It's the most wonderful time of year-- for reading!

[Rob]

Does anybody else have a so-huge-it's-silly holiday reading list? I always look at the holidays as an opportunity to catch up on whatever I'd planned to read in the previous year, before January comes with new goals and new books.

This Christmas I'm focusing mostly on sequels, especially S&L pic sequels, alongside some prep for masters comps in the spring.

As it stands:
Ancillary Sword
Adulthood Rights (the sequel to the butler we read)
The magician king
Bobby dollar #2
Dresden files #4
Paladin of souls (sequel to the curse of chalion)

And then
Middlemarch
Jane eyre
Henry Adams' San Michel and Chartres
And hopefully finishing up the bits of Tennyson's idylls of the king I have left.

Do you guys have any similarly Icarusesque plans?

[Sky]

I was hoping to catch up on sequels as well, though I have some doubts I will be able to get to what to everything on the list by the 31st. I did just finish Magician King/Land - you'll really enjoy it!

Robogenesis (Robopocalypse, #2)
The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3)
Broken Angels (Takeshi Kovacs, #2
Woken Furies (Takeshi Kovacs, #3)
Blood Thieves (The Riyria Chronicles, #1)
The Rose and the Thorn (The Riyria Chronicles, #2)
And the next two Dresden Books, up to and including Changes

Now that I've written it all out, it does seem a little over-ambitious, esp. given how slowly I am making it through Perdido Street Station, but we'll see :)

[Robyn]

I only get about two days off, but I definitely want/need to read another 6 books in the last half of the month, so I better get cracking!

I will likely read The Dark is Rising because I enjoy reading that in December (especially if it snows! Please snow!), and then have vague plans to read The Chessmen (mystery novel, set on the Isle of Lewis), The Bone Clocks, Whispers Under Ground and.....well, anything else from my giant TBR pile that catches my eye!

[John (Nevets)]

Sky just a heads up, Broken Angels and Woken Furies are much less detective stories, and much more mercenary action stories. They are good, but it's a bit shocking after the first book. And in another coincidence, I just finished "Changes", man is that book good.

[Sky]

John wrote: "Sky just a heads up, Broken Angels and Woken Furies are much less detective stories, and much more mercenary action stories. They are good, but it's a bit shocking after the first book. And in ano..."

:) I can't wait to get to Changes, I keep hearing how awesome it is!

I like me a good merc action story, and it's been a while since i read the first, so it should be all good, but thanks for the heads up!

[John (Taloni)]

I'm finishing up Vogt's "World of Null-A." Then, I think I'll work in an old school fantasy involving angels, time travel, and alternate history.

That's right, it's time for A Christmas Carol!

[Phil]

I'm still chugging away at Quicksilver. I'm just a little over half way after 4 weeks so I imagine I won't be finished by the end of the month. Unfortunately that means The Night Circus will be the only club pick this year I haven't read before or with the group.

[Dara]

I enjoy holiday reading because it's an easy way to ignore my family.

[Lariela]

I usually re-read Lord of the Rings around this time.

[Steven]

Rob -- I'm reading "Middlemarch" right now. And, as I'm usually reading both non-fiction and fiction at the same time, I am also reading "The Human Age" by Diane Ackerman and "13 Ways of Looking at the Novel" by Jane Smiley.

[Trike]

Later this week my schedule shifts into overdrive and I have even less time for reading than usual, plus I generally get a ton of books for Xmas. (I received two for Sinterklaas dag, in fact.) January is when I get to cranking through them.

I made a decent dent in my to-read tower (photo in my profile), but I've added as many as I've removed.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

It's definitely "not" a wonderful time of the year for anything else ;-)

Too hot, too many fires and too many people out shopping.
A good time to sit back and read a nice book and avoid the crowds.

I have a huge backlog of comics to catch up on. (about 50)
Inc. Walking Dead (10 issues), Saga (6 Issues)

I also have Cryptonomicon to plough through.

[Dharmakirti]

This time of year I get distracted and can't really focus on...oh, look something shiny.

[Eric]

I tend to be the opposite of everyone else with every season. The only time summer was ever good for my reading was back when I was in elementary and middle school and so had tons of free time in the summer. Beach reading? Growing up in FL and now with in-laws near Coney Island - the beach is for going in the water and building sandcastles and stuff.

To get back on topic here - Christmas-time isn't a good time for reading because I'm spending time with family.

And, with a 2 year old, doesn't matter if it's hot or cold outside - I'm doing stuff with her in my spare time.

[Dharmakirti]

I'll be happy if I can finish the three books I'm currently reading.

The Golem and the Jinni
And A Bottle of Rum A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails
The Night Circus

[John (Nevets)]

Dave, You have some really good stories coming up. The last 6 issues of Saga took it in an interesting direction, but one that is true to the rest of the series. And Cryptonomicon may be my favorite book of all time. I know there are others here who strongly disagree, but for me it just hits all the right notes.

[Rob]

John wrote: "Sky just a heads up, Broken Angels and Woken Furies are much less detective stories, and much more mercenary action stories. They are good, but it's a bit shocking after the first book. And in ano..."

Oh, that's unfortunate. They weren't on my reading list for this break, but I was looking forward to some more Kovacs scifi-noir over the summer. Oh well.

Steven wrote: Rob -- I'm reading "Middlemarch" right now. And, as I'm usually reading both non-fiction and fiction at the same time, I am also reading "The Human Age" by Diane Ackerman and "13 Ways of Looking at the Novel" by Jane Smiley. I usually have a similar approach-- when I don't have a huge list to get through or don't have too much assigned, I try and keep a balance between 1 nonfiction, 1 literary fiction, and 1 genre. Alas it looks like the only nonfiction I'll be doing this break is the Henry Adams, but I'm adding 13 ways to my bigger to-read list.

[Tatiana]

I definitely play catch up at the end of the year. Last year I took a vacation at New Years and took that opportunity to start a few new series! This year Christmas will wrap up The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes and maybe a few other quick reads. I’m still not decided on what I’ll read on my few days off for New Years, I like my tradition of starting a new series at the beginning of the year I’m just not sure what I’ll go with for 2015! I just need some inspiration!

[Daniel]

I live in Wales which is famous for its constant rain fall, at this time of year I like nothing more than sitting in a cafe with rain tapping on the window and the sight of the iron grey English channel crashing on the rocks. I can happily lose hours of my life reading like this.

[Stephanie]

Eric wrote: "And, with a 2 year old, doesn't matter if it's hot or cold outside - I'm doing stuff with her in my spare time."

I have a 1.5 year old and am totally in the same boat. I get about the same amount reading as I do other times of the year, which is to say - I read in the evening or during her nap time on the weekend.

[Lariela]

Just started Outlander.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I finished the 800 page history of Africa that I'd stalled out on in June, and I'm contemplating seeing if I can finish War and Peace. I'm reading the complete short stories of Flannery O'Connor and finishing Insurgent, and maybe some more Phillip Roth. Lots to do!!