For my December 2024 TBR, I am focusing on books from previous months TBRs that I did not get around to reading. Try as I might, I don’t always get around to each book I plan to read in a month. Perhaps it’s a lack of time or picking up different books, but sometimes books don’t get read when I intend to. Getting through these books will help to reduce my overall TBR.
December 2024 TBR
The Rise & Reign of the Mammals by Steve Brusatte
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals. Indeed humankind and many of the beloved fellow mammals we share the planet with today—lions, whales, dogs—represent only the few survivors of a sprawling and astonishing family tree that has been pruned by time and mass extinctions. How did we get here?
In his acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs—hailed as “the ultimate dinosaur biography” by Scientific American—American paleontologist Steve Brusatte enchanted readers with his definitive history of the dinosaurs. Now, picking up the narrative in the ashes of the extinction event that doomed T-rex and its kind, Brusatte explores the remarkable story of the family of animals that inherited the Earth—mammals— and brilliantly reveals that their story is every bit as fascinating and complex as that of the dinosaurs.
Beginning with the earliest days of our lineage some 325 million years ago, Brusatte charts how mammals survived the asteroid that claimed the dinosaurs and made the world their own, becoming the astonishingly diverse range of animals that dominate today’s Earth. Brusatte also brings alive the lost worlds mammals inhabited through time, from ice ages to volcanic catastrophes. Entwined in this story is the detective work he and other scientists have done to piece together our understanding using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology.
Knight of Shadows by Toby Venables
England, 1191. Richard Lionheart has left the realm bankrupt and leaderless in his quest for glory. Only Prince John seems willing to fight back the tide of chaos threatening England – embodied by the traitorous ‘Hood.’
But John has a secret weapon: Guy of Gisburne, outcast, mercenary, and now knight. His first mission: to intercept the jewel-encrusted skull of John the Baptist, sent by the Templars to Philip, King of France. Gisburne’s quest takes him from the Tower of London to the hectic crusader port of Marseilles – and into increasingly bloody encounters with ‘The White Devil’: the fanatical Templar de Mercheval.
Relentlessly pursued back to England, and aided by the beautiful and secretive Mélisande, Gisburne battles his way with sword, lance and bow to a bitter confrontation at the Castel de Mercheval. But beyond it – if he survives – lies an even more unpredictable adversary.
Edges of Anarchy by Kyla Stone
Three weeks after the nation’s power grid goes down, chaos reigns. Food supplies have dried up. Fuel is running low. And the bleak, brutal winter is relentless.
Fall Creek has forged a shaky peace, but the cost for safety is proving higher than some are willing to pay. The town is a powder keg waiting to explode. Noah struggles to maintain order even as dissent and conflict threaten to destroy the community. With his son’s safety hanging in the balance, the wrong choice could prove devastating.
For Hannah, home is finally within reach. But it won’t be anything like she expected…
When the country goes dark, ordinary people find themselves facing the end of the world as they know it. With society collapsing before their eyes, they’ll have to risk everything to protect their home and the people they love.
The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can’t get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.
They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.
Carl still has no pants.
They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it’s anything but a game.
Guardian by A.J. Calvin
Alexander has been sent on a perilous journey through the Southlands, a pilgrimage all would-be magi must undertake in order to develop their abilities. His brother, Andrew, was named his guardian by the Oracle, a strange woman with the ability to see glimpses of the future. The brothers do not know the land or its dangers, but both understand the importance of the journey.
With the proper training, Alexander will become instrumental in opposing Colin’s tyranny in their homeland of Novania. Colin is king; he has reinstated the Mark Inspections and seeks to execute anyone born with the Mark of the Magi, whether they are trained to use their abilities or not. That his brothers escaped his grasp once is a source of ire for Colin, and he plans to make war directly on the magi to the south who harbor the fugitives.
The natural dangers of the land may not stop Alexander from succeeding in his quest, but the royal assassins sent to pursue Andrew might prove to be their undoing. Andrew is sworn to protect his brother no matter the cost to himself…
Even if he is the last of the dragon-kind.
Winter at the Dog & Duck by Jill Steeples
Ellie Browne has left behind her high-flying job in London to return to the charming Buckinghamshire village of Little Leyton.
Working shifts at the Dog and Duck pub and running her own doggy-daycare business, Ellie’s looking for a simpler way of life in this idyllic English setting.
But Little Leyton’s landscape is changing: Johnny Tay, Ellie’s ex, wants to pick up where they left off; sultry property developer Max Golding has moved into the village and is ruffling feathers; and rumour has it that the pub, which holds a special place in Ellie’s heart, might be sold. Suddenly, life’s looking a whole lot more complicated…. Can Ellie overcome all the challenges to finally find her one true love?
I hope you enjoyed my December 2024 TBR. What do you plan to read this month?
I love reading! I like how you set goals to read. I have several new books that I have not read yet. My goal is to at least read a chapter or two each night.
Thank you, setting reading goals is something I enjoy doing even though I would read regardless of setting a goal or not. That’s a great reading goal and will help you finish books at a steady pace.