I spent the first half of December checking out anthologies and the second half reading ARCs that will be released in January. Of course that was with the holidays sandwiched in the middle! I did manage to maintain my theme of “Do What I Want December” as seen in the evidence of my December Reading Wrap-up book stack. I only read one book from my Hopefuls List.
Diving into Anthologies
Anthologies are an interesting type of read. Sometimes they have an easy flow like a novel and sometimes you just have to take your time with them because of all the different directions they will take you. In the classroom, we often see anthologies as great books to use throughout the year. We can select different stories to read to coordinate with whatever themes or unit we are working on at the time. Until recently, I haven’t really sought to read an entire anthology in a short time span. But this past year gifted me with a bunch to explore.
I finished Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home in December. Click the link to check out my review. I thought it was amazing and absolutely worthy of the classroom. It’s a great read if you are interested in expanding your perspective on immigration stories. You can also check out my Friday Night Highlights post, Friday Night Highlights: Practical Reasons to Read Anthologies on the other anthologies I checked out in December.
Getting Ready for January Book Tours
January 2022 has some great books being released! I spent the last week of the year reading three phenomenal books by Black women. The first one, Wings of Ebony by J. Elle, was actually published in early 2021, but it’s sequel, Ashes of Gold, will publish on January 11. I’ll be reading that this week. Wings of Ebony is actually the only book from my ‘Do What I Want’ December Reading Goals that I followed through on 🤣. Hey I said I would do what I wanted to do. 🤷🏽♀️
The second book I read was The Kindred by Alechia Dow, which will publish Jan. 4, 2022. I am participating in a Book Tour with Turn the Page Tours and my stop is on January 3, 2022. So be sure to stop back here and by my @CocoaWithBooks Instagram to check out my review.
The last book that I read in 2021 was Shattered Midnight by Dhonielle Clayton. I actually finished it a few hours before midnight. Shattered Midnight was originally supposed to be released in October 2021 but got pushed to a January 18, 2022 release date. It’s all good because it’s set in New Orleans and it will be a great read for Mardi Gras time since that is a feature in the story. This book had some major Black Girl magic and I would love to see it in movie format, ahem Netflix. I am also doing a Book Tour for this with Rock Star Book Tours. Stop by here on Jan. 8, 2022 to check out my review.
What did you read in December? What was the last book you read in 2021?
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