Only 12 sleeps left until the Big Day? How is that possible? Ack! I still haven't finished decorating, haven't even started sending out my Christmas cards, have only bought a few gifts, and...yeah. I'm sure I will get everything done by Christmas, but I'm stressing a bit over here. I'm also lagging behind in my reading. If I hope to reach my goal of reading 200 books by the end of the year, I better hurry it up. I'm at 180 right now. I'm almost finished with my main read, but that still leaves 19 to go. We'll see how I do.

Seasonal reading lists are my favorite, so I'm loving today's TTT topic: Top Ten Books On My Winter 2022-2023 TBR List. In fact, I started my list last week with this post listing 12 of the 25 I planned to read to complete my goal. Since then, I have read three of them and DNF'd one. Today, I'm going to give you 13 more that I'm hoping to read in the next few weeks. 

I'd love to see what's on your Winter TBR list. If you want to join in the TTT fun (and you do!), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the deets.

1. How to Fake An Irish Wake by Eliza Watson—This is my current paper read. It's a fun cozy mystery set in Ireland and featuring a genealogical mystery: the search for a man's biological father in a small Irish town. I've only got about 50 pages to go and I'm not sure "whodunit" yet.

2. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell—I started this mystery on audio yesterday. It concerns the mysterious disappearance of two teenage parents from a party at a house called Dark Place. Two years later, a mystery novelist moves into a cottage near the now abandoned home and gets embroiled in the cold case. I'm enjoying the read so far.

3. The Gods of Green County by Mary Elizabeth Pope—I mentioned this novel in a TTT list a couple weeks ago. I need to read a book set in Arkansas for a reading challenge and this one sounds intriguing. It's about a woman who's taking on the powers that be in her small town to find out what really caused her brother's suspicious death. Neither of my local libraries had a copy of the book, so I went ahead and bought it. I'm planning to read it this week.

4. All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes—Bethany House sent me a copy of this book to review. It's gotten great buzz, so I'm excited. It's set in Venice and concerns an abandoned baby who is found floating in the canals. Decades later, a translator may be the one who solves the mystery of the child's true origin.

5. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes—I've enjoyed this YA Knives Out-like series. This is the last book in the series and I'm excited to see how the story ends.

6. Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan—Ever since it came out last year, I've been wanting to read this story about a woman whose dying brother's wish is to know the truth about Narnia. When his sister timidly approaches C.S. Lewis, she has no idea that their encounters will change all of their lives. Sounds like a heartwarming holiday read!

7. Willis Wilbur Wows the World by Lindsey Leavitt—Leavitt's books are always fun. I'm sure this one will be no exception. It's about an enterprising 9-year-old who decides his life's true calling is to become the neighborhood life coach. Hilarity ensues.

8. The Ghost of Wyvern Lake by Sheila A. Nielson—This is a Halloween story, not a Christmas one, but it sounds fun so I'm going for it. When the fish in Wyvern Lake start dying of a mysterious illness, the owner drains the water hole only to uncover an old church with a very angry ghost inside. It's up to a group of young ghost hunters to free their town of a malevolent entity.

9. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister—I'm intrigued by this book's premise. It's about a mother who is shocked and devastated when she witnesses her 17-year-old son killing a stranger. The next morning, she's stunned all over again when she discovers that it's not tomorrow but yesterday. Time is moving backwards, a miraculous gift she's been given to save her boy from committing a horrendous act.

10. Cece Rios and the King of Fears by Kaela Rivera—The second book in a MG series based on Mexican folklore, this one features a young bruja who must take on a powerful criatura in order to save her sister's soul.

11. Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green—I enjoyed the one book I've read by Green and I'm really looking forward to her newest, which just came out. This one is actually her 2020 debut. It concerns a young woman who is studying linguistics at the University of Minnesota. When she's asked by the Army to serve as a translater at a nearby German POW camp, she does it only reluctantly. Her service there, as well as her growing compassion for the prisoners, makes her an enemy in the surrounding town. When she finds herself falling for one of the inmates, she must question her own traitorous heart.

12. The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope—This historical fantasy sounds fun. It's about a woman who can commune with spirits and the debt she owes to a powerful entity. In order to free herself from its clutches, she must perform a daring heist that will no doubt lead her into all kinds of trouble.

13. Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz—I still need to read a book set in Montana and this cozy mystery sounds fun. It concerns a woman who turns her family's 100-year-old general store into a boutique selling local delicacies. When a former employee turns up dead, she has to channel her inner Nancy Drew to save herself and her store from suspicion.

There you go, thirteen books I'm planning to read before the year ends. Have you read any of them? What's on your Winter TBR list? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

October 31st is right around the corner. Are you ready for Halloween? How do you usually celebrate the holiday? We're still in the middle (well, hopefully, nearing the end) of remodeling, so I'm not putting up any decorations this year. My 13-year-old is going to go trick-or-treating with her friends, my 17-year-old will probably hide out in his room, and the husband and I will likely attend a block party with friends who live on a street in our neighborhood that's apparently a lot more happening than ours! For TTT, we're acknowledging the spooky season with a Halloween freebie. My mind often blanks on open topics like this, so I'm excited to see what everyone does with it.

If you want to join in the TTT fun (and who wouldn't?), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

When I was combing through my Goodreads TBR lists last week for my TTT list of Book Title Words That Always Catch My Eye, I noticed an interesting word popping up among my TBR titles: monster. I read very little horror these days, so it was kind of odd that I could find even one monster book among them, let alone almost ten. The fact that only one of them is in that genre made me think this might be a fun topic to explore today. So, here we go with:

1. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia—Eliza is the anonymous creator of a wildly popular webcomic with an equally popular (and carefully curated) online persona. The problem is that real-life Eliza is nothing like the Internet version. When a new boy moves into town, Eliza's tempted away from the safety of her digital community. And that's when everything starts to go wrong...I've read tons of rave reviews for this YA novel. It really does sound cute.

2. Monster by Michael Grant—I enjoyed the first six books in the YA dystopian Gone series. Monster, which came out in 2017 (four years after the series "ended"), is the seventh. It starts up four years (Coincidence? I think not!) after the dome disappeared, freeing the kids trapped inside. Now, meteorites are bombing the earth and spreading a deadly virus. Can the teens rally once again to face off against a terrifying new menace?

3. The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope—Historical fantasy isn't my usual cup of tea, but I love this book's cover and the story sounds compelling as well. It stars Clara Johnson, a woman living in 1925 Washington, D.C., who can talk to spirits. Indebted to a powerful entity for saving her life, Clara accepts a risky bargain to free herself from its bondage. She must steal a valuable ring from D.C.'s wealthiest lady. It doesn't take long for Clara to realize she's caught up in something—both earthly and otherworldly—that is way more than she bargained for. 

4. Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier—Maybe historical fantasy is my genre because this MG novel also sounds really intriguing to me. It's about a young chimney sweep in Victorian London who defies death every time she goes to work. When her luck runs out and she's caught in a chimney fire, she thinks it's the end—until she wakes up in an abandoned attic and meets her unlikely savior.

5. Monster by Walter Dean Myers—This acclaimed YA novel is about a 16-year-old boy who is on trial for felony murder. Is he guilty or innocent? Is he really the monster everyone thinks he is?

6. Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova—The Salazars take their job as protectors of magical creatures seriously, rescuing those who accidentally wander into the real world and making sure they get home safely. When Mr. Salazar is killed during a mission, his wife decides the family has risked enough. She moves her children to a boring little town where nothing exciting ever happens. When Valentina notices something strange in a viral video game, she knows the Salazars are desperately needed. Can she convince her family to find a magic egg before it hatches havoc on the world? Or are their days as protectors really over?

7. The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession With the Unexplained by Colin Dickey—I don't believe in monsters or aliens, but this still sounds like a fun read.

8. The Monsters We Make by Kali White—Based on a real-life crime spree, this novel focuses on the disappearance of a paperboy in a small Iowa town. Both a local police officer and an enterprising young woman looking for a way out are determined to solve the case.

9. Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen—Although she doesn't look like it with her blonde hair and blue eyes, 15-year-old Sarah is Jewish. This makes her a perfect tool for the Resistance. Posing as a student, she goes undercover at a posh boarding school for the daughters of powerful Nazi leaders. She's to befriend the child of the scientist in charge of making a deadly bomb and use her to steal the blueprints and stop the planned destruction. Can Sarah fulfill her dangerous mission without being found out?

10. Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick—The only real horror book on this list, Monsters is the final volume in a YA zombie series that I never finished. I loved the first novel, Ashes, so I'll give it a re-read then continue on with the series. 

There you are, ten "monster" books that I want to read. Have you read any of these? Which "monster" books would you recommend? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!