It's a brand spankin' new month...put November to bed, and onward towards the holidays! What are you reading now?

I'm listening to RED LEAVES by Thomas H. Cook in audio download from the library currently, and have just pulled SPANISH DAGGER by Susan Wittig Albert to start the month off with in printed books. We're expecting our first winter storm of the year here in Minneapolis, so curling up with a good book is my planned activity for the day!

How about you all?

Cheryl

Currently reading "The Choice " by Nicholas Sparks

next in line "Double Cross" by James Patterson

Well, it's a Nov/Dec read as I started in Nov, and just finished; Death at Gallows Green.  I'm also 3/4 of the way thru Jane and the Barque of Frailty.  Next up is Murder Under the Mistetoe that Winston just sent to me.

My December reading list:

Finished - 

1. "Courting Susannah" by Linda Lael Miller (A) After receiving a telegram that her best friend has died shortly after giving birth Susannah goes to Seattle to become a nurse for the baby. There she meets her friend's husband, Aubrey, a man much disillusioned by love. 
2. "His Brother's Bride" by Tara Taylor Quinn (another Cooper's Corners book) (A) A little long drawn out in spots but a good story. Laurel comes back to Cooper's Corner to put her past to rest so she can move on with her future. She ends up trying to help solve a mystery about a missing person.
3. "Modoc - The Greatest Elephant On Earth" by Ralph Helfer (A+) This book was based on a true story, and I think it's one of the best ones that I've ever read! Bram, whose father was a circus elephant trainer, and Modoc were born the same hour of the same day. And except for a number of years, when the man who owned the circus sold Mo without Bram's knowledge, they spent the next 78 years together and had many many adventures.
4. "Tombstone Courage" by J.A. Jance (book #2) (A) With grit, courage and dogged determination, Joanna Brady challenged the status quo and won. Now, as newely elected sheriff she helps solve a grisly double homicide. The two bodies baking in the sun are connected by sinister threads that reach back generations, devastating family secrets of greed, hatred and abuse that could destroy the innocent along with the guilty.
5. "After Darke" by Heather MacAllister (another Cooper's Corners book) (A) Bonnie is in New York when her Aunt sets her up on a blind date with Jaron Darke. Leaving the restaurant they witness a murder and end up on the run for their lives.
6. "High Country Bride" by Linda Lael Miller (A) (First book in the McKettrick Cowboys trilogy) Tired of waiting for his sons to settle down, Arizona-territory rancher Angus McKettrick announces a competition: the first son to marry and produce a grandchild will inherit the Triple M ranch. Now, three distinctly different, equally determined cowboys are searching high and low for brides. This is the story of Rafe McKettrick and Emmeline.
7. "Shotgun Bride" by Linda Lael Miller (A) (Second book in the McKettrick Cowboys trilogy) Kade McKettrick's got five mail-order brides-to-be camped out at the local hotel, all more than eager to provide him with the heir that will win him the Triple M ranch. But Kade, the newly appointed marshal, has his hands full with a troublesome outlaw gang. Why, then, is he so easily distracted by pretty "Sister Mandy" - who most assuredly is not the nun she claims to be? 
8. "Secondhand Bride" by Linda Lael Miller (A-) (Third book in the McKettrick Cowboys trilogy) The youngest McKettrick brother, Jeb, is the wild one who never could stay out of trouble. And trouble is what he gets when he proposes to Chloe. When Angus McKettrick made is announcement that the first of his sons to get married and a give him a grandchild would inherit the Triple M he didn't reckon on his daughters-in-law. The ending was fantastic. 
9. "Shoot Don't Shoot" by J.A. Jance (book #3) (A) This series definately needs to be read in order because each book rounds out the existing characters more and adds new players to the scene. In this one Joanna is in Phoenix attending a course for police officers. While there she's also doing some investigating on a domestic abuse case which turns out to be more than what it appears on the surface.
10. "A Bump In The Night" by Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, Mary Kay McComas, J.D. Robb - This was four stories in one book. The first was "Eternity In Death" by J.D. Robb (A+) Eve is in a supernatural showdown with a most seductive criminal - a vampire. It was an excellent story. The second was "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure" by Mary Blayney (C-) An ancient coin whisks an American woman and a handsome artisocrat into the past and into each other's arms. The third was "Timeless" by Ruth Ryan Langan (B+) When a city girl visits a Scottish castle she is thrust into a timeless romance with a mighty Highland laird. And the fourth was "On The Fringe" by Mary Kay McComas (C-) A modern woman gets a magic-carpet ride into an alternate reality to show her the grass isn't always greener.
11. "All Through the NIght" by Suzanne Brockmann (A++) It's Christmastime in Boston and this year the silver bells will be wedding bells as FBI agent Jules Cassidy ties the knot with the man of his dreams, Hollywood heartthrob Robin Chadwick. I'm glad that Suzanne finally gave Jules a happy ending (although I'm sure that he and Robin will have the same difficulties that most couple encounter) and I loved the way that she tied in the rest of the group that I've been reading about in all of her previous books. I can hardly wait for the next book in the series to come.
12. "Strangers When We Meet" by Marisa Carroll (another Cooper's Corners book - #3) (A) Radio talk show host Emma Hart thought Twin Oaks was supposed to be a friendly inn, but fellow guest Blake Weston sure was grumpy! Blake had planned to buy an old farmhouse just outside Cooper's Corner - flee the rat race and propose to his girlfriend...until he'd caught her in bed with the real estate agent who was none other than Emma's soon-to-be-fiance.
13. "Dead to Rights" by J.A. Jance (book #4) (A) on their nineteenth wedding anniversary, Hal Morgan's wife was fatally struck down by a drunk drivier - and the courts punished her killer with only a wrist-slap. A year to the day later the irresponsible motorist is murdered and all fingers are pointing to Morgan.
14. "The McKettrick Way" by Linda Lael Miller (Special Edition) (A+) When Brad O'Ballivan gives up his singing career and comes home to run the family's ranch, Stone Creek, he runs into Meg McKettrick. But he and Meg have a past that's not easily forgotten or forgiven even though the flare between them is still there.
15. "McKettrick's Choice" by Linda Lael Miller (A) When Holt McKettrick first saw Lorelei she was burning her wedding dress in the town square.
16. "Rafe and Jared - The MacKade Brothers"  by Nora Roberts. "The Return of Rafe MacKade" (A+) After a 10 year absence Rafe MacKade returns to Antietam, Maryland and purchases the old haunted Barlow mansion that's been sitting empty for many many years. He has plans to restore it to it's former glory and hires Regan Jones, the town's antique dealer to help him with the decorating. "The Pride of Jared MacKade" (A+) Attorney Jared MacKade meets newcomer Savannah Morningstar when he's contacted by an out-of-state attorney to settle her father's estate.
17. "Devin and Shane" - The MacKade Brothers" by Nora Roberts. "The Heart of Devin MacKade (A) Sheriff Devin MacKade watched - patiently, painfully - as the woman he secretly cherished suffered through a less-than-perfect marriage. Now pretty Cassie Connor was free...but vulnerable. "The Fall of Shane MacKade" (A) The youngest MacKade, was a man of the land, so the last woman he expected to cause his fall from bachelorhood was Rebecca Knight, a multiple Ph.D.-toting academic.

Currently Reading - "Chosen by a Horse" by Susan Richards

To Be Read - 

1. "Love With the Proper Stranger" by Suzanne Brockmann
2. "Eve's Christmas" by Janet Dailey
3. "Skeleton Canyon" by J.A. Jance (book #5)
4. "Rattlesnake Crossing" by J.A. Jance (book #6)
5. "The Search" by Iris Johansen
6. "Rhett Butler's People" by Conald McCaig
7. "Ready" by Lucy Monroe (book #1)
8. "Willing" by Lucy Monroe (book #2)
9. "And Able" by Lucy Monroe (book #3)
10. "Blessings" by Anna Quindlen
11. "Cradle and All" by M.J. Rodgers (another Cooper's Corners book)
12. "Safe Harbor" by Luanne Rice
13. "The Edge of Winter" by Luanne Rice
14. "Wedding Ring" by Emilie Richards
15. "Beachcomber" by Karen Robards
16. "Bait" by Karen Robards
17. "Creation in Death" by J.D. Robb
18. "Blood Brothers" by Nora Roberts
19. "The Gift" by Nora Roberts 
20. "At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks
21. "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks
22. "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks
23. "Her Stolen Past" by Amanda Stevens (another Cooper's Corners book)
24. "Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet
25. "Just One Look" byJoanna Wayne (another Cooper's Corners book)
26. "Summer at Willow Lake"  by Susan Wiggs (book #1) 
27. "The Winter Lodge" by Susan Wiggs (book #2)
28. "Dockside" by Susan Wiggs (book #3)
29. "The Hostage" by Susan Wiggs (book #1)
30. "The Mistress" by Susan Wiggs (book #2)
31. "The Firebrand" by Susan Wiggs (book #3)

Holy moly Nancy, is that your goal for December, or just your list tbr as it comes?

That's what's waiting on my bedside table to be read as I get to them!!

Currently reading The Kite Runner.

To be started (today I hope) : The Man who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke

Currently reading American Gods by Gaiman and listening to The Shipping News by Proulx. Enjoying both :-)

Night Chills by Dean Koontz

I am reading A Redbird Christmas for book club.  Something light and fun for the holidays.

From Publishers Weekly Lured by a brochure his doctor gives him after informing him that his emphysema has left him with scarcely a year to live, 52-year-old Oswald T. Campbell abandons wintry Chicago for Lost River, Ala., where he believes he'll be spending his last Christmas. Bestselling author Flagg (Fried Green Tomatoes; Standing in the Rainbow) makes this down-home story about good neighbors and the power of love sparkle with wit and humor, as she tells of Oswald's new life in a town with one grocery store and a resident cardinal (or redbird, as the natives call it). Frances Cleverdon, one of four widows and three single women in town, hopes to fix him up with her sister, Mildred—if only Mildred wouldn't keep dying her hair outrageous colors every few days. The quirky story takes a heartwarming turn when Frances and Oswald become involved in the life of Patsy Casey, an abandoned young girl with a crippled leg. As Christmas approaches, the townspeople and neighboring communities—even the Creoles, whose long-standing feud with everybody else keeps them on the other side of the river—rally round shy, sweet Patsy. Flagg is a gifted storyteller who knows how to tug at readers' heartstrings, winding up her satisfying holiday tale with the requisite Christmas miracle.

I am finishing up P.S, I Love You (good book, the movie is coming out soon), and then will try to knock out some Christmas themed books for the rest of the month.

The Missing by Sarah Langan currently - Would have finished in my November list, but had to put it down for about a week due to being sick.

Next in line will be Prey by Graham Masterson, followed by many, many more.

I just finished "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak which I think is the best book I read all year!  It was excellent and even though it's labeled as young adult, don't let that fool you.

I'm currently reading She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.

The nine: inside the secret world of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. [fascinating, and now I want to know more]

Cabin pressure: one man's desperate attempt to recapture his youth as a camp counselor by Josh Wolk. [OK story, never went to summer camp so no frame of reference for this book, mildly amusing]

Aimee Semple McPherson and the resurrection of Christian America by Matthew Avery Sutton. [very superficial treatment, read like a term paper, but interesting how he tied Aimee in to the current religious right]

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon [better than her last couple of Mitford books ....barely]

Les

ETA my opinions of the books listed

I'm getting ready to start  When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber.  I plan on reading all my Christmas themed books this month.

Just finished: Away by Amy Bloom, kept me going the whole way through, very touching and real! The end is a bit rushed but all in all I recommend it! A+

In the process: Wonderland ~ Joyce Carol Oates, The Kitchen Gods Wife~ Amy Tan, Jesus's Son~ Denis Johnson, Burn Journals~ Brent Runyon. and many more!

Up Next: The Book Seller of Kabul (on 07 Author Challenge) Before the Frost ~ Henning Menkel (Been hearing about this author) Slauterhouse 5 & re-read Cats Cradelfor Discussion! Vonnegut but only after Amy Tan book, Little Children~ TomPerrota.

I am currently reading "Southern Living" by Ad Hudler.  I heard about this book/author from another PBS member and I am really liking it.

I.am reading  The Over Look by Michael Connelly. Will be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini,Letting go by Pamela Morsi and  Brainwaves by Leonard Goldberge

I'm reading The Medici Giraffe :: Marina Belozerskaya.  Not sure how much I like it so far, so for those who have it waitlisted I may post it sooner than later.

I'm reading Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky...it's an absolutely wonderful account of his efforts to save, store and catalog Yiddish books for the past 25 years. If you love books, esp. old books, this is a really exciting tale.

I am reading City of Light by Lauren Balfour. 

Currently reading "A Game of Thrones" , George R. R. Martin

Starting "The Wicked and the Wonderous", Christine Feehan

The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child