Books Read in December

Whew, finally caught up on reviews and getting around to my December (and next, year-end) summary. I'd like to say I won't get so far behind in 2016, but I can't make any promises...

I may have been too busy with the holiday season to write many reviews, but I did manage to read quite a few books in December - all of them excellent:

• Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian (VT), novel
• Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Germany, PA, CA), middle-grade audiobook
• Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave (UK), novel - reviewed for Publisher's Weekly and not yet published (the novel or the review!) 

• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (NH, South Africa), novel
• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (FL), middle-grade graphic novel
• George by Alex Gino, middle-grade audiobook 

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Australia), novel
  

It was an all-fiction month and wow, what a way to end the year, with such amazing books! Just looking at these titles and book covers brings back a rush of reading pleasure. I covered many of my favorite authors in December (thanks to trying to finish reading all of last year's Christmas gift books before Christmas this year!). Every one of these was excellent. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, though The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion gets Honorable Mention for pure fun (and the perfect literary pick-me-up just when I needed it). I listened to 2 middle-grade audiobooks, read 1 middle-grade graphic novel, and the other 4 were grown-up novels.

Update on 2015 Reading Challenges:
For my 2015 Where Are You Reading Challenge, I added three new states and three new countries - great way to end the year! I read 4 more books from my own shelves for my Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2015. I listened to two more audio books for my 2015 Audio Book Challenge. Nothing new for my 2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge or my Back to the Classics Challenge, but I added three more books to my Travel the World in Books Challenge.

What was your favorite book(s) read in December?