books TBR

A Very Merry December TBR 

Posted on by AmandaKay
Image created by the editor in Canva. Cover images courtesy of Goodreads

It’s December, the final reading month of the year! I love the cozy reading vibes of this month, combined with the glow of lights and candles. And I also enjoy leaning in to reads that are set during the festive season to round out the year. 

My last themed TBR for October (Witchtober) didn’t go too well. I only got to two of the books on my list, and I finished one of them a few days into November. Still, I like to set an ambitious goal and stretch for it, even if I know I’m unlikely to meet it. So, in the spirit of shooting for the stars, here’s my December TBR. 

(Full disclosure: This post uses Bookshop.org affiliate links, which means I get a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. Books marked with an asterisk were received as complimentary review copies.). 

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

A sapphic holiday rom com with featuring a marriage of convenience plot with a twist. 

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer 

This story about a Jewish romance novelist with a Christmasy secret was on my list last year and I never got to it. So, I’m hoping to make it happen in 2022.

A Cat Cafe Christmas by Cody Gary 

Cats. Cafes. Christmas. Enough said. This one is currently backordered on Bookshop.org so it seems like a popular choice this year. 

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

I read their previous holiday rom-com last year, so I figured I’d make a tradition of it. Hoping to enjoy this one a bit more than The Holiday Swap. 

The Holiday Trap* by Roan Parrish 

I love a good “let’s swap homes” story, particularly with a holiday twist, so I couldn’t resist this one. 

I read five books last month, and there’s even more vacation days in December, so this list of five doesn’t feel too far-fetched for the holiday season. 

What’s on your reading list for the last month of the year, book friends? Do we have any reading goals in common? 

Follow along as I tackle my TBR! Follow here on Medium, Instagram, Twitter, and/or Mastadon. You can also support us by joining Medium using this referral link, using our affiliate links, or with that handy-dandy tip button below.

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TBR Thursday #3

Posted on by AmandaKay

Happiest of Thursdays, my book friends! It’s overwhelmingly hot here in PA and our house doesn’t have central AC, so the little window unit that could is doing its best to fight the heat. Up in the room where my TBR cart lives, it’s approximiately 3000 degrees, give or take a few (okay, it’s more like 90 or so, given the outside temperature).

Hot or not, I’m back with another TBR Thursday selection from the Book of the Month shelf of shame. This week’s pick is probably pretty familiar to many of you, and it’s…

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Yes, I accidentally bought two copies of The Island of Missing Trees. Don’t @ me

Synopsis:

Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young–but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?

Bookshop.org synopsis

Why It’s On My TBR

Peer pressure probably inspried this pick more than anything. It took me two attempts to finish Normal People, though I did enjoy it fairly well once I was in the right mood (sad, contemplative, willing to tolerate dialogue without proper punctuation).

This would be my second Rooney and I think I’m hoping it will help me decide whether or not I’m in for the hype. Except that I just can’t seem to bring myself to actually pick it up and read it. It’s been sitting in the stack of shame for a while, and will probably stay there until I feel like I’m ready for my next Rooney.

Have you read this one yet, book friends? Let me know how it went for you if you did!