#SBS November 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 5+ years, we have transitioned 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…)!

In Case You Missed It

Well I (Kelly) personally took a big social media break and that included blogging. I got all the New Release posts created and scheduled and then did nothing else. So here I am at the end of the month, with not much to show for the month. But end of year stuff is coming and that is always fun…right?

• Check out the November & December YA New Releases on Bookshop.
• Check out our Holiday Reads listing – this is YA & Adult and in no way comprehensive but it’s fun to be a mood reader!
• Don’t forget to update your bookmarks for the Where to Buy Signed Books page, because the old one is still seeing traffic, but it hasn’t been updated in a long time as WP won’t let me update that page anymore.
• We curate a Bookshop page with most of the current YA New Releases – if you enjoy our content please consider supporting us by buying books through our links, or we have a Ko-Fi!

What We Read

Kelly: 6 books read for November, and in my head it doesn’t even seem like I did read that much…every time I tried to read, I just couldn’t get into anything.
Standouts were:

• Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass – 5 stars – I absolutely loved this horror/mystery/thriller – felt very much like 1990s Scream vibes and I DEVOURED it! So good and it’s queer AF!

Christy: WOOF 3 books this month. It’s slump season.

• Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons – Spooky season year-round but also what genre can Kristen NOT write? I loved this adventurous story rooted in Japanese culture. It’s also fucking terrifying and a quick read so grab your blanket and nightlight and settle in!
• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – A rare re-read from me. Yes, I saw the movie on opening night. No, I do not understand why people think this story is kind to Snow. The parallels to the world right now, just like the everlasting Hunger Games, are undeniable.

What We Hauled

Where we share our gifted and promotional books from authors and publishers, as well as the signed books we purchased (this is #SBS after all)! You can check our Where to Buy Signed Books page for more!

Kelly’s Highlights

• My Big, Fat Desi Wedding ed. by Prerna Pickett – Releases Jan 16th – Thank you to Page Street YA for this anthology ARC!
• My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino – Releases Feb 20th – Thank you Page Street YA for the ARC!
• Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens – Releases April 2nd – Thank you Simon Teen for the ARC!
• Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher – Available Now – Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted finished copy & goodies!
• Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen – Available Now – Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted finished copy!
• The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer – Available Now – Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted finished copy!
• Jim Henson’s Labyrinth Goodnight, Goblin King by S.T. Bende & Bill Robinson – Available Now – Thank you Insight Editions for the gifted finished copy!

Christy’s Highlights

• The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram – If there’s a new Adib book, I want it! Thanks to Penguin!
• My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino – This cover is still just…I love it. TY Pagestreet for the ARC!

What We Hope to Read

Kelly: Well this sentence rang true for November: This list was clearly for October and I read two of them…maybe November stays scary reads time for me… I did read 4 more of the horror/spooky reads I had wanted to read in October. So yay…I think. I am hoping to consume some holiday books, but I may have read them all last year, so no hopeful TBR for me as of yet…I am a moody reading girl.
You can follow me on storygraph or goodreads if you want to see what I am reading.

• These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
• She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
• Direwood by Catherine Yu
• Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
• When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya De Becerra
• Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass
• Hell Followed With Us by AJ White

Christy: HEY I read my one book from last month. Set realistic goals for yourself. Usually this time of year I am picking up winter/holiday books but I also have several I want to read before year’s end sooo…I am setting some very unrealistic goals for myself haha.

• Anatomy by Dana Schwartz
• This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
• Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick

On the Top of Our Minds

Kelly: 

As I mentioned above, I took a huge content creation break this past month, not a single instagram post, I made 4 New Release posts and the corresponding Bookshop listing for the blog and that was it… and I had some shame around that, and then I realized IDC. Every single time I tried to write a caption, the world around us just felt too much and too big and too important for me to insert my voice, when I was better off sharing more experienced and knowledgeable folks posts in my stories, you know? Anyway, I hope to maybe start posting again, here and insta… I enjoy the book community I have but I also sometimes feel like there is no point or room for my boring ass POV.

In other non-book related news, I spent most of my weekends this month prepping my garden for the spring, and doing a huge DIY renovation of my laundry room, like tearing down walls and floors and all that…with my own 2 hands and a crowbar. It feels good and also horrible, because of my disability I can manage maybe 2-3 hours of hard work a day before I can no longer move or grip anything in my hand, so it has it limitations but I am proud of myself, and after the few things I am doing to the attached kitchen as well, I am calling it quits for my home DIY era. I am moving fully into just building and maintaining my gardening era. So yeah, I need to be rich enough to hire people to do the rest. Anyone have any get rich quick schemes? LOL

So here’s to December…may you find time to reflect on the year that has gone by and I hope you get all you want for the holidays, even if that is just some time off.

Oh and please write and contact your representatives for a cease fire!

Christy:

How did we blink and it’s the end of the year? Unbelievable. I had so much I wanted to do this year that just slipped away. And next year I’ll be 40! Wild.

November is the start of Disney race season. I also had a one day trip to Disneyland that doubled as a concert trip. I honestly can’t remember what happened in November? 🙃

Happy December folks!