06 December 2009

Sunday Salon: Progress on TBR List: Holiday Books

I've been reading more than writing lately, which is why I haven't participated in the Sunday Salon for the past two weeks. With the recent holiday, I gave myself permission to read books back-to-back without worrying about posting my impressions of them here on the blog. I don't usually do it that way because my memory of a book fades quickly; however, many of the books I had on my stack were light reading so I knew that I could wait a few days to review them.

TBR LIST: With all this reading, I thought it would be a good idea to check my progress in taming my TBR list. I was prepared to see a dip in the total, and I did. From a high of 114 titles, I am down to 96. However, what I didn't remember is that when I started this I was only at 80 titles. Getting down to 50 titles by the end of the year is looking more and more like an impossible goal. The good thing is that the attempt to meet that goal has me reading more books instead of just reading about books.

HOLIDAY BOOKS: Although I was thinking about checking out some holiday books, I decided I'd rather make a dent in my TBR list. Funny coincidence: the next two books I picked to read, The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out and Dead Until Dark, turned out to take place around the holidays. I actually started the Yada Yada Prayer Group book a couple days before Thanksgiving which is exactly when the action started in the book! I still may try a full-on holiday book, but it will have to be closer to Christmas. That is when my defenses are down and I can handle all the sentimentalism without making fun of it :-).

QUESTION: What is your favorite book set at Christmas time?

3 comments:

Megan said...

My favorite book set during the holidays is probably any picture book version of The Nutcracker. As a child I always went and saw the ballet and I love seeing all the variations in different books.

Other than that I am not much for Christmas books, though I do have a stack of holiday romances that I keep intending to get to every December and never do. I dont often read romance though I enjoy it. The holidays are the perfect time of year for light reading. But like you I am trying to get through a stack of library books and other TBR in the hopes of reading 200 books this year.

Kristen said...

I totally make fun of sentimentalism in holiday books. So often they just scream out asking for snark! And for me, by the time the holiday rolls around, I am beyond done with all the "heartwarming" stuff. I think my kids should paint me green and call me the Grinch!

Dani In NC said...

Kristen, I totally get what you are saying. A Christmas book or movie has to strike just the right balance between sentimental and funny for me to enjoy it without making fun of it. Even then, I can only swallow this kind of entertainment during the two weeks prior to Christmas. Any other time, I am in full-on snark mode when it comes to sentimental goop!