The holiday season is upon us and our schedule has been packed with activities. So I'm making myself sit down and write about my November reads. I didn't feel like it was a great month of reading, but as I write this post I am reminded I read some good books and they are diverse in genres and subject matter. In no particular order here they are.
The Inn by Paul Fuhrmann
4 stars. This book was sent to me by the author to review. It was a very quick read, and I think could be read out loud among family, friends, Sunday school class, etc. It is the story of the inn keeper that gives Mary and Joseph shelter in his barn. It reads like a book in verse. I felt like the story was from present day. My only complaint was I would have liked the story to continue after Jesus' birth. Would have been an interesting perspective of what the inn keeper's life was like after Mary, Joseph, and Jesus left the inn keeper's barn. A nice holiday read.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson
5 stars. This book got me out of a "reading slump". It was an amazing read for so many reasons. Here are just a few: historical fiction, story about the pack horse librarians during the depression era who brought books and reading to the Appalachian people, blue people (yep blue people- enjoyed this medical perspective), segregation, coal mining and unions, friendship, and love. It was a well written story and I plowed through it. Likely in my top 5 of this year's reads.
You Don't Know everything, Jilly P!
by Alex Gino
4 stars audiobook. This was a great listen with my 11 year old daughter. Jilly P is involved in an online chat community that is only open to kids who are 12 years old. Within this community she becomes friends with Derek an African American who is deaf. Their friendship strengthens with the birth of her baby sister who is born deaf. Jilly learns some tough lessons about "real life" throughout this story: racism, black lives mater, deaf community, and family differences. Both my daughter and I thought it was a great story, serious, but enjoyable.
Being Sloane Jacobs
by Lauren Morrill
4 stars audiobook. Sometimes I need a little pick me up and so I turn to YA for that pick me up. This story is about two different girls coming from two different lives: one is the daughter of a high power politician, high socioeconomic status, and the other daughter of a laborer who's mother is in rehab, and is living day by day with her dad's paychecks. The one is a figure skater and the other a hockey player. The one thing they have in common their name. You guessed it- Sloane Jacobs. You can only imagine the story line and what these two Sloane's will get into. I really liked this story- reminded me a little of The Parent Trap- Haley Mills version.
Less
by Andrew Sean Greer
2 stars. My least favorite book club read of the year. This book won the Pulitzer in 2018, I don't get this decision. I'm not a "literary/high brow" reader. It was touted as a comedy with romance, quite unusual for Pulitzer prize winner. However, I didn't think it was a comedy at all. Arthur Less, the main character, is a sad soul. I felt bad for him throughout the book and thought his life seemed pretty boring. Arthur Less is trying to avoid attending his ex-lover's wedding by traveling around the world. Sounds like an interesting story right? The cities he traveled to were great places, but the writing didn't seem to highlight those places and for instance the story that occurred while Arthur was in Paris could have been read as if Arthur was in Cleveland, OH. I experienced zero enjoyment reading this book.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
by Elizabeth Gilbert
4 star read. Easy read and some good ideas/quotes were taken down when reading this book. I thought a lot of her ideas and examples either from her own life or other creative friends and acquaintances were very applicable to the "everyday person". My take away from this book was if you want to create, create, we all have the power. There is no right way to go about being creative. For instance, you don't have to have a MFA to write and publish a book. You do have to have passion, and work ethic to see your creativity reach the limits you want your ideas/goals/dreams to reach.
A Mango Shaped Space
by Wendy Mass
4 stars read. I had never heard of synesthesia before reading this book. Synesthesia is when someone takes letters, numbers, shapes and has a sense that goes along with that letter, number or shape. For example, a person's name would correlate with a color by a person who has synesthesia. Why this explanation of synesthesia, well the main character has it. Mia is her name. She is going through some changes that all of us have experienced during junior high/middle school. She is trying to find her way, and deal with the loss of her grandfather, and understand her being "different". Throughout the story she is comforted by her cat Mango. I thought it was a very good read, and it was emotional for me due to the cat Mango.
Bury Your Dead
by Louise Penny
5 stars audiobook. My second time with this book. I think, for me, this is one of the ones at the top in the Armand Gamache series. I liked the deep honesty and the character development along with the peeling away at layers of the main character in this book. Armand Gamache is having to deal with the aftermath of past mistakes. This book mainly takes place in Quebec, which was a change from the normal Three Pines setting. I was surprised that I liked this story so much the second time around. The story takes place in the English Literary Society Library , Quebec. Of course there is murder and of course I was surprised at the end, despite this being my second time through. I like the humanity she shows in her stories- the good and the bad- real life stuff.
Well that is it for November. Despite the "reading slump" I spent some time with some good stories and ideas this past month.