TTBA Weekly News and Mailbox Monday

This feature was inspired by It's Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and by The Sunday Salon.

Well, the day is past, but I'm happy to say that the season doesn't officially end for my family until January 6, on Twelfth Night/Epiphany.  It's a relaxing time because the hustle of shopping, baking, and food preparation is over and I can sit back and read, watch Christmas movies, and actually enjoy the decorations that so much work went into putting up.  I'm going to be doing a lot of catching up this week.  Finishing up some books, updating challenges to see if I completed any (I think I may have only completed one or two), writing reviews that were never written, and choosing my challenges for next year.  Oh dear, there are so many good ones out there, but I have to try to be very selective because I never seem to complete what I sign up for...darn! I am looking forward to the new year though.  My last two years have not been great so I'm hoping 2012 will be my year.

How was your Christmas/holiday?  Do you have big reading plans for the new year?

EVENTS

As I mentioned above, my Christmas goes until January 6 and so do the events over at The Christmas Spirit.  The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge and Sharing the Joy 2011.  If you're doing the challenge, I hope you have been enjoying it.  Be sure to stop by and visit some of the posts from Sharing the Joy this year.  There are several giveaways going on, including my 100+ followers
giveaway!

It's time to sign-up for my winter read-a-thon, A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon.  It's scheduled for January 23 -29, 2012.  Visit the sign-up post HERE.  It's going to be a good start to those new year's resolutions, if they include tackling that ever looming to-be-read pile/stack/mountain.  I hope you will join me!

What I'm Reading

Finishing up:

--The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

--Lost December by Richard Paul Evans

--The Gingerbread Bump-Off by Livia J. Washburn

Will read this week:

--Next Christmas in Girouette by Michael Welch (for review at The Christmas Spirit)

--Blood of Anteros by Georgia Cates (for review on Jan. 2 at Castle Macabre)

Start this week (for group reads/read-a-longs):

--The Secret History by Donna Tartt

--Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

--11/22/63 by Stephen King

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia and is currently on tour. This month's host is Jenny at Let Them Read Books (want to read a book description? Clicking the book covers will take you to the book's page on Amazon)

CHRISTMAS GIFT (from my mother-in-law):
Woot!

WON:
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews...from April at My Shelf Confessions
Battle for Cascadia: The Second Book of the Gaia Wars by Kenneth G. Bennett...from the author or Novel Publicity (not sure which, doh!)

BOOK TOUR:
I'm on the Historical Fiction Virtual book tour for The Turning of Anne Merrick by Christine Blevins, in March.  The wonderful author sent everyone on the tour (if they wanted) copies of her previous books, Midwife of the Blue Ridge and The Tory Widow to read, with no obligation for review (but, of course, I will review them when I can).  She also sent some lovely gifts...two hand-dipped bayberry taper candles, a small bar of lavender soap, and a bag of Sally's Liberty Tea.  Each gift has a gift tag with the cover of each book.  Just wonderful! One of the covers did not show up in the BookBox above so I'm also including them here.

PURCHASED FROM DOLLAR TREE:
A Question of Guilt by Julianne Lee

FROM SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB (intro package):
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin