What I Read: November

One of my favorite things this month was reading by a campfire. There were a couple times the kids were entertaining themselves when we were camping and I got to sit by the campfire and read. I think that's a step up from reading by a fireplace!

Books:

• The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas- When I first started reading this book it seemed super familiar. I thought it was just because it was set during the depression so it was reminding me of aspects of Grapes of Wrath. Then I thought it might remind me of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe which made me want to re-read that book at one point because I remember lovign it. But once I finished the book and thought about the fact that it was set in Kansas, I figured it was likely I had read the book before. Whatever the case, I absolutely loved the book. 

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- After reading Sharp Objects I decided I wanted to read this one. I found it at Goodwill on my next trip and was excited to read it. It was so hard to put down and I really liked it.  

• Burned by P.C. & Kristin Cast- This was book #7 in the House of Night series. After book #6 I was pretty frustrated with this series and almost didn't want to read the next book because nothing really happened until the end of the book and then left it on a cliff hanger. This book was so much better. There was action the entire book and I enjoyed reading this one a lot more!

• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout- I listened to Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout as an audiobook. I didn't realize it was a sequel until I came across this book at Goodwill. I decided to get it and read it. When I listened to Olive, Again I hated it a bit that it was like a bunch of short stories and you didn't get to find out what happened with all the secondary characters whose lives barely intersected with Olive's. Going into this book knowing how Olive, Again was structured I was more prepared for that and enjoyed this book more. There were sections that were depressing and at times I felt gloomy while reading it, maybe in part due to what's going on right now.

• The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling- I put this on hold at the library when I saw it was coming out. It was cute and I liked it but it wasn't anywhere near as good as Harry Potter but I didn't expect it to be.

• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion- I recognized Didion's name when I was browsing books at Goodwill so I bought this one. I love her writing style but this book was hard to finish. I made it about 100 pages in enjoying it before I just slogged through to finish. I empathized with what she went through and I could relate to her dealing with her daughter being in a Neuro ICU because of Jeremy's accident. It was just hard to relate over-all because who has the ability to spend a majority of their time after they lose a loved one eating out and staying in posh hotels?

eBooks:

• Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust- I saw this one was an original fairy tale. I love fairy tales and myths and I loved The Hazel Wood which had a fairy tale theme. This was really good and I loved the author notes at the end of the book where she discussed the different fairy tales that inspired her book.

• Pax by Sara Pennypacker- I kept seeing this book on Scholastic flyers and on the awards shelf at the library. The fox looked so cute and I thought it might be a good one for Carter. I decided to read it first to see if it would be a good one for him. I really enjoyed it and kept wanting to read on to find out what was next. I don't think it's a good pick for Carter right now, but maybe in a year or two.

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett- This book was so good. It's our December book club book and I'm excited I get to discuss it with other people, even if it will be over Zoom! At one point in the book one of the characters thinks, "...Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same."

Audiobooks:

• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell- I wanted a somewhat creepy book and the cover of this one looked creepy. I always see Lisa Jewell books on the Quick Pick shelf at the library so I thought I'd try it. It wasn't as creepy as I expected but it was really good. I liked the way the story was told from different perspectives and as always with audiobooks, I loved that the different characters had different narrators.

• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern- I've been enjoying the fairy tale inspired books and this one sounded like it was that kind of book. I saw it had different narrators and one of them was Bahni Turpin so I was excited to do it as an audiobook. I wasn't into the main storyline and was tempted to quit the book, but was really enjoying the fables and the interludes so I stuck with it. It wasn't until over half-way into the book that the character Bahni Turpin narrated came into play as a major character and then I got way more into the book. I don't know if it had to do with the narrator or if I just liked her character a lot more or what. But before that I was so ready to be done with the book and then by the end I didn't want it to end because I was enjoying it so much. I hope she carries on with the book in a sequel. It also drove me a bit crazy that every time it went back to the main character's story it referred to him by his full name: first, middle, and last. I got tired of hearing his full name. That may not have bugged me as much in a regular book.

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia- I wanted this one during October because it sounded creepy and I was really excited about it. I didn't get it until November when I was ready to move on from creepy books but I had been so excited about this one, I decided to go ahead and listen to it. I didn't like it all that much but I think it may have been in part due to the narrator. She was pretty blah. I felt like I may have liked this a lot more if I'd been able to get it as a book or ebook but the holds on them were even longer and I got the audiobook first. I'd catch my mind wandering while listening to this constantly and I'd have to rewind. I probably should have just waited to get it in a different format, but oh well.

• Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center- After struggling through my last audiobook I wanted something fun that would capture my interest and distract me. This one ended up being perfect. I absolutely loved it. It was one I kept finding extra chores to do so I could listen to it more and ended up walking on the treadmill when it was dark out the night I finished it because I wanted to finish it so badly but couldn't sit still long enough to do it and I was done with all my chores, haha! I loved learning more about being a firefighter and the fact that the main character was a female firefighter was so cool.

• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng- I've wanted to read this one for a while so when I saw it was available right away as an audiobook, I decided to go for it. It was so good and made doing chores so much fun.