To Be Read: December 2015.

I have an enormous TBR pile. Now I'm aware an 'enormous TBR pile' may sound to an offline non-bookworm like a completely disgusting symptom of a very dirty disease, but rest assured that is not the case here.

No, this TBR pile is the stack of books that is currently overwhelming my entire desk. My 'To Be Read' beauties.

It is both wonderful and heartbreaking to wake up each day and be faced with a leering jeering bottomless heap of excellent texts that have yet to be devoured.

Also, it doesn't help matters that I still feel the need to buy books every weekend in Waterstones, or take advantage of deals on Amazon, or gratefully accept freebies or lenders from friends...

I currently have approximately twenty-five books heaped up on my desk, yearning to be read. Three of those were lent to me by awesome friends Mel & Louise, a couple were given to me by the super-lovely Lisa Williamson, and another three were given to me by the totally rad Debbie.

Side note here: I have realised that I LOVE proof copies. I feel like I'm part of an exclusive elite club, seeing books behind the scenes!

So I have a lot to get through. This is not even mentioning my list of 100+ Want To Reads on my Goodreads profile. Oh, dear.

I have decided to a) put myself on a Book Buying Ban for a minimum of two months, and b) make lists of which books to read per month. So, here are the TBR beasts I will be tackling in December 2015...

1. Lobsters, by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison. 
   
   I had really hoped after seeing the title of this novel that it meant 'lobster' as in the famous Friends expression: 'He's her lobster!' And my gosh it does! What joy. This book tells the tale of Sam and Hannah, and their summer spent searching for The One before they go off to uni. Apparently fate plays its part a fair bit in this story. On the back of the lovely proof copy Louise lent me, it says 'in the end, it all boils down to love...' Which is cute and clever. I'm in!
   
   
2. 
   The Lost and The Found, by Cat Clarke.
   Six-year-old Laurel Logan was abducted, nineteen-year-old Laurel returned. This story is about how life is when the missing are found – it is centred around Laurel's younger sister Faith, who has been chased most of her life by what happened to her sister. I won't lie, I am reminded slightly of the exciting American series Finding Carter when I read the plot of this novel, but I won't let that deter me! (Thank you again, Debbie!)
   
   
   
   
3. Silence is Goldfish, by Annabel Pitcher.
   
   I may or may not have been initially put off lovely Annabel after reading Ketchup Clouds (I'll be mentioning that one in a blog post soon), but I have heard only excellent things (mostly from my fellow Bookstagrammers!) about Silence is Goldfish.
   Tess Turner has found something out. Through her dad's blog. She has been lied to and has been saying things her whole life because she felt she should...well, no more. Now she is silent. Now she is finding her place in the world.
   I am immediately intrigued reading the blurb on Goodreads, and cannot wait to be absorbed once again by Annabel's brilliant style. (Thank you again-again, Debbie!)

And while we're at it, here are my TBRs for the rest of November...

1. Say Her Name, by Juno Dawson.
   After reading her latest work All of the Above, then meeting her (and having her scrawl a message in my sacred scribbles notebook) at Young Adult Literature Weekender in the London Southbank Centre, I am officially a new fan of hers and need to read some of her 'back issues', if you will. One of these is Say Her Name, an especially spooky novel about Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe who most definitely does not believe in ghosts – but after a jokey Halloween dare to summon Bloody Mary, she receives a message on her mirror indicating that ghosts are very real and should be feared.
   I haven't read a ghost story in freakin' forever, so this excites me greatly. (Thank you again again again, Debbie!)
   
   
   
2. The Humans, by Matt Haig.
   
   Professor Andrew Martin's dead body is now inhabited by an alien imposter. The alien has a mission, but is also accidentally learning all about human life... And about his host body, a man who was not much liked by anyone.
   As mentioned in a recent post, I adore Matt Haig. I can never say it enough – that man reads my mind, and blows it, daily. Whether it's because I re-read a chunk of Reasons to Stay Alive, or I see a tweet of his about how important literature is in our day-to-day lives and in the grand scheme of things too...the other day it was because that awesome book Reasons to Stay Alive was shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year Award.
   Anyway, The Humans will be the first fiction of his that I will read. I cannot wait.

Expect reviews of at least three of these come January!

***Update on my whole 'book reviewing/recommending' revival thing: I am loving it! I knew I would. I am still nervous whenever I post a bookish thing online, having been burned by criticism before, but I'm getting there and getting better, I think...?! Comment below maybe, and let me know how I'm doing, beautiful readers!***

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