On the ninth day of Blogmas, Leeann's blog gave to me...six final to-reads My Goodreads goal is 45 books and I'm still six short, meaning Christmas is going to involve lots of reading. So I thought I would share with you those six books I must read in an incredibly short amount of time.

(Or I will have to accept failure, something I am not apt to do).

So here it is, the six books I will (attempt) to read in the remaining days of 2014:

Miracle on 34th Street, by Valentine Davies. I've read this before, but it was awhile ago and I want to dig into it again. It's the novella version of the film, written by the screenwriter, and released only shortly after the movie. (Yup--a book based on a movie. It really does happen!)
Indy Writes Books: A Book Lover's Anthology, edited by M. Travis DiNicola and Zachary Roth. I've already peeked at a few of the selections in here, and I'm already super pumped.
Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. Recommended by a friend and my mom, I'm looking forward to reading this "historical" fiction.
Flappers and Philosophers: Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is my one true writing love and I'm interested to see how his short stories add up.
First Fig and Other Poems, by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Yes, I totally picked this poem collection because it's 46 pages long. Also, Edna St. Vincent Millay has written the only poem I love, "Recuerdo," so I thought maybe her other poems would help thaw this icy blockade between poetry and me.
Looking for Jack Kerouac by Barbara Shoup. I'm really excited to dig into family friend Barb Shoup's latest novel. It's on my Christmas list, so fingers crossed it comes my way in the next couple days!

What books will you be reading before 2015?

On the ninth day of Blogmas, Leeann's blog gave to me:

Six final to-reads, decked halls a-twinkling, a Christmas tag of sorts, two Christmas book reads, FIVEEEE FESTIVE MOVIES! Memories filled with snow, one blog tag, the best study tips, and 10 Christmas songs to sing!

On the fifth day of Blogmas, Leeann's blog gave to me... FIVEEEE FESTIVE MOVIES For the fifth day of Blogmas, I thought I'd go big. No, no golden rings here; just the five Christmas movies I have to see every holiday season. Films that fill me with that "holiday glow" finals insisted on dulling down the past week or so.

(Side note: finals are over and I couldn't feel more relieved. I celebrated with a three-hour nap this afternoon.

It was delightful.)

But now, for the main event: my top five Christmas movies!

Miracle on 34th Street. I've loved this movie since I was a kid. My grandma had a VHS copy I would watch no matter when I was at her house. Whether the air was filled with humidity or snow, I sat in front of the screen in love with Santa Claus working at Macy's. "Christmas isn't just a day...it's a frame of mind." Genius.
The Polar Express. The book always meant a lot to my sister and me as kids. We had our own bells that would hang on the tree every year. The movie means just as much, and I love the soundtrack. The Polar Express is that movie, the one that makes me smile and tear up every time. I love it.
Eloise at Christmastime. I loved the original Eloise books and movie, and the Christmas one is just as cute! Eloise is such a fun character to watch, and the love story certainly doesn't hurt anything.
The Santa Clause. Maybe now is a good time to point out that I really like children's movies... especially at Christmas! I'm actually watching this right now (thanks ABC Family!) and it's just so cute. I love Charlie. However, I've never understood why it's so bad at the beginning that Charlie wholeheartedly believes in Santa. He's 6! Let the kid believe!
Elf. Cliché, I know, but it's Elf! Cute, funny, heartwarming--what's not to love?