A Monster Reading Month! | December 2023 Wrap Up

TL;DR

In her December reading wrap-up, Olive discusses the fiction and non-fiction books she read, including favorites and disappointments.

Transcript

hi guys Olive here here today to talk about what I read in December 2023 I know we've all officially moved on to 2024 at this point but I wanted to take a moment and give December its due I read some really good books in December there was an impromptu reread some favorites of the Year crept in at the very last minute I was also hard at work trying... Read More

Key Insights

• 👋 Bridget Jones's Diary is a beloved feel-good book that loosely retells Pride and Prejudice in a 1990s setting.
• 🛬 Love Game is a romance book about rival college coaches, but the conflicts felt forced and the plot was forgettable.
• 🖐️ Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is an intense and shocking play, which Olive found challenging to enjoy.
• 🚾 Let the Dead Bury the Dead is a historical fiction set in an alternative version of Imperial Russia, lacking in plot and character development.
• 🥰 The Love Scribe is a complex novel about a woman's unique gift for making people fall in love, with messy and realistic characters.
• 🫢 Voices from Chernobyl provides a devastating and eye-opening oral history of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, revealing the human impact and government responses.
• 🙂 Nothing to Envy offers heartbreaking stories of North Korean defectors and shines a light on the extreme conditions and challenges they faced.
• ❓ Hidden Figures, while popular, was found to be somewhat dull and lacking in individual personalities.
• 🛢️ The Gulf offers a thorough history of the Gulf Coast, including topics such as nature, oil, and hurricanes.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Bridget Jones's Diary about?

Bridget Jones's Diary is a loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the 1990s, following the neurotic 30-something Bridget Jones as she navigates love, work, and body image issues.

Q: Did Olive enjoy Love Game?

Olive found Love Game to be a lighter read but felt that the conflict between the characters was forced and the plot was forgettable.

Q: What did Olive think of Faust?

Olive found Faust to be intense and shocking, but challenging to enjoy. She mentioned that she read it for a series she covers and appreciated being able to understand references to the story in the future.

Q: What is The Love Scribe about?

The Love Scribe is a complex novel about a woman named Alice whose short stories make people fall in love. It explores love and relationships, as well as Alice's own personal growth.

Q: What is Voices from Chernobyl about?

Voices from Chernobyl is an oral history of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, featuring accounts from people who lived through it. It provides insights into the human impact and experiences during and after the disaster.

Q: What is Hidden Figures about?

Hidden Figures is a history book about black women computers who worked for the United States government during the Space Race. It explores their contributions and the challenges they faced.

Q: What did Olive think of The Gulf?

Olive enjoyed The Gulf, describing it as a comprehensive history of the Gulf Coast. She particularly enjoyed the sections on nature and manatees, but also appreciated the references to other books she had read.

Q: What is Complications about?

Complications is a book by surgeon Atul Gawande that discusses the challenges and ethical dilemmas faced in medicine. It explores topics such as surgical practice, the power of intuition, and the complexity of medical decision-making.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Olive reread Bridget Jones's Diary, a loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the 1990s, which she enjoyed as a feel-good experience.

• She read Love Game, a romance book about rival college coaches, but found the conflict between the characters forced and the plot not memorable.

• Olive also read Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which she found intense and shocking, but ultimately challenging to enjoy.

• She enjoyed Let the Dead Bury the Dead, a historical fiction set in an alternative version of Imperial Russia, but found it lacking in plot and character development.

• Olive's favorite book of December was The Love Scribe, a complex novel about a woman whose short stories make people fall in love, with messy and realistic characters.

• She also read Voices from Chernobyl, an oral history of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which she found devastating and eye-opening.

• Olive read Nothing to Envy, a collection of stories about North Korean defectors, which she found heartbreaking and informative.

• She also read Hidden Figures, a history of black women computers in the United States government during the Space Race, finding it somewhat dull and lacking in individual personalities.

• Olive enjoyed The Gulf, a comprehensive history of the Gulf Coast, particularly the sections on nature and manatees.

• She did not finish Dark Skies, a book about the human relationship with nighttime, as it did not meet her expectations.

• Olive found Dolls of Our Lives, a history of the American Girl doll, to be interesting but hindered by casual pop culture references.

• She enjoyed Complications, a book by surgeon Atul Gawande about the challenges and ethical dilemmas faced in medicine.