Hello snowflakes!❄️
Like most people, December is going to be a crazy month for me. I just started a new job which just so happens to be a retail position, so you can imagine how busy I will be with all of the holiday hours. Not only that, but I am also participating in two week-long readathons as well.
The first readathon takes place from Monday, December 3rd, and lasts until Sunday, December 9th. This readathon is called the TistheSeason-a-thon. I am super excited for this first one because it basically gives me the chance to tackle of my unread Christmas themed books. The TistheSeason-a-thon was created by Heather over at Bookables and she is joined by some pretty awesome co-hosts. There are five challenges total, all of which I am going to attempt to complete. I will link Heather’s announcement video here for all the in-depth details.
The second readathon takes place more towards the end of the month. I am planning on doing a separate post for that one, so I’ll leave it a surprise.
Anyways, enough babbling, let’s get into my December TBR!
TISTHESEASON-A-THON TBR
1. The Nutcracker
by: E.T.A. Hoffman
challenge: read a book with red or green on the cover
The Nutcracker will be a reread for me, as I read it for the first time last holiday season. I’m sure we all know what this story is about by now, but for those rare few of you who don’t, let me inform you.
The Nutcracker is a children’s coming-of-age novella that has just about something for everyone, from beautiful dolls all the way to deathly battles as well as toys and animals that come to life. The narrative follows little Marie on Christmas eve as she receives and plays with her new gift–a nutcracker. After her brother breaks it, Marie aids the nutcracker and puts it to bed, but at the stroke of midnight, our protagonist awakes to a ferocious battle between an army of mice and and army of toys–including her beloved nutcracker.
I won’t go into any more detail because, well..spoilers! Just know, that this timeless story wasn’t dubbed a classic for nothing. I also plan on rereading this every holiday season.
2. Christmas or The Good Fairy
by: Harriet Beecher Stowe
challenge: read a book while listening to holiday music
Christmas or the Good Fairy is one of many short stories in Barnes and Noble’s collectible edition of A Christmas Treasury. Inside this gorgeous hardcover you can find a wide array of Christmas themed tales written by famous authors such as L. Frank Baum, L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and much more. In terms of what this specific narrative is about, I really have no idea, and I couldn’t even find a description on goodreads. I also plan on reading this while listening to some Harry Potter holiday ASMR videos on YouTube.
3. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
by: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
challenge: read a warm and fuzzy book
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is pretty much a classic for mostly everyone on booktube or bookstagram during this time of year. This will be my first time reading it, so I honestly could not be more excited.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is a YA contemporary that takes place in NYC during the holiday season. In it we follow Lily, who one day decides to fill a notebook full of challenges and leave it on a favorite bookstore shelf. Lily is convinced that whoever comes along and accepts the dares is the right guy for her. So who is the one to find and accept the dares? Well, I’m going to go ahead and assume Dash.
I have heard nothing but awesome things about this book, and considering I used to live right in the heart of Manhattan, I am pretty darn excited to read about all of the locations Dash and Lily visit.
4. Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe
by: Melissa de la Cruz
challenge: read a short book (less than 250 pages)
Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe is a gender swapped Pride and Prejudice retelling that takes place during Christmastime. Beyond that, I didn’t need to know much else. I am however, aware that this was quite the disappointment for a lot of people, so I will keep that in mind when reading this. I’m really not looking for an amazing narrative when it comes to this book but rather something just quick and easy, so I think I will enjoy it just fine. Fingers crossed!
5. A Very Vintage Christmas
by: Tilly Tennant
challenge: read a holiday themed book
A Very Vintage Christmas is an adult romance novel that takes place during the holiday season. In it, we follow Dodie who loves everything vintage and who also just so happens to own an antique shop known as, Forget-Me-Not Vintage. One day, when Dodie is looking through some of her vintage finds, she spots a love letter in the pocket of an old jacket. From that point on our protagonist makes various attempt to deliver the letter to it’s rightful owner. Oh, and she might meet a man somewhere along the way too…
GENERAL DECEMBER TBR
1. Little Women
by: Louisa May Alcott
Little Women is a classic children’s book that I think most of us have heard of by now. The narrative follows four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy during the American Civil War era. We watch as they go through their day to day lives doing things from putting on a Christmas play, all the way to forming a secret society. We also follow the sisters as they grow up and go from little girls to little women all while their father is away fighting on the war front.
I started reading this book back in November, but I am not the least bit worried that I didn’t complete it last month, because I never really intended to. Considering this hardcover is a whopping 777 pages, my main goal is to just finish Little Women before January 1st of 2019.
Those are all of the books I plan on reading in December! Keep a look out for part two later on this month!
I hope you enjoyed reading today’s post!
Until next time,
The Garden of Read-En 