This is it! The last month of the year. My last chance to reach my goal of reading 75 books this year. 67 books are done, so basic math tells me I only have 8 more books to read. That might be a long shot for me, however – I’m an Educational Assistant, therefore when Christmas break starts I’ll have extra time to read. There are two readathons that I heard about on Youtube which I might take part in: #TisTheSeasonAthon and #Cramathon. I’ll need to check the challenges to see if my current TBR can fit in.

#TisTheSeasonAThon
December 3-9, and it is hosted by: Heather from Bookables, Kristin from Super Space Chick, Trina from Between Chapters, Amy from A Court of Crowns and Quills
– follow the twitter and the instagram for reading sprints and photo challenges!
CHALLENGES:
1. Read a book with red or green on the cover
2. Read a book while listening to holiday music
3. Read a book that will make you feel warm & fuzzy
4. Read a short book (250 pgs or less)
5. Read a holiday themed book
BONUS CHALLENGE – Read the buddy read book, Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, and Kasie West

#Cramathon
Dec 22-28
– Check out the Hashtag on Twitter Twitter → http://twitter.com/cramathon
⋯ HOSTS ⋯ DYLAN / dylanisreviewing, JAY / The Awkward Bookworm, JULIA / Julia Sapphire, and Ali from Hardback Hoarder
⋯ CHALLENGES ⋯ Group book: Afterlife of Holly Chase
A book under 200 pages
A book you meant to read in 2018, but never did
A book with POC representation
Read a book with silver on the cover
Shortest book on your TBR
Read 7 books total

Sarah from Crooke Lane Books invited me to take part in a blog tour for a new book called The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas. I’m really into this book and will be posting a book review soon.

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Expected Publication: February 2019

Genre: Mystery Sci-Fi

Page Count: 336

 

 

 

Next up is an ARC of Father Christmas and Me by Matt Haig.

Publisher: Canongate Books

Date Published: October 2018

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Page Count: 288

 

 

 

I’m also still listening to City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab with my eleven-year-old daughter. We only have a few chapters left 🙂

Published August 2018 by Scholastic

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy (paranormal)

Loving Scribd! You can try it free for 60 days 🙂

https://www.scribd.com/gat/73212w

 

 

 

My nine-year-old son and I are still reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I’m reading this to him before bed (skipping some parts that I feel aren’t appropriate for a nine-year-old. I thought this was a children’s book, but it’s definitely YA).

Published May 2001 by Yearling (first published 1995)

Genre: YA Fantasy

Page Count: 399

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve fallen behind on reading the ARCS sent to me (and feel horrible for it). I NEED to read The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos as soon as possible.

Published October 9, 2018 by Atria Books

Genre: Historical Fiction

Page Count: 353

“A sweeping family saga and love story that offers a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest and life behind the Iron Curtain during the Soviet Union occupation—perfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah’s Key.”

 

The Glovemaker’s Daughter by Leah Fleming is another ARC I need to read.

Expected Publication November 13, 2018 by Simon Schuster UK

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Page Count: 432

“From the acclaimed author of The Last Pearl and The Postcard, a beautiful and epic novel spanning three generations of one family’s dark secrets, betrayal, love, and redemption.”

 

Watching You by Lisa Jewell is a new Mystery Thriller being published this month. I have an ARC for this one as well.

Expected Publication December 26, 2018 by Atria Books

320 pages

 

 

 

 

 

After all those are done I have one more ARC I’d like to read before we ring in the New Year, The Best of Us by Robyn Carr. I just found out that it’s the fourth book in a series, soooo…I might read the other three first? Not sure about that. I really need to get better at researching books before requesting or accepting review copies.

Expected to be published January 8, 2019 by Harlequin MIRA

Contemporary Romance

“Dr. Leigh Culver loves practicing medicine in Timberlake, Colorado. It is a much-needed change of pace from her stressful life in Chicago. The only drawback is she misses her aunt Helen, the woman who raised her...Helen Culver is an independent woman who lovingly raised her sister’s orphaned child. Now, with Leigh grown, it’s time for her to live life for herself. The retired teacher has become a successful mystery writer who loves to travel and intends to never experience winter again...When Helen visits Leigh, she is surprised to find her niece still needs her, especially when it comes to sorting out her love life.”

Last on the list is a book I’ve struggled with for a couple of years now. When I start a book I ALWAYS finish it. This is the second time I’ve started Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas, and I really really want to finish it.

Published December 2006 by Grove Press, Black Cat

Literary Fiction

“On the eve of his thirty-fifth birthday, the unnamed black narrator of Man Gone Down finds himself broke, estranged from his white wife and three children, and living in the bedroom of a friend’s six-year-old child. He has four days to come up with the money to keep the kids in school and make a down payment on an apartment for them in which to live. As we slip between his childhood in inner city Boston and present-day New York City, we learn of a life marked by abuse, abandonment, raging alcoholism, and the best and worst intentions of a supposedly integrated America. This is a story of the American Dream gone awry, about what it’s like to feel preprogrammed to fail in life and the urge to escape that sentence.”