December Reading Recap
Hello, fellow book lovers, and Happy New Year! I finished off 2024 on a good note with some outstanding non-fiction and one truly terrible novel. I hope you can find something off this list to kick off the 2025 reading year. I’m looking forward to another year of reading with you all. Until next time, happy reading!
Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller
Quick Synopsis: Spanning from the very first show in 1975 all the way to the Amy Poehler and Tiny Fey days and beyond
Strong Points: What a great read! I loved the organization of this book. It’s broken up into the different eras of SNL with interviews from the cast, writers, and guest stars. And let me tell you, it’s pretty juicy. For some, it was a great time filled with lots of memories, and for others, it was hell. It broke them down. Some people had tough skin and put up with the constant rejection of sketches and others needed a little more hand-holding, which the SNL atmosphere was not going to give them.
While this book is over 800 pages, the format makes it feel like a quick 400-page read. But the format alone isn’t what makes this book so special, it’s the number of people interviewed for it, getting most of the cast members' and writers’ views of their time on the show. These interviews showed the show’s natural progression from the early years of tense, drug-fueled writing, to the tamer years of today with an emphasis on health.
I also liked hearing the different accounts of what Lorne Michaels is actually like. It seems like you either love him or hate him. He’s extremely arrogant and doesn’t have time for bullshit and doesn’t give out compliments, but is also immensely talented and once you’re in his inner circle, you’re in it for life. He is responsible for the successful careers of many of the comedians we have today. He helped launch Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brian’s Late Night careers.
Weak Points: No notes. I genuinely liked every section that I read.
If you’re at all interested in SNL, I couldn’t recommend more.
Writing Style: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommend
For Fans of: The War for Late Night by Bill Carter, The Chris Farley Show by Tom Farley Jr., Disney High by Ashley Spencer
Human Acts by Han Kang
Quick Synopsis: Intertwining stories that take place after the uprising of Gwangju
Strong/Weak Points: I loved Kang’s The Vegetarian. It was haunting and so well-written. So, I was happy when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature this year. If you’re unfamiliar with Kang, she is a South Korean author known for her poetic prose. Her subject matter is typically a little dark. She’s pretty much Korean literary royalty at this point. She won the International Booker Prize for The Vegetarian, making her the first Korean-language book to win that prize. She also is the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. And if that’s not enough, she comes from a family of successful Korean authors.
In an attempt to expand my Han reading palate, I grabbed Human Acts and can say, that while it was beautifully written, it failed to give me the same experience as The Vegetarian gave me, where I couldn’t put it down and still think about the haunting story. I can’t quite put my finger on what stopped me from connecting with this one as much. It was so, so dark. And while Kang witnessed this unspeakable violence in the ‘80s, I’m sure it’s very accurate, it’s a tough book to sit with and read. It was too tough to be very enjoyable. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more at a different time in my life.
If you can handle a heavy book and enjoy beautiful writing, this one is for you.
Writing Style: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Flow/Pacing: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Recommend
For Fans of: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung, and Orbital by Samantha Harvey
We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgarian
Quick Synopsis: A few years ago, a woman and her wife loaded their six adopted children in the car and drove off a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway, killing everyone present. The investigators ruled it a murder-suicide.
Strong Points: From one heavy subject matter to another, this one is a tough read as well. However, the book isn’t strictly about this family but about the flaws in the foster care and adoption system in America. It’s something I knew little about, so every frustrating policy I read infuriated me. It was so well written. Asgarian took many years to write this book and discover why these two white women were able to adopt two sets of black siblings when they already had a child neglect report on their record. She dove into adoption records and case hearings and interviewed as many family members willing to speak with her. She even recalls the many, many months she spent with the birth parents of the children killed in this horrific accident. It was not at all an uplifting book, but what I think is a necessary one.
Weak Points: A few of the fostering policy sections got a little dry and my mind wandered off. I’m not sure how the author could have made them any more readable. She took out as much jargon as I think she could have. They were just boring.
If you’re like me and know very little about the backward fostering and adoption system in the US, this is a must.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For Fans of: When Crack was King by Donovan X. Ramsey, Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond, and A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by M.J. Wassmer
Quick Synopsis: The sun burns out while Dan and his girlfriend are on an island vacation.
Strong Points: Honestly, nothing
Weak Points: Just like the title suggests, this is a zero-star book. Do not recommend it. Didn’t care for this in the least bit. The dialog was cringy, the characters were awful and caricatures of “witty” people, and the “twist” 75% of the way through the book made me roll my eyes and groan. This was a book that I read for a book club and struggled to get through all 350+ pages. Look, I’m not here to be a book snob and as long as you’re reading something, I think that’s great. Howevah, how books like this get published and authors with more talent in their right pinky than Wassmer remain unpublished is beyond me. I could write an essay about how horrendous this book was, but I don’t want to waste my time or yours.
Don’t waste your time. Life is too short.
Writing Style: 0/5
Characters: 0/5
Plot: 0/5
Flow/Pacing: 0/5
Overall Rating: 0/5
Highly Do Not Recommend
For Fans of: Uhhh, I’m honestly not sure.
Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
Longlisted for The Booker Prize
Quick Synopsis: An amateur kidnapping in a small Irish town goes awry.
Strong Points: I’m a sucker for a moody novel set in Ireland. There’s something about the tone and feeling I get while reading them that sucks me right in. This was the author’s debut novel, however, he’s a very well-known short story author. His story Calm with Horses from his short story collection Young Skins was adapted into a movie starring the beloved Barry Keoghan.
The story brought me back to childhood and growing up in a small town. The characters were all fleshed out. Each one felt like someone I grew up with, making it a comfy read in a way. While the story wasn’t groundbreaking, I enjoyed spending time with these characters in this moody, Irish setting. It is a book that I’ve thought about a lot since finishing it. To me, that is a sign of a good one.
Something else that I thought was sort of neat was that in the acknowledgment section, Barrett thanked the esteemed Colm Tóibín for his help while writing this book. After a quick Google search, it turns out they are good friends now, but their relationship started when Barret entered the Rolex Mentoring Programme and Tóibín was his mentor. Since then, they’ve forged a lasting friendship. What I would do to be a fly on the wall during one of their conversations over coffee.
Weak Points: Nothing
Fun, light, scary book about a haunted house. What more could you want?
Writing Style: 5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommend
For Fans of: Held by Anne Michaels, Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, and Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
Quick Synopsis: Ina Garten’s life from a difficult childhood to a booming career
Strong Points: Lazily scrolling through Food Network on our summer breaks growing up, Barefoot Contessa would always be on. Admittedly, my sister and I would always groan and change the channel. However, at the start of Garten’s press tour for her memoir, I started to read and watch interviews with her and discovered how funny and witty she is. After reading her memoir, I have officially fallen in love with Garten. She’s a trailblazer who has followed her passions and has been herself and made a very successful career out of it. Her memoir was so fascinating. I loved reading about her relationship with her husband and her carefree approach to life. While she admits maybe some of it was luck that she got to where she is today, it’s also very clear that she worked her tail off at every venture. She took lots of risks. Some of them didn’t pay off, but she got up and tried again, following the passions that drove her.
Weak Points: Nothing to note
If you are looking for an inspiring read, look no further.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For Fans of: What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci, Connie by Connie Chung, and The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
Quick Synopsis: The inside scoop on the culinary world as told by the beloved Anthony Bourdain
Strong Points: Love, love, love this book. Having had a quick stint in the culinary world, specifically fine dining, I found all of what Bourdain said to be very accurate. You always have the strange dishwasher and the insane chef at every restaurant. The kitchen staff always thinks they are better than the front-of-house staff and vice versa. But what makes this book so special is Bourdain’s voice. His writing is magnetic. Even if you’re not interested in the subject matter, you will be once you finish the book. He has a way of making every sentence fast-paced and packed full of action. To be around him must have been a tornado of energy. I’m going to savor his other books.
Weak Points: Nada
Bourdain was such a gift.
Writing Style: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Flow/Pacing: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Highly Recommend
For Fans of: The Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White, Fearing and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, and Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
Sonny Boy by Al Pacino
Quick Synopsis: The life and times of Al Pacino
Strong Points: Knowing nothing about Al Pacino. After reading this book, you get a sense of the good guy that he is. He shared some loving family memories about growing up in the Bronx. I always like hearing about how people got to where they are today. Did their upbringing set them up for success? Was it their choices and struggles that they went through? Probably a little of both. Pacino had a hard childhood with a mom who was addicted to drugs and an absent father. He mostly lived and was raised by his grandparents, who he credits with saving his life. While most of his childhood friends died from overdoses, he was about to stay clean and become a wildly successful actor because of them. He says several times throughout his book how he didn’t have a choice but to become successful. He had to make it as an actor because he had no other choice. It was fun getting to know more about him. I’ll be adding Pacino movies to my watchlist next year.
Weak Points: While it kept my attention and overall I enjoyed it, I felt like it was a little surface level. Like something was missing. He didn’t give us too much of the meat and potatoes of his life. More like just the meat. At points it felt like he was holding back a little.
Not my favorite celebrity memoir but pretty good.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For Fans of: From Under the Truck by Josh Brolin, Cher by Cher, and From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.” - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
