my hands <3

other standouts include Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay, Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman and Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C Parker

Series read:

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth - 5/5 (audio)

Harrow the Ninth - 4/5

Nona the Ninth - 4/5 (audio)

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

All Systems Red - 3/5 (reread)

Artificial Condition - 3/5 - (reread)

Rogue Protocol - 4/5 (audio)

Exit Strategy - 2/5 (audio)

Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief - 3/5 (audio)

Familiar authors:

Furious by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos - 3/5 (audio)

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan - 4/5

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix - 5/5 (audio)

Cujo by Stephen King - 3/5 (audio)

The Pallbearer’s Club by Paul Tremblay - 3/5 (audio)

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - 2/5

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay - 4/5 (audio)

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward - 3/5 (audio)

Other reads:

The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro & Daniel Kraus - 4/5 (audio)

The Living Dead by Daniel Kraus & George A Romero - 5/5 (audio)

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong - 3/5 (audio)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - 4/5 (audio)

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke - 3/5

The Nutcracker by ETA Hoffman - 1/5

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - 2/5

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - 5/5 (audio)

Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus - 4/5 (audio)

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman - 5/5 (audio)

Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C Parker - 4/5 (audio)

A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper - 2/5 (audio)

Graveyard Shift by ML Rio - 5/5

The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg - 5/5

[jasper-book-stash]

December 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

I've read eight books this month, and most were entirely neutral to good for me...with one exception. That means that my grand total of books for 2024 was 103, though I only enjoyed somewhere around 30 of them. Anyway, here's the December list:

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny | Mark Stavish

Just gonna link this...

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Seventy-Eight Degrees Of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey To Self-Awareness | Rachel Pollack

I respect what this book has historically done for tarot and tarot reading, but as a standalone book outside of that context, I didn't...enjoy it.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Scorpions Of Medical Importance | Hugh L Keegan

A very fascinating book on scorpions from 1980. Despite this, not every scorpion depicted here is deadly. What I thought was most fascinating was the fact that it called the deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) the only species in Leiurus...because 18 out of 19 of the other ones were only discovered after the book was published. It is pretty outdated as far as listed places with antivenins goes, though.

Scorpions: Plus Other Popular Invertebrates | Jerry G Walls

A decent book on caring for scorpions, considering it goes really in-depth despite only having 88 pages. I did skip over the appendices at the back about other invertebrates though, because while I'm not scared of scorpions, I'm scared of many of the other bugs and arachnids in the back. No thank you.

Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack, volume 25 | Jim Davis

I picked this one on a whim from the library I work at because I love Garfield comics. Fuck you. The caveat I have for this one is that if you don't enjoy reading 286 pages of mostly-three-panel-comics, it won't be enjoyable. I had fun though.

9/10 - Very Very Good

The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art Of Decluttering And Organizing | Marie Kondo

I actually found this book surprisingly helpful??? Which was irritating to me, because I'm always surprised when popular things are actually...good. Though Marie Kondo's theory doesn't work for everyone since it's very focused on how you feel, and if you're struggling to feel anything for any reason, it's not gonna help much. I do think it's very funny that she outright encourages you to send her book away if it doesn't spark joy either. Incredible.

Michelangelo: Paintings, Sculptures, Architecture | Ludwig Goldscheider

This is a series of photographs of many, many of Michelangelo's works, and the quality of the photos are gorgeous. I found this on the free table of the library I work at and enjoyed flipping through and admiring the details.

Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated, volume 1 | Katsura Ise, Takuma Yokota

Yes, yes, this is a new printing of an old Magic: The Gathering manga about players playing the game. I didn't expect the prophecies of Nostradamus to be a major plot point. And I fucking loved it.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

None applicable.

[starsandsteelandbrokenglass]

December 2024 Reading Wrap Up

Last wrap-up post for the year! I'll do one for 2024 as a whole hopefully soon (and maybe a Christmas gifts pic?), but I still wanna do a monthly recap. It's been a pretty busy month (@ninja-muse, I saw the tag post, I appreciate the tag so much, I simply...did not get there). I travel home for the holidays so it's been end-of-the-semester work while trying to cram in as much time with family and friends as possible. This month I read 8 books and almost 3,000 pages--not a bad finish! Here they are:

The Tiger's Daughter (Their Bright Ascendancy #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera- 4.25/5 stars; this was a lot of fun and I especially enjoyed the worldbuilding, as well as the relationship between our two main characters--I look forward to the sequel!

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner- 2/5; neat premise, but in contrast to The Tiger's Daughter, I did not buy into the relationship between the main characters at all and I do think fundamentally there was no reason for the plot to happen the way it did

Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad by Alice Oswald- 5/5 stars; oof. brief but poignant reminder of how much death there is in the Iliad and gives the same care Homer does to the lives of the fallen

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin- 5/5 stars; a reread of my favorite childhood murder mystery, which I still find holds up excellently for me

My Salty Mary (The Marys #3) by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand- 3.75/5 stars; these books are silly, but fun! pirates, mermaids, and some standard YA romance

A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated #1) by Danielle L. Jensen- 3/5 stars; this was a "romantasy" situation which is really not my vibe, nor are Vikings, but tbh I think this does what it set out to do and checks all the boxes of the genre

A Letter to the Luminous Deep (The Sunken Archive #1) by Sylvie Cathrall- 4/5 stars; this was so charming and while I was a little taken aback by the direction it ended up taking, I definitely want to read the sequel

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber- 1/5 stars; maybe this is on me for picking up another romantasy but this was so much worse despite being marketed as Gothic which I do like. I could actually say a lot about this (HOW DOES ESTELA LEARN SPANISH SO FAST????) but I won't do it here

So 2024 did not technically end on a high note reading wise, but that's okay! My favorite book this month was The Tiger's Daughter, and I hope the sequel is just as good!

Currently Reading: The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #3) by Theodora Goss and Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s by Kim Newman (do not ask)

[thisapplepielife]

Monthly Word Count Wrap-Up

December 2024

That's it. That's all she wrote.

After coming off a November that was a little rough, I found a second-wind and had a lot of fun writing in December. I wrote 32,719 words over 9 projects:

I made it out of the year with my 500 words a day streak intact. I'm not going to attempt this in 2025. I'll write when I write, and that's okay, too. I have some big plans. I'm signed up for Steddie Bingo and have some fics going to for that. Some you'll see soon because the deadline for the 12 Days of Christmas and Countdown to Midnight mini events is quickly approaching.

For my main card, I have a couple ongoing WIPs that fit my prompts, so that's hopefully going to inspire me to finish those up. I'm excited about the prospect of that!

Here is my full year, day by day:

I wrote a total of 376,476 words in 2024. I only posted 283,444 of them on ao3, so there's a lot that was either just posted here on Tumblr, or is still in the chamber.

In December, I averaged 1055.45 words a day.

And the yearly average finished at 1028.62 words per day.

I actually took a screenshot, and this is what I had in unposted words, as January 1st:

So, I'm excited to start "clearing the board" as it were.

What I Posted This Month:

Would've, Could've, Should've (For Steddie Micro, T, 485)

You're a Fucking Dickhead (For Steddie Bingo, T, 1894)

Goddamn, Fuck You, Motherfucker (For Steddie Bingo, E, 3420)

You, Me & A Christmas Tree (For Steddie Song Fics, E, 1725)

Sometimes Dreams Change (For Spicy Six, T, 4930)

Steddie Holiday Drabbles (Total Words: 27,185)

Day 01: Here Before Morning (T, 578 Words) Day 02: Impossible Things (T, 1000 Words) Day 03: Seemed Fitting (T, 1000 Words) Day 04: It's Inevitable (T, 1000 Words) Day 05: Within Reach (T, 846 Words) Day 06: Playing Chicken (M, 1000 Words) Day 07: It's the Stripes, Man (T, 909 Words) Day 08: 12/25/87 (T, 613 Words) Day 09: Hell Has Officially Frozen Over (T, 1000 Words) Day 10: You Could Have Cut and Run (T, 1000 Words) Day 11: Were You Wooing Me? (T, 769 Words) Day 12: Fumble on the Play (T, 1000 Words) Day 13: Lay the Table With the Fancy Shit (T, 1000 Words) Day 14: Get It Together (T, 1000 Words) Day 15: New To Go With The Old (T, 1000 Words) Day 16: Certainly Can't With That Attitude (T, 1000 Words) Day 17: Let Your Heart Be Light (T, 1000 Words) Day 18: Afraid to Jinx It (T, 957 Words) Day 19: Just Desserts (E, 1000 Words) Day 20: A Wish His Heart Made (Or Some Shit) (T, 1000 Words) Day 21: Gossip Is Currency (T, 1000 Words) Day 22: Santa Magic Coming Through (T, 564 Words) Day 23: Hot Daddy (T, 1000 Words) Day 24: Along the Chimney with Care (T, 550 Words) Day 25: You'll Poke Your Eye Out (T, 541 Words) Day 26: That's Priceless (T, 442 Words) Day 27: Into a Tailspin (E, 959 Words) Day 28: Consider It Done (M, 1000 Words) Day 29: Click, Click, Click (T, 734 Words) Day 30: Come Through Me (T, 1000 Words) Day 31: Who's the Dad? (T, 1000 Words)

[thewordworrier]

December 2024 Writing Wrap Up

Words Written: 16,330 words. Things I’ve worked on: ~ NaNo24 - 2 Things Published: Nothing.

Well, this month was easier than last month, thank god. And apparently I managed a little bit over the expected word count for a month. I feel bad that I haven't published anything since September though. Alas, it is what it is at the moment. We keep on truckin'

January Plans! ~ the same old, same old - 500 a day.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: December Wrap-Up.

So I had High Ambitions for December, forgetting that it was, in fact, December™, and forgetting that I was behind on gift knitting, and that typing a manuscript takes Longer Than I Think It Will, Every Time. Also, I played through Alan Wake (OG) with my brother, and then I watched him play chunks of II as a Sibling Bonding Activity, which was fun! But it definitely also Took Time haha.

I did make it through my "24 in 2024" list by the 31st, though! Feeling very accomplished on that front--everything I read this month came off that list. The list worked well for me (I'm a mood reader, but a Targeted Mood Reader; if I have Too Many Options, I get whelmed, so carving my entire TBR down into smaller bite sized pieces helps a lot!), and I'm excited to make another one for next year.

Photos and/or reviews liked below:

DAWN - ★★★ Got this one in a translation subscription box (perhaps now defunct)--it's not the sort of thing I'd usually pick up, but I did have a Turkish Writer Phase back in college, so I was interested when it was delivered to me specially. Very psychological and set in a historical context I am SUPER not familiar with (1970s Turkey), very brutal, very fluid POV transitions, very timely (and I didn't realize how much pieces of it burrowed into my brain until sitting down to write this wrap-up a month later). If you're into lit fic and can stomach the content warnings, definitely check this out!

HOW TO BE EATEN - ★★★½ I had more fun with this one than anticipated! Made me laugh, but also didn't flinch from ugly shit. Very readable, neat takes on modernized fairy tales and media, and I liked guessing at the short scenes between the "Week" sections--neatly structured book!

THE SPIDER AND HER DEMONS - ★★★½ Another good time!! Breakneck pacing at the beginning (almost to the point of absurdity, but maybe that's just how YA is these days?? unclear) and then it weirdly slowed WAY down once we got to something resembling Loadbearing Plot (the "witnessed eating a man" thing referenced on the jacket), but I enjoyed it a lot overall! Vaguely reminiscent of The Locked Tomb in unexpected ways (more on this in the linked review!).

SELF-PORTRAIT WITH NOTHING - ★★★★½ REALLY liked this one--just my speed of Weird and Fucked Up and Funnier Than Expected (ah yes: my trifecta lol). Interesting take on alternate realities and very much heart crimes: The Family Edition. Good shit, check it out (brace for on-page vet office visits though. and like. abandonment of human child).

UNEXPECTED PLACES TO FALL FROM, UNEXPECTED PLACES TO LAND - ★★★ A handful of good stories in here, and I liked the bridge novella, but I wish they were more Interconnected than Anthology.

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. (Example: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[klaineadvent]