This month I participated in Nonfiction November, visited my in-laws over Veteran’s Day weekend, and celebrated Thanksgiving with my father and some close friends. I’m never happy about the onset of winter, and I’ve been finding it’s taking me more time to finish books lately, which I think is just due to being busier and more stress and the weather is limiting my walking time. But November was a good month for reading, with a diverse range of authors and genres.
I’m very excited to be joining Lory from Entering the Enchanted Castle in a 14-month Ozathon! We’ll be reading one book a month from L. Frank Baum’s Oz series, in order. This is my favorite series from childhood and I can’t wait to explore them with other readers, especially if you’re new to the series. This is foundational reading for anyone who loves fantasy. Additionally, Baum’s wife and mother-in-law were suffragists and themes of feminism run through his books. Even if you’re only interested in The Wizard of Oz, I highly recommend experiencing the book in its unabridged and illustrated form – you’ll find a lot of interesting differences between the movie and the book.
It’s too early, in my opinion, to be putting out best of book lists, but there are already plenty to be found. Some of the ones I like are The Washington Post, The New York Times, and NPR. You can also vote for your favorites in Goodreads. This year I’ve read very few of the “best of’s” so I’ll just put them on my TBR list and try to get to them next year. I’ll be writing about my favorites in late December or January but you can also see the running list on the right side of my blog.
Here’s what I read in November:
- So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
- The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher
- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (audio)
- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (audio)
- Dawn by Octavia Butler
- Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More by Fatima Ali and Tarajia Morrell (audio)
My favorite reads:
The Book Eaters is top on my list, because this book was so different from anything I’ve read before. It’s about a group of people who eat books instead of food, and then a subgroup of those people who can only sustain themselves by eating human minds. This book had a perfect mix of action and suspense, character development, and atmosphere. I loved how dark it was. Devon is the mother of a small child who is a mind eater, and all her choices are horrible, but she’s desperate to find a way to live in freedom with her son.
Savor is a very intense read, or rather the last third of it is. It’s the posthumous memoir of Fatima Ali, a young woman from Pakistan who had a promising career as a chef, including being one of the youngest competitors on Top Chef, until she was struck with a rare form of cancer. This book tells Fatima’s story in her own words and through the eyes of her mother, as it explores her upbringing in Pakistan, her passion for food, her faith and sexuality, and her battle with cancer. Not an easy read but a good one.
Dawn and Children of Time were interesting books to read back to back, because both span centuries in a future where Earth is no longer inhabitable. In Children of Time, the last surviving humans are on a ship looking for a planet where they can settle. And in Dawn, the last surviving humans have been captured by aliens who are going to train them to start again more peaceably by combining human and alien characteristics. Both were excellent reads.
Finally, So Late in the Day is made up of three short stories, but Keegan packs quite a punch in these three short reads.
On the blog:
I participated in four of the five weeks of Nonfiction November, and I reviewed The Olympian Affair and So Late in the Day.
Books for challenges:
- Backlist Reader: Dawn, Children of Time
- Nonfiction: Savor
- Reading Around the World: So Late in the Day, Savor
- 52 Book Club: The Olympian Affair, So Late in the Day, Savor, Dawn. I now have only two books left to complete: Nordic Noir and an author with my name.
What I’m reading now:
I’m reading Henning Mankell’s Dogs of Riga, and Evie Dunmore’s The Gentleman’s Gambit, which I’ll be reviewing soon. I’m also very excited to be re-reading The Wizard of Oz for the Ozathon.
What’s coming up:
I have an ARC of Flores and Miss Paula by Melissa Rivero, and I’ll be reading Florida Woman by Deb Rogers to complete the 52 Book Challenge. Otherwise I’m just going to see what else comes in from the library and take it easy in December.
Added to my TBR:
You can see what I added based on Nonfiction November in this post.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season — I hope you have some time to spend with family and friends, to relax, to bake something tasty (my favorite cookie recipe here), and of course to read good books.
