December Friday the 13th! Are you running around shopping? Lazily staring at the pretty lights on the tree? Frantically baking up cookie boxes? Covertly celebrating Taylor Swift’s 30th birthday? How I know that, is a testament to the juggernaut of press she’s been getting about it. Okay, okay, plus I’m just a little bit of a Swiftie.
Anyway, it’s the best month to be chilling, reading the internets (and books) of course. Here’s some light and fluffy reading for everyone who’s curled up by the fire (real or TV version) under a blanket.
Webstuff:
-
- The banana is the art that spawned a thousand memes.
- Are leggings okay at work? I mean, I work at home, so it’s a yes for me, but I feel like I also kind of tried to wear leggings when I worked in an office on casual Friday LOL
- Free shipping…it’s not really free.
- To be honest, I’m all about Taco Bell. From that iconic scene in Demolition Man to the hotel to their merch drop. I love it all. I mean, I never eat there, but I still love it all!
- Did you grow up with a landline? I did and there was something charmingly retro about it and now it’s a thing of the past.
- Can you believe it’s the end of the decade?!
- Would you ever buy a house with friends?
- The internet is full of weird and wonderful things like this Russian girl and her giant cat.
- Are you an eggnog lover or hater?
- The age of Instagram face.
Link Love:
-
- I love these cookie boxes every year and this year Amy has outdone herself with all of the NY Times cookies, all of BA’s holiday cookies, and a cookie advent calendar!
- Matcha sesame granola sounds like the perfect way to start the day.
- Yes please to candy cane cake!
Lately on I am a Food Blog:
All about the chili crisp with this sesame-y spicy noodles and chili crisp grilled cheese. Also, hello chicken pot pie stuffed shells!
Last Minute Gift Ideas: 9 Books to Read or Gift This Holiday Season
I love reading during the holiday season. There’s something so cozy about curling up with a book, something warm to drink, and snacks. Here are 8 books to read this holiday season. And maybe even to gift yourself or someone you know who loves to read!
Daisy Jones & the Six
I heard a lot of buzz about this book but not any particulars about it so when I started reading it I didn’t really know what it was about other than it was about the 60s and rock n’roll. The writing was so good and the story so convincing that I had to google, “is daisy jones & the six a real band?” Spoiler, they aren’t, but the story is epic and so readable. And at heart, it’s a love story and I’m a sucker for a good one.
Recursion
This is one of those books you think about again and again after you finish reading it. There’s a dangerous epidemic of False Memory Syndrome spreading: people find themselves remembering memories and lives that never happened. There’s mystery, there’s romance, there’s the end of the world and all the hope that comes with it. I am a big Blake Crouch fan and this book did not disappoint.
The Institute
Very classic Stephen King: kids that are special and adults that are evil. The kids have telepathy and telekinesis and the adults of course want to control and exploit them. I can always count on King to write a book that will keep me flipping the pages long after I’ve told myself, just one more chapter.
Ninth House
I just started this and it’s totally drawn me in with it’s secret societies and magic and New Haven/Yale setting. Occult and rich and powerful people and a regular-ish girl? I’m in!
Normal People
This is on a lot of people’s best of 2019 list and for good reason. It’s about two teenagers who fall in love in high school. They’re at complete opposites of the high school popularity spectrum but then they switch when they go to college. It’s about power dynamics and emotion and mistakes and love.
His Dark Materials
I’ve loved this trilogy ever since I first read about Lyra and her Pan way back in 2007. It’s my go to comfort read – the book I turn to when I want to read a story I know that pulls me in and welcomes me to stay a while. It’s recently been turned into an HBO show that I haven’t watched but it’s getting a lot of buzz now, especially since Philip Pullman is in the midst of a new trilogy in the same universe. I haven’t read the two books the new trilogy, The Book of Dust, for fear that it won’t live up to His Dark Materials, but the holiday season is all about diving into new book series…
Frankly in Love, Permanent Record, American Royals
These are three YA books that I loved. Frankly in Love is all about growing up and trying to fit in. Permanent Record has snacks and a improbably romance between a bodega worker and a bona fide pop super star. American Royals has a fictional American royal family and it is like The Crown but in book format and also in American. I loved all of these so much!
I could go on and on – I read a lot – but I’m not sure if you guys read. Let me know if you’re ever interested in more book suggestions and have a cozy (and hopefully relaxing) weekend!
xoxo
steph
I am so glad you have Ninth House on this list. I just finished it and it is sooooo good!
oh yay! i stayed up so late last night reading it and i’m not done yet but now i’m looking forward to it even more! :D
Nothing makes me happier than book recommendations. (Except maybe talking about food!)
ooh me too. i love reading so much – let me know your favorite books!
The Book of Dust books are maybe not as well constructed, but equally atmospheric and meaningful and definitely worth a read. I was immediately sucked right back in to the beautiful world Pullman creates.
good to know! i bought book of dust right when it came out but still haven’t read it. i should crack into it :)
I love to read! I thought Daisy Jones & The Six was good, but my favorite from the author is still Evelyn Hugo. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d highly recommend! I love reading people’s book reviews!