Required Reading: December 2014

November had come and gone. And December is here carrying all the Christmas cheers we may enjoy. For a bookish person that means more books –receiving, listing, buying, shelving, and reshelving.  But let us not forget Thanksgiving, feasting, family, and fellowship on our list, my dears.

Here are the books and short stories I finished last November:

• Flury: The Journey of A Snowman by Tony Bertauski – 5/5 stars – Wonderful story about love, family and sacrifice. If you haven’t started with this series yet, may I suggest you get your copies now? Because this is the best read for the season.
• Dwellers by Eliza Victoria – 4/5 stars – TFG’s book for November turned to be a very interesting read and prompted a really good discussion last FilReaderCon.
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell – 5/5 stars – It took me a while to finish this, but it has nothing to do with the writer’s storytelling. Three quarters through, I got heartbroken and I found it difficult to turn another page.  I did muster my courage, eventually, and let the tears fall where it should.
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – 4/5 stars – This one is a journey in time and characters. It was not exactly a sad story, but I ended my reading with a constricted sigh. Sorry, I have to explain myself at length some other time.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera – 3/5 stars – This is my last Dare You To Read challenge. Yay! Kundera is a very good poet, no doubt about that.
• Doll Bones by Holly Black – 3/5 stars – A brave adventure and a test of friendship. A very nice “coming-of-age” story.
• Roselily by Alice Walker, and The Swimmer by John Cheever – 5/5 stars – Short stories of the month via The Short Story Station.

For my last Reading Requirement of the year, I've chosen only one book. The one that matters the most…

•     Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano – There is no secret why I know I will love this. I love the person who wrote it, and I know she had put plenty of love and effort into making this book.

I believe that I will not be able to finish all my 70-book challenge this year, but I don’t feel too bad about that. I did try my best to fight off the giant called “Reading Slump.” It was a good fight, because I was able to bounce back, somehow. I do know it will be back and try to overcome me again. That is the reality of every reading life; we just keep doing what we love.

A Christ-filled season to everyone and a prosperous bookish year ahead of us!