It’s here, it’s here, it’s here!

Halloween is great, but CHRISTMAS!

There is nothing more in the world that I love than Christmas. I have a lot of days off to just snuggle up with my entire family and my cats, to read lots of books, drink lots of tea, and hope for snow to fall. No one is out shopping because everything is closed, everyone is home, and it’s the perfect chilly weather to just curl under a blanket and be around the ones you love.

Obviously, I love Christmas, and this week’s Christmas Eve TTT is from That Artsy Reader Girl, and it’s a topic that I think about literally all year, so let’s get to it!

Christmas, for me, is usually a time to look forward to books I wouldn’t normally treat myself to. Almost all my nonfiction books are gifted around Christmas, and this year, it should come as no surprise that I’m asking for JRR Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter. This is the official authorized biography, and since I’ve been doing so much Tolkien reading this year (with many more plans on the horizon), I’d really love to dive into the actual story of his life.

Everyone IRL knows that my favorite thing for a gift is an astronaut book. I don’t usually buy them on my own, but I have a running list of which one I’d like to read next, so my family and friends just pick from the list, and We Seven: By the Astronauts Themselves by Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton is one I’ve been eyeing for a while. I’ve never read anything from the Mercury astronauts, nor anything by someone else about that time, so I’m very interested to uncover a part of the space history that I haven’t before.

I kind of do a similar thing with Shadowhunters books? There’s just so many, and I’m generally behind on reading them, so I’m almost always asking for one. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare is the last of the short story collections that I haven’t read yet, and I’ve also got The Red Scrolls of Magic on my list this year because buying them in B&N means shelling out $20 each, and I’m just not into that.

I also like to ask for regular nonfictions for Christmas so I have a few new ones to sustain me throughout the year. I really don’t know why I don’t just buy nonfictions on my own, but alas, here we are with Naturally Tan by Tan France. Obviously, I’m a fan of Queer Eye, and yes, Tan is my favorite, so I’d love to finally read his story.

Another space book! Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz has notoriously high praise among the space community, describing Kranz as an overwhelmingly excited narrator, like a little boy watching his first rocket launch, and if that’s not the cutest review ever, I’m not sure what to tell you.

Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell is one of the few nonfiction books I’ve actually tried to purchase for myself every single time I’ve gone shopping in the last half of 2019, but it seems to be nonexistent from all bookstores, so I settled for buying Apollo 8 recently. I still, somehow, have not watched the movie for this book, and I’m not going to, either, until I’ve finally read it. I’m also really excited to read more books inside of the Apollo program since I’ve mostly stuck to 10, 11, and 16. (No surprise there since my top three boys are Armstrong, Collins, and Young.)

I am a HUGE Beowulf fan, and my favorite translation thus far is Seamus Heaney, but I am 100% here for a Tolkien translation. I also adore what Christopher’s done with his father’s archives thus far, so I know this will be fantastic. I’m also curious to see what kind of commentary Tolkien has to provide for this already wonderful epic poem.

Yes, I am asking for mostly astronaut & Tolkien books this year, but I’m fresh out on the first and got nothing for the second, so I’m hoping to stock up for the year. Nonfictions always take me longer to read, too, and I’m sure I’ll want to take my time with The Letters of JRR Tolkien, really spend some time savoring his words.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles, folks! I know this is only eight (nine, technically, since I’ve got two Clare’s), and this is a list of books you wouldn’t normally see from me since I read mostly YA, but this is what my Christmas looks like this year.

I hope your holidays are wonderful, whatever you’re celebrating, and if you’re not, Happy Winter!