ROW 1: The books in this row were all read in December 2015. All I Want for Christmas is You is a free novella I picked up from B&N for the Nook, and the most recent romance read. Pecan Pies is the third book in Ellery Adams “Charmed Pie Shoppe” series, and I have book four in Mount TBR. Death of a Dapper Snowman was another freebie from B&N (at time of purchase), and was an okay read, though the later chapters especially would have benefited from better editing.
ROW 2: I kicked off the year with three books for the 2016 Ultimate Challenge, starting with a 600-pager, The Insider by Ridley Pearson, the last book in his Kingdom Keepers series. Next was The BFG by Roald Dahl, a movie adaptation of which will be in theaters this July. I was not planning to reread Metamorphosis by Kafka when it was chosen as the March classic group read, but it fit the criteria of a book read in high school, was short, and was included in a “classics” anthology on my ereader, so I did. Just as weird and depressing as I remembered it!
ROW 3: I have read a lot of cozy mysteries over the last couple months, as these next two rows show. All of these fit multiple challenges, including monthly mini challenges, the 2016 Ultimate, or the “winter” challenge. The Merlot Murders was actually read in December, and Ellen Crosby was a new-to-me author. I received a couple of B&N gift cards for Christmas, and some of my purchases included the two most recent books by Kate Collins, from her Flower Shop mystery series: A Root Awakening and Florist Grump. This is a favorite series I’ve been following for years, and I look forward to the next one out this spring. I read these this month for mini challenges, but they also fit the Ultimate criteria of a NY Times Bestseller.
ROW 4: Nancy J. Parra was the September cozy featured author. While I had this book since then, I wasn’t able to fit it in before this month, for two different challenges. Lea Wait was a new-to-me author, and Twisted Threads the first book in one of her two embroidery series. Thread End is also from a favorite mystery series, "Embroidery Shop", and fit the Ultimate criteria of a character with my occupation (craft/retail).
ROW 5: Rhys Bowen was the December featured author for the Cozy Mysteries group. While I did not get to the book I had by her, I did read this short prequel to one of her two popular series.
Your turn: What are you reading these days? Is there anything you’ve read recently you would recommend to others?
LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen
