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My “Christmas Break” Reading List

wpid-20131219_084440.jpgAs I mentioned last Sunday, I am taking all of next week off from work. Well, mostly off work. I don’t have to go into the office but, depending on how much work I get done today, I may have to do some writing and editing from home.

That said, a few hours of work from home in my pjs is going to be a lot more relaxing than heading to the office… and I should have plenty of time to get some reading done!

I started putting together a list of the books I wanted to read over my Christmas break. At the longest, it was 18 books long… way too many to pack in my car with my suitcase, Christmas presents, and cranky cat. After some serious self-talk about how much time I’d actually have to read, I managed to pare the list down to six books. Here’s what I’ll be choosing from this week:

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling because I want to finally finish out my Harry Potter re-read.
  • So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport because I’m excited to read about a different idea about success at work.
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman because it’s on so many favorites list for this year.
  • The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey because I can’t resist “a true story of a haunted castle, a plotting duchess and a family secret.”
  • The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud because I really want to read Claire Messud.
  • The Skies Belong to Us by Brendan Koerner because I want to read about skyjacking.

After all of that, who knows what I’ll actually be reading this week. I’m hoping I’ll get a few books off my wish list from Santa! With that, I’m out of here until late December. Enjoy the holidays and I’ll see you on the flip side! (Nerd alert!)

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  • Diane@BibliophilebytheSea December 20, 2013, 5:48 am

    How do you manage to travel with your “cranky cat”? Our cats screech non stop driving to the vet 20 minutes away. When we moved 2 hours we gave them tranquilizers and still they howled…LOL

    Enjoy your time off, I can’t wait to be off as well.

    • Kim December 30, 2013, 9:09 pm

      Hannah used to be terrible at traveling. Then it seems like she got over a hump. She yowls and throws a fit for about 40 minutes, then seems to calm down for most of the rest of the trip (although she does continue to yowl occasionally, just to remind you what a horrible thing you are doing to her).

  • Sandy December 20, 2013, 5:51 am

    I am jealous that you will have time to even read half of those books. I get nothing read around the holidays…NOTHING. I know that someday I won’t be in charge of the food and entertaining, and then I’ll have time. Good luck in traveling with a cranky cat! That is always fun 🙂

  • Julie Merilatt December 20, 2013, 6:48 am

    Happy Christmas Kim! Enjoy, and may santa increase your TBR…

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) December 20, 2013, 6:51 am

    Good luck! We’ll have company and I’ll be working so I doubt I’ll get much read the next few weeks.

  • Sheila (Book JOurney) December 20, 2013, 7:22 am

    Great list… anything Harry Potter has my vote and The Emperors Children has been on my shelf way too long… I need to get to that one too.

  • tanya December 20, 2013, 9:34 am

    I loved The Emperor’s Children, though I must admit that I haven’t been racing out to read her latest. And The Secret Rooms sounds delightful. I can’t wait for your review. Great list.

  • Kailana December 20, 2013, 9:50 am

    Enjoy your holidays! I have The Secret Rooms on my wish list, so I hope you like it so I am inspired to get it sooner rather than later. 🙂

    • Kim December 30, 2013, 9:10 pm

      I got the pitch for that one and couldn’t reply fast enough. I am really excited about it. I might use it for Shelia’s first book of the year challenge.

  • Andi @ Estella's Revenge December 20, 2013, 9:54 am

    Great list! I’ve been itching to do some HP re-reading myself. And I also want to read Claire Messud! I hope you enjoy The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It will be on my end-of-year faves list as well.

  • Rebecca @ Love at First Book December 20, 2013, 1:13 pm

    Good luck and Merry Christmas, Kim! I’m visiting my husband’s parents for X-mas and since we are flying, all my reads are on my Kindle. Luckily, I purchased The Goldfinch and Burial Rites so I have plenty to read!

  • Kim @ Bookmark To Blog December 20, 2013, 4:37 pm

    Great idea. I need to put a list together. We are going out of town for a couple of days and staying at a resort after we see family. We plan to do nothing but veg out and that should include a lot of reading on my part!

  • Athira December 20, 2013, 4:55 pm

    Happy holidays! Hope you have a great Christmas and read a lot of books! 🙂

  • Shannon @ River City Reading December 20, 2013, 5:29 pm

    Oh, I’m SO excited for you to read The Skies Belong to Us! I absolutely loved that book 🙂

  • Lu December 22, 2013, 7:07 am

    I loved loved loved The Emperor’s Children, but it took me a while to feel that way. It really is about bad people behaving badly. Also So Good They Can’t Ignore You sounds sooooo interesting! Merry Christmas, Kim! Have a lovely week off!

    • Kim December 30, 2013, 9:11 pm

      I bought that one at a clearance sale not knowing anything about the plot, I just wanted to read a Messud book. But the story intrigues me, even if it also sounds kind of horrible 🙂

  • Kelly from Readlately.com December 22, 2013, 7:28 pm

    I’d like to read Ocean at the End of the Lane too! The “really want to” seems to be keywords in all of your synopses – an effective method for culling!

  • Jenny @ Reading the End December 23, 2013, 9:10 am

    Love your Christmas reading list! Have a fantastic holiday and get lots of reading done!

  • Ciska @ Ciska's Book Chest December 23, 2013, 12:24 pm

    Enjoy your time off!! Hope you will get trough these books as that will mean you will have a lot of quality reading time.

  • Care December 24, 2013, 2:36 pm

    MERRY CHRISTMAS Dear KIM! Happy reading all you can over your holiday break. I’m bound and determined to finish my 60th book and am eagerly pouring over my year end stats. LOVE this time of year.

    • Kim December 30, 2013, 9:12 pm

      I’m excited to do year ends stats too! I am going to have to work on that post tomorrow night, I think.

  • Allison @ The Book Wheel December 27, 2013, 6:45 pm

    Happy Reading!