December 2023 Wrap-up

December TBR Pilev (22/25):

1. Bookworms BC: None
2. Friend BC: None
3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: [The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson](an the magic of the Christmas season be rediscovered in a small Devon town? When Shirley ‘Lee’ Jones returns home from an awful day at the office, the last thing she expects to find is her husband in bed with another woman. Six weeks until Christmas, and Lee finds the life she had so carefully planned has been utterly decimated. Hurt, angry and confused, Lee makes a whirlwind decision to drive her problems away and ends up in Totnes, an eccentric town in the heart of Devon. As Christmas approaches, Lee tries to figure out what path her life will follow now, as she looks at it from the perspective of a soon-to-be 31-year-old divorcée. Can she ever return to her normal life? Or is a new reality - and a new man - on the horizon? Finding herself and flirting with the handsome local police officer might just make this the best Christmas ever.) ✓
4. Kid Read Aloud: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle ✓
5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown ✓
6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
7. Nonfiction: Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar ✓
8. Romance: Snowed in for Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe ✓
9. Romance: Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London ✓
10. Romance: Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth ✓
11. Romance: The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score ✓
12. Romance: A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews ✓
13. Romance: Love in a Blizzard by Britney M. Mills ✓
14. Romance: White Lie Christmas by Karla Doyle ✓
15. Romance: A Winter in New York by Josie Silver ✓
16. Romance: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert ✓
17. Romance: Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson ✓
18. Romance: A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn ✓
19. Romance: Blue Sky Cowboy Christmas by Joanne Kennedy ✓
20. Romance: The Worst Christmas Ever? by Rebecca Paulinyi ✓
21. Romance: The Stopover by TL Swan ✓
22. Romance: Falling for the Rockstar at Christmas by Lyndsey Gallagher ✓
23. Thriller: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus ✓
24. Fantasy: Magical Midlife Madness by KF Breene ✓
25. Fantasy: Under the Smokestrewn Sky by A. Deborah Baker ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6250 pages Pages Remaining: 274,988 pages

Current Read - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros; Timekeeper by Tara Sim

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3):

For the book club’s Christmas Book and Bottle Exchange, I ended up with Pinot Noir by Mads Molnar. Looks like an interesting mystery/action story.

I actually found two BOTM selections that I really wanted.

• The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
• The Gentleman’s Gambit by Evie Dunmore

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 337
• Books Read: 0
• Books Acquired: 3
• Books Unshelved: 4
• Finishing Number: 336

January TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
2. Friend BC: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
4. Kid Read Aloud: Charlotte’s Web by EB White
5. Kid Read Aloud: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
7. Fantasy: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
8. Fantasy: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
9. Fantasy: Timekeeper by Tara Sim
10. Fantasy: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
11. Science Fiction: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Movies Watched

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• Newsies
• Solaris (1972)
• Silent Night

TV Shows Watched

• Doctor Who
• Below Deck: Med
• Bachelor in Paradise
• Slow Horses S3
• Obliterated S1
• Rick & Morty
• Archer - Series finale! I can’t believe that show aired for 14 seasons!
• One Piece S1
• Lockwood and Co. S1
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1

Comments - Ending my year on a high note for my reading and media watching. Looking forward to what 2024 will bring.

Next up on the TBR pile: