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Books

Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

written by Kelly Mongan December 5, 2018
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link in this post and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. To read more about affiliate marketing, check out my Disclaimer.

It’s been a big reading year for me! I started blogging about books more and more, started applying for and receiving ARCs (advance reader copies) to review, and even launched my own reading challenge! However, there are over three weeks left in the year and I’m not done yet! I am 7 books away from reaching my reading goal, so I have to be a reading machine this month. Below are four books that I’ll be reading this month.

This post is part of a linkup with Hungry Bookworm and others. Thanks for encouraging me to explore my TBR list!


The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

I’m currently reading The Bookshop on the Corner (published as The Little Shop of Happy Ever After in the UK) for the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club. It’s been on my radar for awhile now, as I love the idea of books about books, but I actually don’t read too many of them. I’m only a few pages in, but already love the style of the writing and am looking forward to cozying up with this one over the weekend.

Nina is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 


The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

I first read The Poisonwood Bible in high school and I remember liking it, but that’s pretty much it. I also know I didn’t appreciate the books I was assigned back then. So, I’m rereading it. I actually don’t reread many books, so am excited to start rereading the books I read as a teenager.

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it—from garden seeds to Scripture—is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.


Educated by Tara Westover

Educated is the first book of the Diversify Your Reading Challenge, and I’m hoping to get a head start on it this month so I can kickstart the discussion in January. I’ve seen this book over and over again throughout 2018 and am looking forward to finally reading it myself.

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.


Outside by Sarah Ann Juckes

This book doesn’t come out until January, but I have an ARC that I am dying to start. One of my goals for 2019 is to read more YA, and Outside seems like a great one to start with.

Here’s the thing about being Inside. Ain’t no one believes that they are.
Ele has never been Outside.
She has never seen a tree or felt the rain.
Her whole world is Inside
With her books and the Others and Him.
But here’s the secret . . .
Ele’s getting out.
For good.


In addition to reading, I plan on spending much of this month planning for 2019 – budgeting, setting goals, and getting my new planner all set up! I’ll also be lining up all of the books I plan on reading for my 2019 reading challenges.

December is my favorite month because it’s a wonderful time to be present and enjoy all the festivities (including my birthday!), but it also allows a ton of time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

4 comments
Kelly Mongan

Kelly Mongan is a full-time professional with a pure blogging obsession, running two blogs and countless Instagram accounts. While she's always tied up from 9-5, Kelly spends her free time exploring London (or Europe) with her husband, dreaming up ways to improve her house, or having a crazy cuddle sessions with on the couch with her dog. She's passionate about writing, reading, wine, and travel. She blogs about her travels on A Pair of Passports.

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4 comments

Rachel @ Never Enough Novels December 5, 2018 at 8:32 pm

Oh my goodness I love Jenny Colgan so much!! This was the first of hers that I read and now I’m through practically her entire catalog of novels. They’re the perfect fun, escape read – like a chick flick in book form! Thanks so much for joining our linkup : )

Reply
Kelly Mongan December 6, 2018 at 10:43 am

This makes me so excited – I’m loving it so far. I feel like “cozy” is the right way to describe her writing style, which makes me want to read all of her books!

Reply
Megan @ The Hungry Bookworm January 3, 2019 at 4:16 pm

I really want to read Jenny Colgan’s b/c it just sounds so cozy and wonderful, and bookish of course. 🙂

Did you end up reading Educated? I love-love-love that book!

Reply
Kelly Mongan January 5, 2019 at 9:45 am

I’m reading Educated right now and enjoying it so much! It’s the January pick for Diversify Your Reading Challenge so I’m trying to pace myself, but I just want to read the whole thing!

Ended up putting down the Jenny Colgan read. I haven’t given up on it, but it just wasn’t the right time. I’ll try again!

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Welcome to Mongan Moments, a personal and lifestyle blog and home to the Diversify Your Reading Challenge.

About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Kelly!

I'm a lover of coffee, wine & craft beer, and all things American - baseball, summer BBQs, and Thanksgiving, to name a few. I'm a traveler with a desire to get to know every corner of this earth, but nothing makes me happier than curling up with a good book and a glass of wine at home.

I currently reside in South West London with my husband, Sean, and our dog, Giorgio. Join us as we renovate our home, navigate marriage, prance about town, and attempt to live the best life possible each and every day. And stay tuned to hear about all the books I read along the way!

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