November is a month to be thankful. This month one of my cats was seriously ill and we came close to losing her. Happily, she made a comeback. I know our time with her is limited, and I’m grateful she’s feeling better.
I spent most of the month reading ARCs, because I requested way too many all at once. I also turned to my last book for the Read Harder Challenge, which is Jane Eyre (in the category of “a classic I hated”). I’ll admit I’m still struggling to understand why people love this book. Rochester is horrible. But I’m determined to finish.
Here’s what I read in November:
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Those Who Knew by Idra Novey
- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
- A Dangerous Duet by Karen Odden
- Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
- All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The Breeding Tree by J. Anderson
My favorite read: Circe is a fantastic book for anyone who loves Greek mythology. I loved Tasha Suri’s debut fantasy novel Empire of Sand. I also really enjoyed Alyssa Cole’s Civil War-era biracial romance novel. But the most impactful book was Michelle Obama’s memoir, which is a truly fascinating look at her upbringing, her marriage, and her time in the White House.
Did not finish: I didn’t finish The Best Bad Things by Katrina Carrasco, a book I really started out enjoying, but it dragged as the author went into way too much detail about plot rather than developing the characters.
What I’m reading now: Jane Eyre and the new Barbara Kingsolver, Unsheltered.
What’s coming up: I’ll be traveling this month to Chile and Argentina – on my Kindle for that trip I’ve got JK Rowling’s new book, Lethal White, Maggie O’Farrell’s I Am, I Am, I Am, Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Talents, and Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend.
Added to my TBR: I added The Book of M and Severance based on a twitter post asking for dystopian novel recommendations; Milkman, based on the Man Booker Prize, and There There and The Great Believers because I keep hearing great things about these books.
Things that made me happy this month: Planning for our upcoming trip! I’m excited and nervous – it’s a continent I’ve never been to, but we’re also going with a tour group so a lot will be out of our control. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving spent with people they love. For December, I’m already thinking about my best-of lists and challenge wrap-ups for the next month. I’m working on a post about the best books I read this year and WHY I read them. Happy December, readers, and happy holidays!
