December SFFKit 2025: Read what makes you happy

Decembers host has left Librarything, so I thought I would get the ball rolling.

The original theme was disabled main character, and if that still tickles your fancy I have two recommendations to share; Machine and Hummingbird. Others have suggested ressources to consult in the main SFFKIT planning thread.

Otherwise I propose this months theme to be read what makes you happy. December is a dreary month in the northern hemisphere, and so we lean on Christmas or what other cultural traditions we have to brighten our days.
So find something to read that improves your mood. It could be a reread of a favorite author or book, a cozy fantasy or romantasy, a winter fairy tale, a childhood favorite, a lovely mystery, or a funny fantasy or engrossing space opera.

Kids stories:
Narnia
Archers goon

Romantasy:
How to help a hungry werewolf
Blind date with a werewolf
The enchanted greenhouse

Cozy fantasy
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association
Legends and Lattes

Mystery:
Shadow of the Leviathan
Murder by Memory
The Cemeteries of Amalo

Fairy tale:
Spindles end
The Wild swans

Humour:
Nine Goblins
Hogfather

Space opera:
Vorkosigan
Confederation
This alien shore

Please share your reading here, and update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2025_SF%26FKIT#2024_SFFKIT:

I love this idea! I am going to read Mickey7 which has been on my TBR for quite some time. I am also going to read book #2 in a fantasy trio with The Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie Dao.

>2 DeltaQueen50: good idea! Next in a series you love can also be a great moodbooster.

https://thedisabilityarchive.com/genre/ is a great resource for those looking to follow the original theme! It has a lot of what I would call micro-genres, so I'm sure there's something there for everyone!

I have found a very old paperback on my shelves which turned out to be highly entertaining: Under a calculating star. It features a treasure hunt, a revolution, and an epic journey to a new planet for a group of former slaves, all in 191 pages.

Love this! I'm going to plan on finally getting around to The Battle for Roar, which I've been meaning to get back to for ages. I don't read much MG, but the first two books in this trilogy were so much fun, I've been meaning to getting around to finishing it out.

I finished The Hard SF Renaissance, edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer. I can't honestly say that hard SF is my favorite sub-genre, but this was pretty good, and it knocked about a dozen stories off my award-nominated SF story project, and that makes me happy.

I read The Girl in Red, which fits the original theme because the heroine has an artificial leg from a childhood accident, and also made me happy because I enjoy me a good post-apocalyptic story with a sorta-kinda mostly happy ending.

I have finished both books that I planned for this month's theme. Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie Dao and Mickey7 by Edward Ashton - I enjoyed both of them!

I went with the "read what makes you happy" idea and read The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold, one of my very favorite SFF authors!

COMPLETED Drunk On Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

Combination of mystery and SF and has a translator/interpreter as sleuth, what more could one want?

Dear all
Thank you for playing along with this months challenge, and for all the great discussions and support during the year.

A new year has begun, and I am looking forward to new reading experiences and challenges.

If you are so inclined, please remember to update the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2025_SF%26FKIT#2024_SFFKIT:

Every Heart a Doorway

If you've ever wondered how Alice adjusted to the real world when she got back from Wonderland, take a peek into Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, where every child holds hope their door will open again.

I was so intrigued by the fantasy world-building that I forgot I had picked up a horror book until a body showed up. The premise is so unique, and seemed to be a sort of metaphor both for neurodivergent children of neurotypical parents and for children with trauma and/or mental illnesses — parents were spoken of both in terms of loving the child they had 'before' and not accepting the way they had changed, but also in terms like, 'their love wanted to fix her, and refused to see that she wasn't broken.' I also loved the unique characters and the way they shared details about their unique worlds. There were a few times the story got a little didactic, but my biggest complaint was that I felt the story should have been longer. Guess I'll have to pick up the next one!