Another month, another TBR ~

I honestly made a bigger dent in my November TBR than I thought I had, given how little it feels like I read last month. 🙃 My December TBR is huge, but I’m really hoping to end the year on a good note! I have a lot of short reads and re-reads lined up, a few audiobooks on hand, and some very lofty goals to close out 2023. Let’s go!

November goal check-in: 

• read 100+ pages per day
  • I succeeded at this goal about 70% of the month, so not too shabby!
• finish all of my pre-November reads
  • I completed some of them and put the rest on hold for another time because I was feeling slumpy, so… kinda?
• read at least FIVE books from a previous 2023 TBR (seasonal, annual, whatever)
  • EDIT AFTER FINISHING BOOKS ON 30TH

My goals for December are: 

• read 100+ pages per day
  • Yep, trying this one again!
• finish my 2023 TBR list
  • I would LOVE to finish my entire 2023 TBR this month. I don’t know if I’ve ever finished an annual TBR before!
• catch up on reviews
  • This is the goal I’m least committed to, but it would definitely be nice to go into 2024 with a clean slate.

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DECEMBER’S picks:

It wasn’t intentional, but somehow I ended up with almost exactly half horror and half fantasy/romantasy this month! 😂 My two favorite genres! I have a LOT of books planned this month since I’m hoping to finish my 2023 and Fall TBR lists, so I’m splitting this month’s TBR into sections based on why they’re on the list. 🥳

First, my buddy reads with Misty:

🎄 NOS4A2 // Joe Hill (RE-READ) → I think Misty hasn’t read this yet, and I wanted to re-read it this Christmas!
🎄 A Court of Wings and Ruin & A Court of Frost and Starlight // Sarah J. Maas (RE-READS) → These will be re-reads for me, but Misty’s first time, and I’m so excited to see her reactions!
🎄 Kingdom of the Feared // Kerri Maniscalco → YAY, I’m finishing another series from my 2023 series goal list! I’m excited to see how this one ends.
🎄 Slaying the Vampire Conqueror // Carissa Broadbent → This one is on Misty’s fall TBR and I’m really excited after how much we loved our 3 other BRs by this author!
🎄 Radiance // Grace Draven → This is on my 2023 TBR and I haven’t read anything from this author in AGES, but I adored the book I read by her before.
🎄 How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories // Holly Black → I’ve been itching to read this ever since it came out. It’s so gorgeous and I need more Cardan in my life ♥

My Christmas-themed picks:

🎄 Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III // Kevin J. Kennedy → I just got an eARC of this anthology and it looks great!
🎄 Candy Cain Kills // Brian McAuley → I’m joining a group read of this one and it sounds like SO much fun. Christmas slasher time!
🎄 Christmas at Wheeldale Inn // Gemma Amor → I just got a review copy of this and I can’t wait. I haven’t read any of Gemma’s work in a bit, but I always adore it.
🎄 Hark! the Herald Angels Scream // Christopher Golden (RE-READ) → I saw some friends on Instagram say they were group reading this, and I had to jump in for a re-read. It’s one of my favorite anthologies of all time!

My remainders from my 2023 TBR and Fall TBR:

🎄 The Shadow of What Was Lost // James Islington → This is one of my spouse’s favorite books, so we’re buddy reading it! It’s our first buddy read in AGES and I’m excited!
🎄 The Kaiju Preservation Society // John Scalzi → This looks so fun and I think it’s pretty short!
🎄 Marla // Jonathan Janz → I love Jonathan Janz’s books so much and I’ve been saving this one, enjoying the anticipation 😂
🎄 Exquisite Corpse // Poppy Z. Brite → I feel like I’ve been meaning to read this for most of my LIFE and I’m a little nervous about it because of the hype!
🎄 Bloom // Delilah S. Dawson → Another quick read that sounds REALLY good!
🎄 In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology // Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane → I haven’t read much dark academia, so I’m interested to see how this goes.
🎄 Horror Library, Vol. 8 // Eric J. Guignard → It’s so pretty. Just… just look at it. 😍
🎄 Our Last Echoes // Kate Alice Marshall → I’ve been craving a KAM thriller lately!
🎄 Linghun // Ai Jiang → I don’t know why, but I’m thoroughly convinced I will LOVE this ♥

And finally, a couple of recent ARCs I want to get to and another buddy read:

🎄 The Reformatory // Tananarive Due → I’m nervous about this one! I’ve only read short stories by this author before, and this one’s a chonk, but I hear amazing things!
🎄 The Death Doula // Ali Seay → I’ve been learning a bit about IRL death doulas lately and I’m extra excited to read a novella about one!
🎄 Sawtooth // Steph Nelson → I hear AMAZING things about this novella and I’m kind of obsessed with the cover!
🎄 This Vicious Grace // Emily Thiede → Caro and I are buddy reading this one! I haven’t heard much talk about it, but it’s pretty and sounds interesting!

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DECEMBER bujo spreads:

I’m so happy with how these spreads turned out and I think Ella liked them, too! (Jk, she just wanted to eat the lights) I cut some gift tags into stickers and was pretty proud of myself for that move. 😂 I also tried something new with coloring in some of my boxes and I’m hoping it’ll look really nice and colorful when the month is over and they’re all filled in!

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What are you reading this month?

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— destiny ♥

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