December TBR

It’s the end of the year, and the end of the decade.

I’ve seen a lot of memes rolling around with folks talking about how their reading habits have changed (or not) in the past decade, and so I’m going to jump in, briefly.

In 2009 I read a lot of adult fantasy, particularly urban fantasy. I think it was a time of transition, because I was growing over-saturated with the urban fantasy subgenre and YA fantasy was just on the cusp of becoming something really, really big. Also, winter 2009 I was at TBS and so trying to read a little things that made me happy and helped me decompress after reading so much military boring-blah-blah stuff.

I kept a reading log in a Word document, although I didn’t make it very clear when I read what or anything else—and I think I stopped updating it while I was at TBS, because I only started keeping track of what I read again in October of 2011! Which meant that back in 2009 I didn’t have a formal TBR. I used the library a lot and thought ebooks were the death of reading and humanity. I read in isolation and kept my books hidden, because I was embarrassed that I read girly-non-serious shit while my peers bragged about the latest military biography they had finished.

Fast forward to 2019.

I keep track of what I read, down to the page number and publication year, through Goodreads, and I also create a monthly TBR that I kinda follow but mostly use for inspiration.

I don’t read a whole lot of urban fantasy anymore, nor do I read much military fiction. I’ve started reading adult science fiction again and have been loving it. I read less YA SFF and more YA contemporary, although I’ve been weaning away from YA in general.

I also read ebooks, listen to audiobooks, and read physical books, because the story is what matters, not the format.

I’ve embraced being a mood reader, and I fully and utterly embrace what I read. I read eclectically, and there is no shame in loving non-serious shit or serious shit!

And this year I’ve read more books than I ever had before, and I might, just might get to 200 books if I really push myself and read 15 books this month. It’s possible, but do I want to? It depends if I get to 195, because at that point well, I just have to get to 200, right?

With all that being said, here’s my December TBR!

Here Comes the Crown

Lots of crowns this month! Of course, The Queen of Nothing and The Queen of the Conquered depend entirely on when these books come on hold from my library, so hopefully I get them soon because I’m dying to read both! Lady Hotspur is an ARC and releases in January, and while I haven’t read Innis Lear (and wasn’t planning on it?) this looks intriguing, as I’m curious how a gender-swapped Henry IV is going to play out. Or is it Henry VI? Shakespeare sure loved his Henrys.

Stylistic Covers That Make Me Go 😍

I don’t even know where to begin with these, but I’m excited for each one for entirely different reasons!

All-American Muslim Girl is a November ARC I am determined to read, and Woven in Moonlight is a January ARC that sounds amazing, because I love fairy tales and this seems like one? I’ve heard nothing but great things about The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and am waiting on it to come in from the library. And Crier’s War was an impulse buy because 1) indie bookstores are my kryptonite 2) I’ve heard great things about it and 3) f/f romance!

Books With Faces (and/or boobs)

Again, super varied in reading but I want to read them all! Okay, I’m less intrigued by Scavenge the Stars than I was when I requested the ARC, but that’s mostly because YA fantasy has been a huge disappointment to me recently and I’m tired of being tired by that genre. The Deep and Parable of the Sower are sure to rip my heart out, but mermaids and also I have an ARC of the Parable of the Sower graphic novel and I probably should read the book first. I love all things Stacey Lee, so The Downstairs Girl is sure to be a win for me—and the library book is currently on my Kindle!

These Feel Like Winter Books

Okay, The Giver of Stars is actually a Buddy Read that I’m doing with a friend in the middle of December (and NetGalley somehow approved the ARC a month after its publication date???), but it’s my first Jojo Moyes book and the only one that intrigues me because pack horse librarians. (self plug: I wrote a fantasy novella based on the American pack horse librarians of the 1930s, and it’s being republished by NineStar Press late next year).

And yes yes yes I’ve said I was going to read The Simple Wild, The Stone Sky and The Fiery Cross for forever now, but this time I *kinda* mean it? They feel like winter books? And I feel like The Fiery Cross might be a good book to sink into after I’ve hit 200 and no longer am stressing about numbers and books read and all that meaningless shit that nevertheless has given me anxiety and heartburn.

Next year, I read for fun and fun only.

This year, I’m going for 200.

Or not.

Wish me luck.

What are you excited to read this month?