As a general rule, I love this time of year.  My mouth waters with the prospect of Thanksgiving near, I ingest as much pumpkin as I can, and I start listening to Christmas music right after Halloween.  However, usually when we have one or two months left in the year, a very special type of panic kicks in.

Reading panic.

If you don't already know this about me, you should know that I have a love/hate relationship with my TBR pile.  There are so many books on it that I will never run out of things to read.  Ever. I've been behind since I was about seven years old.  This is both good on bad.  On the one hand, I'm so glad that I will never wake up one morning and go, "ERMAHGHERD.  I read all the books.  None left."  On the other hand, it is impossible for me to read every book I want to read.

As it is, I typically read just over 100 books per year.  I would love to read more, but I have a full-time job.  I just do the best I can and remain in awe of people who can read twice what I do in one year.  Since reading fiction helps me with readers' advisory to kids and teens, I tell myself that for each book I read, I've discovered something I may be able to put into the hands of a reader.  However, I also wonder how I can ever read enough books to make sure I'll have a suggestion for every kid. It's a catch twenty-two, and I digress.

In order for you to understand the panic that sets in at this time of year, let's talk about what the rest of my reading year is like.

The year begins with me trying to make sure I've got good momentum--something I've become more aware of since GoodReads gave us the option of creating yearly challenges.



Around September or October, I start thinking.  There's a bunch of books I should really read before this year is over, but man, trying to choose sucks.  I know, I'll make a list!