A round up of all we have read, written and obtained in November.
November’s reading list
November’s reading began with the Second World War by Antony Beevor. A carry-on-er from last month. The 950 odd paged epic (sans bibliography and notes (removed to make it a more manageable read)) was well written and managed to provide new facts whilst going over old ground. It’s a perfect overview but not for the faint hearted.
The Harpy by Megan Hunter was bristling with revenge, hurt and mythical part bird, part woman creatures. I loved it and found the it the perfect remedy to my Second World War hangover.
I fell a little bit in love with Claudia Winkleman after reading Quite. It’s not an autobiography but her thoughts and musings on things that are ‘quite important’ or ‘quite inconvenient’. All the hallmarks are there (Strictly, eyeliner, fringe) as are the unexpected (squirrel etiquette, tortoise owning and tiny fridges).
Next up was Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. Somewhat different to In Cold Blood (the only other Capote book I had read) it’s also somewhat different to the film. My copy was part of a short story collection and I was surprised to find that the iconic BaT is only 100 pages long!
With a theme of ‘trash’ for my book club this month there was only ever one lady I was going to turn to. Jilly Cooper’s Harriet didn’t let me down. And whilst it is now quite dated, it still delivered classic one liners such as ‘being kissed so ferociously you nearly lose consciousness’.
Katherine Rundell then introduced us to a troupe of Good Thieves in yet another stonking adventure story from her. This one had buried treasure, a boy who believed he could fly and a castle moved stone by stone across an ocean.
Books of the Month for November
Our adult book of the month was Pine by Francine Toon and you can read all about it here. Don’t forget to have a go at our Book Club questions if you’ve read it already.
Gargantis by Thomas Taylor was our children’s book of the month. Messages in bottles, pirate sea shanties and salty caramel muffins were the order of the day and if you’ve read it, have a go at our book club activities here.
Read of the month for November
Goes to….. Quite. She had me at cheese!
What we got up to in November
We gave you our top cook books for Christmas from TV chef big guns. And if you haven’t watched Nigella yet, don’t be too distracted by the leopard print knife. I swooned so hard I had to re-wind the segment as I completely missed the recipe!
What we obtained in November
STOP RIGHT THERE! I obtained the book that I’m possibly most excited about this year (it’s actually due out in January but, pah). Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas is the prequel to the astoundingly good The Hate U Give. I squealed in excitement and am currently clearing my diary to find time to read it. I also landed myself a copy of The Cousins by Karen M Manus (author of One of Us Is Lying). Sometimes YA novels are like buses, you wait for one good one and suddenly two turn up!
Don’t forget to let us know what you have been up to book wise this month. Our next Book Club is the 24th December and we would love you to join us (if you’re not up to your eyeballs in stocking fillers and stuffing balls of course). Keep your eyes peeled for the #Lowdown all about our new book in the next few days.