All the books I read in December and what I thought of them

This month I read 9 books, unless reading Petersburg twice only counts as one books, in which case I read 8 books. I am writing this at 2:45 in the morning, and I am sort of concerned because I keep staying up until ungodly hours. I hope you aren't tired about hearing about my chronic nocturnalism. But I am a teenager so I think it must be okay. This month, I got the flu during finals week, but I'm still slaying. My haters prey on my downfall, but I do not fall down!! Actually, I'm not entirely sure whether I have any haters, and I sure hope I don't. But the upshot is that anyone preying on my downfall will be sorely disappointed.

My birthday was yesterday (at the time of writing), and now I am old enough to vote. This means that if the mayor of my town does not learn to speak more concisely, I am going to singlehandedly primary him. My elected representatives should fear me. Alexis de Tocqueville says that the people rule over the American political world as God reigns over the universe. They are the cause and end of all things. Everything proceeds from them, and to them everything returns. 

Petersburg by Andrei Bely

rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨

I had to read this book for school, which is a shame, because it made no sense. I went to class every day not understanding everything and left understanding even less. I still liked the book, actually. It was like a weird fever dream. It was just not very nice having to write an essay about it.

💣💣💣

Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In a certain sense, I feel like I have always loved Anne Applebaum and I just didn't know it until I read this book. It was both interesting and well-written. If I were a democracy fan (which I am) and I lived in Poland or Hungary (which I don't), I would be very upset. American political culture is not good or anything, but it could be appreciably worse. Things could always be worse.

🗳️🗳️🗳️

Autumn by Ali Smith

rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I think this book put me in a reading slump, but, on the other hand, maybe this was in fact caused by finals week and my bad time management. Although it is easier to blame the book. I thought Autumn would be like Outline, and in a certain sense, it was, but in a much more real sense, it wasn't.

🍂🍂🍂

Petersburg again, by Andrei Bely (reread)

rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨

I cannot really recommend rereading this book, or hardly any book, a week after first reading it, but I'd like to see you write an essay about a nonsensical book you don't understand without reading it a second time.

💣💣💣

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (reread)

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love A Series of Unfortunate Events and I am sure I've stolen at least 3-5% of my personality from Lemony Snicket. The first several books are very formulaic and not too much goes on (especially in this one), but it is still very clever. The book series does a really good job considering the limitations of the medium (middle grade fiction chapter book), but I think the TV show really adheres to the spirit of the books while adding a lot of exciting plot points that make the series more interesting. I am humbly requesting that my friends who might conceivably walk by 500 Boylston Street with me watch the TV show so they will understand how that building looks like Hotel Dénouement. 

🥩🥩🥩

Frog and Toad: The Complete Collection by Arnold Lobel

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love Frog and Toad!! They are friends!! I love friendship, and this book made me very happy. It is just so wholesome. There is a story where Toad bakes cookies and Frog and Toad can't stop eating the cookies so they try various strategies from keeping themselves from eating a great many cookies, and eventually they give them to the birds. And Toad says that having willpower is all well and good, but he is going to go home and bake a cake. So I feel that the message of this story is actually not that you shouldn't eat so many cookies that it makes you sick. The message of this story is that it's okay to eat a great many cookies if you went to the trouble to bake cookies. 

💖💖💖

What If? 2 by Randall Munroe

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

I am maybe not xkcd's #1 fan, but for sure I am in the top 5% of people who like xkcd. This book is amusing and informative and answered many questions I didn't even know I had. I think I submitted a question. I asked whether my friend Natasha from high school would fit in a bari sax if she was liquified, and, if not, how many bari saxes would I need to fit my liquified friend Natasha. Randall Munroe did not answer my question. I also asked this question to an AI, and it told me it isn't appropriate to ask questions about liquifying people because such discussions are disturbing, and instead I should find positive and respectful ways to engage with others. 

🚀🚀🚀

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this book, a woman doesn't want to do what society wants her to do, and I support her so much. She wants to be a convenience store worker. I strongly disliked working at Jersey Michael's, so I can't entirely relate, but maybe working at a convenience store is a lot more tolerable than putting vegetables on sandwiches. I liked that the book was trying to tell me that whatever gives you meaning and happiness is worthwhile, even if it isn't necessarily socially acceptable, but I wish Keiko had supportive friends instead of a fake boyfriend who sucks.

🏪🏪🏪

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket (reread)

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every time I have to read about (or watch, because I also love the TV show) Uncle Monty dying, I die a little inside. In many ways this book is about Violet being better than Klaus at everything. I am a Violet Baudelaire stan 100%, so I entirely support.

🐍🐍🐍

I am pleased to announce that my blog won an award this past month!! The award in question was Woodwind Blogger, a paper plate award which I received at bandception. I am going to put a banner at the top of my blog home page that says "award winning blog!!" or something like that as soon as I figure out how. 

Happy new year!! I am very grateful for the support of my readership, and I hope you all have a fantastic next year!!