#SBS November Monthly Wrap-Up

Crushed on by Christy Jane, on December 11, 2022, in Blogging, It's Personal / 0 Comments

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#SBS November Monthly Wrap-Up

Welcome to our monthly feature where we talk about what we read, adopted into our libraries, and what’s on our minds. After hosting #SignedBookSundays on instagram for 4+ years, we are transitioning to this format as a way to share signed books and talk about bookish (and personal) highlights. Join us the last Sunday or last day of every month (or whatever day today is…we are busy!)!

What We Read

Kelly: I managed only 7 books read in November, but as I write this (a whole week into December, I am already 4 books in, and one I started in Nov, so it’s a tad skewed). Some of my favorites of the month were:

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas – 5 stars – I am still barely reading fantasy, but this one is written in a very contemporary way, and leans more on action and mythology, so I found it to be an easy read, and absolutely thrilling. Really needing to get my hands on book 2 ASAP!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – 5 stars – What a delightful book! It was a cozy read, very warm hug energy, and very very highly recommended for all!
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake – 5 stars – Another queer adult romance hit! This series is absolutely hands down one of the best adult romances I have read this year, and I cannot wait for Iris’ story next year!

Christy: WTF happened in November? I read all of 4 books – I don’t think I’ve read that few books in a month in almost 10 years. I can’t even talk to you about one of them (which also happens to be my fav read of the month) because HarperCollins won’t give their people a dang contract.

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen – Have you checked out my instagram live with Lev and fellow blogger, Damien? I want you to know I not only hosted an event with Lev but also REVIEWED THE AUDIOBOOK. Please clap. Because reviews are hard, yall.

What We Hauled

You too can be obsessed with signed books, look here for where to buy a copy from your favorite author’s local indie or preorder incentives that include bookplates.

Kelly’s Highlights

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni – Releases January 31st – Thank you Berkley Books for the advance copy!
Remind Me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason – Releases Feb 28th – Thank you Bloomsbury for the advance copy!
Afterglow by Phil Stamper – Releases Feb 7th – Thank you Bloomsbury for the advance copy!
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds – Available Now – Thank you to Fierce Reads for the gifted finished copy!
Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido – Releases May 3rd – Thank you Penguin Teen for the advance copy!
Last Sunrise in Eterna by Amparo Ortiz – Releases March 28th – Thank you to Page Street Books for the advance copy!
Signed Books I added to my collection this month: The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton, A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw.

Christy’s Highlights

Remind Me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason – TY to Bloomsbury. This book is going to break me.
The Quiet Part Out Loud by Deb Crossland – TY to Deb. This book is also going to break me. She literally sent me tissues.
Doodleville: Art Attack by Chad Sell – TY to Random House! These graphic novels are SO FUN.
Afterglow by Phil Stamper – Another Bloomsbury win! Excited for this one
Blood in the Water by Caleb Roehrig – Why yes, I do buy every Caleb book.
Three Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil – TY to Gretchen for sending me her next book. Is this not the most perfect title for a Gretchen book?
2022 Southern Living Annual Recipes – I am part of Abrams Dinner Party and can’t wait to share some recipes! TY to Abrams for including me in the fall Dinner Party.

What We Hope to Read

Kelly’s TBR

Okay I left the old TBR below, because look at all I crossed off!! I never stick to a TBR, but I know I am about to go all holly jolly into Holiday reads, and if you need some inspiration, check out our Holiday Reads Rec post – and be sure to click into last year’s post, which is still super relevant! Anyways, I can guarantee I will not be reading the books left unread listed below before the end of the year…it’s going to be HOLIDAY BOOKS from here on out.

You can follow my reading on goodreads and/or storygraph where I share what I just read, and some immediate reading reactions – full reviews are almost exclusively on here or instagram.

Scouts Honor by Lily Anderson
Big Bad by Lily Anderson
Lavender House by Lev Rosen
Direwood by Catherine Yu
The Killing Code by Ellie Marney
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Self Made Boys by AM McLemore
Coven by Jennifer Dugan
Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero

Christy’s TBR

I read two books on my TBR from last month, which is pretty great since I only read 4 books in total. December is the time to rush through all the books you meant to read during the year while also trying to fit in some holiday ones (I already read what is now one of my favorite holiday books BUT I CAN’T TELL YOU ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF HARPERCOLLINS. They’re really yucking my yum right now).

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Star Wars: Convergence by Zoraida Cordova
Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller
Big Bad by Lily Anderson
Five Survive by Holly Jackson

On the Top of Our Minds

Kelly:

Happy December y’all. Sorry this post is quite late, but we aren’t quitters, even if it’s late. Let’s move past looking backwards, and onto the what’s next. This month we will be working on celebrating the blog’s 10 year blogiversary, as well as our end of year lists, so be on the lookout for those! Always a daunting task, but also so fun to read and discover other peoples’ favorite reads of the year – it is literally the kind of posts I love to curate and read!

I have been trying to get my library in some sort of order, and it’s been a slow and painful process. I have like 15yrs worth of book buying (or is it hoarding?) and way less shelves than can hold ’em all, so I have been trying to 1: get the books out of bags & boxes and also use that moment to unhaul a whole lot of them. Maybe soon, I will bring upstairs (moved from downstairs dining room to upstairs spare bedroom) the rest of my bookshelves, stick them in the middle of the room as a kind of bookstore/library feel, and then I just might be done and you can see my mad scientist library in whole. It’s only been like 3+yrs since I started this move. Books are heavy y’all! Don’t recommend. 😛

I wish you all a pleasant end of the year, and I hope you stick with us for a lil while longer! We still here!

Christy:

Kelly is usually like ho-hum at the end of the month but here she is like NEW YEAR NEW ME and I’m like, damn November was rough.

It didn’t start that way, though. We spent the first week of November in Disney World to celebrate Halloween and Christmas, as well as run the first of the RunDisney races this year. I got to see Tiffany Schmidt, one of my fav author and people, and hang out with my Disney friends!

We had friends here for Thanksgiving but the month was mostly full of running running and more running. That’s marathon training for you.

My first marathon is less than a month away and I am nervexcited! I have two failed marathon training cycles under my belt but I am determined to make it through this time. However, marathon training has killed my time for blogging and reading and anything that isn’t sleeping, eating, recovering, and working.

The election was stressful. I am tired about worrying about democracy every two years. The US needs to get their shit together.