New Year, same challenge. It’s the Hardest Reading Challenge! December wasn’t as packed with reading as I was anticipating. It’s that time of year that quickly slips through the cracks, and once we realise it, it’s Christmas, then New Year, and December is over. It also doesn’t help when these holidays fall in the middle of the week. It was a very confusing time. But we are now in a new year, which means there is a lot more reading to do.

The Books

Towards the middle of the month, before all the mayhem started with the holidays, I did the 24-hour challenge. The hardest part was to read the 300-page book. I started with one by a Portuguese author é urgente amar (it’s urgent to love) by Pedro Chagas Freitas, and I was not enjoying it. I thought about dropping it and trying to read something else. However, I already progressed a good 100 pages, and since the chapters were so short, it was my safest bet to finish it with still plenty of time to read the other two books.

With a tile like this, you can correctly guess the book is all about love. Despite not enjoying it, there were a few messages that sat with me even after I closed the book. The focus is on a romantic type of love, although love is love. As a whole, love doesn’t matter if it’s towards a romantic partner, a friend, or a family member. What it needs to survive and thrive is the same. And the action that puts it at risk is the same, even if they present themselves differently depending on the type of love. And that part of the book, exposing the behaviours and problems that kill love, is what I enjoyed. Apart from that, it was such a mess.

The book doesn’t have a plot. It follows multiple people in different situations and shows love facing particular challenges. Although, it has this style, very typical of the Portuguese people, that love is pain, it’s suffering, even borderline predatory but romanticised to the point that it’s dramatic, profound, lyrical, intense and all-consuming. And I hate that. I believe the author was probably trying to be poetic, but when it comes to romance, I prefer something real and healthy. Emphasis on healthy.

With my 300-page book done, I jumped to a play I have had on my shelves since I was a teen. O Colar (The Necklace) by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. This woman is one of the most important female Portuguese poets, with many of her children’s stories being mandatory reading for school. This is the first time as an adult I read something from her, and I’m disappointed. The play was too short. I was expecting a little more complexity. It didn’t surprise me in any way. Still, now I can check it off my TBR list.

To finish off the 24 hours, I read what I wanted the most. Catarina e a Beleza de Matar Fascistas (Catherine and the Beauty of Killing Fascists) by Tiago Rodrigues is also a play performed in 2020 and has now turned into a book. If I could, I would go watch this play time and time again. I knew it had a very intense reception in the theatre. Like people leaving early, shouting, and even invading the stage. With a title like this, I knew it was going to be powerful. And it was. I seriously contemplated not finishing this book. To stop reading by the last couple of pages. I was so enraged, upset, and annoyed that I just wanted to punch something. But I’m glad I felt this way. It’s a good this story leaves me revolted. If it didn’t, that would be worrisome. Since it’s about fascism, the ending is so cleverly crafted that catches you off guard. The nuance of it, in a way, represents its danger. You don’t realise what you are reading until it’s too late. Knowing that, while the play was being performed, people had such intense feelings that made them act against something they knew was fictional restores a little bit of my faith in the world. Or at least in my country.

With a powerful 24-hour readathon done, I continued reading what has been accompanying me the whole month, Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco. It was a great palette cleanser after such heavy reading. I continue to love the banter between the two main characters. That’s what I live for in this series. The mystery develops quite slowly, so you really need to be there for the characters otherwise, it will become boring. I’m missing the third book, so I can’t continue the series right away, but I’m excited about what is yet to come. Especially for the romance. Will they get married? Will they do the devil’s tango? Will they shock London’s high society? Can’t wait to find out.

Then I also finished my new release Back to Bainbridge by Norah Lally. This is a middle-grade story about a girl, her younger siblings and her mother forced to move back to her grandmother’s house. Her father left them, and her mother lost her job and consequently got evicted. Going back to Bainbridge where her mother grew up, turns out to be a fresh start that they all needed. It was a fine story. It worked itself as predicted in these types of stories, and grabbed my attention in some parts. Overall, it was an enjoyable time.

The progress on the challenge

December also marks the midway point of the challenge, and maybe I should be more preoccupied about my overall progress. I still have a long way to go. I’m not even halfway through the challenges yet. So, while I’ve read a lot, there’s still plenty more to read. Although, I can cross off another white prompt: read 3 books in 24 hours. This was one of the most challenging prompts for me, up there with the 500-page book. It feels good to have achieved it. I also made progress in the 4 book series, by reading Hunting Prince Dracula, so I’m on track to soon check that one off as well.

In the purple prompts, I used é urgente amar for the A to Z challenge, and to help spell my name. It also crosses off the literary genre and the pink cover. O Colar and Catarina e a Belezza de Matar Fascistas also contribute with letters for my name, and either one of them can count for the brown cover. As I said above, Back to Bainbridge is my December new release, which keeps me on track with that challenge.