Merry Bookmas Readathon
The Merry Bookmas Readathon is hosted by Melanie from the BookTube channel Completely Melanie, and runs for the entire month of December. It has a title that implies Christmas, but many other holidays are included in the challenges. There are 12 challenges. I throughly plan to have these challenges overlap the ones from the other readathons I'm doing or I would end up reading about 30 books this month. Unlikely.
Here are the challenges and possible books I might choose for them:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Read a book with a bird or fruit on the cover - For this one, I'm reading Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope. I was pretty excited when I discovered this book. I love Anthony Trollope and this is a short little collection of Christmas stories. Perfect for December. Also, there are a couple of cardinals on the cover.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Read a red book - I'm going to use this month's book club book A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor. It is quite red. Two birds, one stone. Perfection!
Last Bookmas: Give an author a second chance - For this one, you're supposed to either retry a book you gave up on, or read another book by an author you previously read and didn't care for. I'm going to cheat a little bit here. I didn't officially DNF The Beautiful, but it's been sitting on my dryer since the middle of October. I'm going to call that close enough. I really want to read this.
I Have a Little Dreidel: Read a Book Involving a Game - I don't have a lot of books that include a game, so I'm going to stretch this one ever so slightly. I'm going with I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. These two girls from vastly different social circles are both at the high school football game when chaos breaks loose. I don't know if it's a school shooting or apocalyptic-level chaos, but they team up to stay alive.
I'll Be Home for Bookmas: Read an entire book in your favorite cozy spot at home - No problem. It's where I read most of my books. I'll use one of the books for another challenge for this one.
Baby It's Cold Outside: Read a Cozy Book - I'm still thinking romance for this one. I'm going to go with Frankly In Love by David Yoon which is a YA romance and also is for my reading group.
All I Want for Bookmas Is You: Read a romance OR a book involving a friendship - I really want to read My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris for this one. This is an adult choose-your-own-adventure romance book. It's also historical. Fun!
Happy Kwanzaa: Read a Diverse Book - My list for this one is huge. Diverse could mean racially diverse, sexuality diverse, able-diverse, neuro-diverse, or any other kind of diverse. Some of the books I've already listed fit the bill here: I'm Not Dying With You Tonight features a black main character. Frankly In Love has an Asian main character. On top of those I have The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee which is about a Chinese main character and it's historical. Double win.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: Read a classic OR a fantasy OR a classic fantasy - I think I will read City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab for this one. It's a middle grade book about a girl whose brush with death has rendered her able to see ghosts. Ironically, her parents (who can't see ghosts) are ghost hunters.
Do You Hear What I Hear: Read an overhyped book - This is where I read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. The term "overhyped" suggests that the book doesn't deserve the hype, but I won't know that until I read it, will I?
Frost the Snowman: Read a book with magic - I think I will read Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal for this one. This is billed as Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. In this alternate Regency Era, the use of glamour (magic) is considered a required skill for ladies of quality to find husbands.
Feliz Navidad: Read the group book - The group book is The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody. We will see. I don't have it. It's not on the list for my reading group. On the other hand, I did read one of her books for the reading group this year and loved it. So we will see. I can probably procure a copy if I decide to read it.
So that's 12 challenges to spread over the month of December. Wish me luck!