Sunday Mews: Happy December & December TBR List Poll

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking to Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently. I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post, where any book bloggers who write monthly wrap-up posts can link up and visit other bloggers to see what they have been reading.  

Happy December! I have my holiday cards almost ready for mailing, our tree still isn't up (haven't  found the time!) nor our Christmas lights, half of the Christmas shopping is done, and The Nutcracker is in two weeks. I know this time of year is busy for most of you as well as we make our way towards the end of the year. It always comes so quickly! I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!

New to My Shelves: 

I broke down and used one of my birthday gift cards and picked up these gems which had been on my wish list for a long while:

The Accidental Alchemist (An Accidental Alchemist Mystery, #1) by Gigi Pandian

Mind Games (The Disillusionists, #1) by Carolyn Crane

The Unleashing (Call of Crows, #1) by Shelly Laurenston

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1) by Zen Cho

A Grave Calling (Bodies of Evidence, #1) by Wendy Roberts

A Grave Search (Bodies of Evidence, #2) by Wendy Roberts

The Palace Job (Rogues of the Republic, #1) by Patrick Weekes (for my husband)

What I Am Reading: I have not started a new book yet after finishing my last one. I will be diving back into War and Peace and Les Misérables most likely though. This is the final month for both read-alongs. I was thinking maybe one of my holiday-themed reads might be in order. Something that is good for a distracted mind to focus on.

What I Am Watching: I was able to take a week off from work over my daughter's Thanksgiving school break, and so took the opportunity to see the new Grinch movie. Mouse and I both enjoyed it. We also saw Wreck It Ralph Breaks the Internet (my husband was able to come with us to see this one). I asked Mouse which she liked better (or if she liked them both the same),  and she did not hesitate by naming Wreck It Ralph Breaks the Internet. When I asked her what she liked about it, I was surprised by her answer. I expected something like "when Vanellope meets the princesses" or "when Vanellope steals Shank's car". Instead, she said it was because the movie made her feel a wide range of emotions--"happy and sad and happy all over again"--I guess she really is my daughter (even if she does not like peanut butter).

Off the Blog: November got off to such a rough start: the mas shooting at a nightclub, deadly wildfires which later led to flooding toward the end of the month. Add in all the busy with The Nutcracker and the rehearsals. My mother-in-law's surgery went well the middle of the month, and we drove up to visit her, my father-in-law and brother-in-law for Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law was moved to a rehab center during our visit and was released home Friday. It will be a long recovery process, but she's feeling very positive. My own mother made the 8 hour drive down for a quick visit for my great aunt's 90th birthday celebration this weekend. She will be returning home soon and then will be back in a couple weeks for a longer visit, this time bringing her furry companion, Allie. We are all curious to see how our kitten does with a dog in the house. I did a bit of fall cleaning in Mouse's room and other various areas she's taken over in the house while on vacation. It was quite the chore, and I feel so accomplished!

 I dumped her bins on our kitchen table as I sorted the stuff in them, separating out donations,throw-aways, and organizing what we were going to keep. This is just a taste of the battle I faced.

 The table after I was nearly finished. 

Much better.

Here is what I finished reading in November:

• The Secret Language of Cats by Susanne Schötz
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
• Bells, Spells, and Murder by Carol J. Perry

November was another poor showing for me numbers wise.  To be fair, I did manage to stay on target for both of my year long read-along books, War and Peace and Les Misérables. I even got ahead in Les Misérables. I imagine it will be much the same this next month as I am determined to finish both before the year is out. Although maybe taking on two big classic chunksters at once was not the wisest idea, I have no regrets. I have enjoyed both quite a bit. Even my blogging and blog visiting suffered this month. It is a very busy time for my family, and add in the holidays, well, I suppose it was a given. At least I managed to finish my November TBR List poll winner. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to going back and reading the earlier books in the series. And I finally got my daughter to give The Wizard of Oz a try on our drive north for Thanksgiving. We listened to the audio version and everyone enjoyed it.

This Past November In Reading Mews:

• Six Degrees of Separation: From Vanity Fair to Girl Waits With Gun
• Sunday Mews: Wrapping Up October & My November TBR List Poll
• Bookish Thoughts: The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#22)
• Sunday Mews: November TBR List Poll Winner & Culling the Bookshelves
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#23)
• Bookish Thoughts: The Secret Language of Cats by Susanne Schötz
• Mouse's Corner, The Sunday Edition: Nutcracker Preparation & Bedtime Reading
• Bookish Thoughts: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#24)
• Bookish Thoughts:Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#25)
• Bookish Thoughts: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo

Tell me what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your November? Do you have anything planned for this month?

*

Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Sunday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

I considered not doing a poll this month given everything going on and how little time I will likely have on the computer this month, but this is one of my favorite features, and I just can't help myself. Going through my TBR piles, these are the three that immediately popped out at me: all short and on the lighter side. (And aren't the covers pretty?)

A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

A Courtship of Convenience

Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He’s grim and silent. A man of little emotion—or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she’s ready to put an end to things.

A Last Chance for Love

But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn’t as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there’s Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What’s a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there’ll be no false formality. This time they’ll get to know each other for who they really are. [Goodreads Summary]

Wishing Cross Station by February Grace

"Don’t stay a moment longer than you have to. Don’t say too much. Don’t pollute the timeline."

When nineteen-year-old college library page Keigan Wainwright is sent to pick up a private donation of books for the school’s collection, he has no idea where one of those books will take him, or what it will take from him.

Retracing a powerful man’s footsteps through the past, Keigan finds himself caught in the same dangerous trap: falling in love with a woman he was never meant to know, and uncertain he will ever find his way home. [Goodreads Summary]

A Brazen Curiosity (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries, #1) by Lynn Messina

Twenty-six-year-old Beatrice Hyde-Clare is far too shy to investigate the suspicious death of a fellow guest in the Lake District. A spinster who lives on the sufferance of her relatives, she would certainly not presume to search the rooms of her host's son and his friend looking for evidence. Reared in the twin virtues of deference and docility, she would absolutely never think to question the imperious Duke of Kesgrave about anything, let alone how he chose to represent the incident to the local constable.

And yet when she stumbles upon the bludgeoned corpse of poor Mr. Otley in the deserted library of the Skeffingtons' country house, that's exactly what she does. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read any of these? Which one do you think I should read this month?

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy Reading!

---

© 2018, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.