Saturday, December 21, 2019

Bookish Secret Santa, a Classics Club Spin, and Cookies Everywhere






I read 415 books this year. 

I'm stopping for 2019.

(Don't worry...I'm still reading...I'm just not finishing anything else until January 1st....)






I'm reading three holiday reads right now: Lee Smith's The Christmas Letters, Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, and Christmas Jars by Jason Wright.








True Book Addict's Secret Santa gifts arrived for me this week. Wow! Two books (Check These Out: One Librarian's Catalog of the Coolest, Best, and Most Important Books You'll Ever Read and The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Vol. 2, if you are curious) along with bookmarks, book stickers, and chocolate candy were in the box. Wowsa!





Sheila at Book Journey announced that she will be doing her annual First Book of the Year posting. To find out more about First Book of the Year, take a look here.






I plan to kick off 2020 with mood-boosting books. I posted last week about the mood-boosting books I hope to read this winter: Winter TBR: Winter of Mood-Boosting Books. I started a list of The Best Mood-Boosting Books on Goodreads. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them in the comments or as additions to the list on Goodreads.






It's time for another Classics Club spin! I made my list of twenty books, and I (somehow) managed to find books that are both (1) classics and (2) mood-boosting. I can't wait to see what the spin lands on this time.






I've read 212 out of 217 Cybils picture books and board books. We are now trying to come to a consensus about the best picture books and board books of 2019....The announcement will be made on January 1, 2020. Stay tuned.





Here are the Best Books of 2019 lists I’ve found so far: 

The Best Books of 2019 (The New Yorker)
Best Books of 2019 (Goodreads Choice Awards)
The 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 (Time)
Best Books of 2019 (Washington Post)
Best Books of 2019 (LA Times)
Best Books of 2019 (Real Simple)
Times Critics’ Top Books of 2019 (New York Times)
The 10 Best Books of 2019 (The New York Times Book Review)
Best Books of 2019 (LA Times)
The 10 Best Books of 2019 (The Washington Post)
NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019 (NPR)
Best Books of 2019 So Far (The Guardian)
Best Books of 2019 (Chicago Tribune)
Best Books 2019 (Library Journal)
The Best Books of 2019 (Real Simple)
The 60 Best Books of 2019 to Add to Your Reading List (Good Housekeeping)
Introducing New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2019 (NY Public Library)
The Best Books of 2019 (Esquire)
CPL Best of the Best 2019 (Chicago Public Library)
Best Books of 2019, According to Oprah Magazine (Oprah Magazine)

I will be posting my own Best Reads of 2019 soon.








We squeezed in five Christmas movies this week: Elf (first time I saw this one); Charlie Brown Christmas; Christmas Jars; It’s a Wonderful Life; and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I reviewed the Christmas Jars movie here. (A first for me...first time I reviewed a movie...of course I read the book, too.)





l to r: Cocoa Loco Boozy Bourbon Balls; Pecan Pie Cookies; Chewies

We love to make Christmas cookies at my house. It's a great way to stop by and spend a few minutes visiting with people each year. I made The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies and Holiday Shortbread Cookies last week, and this week we tried some new recipes from the Houston Chronicle: Cocoa Loco Boozy Bourbon Balls; Pecan Pie Cookies; Chewies; and Lemon Crinkle Cookies.





I'd love to hear about your week.






I'm very happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. I am delighted when you link up here and let us know what you have been doing. I hope you will visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about here:

  • What was your week like?
  • Read any good books? Tell us about them.
  • What other bookish things did you do? 
  • What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.


My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.
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25 comments:

  1. bermudaonionDecember 21, 2019 at 7:08 AM

    I love Elf and plan for us to watch it Tuesday evening. I'm hoping to get some baking done tomorrow. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:54 AM

      I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Merry Christmas, Kathy!

      Delete
  2. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction AddictionDecember 21, 2019 at 8:55 AM

    I hope you've been enjoying reading all the Cybils picture books! Can't wait to see what gets chosen as the finalists!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:55 AM

      We are getting so close to the announcement on New Year's Day!

      Delete
  3. YvonneDecember 21, 2019 at 9:36 PM

    What a great 2019 you had for reading. I was a bit down this year but I'm hoping 2020 will be a better reading year for me. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:55 AM

      Moving eats up a lot of time. Next year will be better, Yvonne.

      Delete
  4. Helen's Book BlogDecember 21, 2019 at 9:51 PM

    I love the Goodreads summary of our year of reading. For some reason it is visually appealing to me to see it all in one place. Good luck finishing the last 5 CYBILS books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:56 AM

      I love everything about Goodreads. All they need to do is build some condos and I'll move in completely.

      Delete
  5. Suzanne @Chick with BooksDecember 21, 2019 at 11:02 PM

    Wow! You did an amazing amount of reading this year! This year I slowed down quite a bit, but am back on track for a great 2020 reading year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Laurel-Rain SnowDecember 21, 2019 at 11:10 PM

    Wow, you have read a lot of books! I do love how Goodreads summarizes what we've done.

    Enjoy your week and your holiday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:57 AM

      A lot of my books are picture books, so that explains my huge reading numbers.

      Delete
  7. shelleyrae @ book'd outDecember 22, 2019 at 8:03 AM

    Congratulations on your final total for 2019! I’m hoping to finish a few more books before the end of the year.
    You Secret Santa gift looks wonderful - lucky you!

    Wishing you a great reading week, and a very Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  8. sjhigbeeDecember 22, 2019 at 8:54 AM

    I'm in awe of the number of books you have managed to read this year... And you have such an impressive range, too! Have a lovely Christmas, Deb, and I hope you get a chance to put your feet up and tuck into some reads over the holiday period...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 11:58 AM

      I hope so, too, Sarah. I feel like I'm nearing the finish line.

      Delete
  9. DollycasDecember 22, 2019 at 10:03 AM

    You had an awesome year!! I still have to read a few to meet my goal.

    I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousDecember 22, 2019 at 1:35 PM

    Deb, I always admire how you're able to read to a theme, be it Paris or Christmas. I bop around more in my reading. I like how you use cookie baking as a way to stop by and visit with people. Before kids, we did that with my husband's wine. Now it's harder to find the time, but maybe we'll get back to it. I failed ROYALLY on my first Classic Club Spin--still haven't read the book from October--so I'm not sure how this whole Classics Club thing is going to go for me. Oh well. It's all voluntary, so it's all good.

    I hope you and your family have a lovely holiday season. Your blog brings me much joy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 22, 2019 at 3:27 PM

      I love hearing about your work in the schools. It gives me so much hope for the world.

      Delete
  11. Aj @ Read All The Things!December 22, 2019 at 5:15 PM

    I got a Secret Santa gift this week too. I haven’t opened it yet because I’m waiting for Christmas. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
  12. pussrebootsDecember 22, 2019 at 10:14 PM

    My favorite releases for this year are posted here.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Les in OregonDecember 24, 2019 at 6:06 PM

    I did quite a bit of baking, too. Those bourbon balls look especially good!

    There are far too many "Best of 2019" book lists, so I'll wait and read my favorite bloggers' lists. :)

    ReplyDelete

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