November Wrap-Up & December Holiday List
a brief summary of November's highlights… plus all the fun holidays to bookmark for the month ahead!
Good Afternoon Joyful Readers!
Goodness me, how quickly the end of the year is approaching. I can hardly believe we’re in December with only a few weeks left in the year!
Fall is my favorite and November was filled with everyday magical moments in our house. Some top highlights of the month were two visits to the zoo, lots of pie and homemade food, and we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It was so nice to have a date night with a yummy dinner, followed by a performance of Miracle on 34th Street (our first live theatre event in years)!
We changed it up this year and did Thanksgiving at home for just the three of us; proud moment, everything was made from scratch except the stuffing!! 95% of the food was made by my husband and the kiddo and I were his sous chefs. It was also a busy month getting ready for the holidays; we got the majority of our holiday gift shopping done, decorated the house for the holidays, put up our gorgeous tree, and designed and ordered holiday photo cards to send out to friends and family.
November is always an interesting juxtaposition of the beauty of the leaves changing colors to falling and leaving the trees bare because winter is coming. Winter doesn’t officially start for three weeks but because of the holidays, it’s basically winter now. I may be a Fall loving girlie but I’m a sweater weather gal and love being cozy at home with the fire going, so winter is great too. I should also mention, our cats are both very happy that it’s fireplace season!
In case you missed it: last month I started up two weekly blog series; an ongoing weekly series called Chapters of Joy and a limited seasonal series called Little Shops of Joy. It’s been such a fun way to bring you unique bookish content and I hope you’ve been loving the interviews! Stay tuned for more weekly content.
ICYMI: Links to last month’s interviews:
Chapters of Joy with Shanna Hatfield
Chapters of Joy with Marisa Churchill
Chapters of Joy with Julie Olivia
Little Shops of Joy with Epilogue Book Co
Little Shops of Joy with Novelly Yours
At no cost to you I may receive a commission for items purchased through links. Many of the books featured on my blog are received as gifted copies from publishers, all opinions shared are my own.
November Reading Wrap-Up
This was a busy reading month for me; I finished 6 books and am currently reading quite a few!
Finished Reading
📱 Good Girls Don’t by Mara Wilson ✨ ebook Included in Everand Unlimited | It was okay
📖 Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson ✨ OUABC box | loved it!
📖 The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch & Beth Revis ✨ OUABC Box | loved it!
🎧 Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood ✨ Audible purchased 2 for 1 | it was okay
📖 Secrets, Spells, and Chocolate by Marisa Churchill ✨ Gifted paperback arc | loved it!
📖 Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc ✨ Purchased at B&N | loved it!
Currently Reading
📖 The Plan: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius by Kendra Adachi ✨Hardback purchased | enjoying it
📖 Fall at Once by Nora Everly ✨ purchased at an indie bookstore | loving it!
🎧 Cozy for the Holidays by Liz Maverick ✨ Audio included in Audible | enjoying it
📱 The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi ✨ ebook unlocked in Everand | enjoying it
📖 Same: poems by Hannah Rosenberg ✨ paperback gifted from publisher | loving it!
📖 Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai ✨ hardback gifted from publisher | loving it!
📱 Tiny Humans Big Emotions ✨ KU | enjoying it
📖 All About Love by Bell Hooks ✨ sprayed edge hardback gifted from publisher | enjoying it
Friendly reminder that a paid subscription costs less than a latte once a month. If this weekly column brings you joy, I appreciate you supporting my work!
December’s holiday lists:
December is here and it’s going to be filled with some my favorite things; it’s prime time for fireplace season, soup season, and taking time to reflect and start to plan for the coming year. It’s also filled with tons of literary holidays to celebrate!
What are you looking forward to this month?
If you enjoy reading my posts, show your support & let me know you enjoy my work: leave me a comment below, upgrade or gift a paid subscription, or screenshot & share your favorite bits on your Instagram stories and tag me! @TheJoyfulBookBlogger
With joy from the stacks
Check out my favorite finds on my Shop My affiliate page: books from B&N, books from Book of the Month, audiobooks from Librofm, and fun finds from Etsy, Wayfair, Michael’s, Nordstrom, Marshall’s, Sur La Table, and World Market