Ok I wasn‘t sure of the best way to post this but I went back through all of the books I read this month to do the Winter Games word search. Good news is I read 114 books this month! I know the pics aren‘t very clear so if the powers that be need to see better pics let me know. I also have the breakdown of the words in each individual book in the notes app on my phone. Found 9,841 words for a total of 98,410 points. Happy New Year everyone!

I adore Moomin so I couldn‘t resist grabbing this cookbook for #foodandlit this month. There are cute illustrations and some good recipes. Can‘t go wrong with Moomin! 4⭐️ 50 points 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Moomin
#Finland
#cookbook

This cookbook was a dud. The recipes aren‘t very interesting and it desperately needs an editor because there are typos galore. No bueno. 2⭐️ 50 points

#FoodAndLit
#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Finland

I chose this cookbook for #foodandlit this month. I‘m behind on posting my reviews because I was waiting until I had actually made a recipe to post. But life had other ideas & I‘ve been sick the past week. I plan on making a recipe for almond cookies from this cookbook tomorrow & will let you know how it goes. 🙃 3.5⭐️ 50 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons

What better way to end the year‘s reading than with another Sweet Valley camp classic, Return of the Evil Twin?😆 I haven‘t read this as many times as the original but I still try to whip it out around Christmas every few years. This time Margo‘s long lost twin sister, Nora, makes her way to Sweet Valley & decides to make the Wakefield twins pay for “what they did to Margo”. And hatches a plot to steal Jessica‘s life & identity. Goes great with ⬇️

For #foodandlit this month I chose Evil Things, the 1st book in the Hella Mauzer crime series. It is set in 1952 Finland & Hella is a police officer sent to an isolated town on a missing persons case which turns into a murder case with Soviet spies & government coverups. Hella herself is very flawed, & although this book is rather dark & depressing at times, I enjoyed it & it had a satisfactory ending. 4⭐️ #Finland 🇫🇮

It would not be Christmas without crazy Margo & her diabolical plan to kill Liz & take over her identity. 😆 This is my all-time fave SV book & I realized I hadn‘t done a reread in 6 years. Blasphemy! I never get tired of this no matter how many times I read it. 5⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#SweetValley
#SweetValleyHigh
#SVH
#twins
#nostalgia
#Christmas

I listened to quite a few cutesy Christmas romances this month on Hoopla. Most of them were duds but this one was decent. I‘m a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, what can I say. 3.5⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#audiobook
#Christmas
#romance

Unpopular opinion time: I tried to get into this one but couldn‘t. It gives Lewis Carroll writing Alice in Wonderland vibes (meaning he was definitely on something when he wrote this 😆). I‘m trying to clear out my currently reading shelf before New Year‘s Day so I had to bail on this one. But looking forward to next month‘s read for #ChildrensClassicRead2025 !

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to our Litsy family! Love, Jen & Jace

❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️

The last read for #KindredSpiritsChristmas is another cozy feel-good read from the queen of cozy. I‘ve really enjoyed reading these stories every day. Thanks so much for hosting @BarbaraJean ! 🤗 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#LucyMaudMontgomery

Nightly reading with Jace:
1. The Berenstain Bears Night Before Christmas 4⭐️
2. The Christmas Miracle Of Jonathan Toomey 5⭐️
155 points

Time spent reading today: 4 hours = 140 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen
#Christmas
#childrensbooks

I‘ve loved Garfield since I was a kid & love sharing him with Jace. This is a funny take on The Night Before Christmas complete with 8 Odie reindeers pulling Santa‘s sleigh. 5⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Garfield
#Christmas

Also spent 4 hours reading yesterday - 120 points.

#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen

I read this for #MidwinterSolace - I didn‘t love this book but definitely took away a few kernels of wisdom & it makes you stop & think about what‘s really important & what your priorities should be around the holidays. 3⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Christmas

Today‘s #KindredSpiritsChristmas read is a good reminder to reach out to people who are lonely around the holidays & doing what we can to make a difference. 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#Christmas
#LucyMaudMontgomery

Next up for #KindredSpritsChristmas is Uncle Richard‘s New Year‘s Dinner. Another family feud is ended when Prissy secretly goes to her estranged uncle‘s house & cooks his New Year‘s dinner while he is at work. Classic LMM. 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#LucyMaudMontgomery
#Christmas

The twins are hosting a Christmas Eve party & Jess wants everything to be perfect. But all of her ideas get shot down & Liz wants an old fashioned Christmas. Jess draws Liz‘s name for Secret Santa but she spends all her money on a new outfit & decides to steal Liz‘s Secret Santa gift for Lila & say it‘s for her. The whole party is a disaster & Jess wishes that Christmas will never come. She gets her wish when she wakes up the next day & it‘s ⬇️

This is my all time favorite Sweet Valley Twins book. They are gifted twin Harlequin dolls for Christmas after a big fight. They solve the riddle on the dolls‘ medallions & get sucked into a magical world where their dolls come to life & are 2 very good looking princes. They come together to fight an evil sorcerer. I didn‘t read much fantasy when I was younger but I always loved this book. 5⭐️ 80 points. Also spent 7 hours reading yesterday = 210

This had its funny moments but it was also a bit silly. But it‘s a quick listen on audiobook at 5 hours. I didn‘t realize it‘s part of a series but it doesn‘t detract from the story. 3⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#audiobook
#Christmas
#Scotland

I‘ve read all of the Agatha Raisin books in the regular series but somehow never got to this one. I usually listen to the audiobooks but I read this one with my eyeballs & it was pretty funny. The usual Agatha hijinks and a dead body or two. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#AgathaRaisin
#Christmas
#novella
#MCBeaton

Time spent reading yesterday: 3 hours = 90 points.

Also watched Christmas episodes of Friends & Little House on the Prairie 10 points.

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#LittenListen
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#Christmas

Another heartwarming read today for #KindredSpiritsChristmas - The large, poor but happy Josephs family gets a nice Christmas surprise from some wealthy visitors on Christmas Eve night. 4⭐️ 80 points

#HolidayBookDragons
#WinterGames2024
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Nightly reading with Jace last night:
1. Elf Pets 3.5⭐️
2. Mickey‘s Night Before Christmas 4⭐️
3. Mr. Willowby‘s Christmas Tree 4⭐️
4. Pete The Cat‘s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas 4⭐️
5. The Christmas Owl 5⭐️ 380 points
Watched Miracle on 34th Street & The Enchanted Christmas - 10 points
Time spent reading yesterday: 5 hours - 150 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen

Next up for #KindredSpiritsChristmas is set in a women‘s boarding house. 5 young women who are good friends & can‘t go home for Christmas decide to try to make a happy Christmas for a lonely lady who‘s been living there for 14 years & has no friends & no money. It‘s really sweet & fun & reminds me of Anne & her roommates while she was in college. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

This is a fun SVH Christmas book. Todd is still in Vermont & is coming to see Liz over the break. But she‘s not sure if they still have that spark anymore. Meanwhile, Suzanne Devlin, who terrorized Liz & her friends the last time she visited, is coming for Christmas. She says she‘s changed & is sorry & wants to make it up to everyone, but Jess doesn‘t buy it. She comes up with some pretty mean pranks to try to get her to leave. But Suzanne has ⬇️

Today‘s #KindredSpiritsChristmas read is a really good one. There‘s nothing like making up with your best friends after a long estrangement, especially at Christmas. 5⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#LMMontgomery
#Christmas

Nightly reading with Jace:
1. Pete The Kitty‘s Cozy Christmas 4⭐️
2. Trolls Holiday In Harmony 4⭐️
3. The Berenstain Bears & The Joy Of Giving 4⭐️
4. 5 More Sleeps Til Christmas 4⭐️
5. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell 3⭐️
6. Pooh: A Very Merry Christmas 4⭐️
7. My Christmas Tree 3⭐️ 530 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Christmas
#childrensbooks

I‘m behind on posting yesterday. Time spent reading on 12/16 is actually 4 hours but I forgot to turn off my timer when I fell asleep. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 40 x‘s 5 = 200 points.

Also watched The Shop Around The Corner, the new Christmas episode of Bob‘s Burgers, & While You Were Sleeping. 20 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#LittenListen
#Adventathon
#MidDecemberReadathon
#OatmealEscapeReadathon

I‘m finally done with all of my French reading for the year. I‘ve been reading 1 a day every day out loud for the past few years to help with my pronunciation, but it‘s become a bit of a chore and I won‘t continue doing it next year. But I read 366 livres en Français this year so I‘m happy.
5 Christmas books plus 1 TBR book = 430 points.

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons

This is a warm & cozy Christmas read about Kerry & her brother, Murphy, who head to NYC every December to sell Christmas trees from their tree farm. They befriend & romance some of the locals. Sweet and a little sappy & perfect for this time of year. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Christmas
#cozy

French reading for the week:
1. Babar Et Le Fantôme De L‘opéra
2 Babar Dans La Course
3. Babar Sur L‘île Déserte
4. Blanche-Neige Et Les Sept Nains
5. La Petite Sirène
6. Où Est Jaq?
7. Cendrillon
8. Aladdin
9. La Belle Au Bois Dormant
10. La Belle Et La Bête
10 TBR = 505 points

Time spent reading yesterday: 4 hours 30 minutes = 45 x‘s 5 = 225 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen

The twins are tired of being treated like little kids. They‘re invited to a party with both middle schoolers & high schoolers & their brother Steven is so embarrassed by them. So he tells the Parentals that it‘s going to be a wild & crazy party, then the twins are forbidden to go. They end up at a Christmas carnival & make a wish at a wishing well to be grown up. They wake up the next morning in the bodies of college-aged women. They get jobs ⬇️

Well this is a 7-year-old‘s fantasy come to life — the twins get trapped in a huge department store on Christmas Eve. Some Home Alone hijinks ensue when they cross paths with a thief. They trap him in the toy department then are rescued just before midnight. Fun fun. 5⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#SweetValley
#SweetValleyKids
#SVK
#twins
#nostalgia

Since this audiobook is only 45 minutes long I decided to go ahead and listen to the whole thing today. This was new to me. I really disliked the narrator so I didn‘t enjoy this as much as the others we‘ve read but it‘s still good. I couldn‘t find anything but the audiobook. 3.5⭐️ 80 points

#KindredSpiritsChristmas
#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#LMMontgomery
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Reading with Jace part 2:
1. The Berenstain Bears‘ Christmas Tree 5⭐️
2. Thomas‘ Christmas Delivery 4⭐️
3. Construction Site On Christmas Night 4⭐️ 230 points.
Watched Mickey‘s Once Upon A Christmas 5 points.
Time spent reading yesterday: 3 hours (30 points x‘s 4 = 120 points.
#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen
#MidDecemberReadathon

Reading with Jace part 1:
1. Mater Saves Christmas 5⭐️
2. Twas The Night Before Christmas On Sesame Street 5⭐️
3. Pete The Cat Saves Christmas 4⭐️
4. Pig The Elf 3⭐️
5. Muppet Babies Christmas 4⭐️
6. My Butt Is So Christmassy 2.5⭐️ 455 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#Christmas
#childrensbooks

I am just now joining the #SundayBuddyRead & I got behind on the last 2 weeks. But I sat down to catch up today & ended up finishing the whole thing. This is sweet & fluffy with a lot of characters to keep it interesting. Looking forward to the group discussion! 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons

Nightly reading with Jace:
1. Little Red Sleigh 4⭐️🛷
2. Goodnight Santa 4⭐️🎅🏻
3. The Berenstain Bears & The Nutcracker 4⭐️🌰
230 points

Time spent reading today: 3 hours x‘s 3 = 90 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen

Another fun Christmas story for #KindredSpiritsChristmas - I wish more people were like this these days. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#LMMontgomery
#Christmas

This is another super edition I haven‘t read since I was a kid & it was a lot of fun! SVMS‘s choral group is going to Washington, D.C., to perform in a music competition in December. The twins cover for their friend, Anna, who can‘t sing a lick but wants to go to D.C. to meet her long lost sister. Jess & Anna sneak out to the Australian embassy (where her sister lives) & catch a spy who‘s threatening national security. Because of course they do.😆

Today‘s story for #KindredSpiritsChristmas is another good one. An absentminded teacher accidentally invites the wrong family to his landlady‘s house for Christmas dinner, but it‘s a happy mistake. Another reminder of what‘s really important this time of year. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#Christmas
#LMMontgomery

Nightly reading with Jace:
1. Pick A Pine Tree 4⭐️
2. Happy Narwhalidays 4⭐️
3. Christmas In Wellsworth 4⭐️
4. Christmas With Pooh 3⭐️ 305 points

Time spent reading today is actually 9 hours, I forgot to turn the timer off when I fell asleep 🤦🏻‍♀️ 90 points x‘s 3 = 270 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon
#LittenListen
#childrensbooks
#Christmas

I‘m a big fan of the OG Forensic Files & the case of the Rogers women, who were murdered in Tampa Bay by Oba Chandler, has always haunted me. Thomas French wrote a 50,000+ word article for the Tampa Bay Times in 1997 about the case & won a Pulitzer. It‘s grim reading but very well done & I will post a link in the comments. Recommended to anyone interested in this case. 4⭐️ 30 points for impulse read.

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons

If you love Hallmark movies then you‘ll probably enjoy this book. The audio has dual narration & I must say the male narrator has a very sexy voice. 🤓 But I‘m not a huge fan of the female main character. That being said, this is a 5-hour audiobook that is perfectly fluffy & fitting for this time of year. 3⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#audiobook
#Christmas
#LittenListen

Book 6 is finished for the #NancyDrewBR - I find it funny we are only 6 books in yet Nancy has met another new person with a property in trouble. 😆 This time it‘s a cult of counterfeiters! And they would have gotten away with it if it weren‘t for those meddling kids! 😅 3.5⭐️ 55 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#NancyDrew

Today‘s short story for #KindredSpiritsChristmas is from the 2 chapters in Anne Of Windy Poplars when Katherine Brook comes to Green Gables for Christmas. I‘m a big fan of both Anne miniseries from the 1980s & now I‘m ready for a rewatch! Katherine is an interesting character & it‘s great to see her come out of her shell. Added bonus that she comes for Christmas in the book, as she comes for the summer in the movie. Love this series. 5⭐️

Started a new to me Christmas audiobook today (My December Darling), have been doing rereads of my faves for the past week. Does anybody have any good Christmas audiobook recs for me? 🙃

Nightly reading with Jace:
1. The Berenstain Bears Save Christmas 5⭐️
2. Bear Stays Up For Christmas 4⭐️
3. Llama Llama Holiday Drama 4⭐️230 points

Time spent reading: 5 hours x‘s 3 = 150 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#Adventathon

I got about a month behind on my Marvel Unlimited graphic novel reading and have been playing catch up this past week. 67 graphic novels total for the week (TBR reads) = 3355 points.

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#graphicnovels
#MarvelUnlimited

Today‘s #KindredSpiritsChristmas read is another sweet reminder of what‘s really important at Christmastime. 4⭐️ 80 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
#LMMontgomery
#Christmas
#novella

It was a Chipmunk kind of night! Nightly reading with Jace:
1. Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll! 5⭐️
2. The Reason For The Season 4⭐️
3. Santa Harry 4⭐️
4. A Chipmunk Christmas 5⭐️
5. A Chipmunk Family Christmas 4⭐️ 380 points

Time spent reading today: 7 hours x‘s 4 = 280 points

#WinterGames2024
#HolidayBookDragons
#ReadAway2024
#ChristmasCardReadathon
#Adventathon
#LittenListen
#Chipmunks
#Christmas