What I Read: November

November was a good month for reading. I got a lot of books in. I think mostly because I ended up with a few shorter ones this month that were quicker to get through. I'm excited to read through some Christmas books I have in December!

Books:

• Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown- This was a book I got along with my ticket for a virtual author event. I wouldn't have chosen this book had our independent bookstore not held the event. I am so glad they did because this story was so amazing. It blew me away that I had never heard these amazing stories and what heroics Japanese American soldiers accomplished during the war despite their families being in internment camps. I finished this book a few days before Veteran's Day which was very fitting.
  

• Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier- I loved the concept of this book. She wrote a fictional story about the life of a girl in a famous painting. I really enjoyed it.

• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera- Mom recommended this to me. I loved it. There was some talk in the reviews that the title was a spoiler. I actually liked that the title told you they both died at the end because I otherwise would have spent the whole book hoping and trying to determine how they were going to stay alive. With the title telling me they both died I was able to enjoy the book without worrying about that.
  

• We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai- Malala tells her story along with stories of other refugee girls from around the world. This book was so good and gives an important perspective on the why and how it feels for refugees. So many people get caught up in not wanting people to come to their country without considering what it feels like for people to be forced from their homes and the countries they love. It's heartbreaking. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be forced from your home and have to start over in a new country while learning a new language and culture.

• Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane- This was different but enjoyable. I loved the tree theme that wove throughout the book.

• The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews- I saw this one at Sam's Club and the cover was so cute, I just had to get it. The book was precious and I really enjoyed it. The storyline about the candy shop made me want to eat fudge so that was a problem, haha! Keeping with tradition I didn't start my first Christmas book until after Thanksgiving but this one was such a quick, easy read, I finished it in November.
  

eBooks:

• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins- I didn't enjoy this as much as the Hunger Games books. I liked that she didn't put some huge, terrible life event in Snow's life to explain why he's such a monster, like most stories about villains do. Instead she showed how deep down he was just a bad person and thought everyone else was like him.

• Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life by Casey Gwinn- Our superintendent recommended this book during the meeting I had with her this summer. The first about half of the book was really good and interesting and then I really struggled through it after that. I felt like they wanted to lengthen the book so they added a bunch of redundant chapters. By the time I finished the book I was so over it!
  

Audiobooks:

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley- I really liked this one and how it culminated in such a way that many different people had a motive and you weren't sure which one committed the crime.

• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid- This kept popping up on book lists so I thought I'd try it when I was searching for a new audiobook. Once I started listening to it I noticed it was the same author as Daisy Jones and the Six. I absolutely loved that book! I liked this one too, but not as much as I enjoyed the other.
  
  

• She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar- This was really good. It's crazy to me that she was a spy during the Civil War and we don't really hear much at all about that. 

• The First (Endling #2) by Katerine Applegate- I listened to this audiobook with the kids. It's hard doing audiobooks with them because they'll go for long stretches not wanting to listen to it because they have books they want to read. I have a hard time remembering what was going on when we last listened and remaining invested in the story. I may have to read the next couple in the series without them!