Books are small universes—affordable and easily carried yet filled with endless possibilities to expand and enrich the mind. Through their pages, I explore new experiences and worlds, meet unforgettable characters, and deepen my understanding of humanity.
These are the books I read in December 2024, listed chronologically, and graded on how likely I am to recommend them (highly recommend, recommend, and do not recommend).
Of Woman Born
A landmark, extremely well-written exploration of making the personal political, regarding the experience and institution of motherhood.
Rich intersperses her own narrative with cultural critiques, history discussions, legal analysis, and more.
Some of these ideas will be old news in 2025, but it’s nice to get a refresher from an original; I highly recommend it.
Tiny Humans, Big Emotions
Two early childhood experts (Alyssa and Lauren), believe that teaching emotional intelligence starts young.
But little kids are hard to teach.
Luckily, they’ve developed a Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method that teaches parents and small children how to navigate emotional minefields (those aforementioned “Big Emotions”).
I found this book easy to read, and it provided information that truly helped us deal with our 4-year-old’s meltdowns. I highly recommend it.
Foster
Please help. Claire Keegan, a master of quiet devastation, is trying to kill me.
She gets me all comfortable, describing an idyllic Irish countryside and its salt-of-the-earth people. Then, with a lack of aplomb that is startling in and of itself, she reveals a terrible secret. Usually involving a child.
Such transcendent language reveals such terrible plot twists. Sigh. I recommend this novella but consider yourself warned.
Tobacco Road
Wanna read a sad book about a Third World Country? No, just kidding. It takes place in the American South, during the Depression.
But it might as well have been. It was certainly another world.
With tender insight, Caldwell lays bare the fate of the typical sharecropping family in the throes of dispossession, pellagra, and starvation.
And this was less than one hundred years ago. Time is wild, man; highly recommend.
Deep South
Another Caldwell book, this one examines the southern United States through his personal lens.
Erskine’s father was a preacher who left the church (not the faith) in the 1960s, disgusted with the religious powers-that-be response to the Civil Rights Movement.
But in the 40 years proceeding, the Caldwell family moved all over the south, taking up preacherships (I don’t know what it’s called), leading revivals, and doing all the things small-town Southern ministers did in the early twentieth century.
The author sets out to discover how and why Christianity in the South ultimately failed in the face of racism.
Fascinating and unflinching, this nearly-forgotten work answers many questions about the current American state of neoconservatism; highly recommend.
Kleptopia
American politics is just a circus, a distraction, once you learn what’s happening on a global scale. You don’t even know the names of the Real Enemies. You only know about their minions.
So, read this book and find out. Get mad. Highly recommend.
Moneyland
Same as above. Highly recommend.
The New Menopause
A great reference book, all about menopause! This would be a really good book to own, as you can quickly look up symptoms.
Read her other books too; highly recommend.
Zami
Ever heard of a biomythography? Me neither! But if they’re all as amazing as this work, I hope to read more!
Like an autobiography, but snazzier, richer, and more immediate (I am not doing it justice). Read about this fascinating woman, highly recommend.
White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How To Do Better
Ooh, does that title make you uncomfortable? GOOD.
Me too. But it’s good for us.
Listen, this is a great book that talks about things that are hard to hear, but it doesn’t make it any less true; highly recommend.
Yours, for Probably Always
With a title pulled from a real letter closing to her childhood friend (and eventual divorce lawyer), Martha Gellhorn’s collected war letters are striking, darkly funny, and seething with indignation.
It’s a fascinating first-hand account of harrowing twentieth century experiences; highly recommend.
Obasan
This historical fiction novel details the plight of injustice experienced by Canadian citizens of Japanese descent during World War II.
This was an eye-opening book, as I’m not used to Canada being the bad guy. But our Northern Cousins seemed to act more badly than America (in regards to their citizens of Japanese descent) if you can believe it.
But you will believe it, as it’s written about so poignantly in this work; highly recommend.
The March Of Folly
According to political science, there are a handful of main ways that governments fail. Folly is one of them.
Marching details seemingly disparate major historical events (from the fall of Troy to the Vietnam War) that are united by a societal death wish. Meaty but worth perusal, recommend.
Death at the Sign of the Rook
I love Kate Atkinson so much. Noir or historical fiction, I’ll read it, as long as she writes it.
So, though I don’t much enjoy detective stories, I adore her Jackson Brodie series (he’s my Matlock). This was no exception, highly recommend.
Taylor Swift Style
A chic coffee table book covering not just the visuals of Swift’s style, but also the Easter Egg Of It All. Swifties will love it, no one else will care, recommend.
You Learn By Living
Ol’ Eleanor was ahead of her time in several ways and on many levels, one being this book.
Its’ subtitle is Eleven Keys For A More Fulfilling Life and seems like an early prototype of the popular self-help books of today.
Full of common sense and heartwarming advice (but also text walls, there are no graphs or cute script in this book); recommend.
Louise Hay books
Eh, I just skimmed these, and only on Laura Clery’s recommendation. A little too woo-woo for me, though I appreciate the inner work and mindfulness bits, recommend.
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
A bit insubstantial, but hardly her fault, as it ends in the late ’30s, before her more substantial work began.
You can tell she’s holding back, but her frankness when writing about her mistakes in parenting was refreshing, especially for the time period; recommend.
Conclusion
I hope my December 2024 bite size book reviews opens up new literary adventures for you!
These recommendations are more than just pages bound together; they are invitations to explore, imagine, learn, and feel.
Want More?
Check out these articles for more bookish content:
- Bringing Book Covers to Life With Thom Stead
- Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ’80s and ’90s Teen Fiction
Happy reading!
Love,
