When writing my October wrap up, I said the month was rather bleak because I’d only read seven books. Well, in November I also read just seven books, but somehow it felt like a much better month. I suppose that’s because I enjoyed the books I read much more this month than last. More than one might even end up on my Best Books fo 2018 list. Like so many others, I also had a lot of fun with Nonfiction November this month, making for a nice break from the usual fair. And now it’s onto that big end of the year push including a few different “best of” lists and a winter preview all set to publish in mid-December.

{My November, Books & Blog}

The Cream of the Crop

Books I enjoyed the most…

• Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien – It’s fitting that this month two of my favorite books were nonfiction. I loved learning about the dedication, passion and struggles of early female aviatrixes in Fly Girls. These women truly amazed me. (my review)
• The Line That Held Us by David Joy – What an unexpected surprise! I turned to Joy’s book on a day I felt like nothing was going to work for me, and was immediately swept up in his gritty southern drama of family, loyalty, and revenge. (my review)
• Becoming by Michelle Obama – I spent two solid weeks listening to Michelle Obama share her life story and I loved every minute of it. There was so much I learned about her and after finishing, I can honestly say I admire this woman even more, and I miss her. (review coming next week)

A Cut Above

Great stories…

• Missoula by Jon Krakauer – Krakauer’s investigation into the culture surrounding rape cases in Missoula, Montana both fascinated and repelled me. It’s sad to say a book about rape is good, but with the combination of his writing and facts presented so well, there is nothing else to call it. (my review)
• The Wife by Alafair Burke – Sometimes you just read the right book at the right time and that was the case with The Wife. I needed something easy and fun and Burke delivered just that. (mini-review in December)
• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan – I rarely read books more than a few years old, so was skeptical picking up a book from 2007, but Loving Frank proved to be an antidote to that particular ridiculous prejudice. (mini-review in December)

Subpar

Book I could have skipped…

• The Year of Less by Cait Flanders – While parts were very interesting and even inspiring, much of Flanders book was repetitive and a little too preachy. (my review)

DNF

• Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver – One of the two timelines just couldn’t hold my interest. I gave it 18%.
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – A reread i wanted to love as much as the first time, but didn’t.
• When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman – I just couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters and gave up after about 35%.

Top Blog Posts

• I have no idea why last month’s Wrapping It Up! had so many views, but it was number one in November.
• Nonfiction November had so many fun posts to look at and share. I was happy to see that my favorite, Pairing Fiction With Nonfiction, was a favorite of so many others, as well.
• My Year in Nonfiction (a recap of nonfiction reading up to the start of November) had only a couple of fewer page views.
• And finally, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was my most viewed review for the second month in a row.

{From the Book Blogging World}

Favorite Reviews & Recommendations

Links take you to these wonderful reviews…

• I enjoyed A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, but not quite as much as The Heart’s Invisible Furies. I gave it a B, but Stephanie from Stephanie’s Novel Fiction gave Boyne’s latest a solid 5 star review.
• November is generally a slower month for book releases, so I was happy to stumble upon Two Girls and a Book Obsession who do loads of reviews, new and backlist. This month they had reviews of All Is Not Forgotten, Wendy Walker’s debut and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, plus loads of new releases.
• Susan at The Cue Card gave some props to Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce and Tin Man by Sarah Winman, a book I also adored.
• And in a related post, Catherine from The Gilmore Guide to Books shared a review of When God Was A Rabbit, Sarah Winman’s debut. I had DNF’d the same book last week, and Catherine’s review makes me believe I may have made a BIG mistake!

Fun & Useful Blog Posts

Nonfiction November dominated this month, and caused my nonfiction TBR list to explode. 

• One of my favorite topics for Nonfiction November is Fiction/nonfiction book pairings. It’s a fun one to write about, but it’s even more fun to see what others did. The theme was hosted by Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves where 50 bloggers participated. Using the link to Sarah, you can find all 50 links. Two of my favorites came from Allison at Mind Joggle who did WWII related books and Tara from Running and Reading who’s pairing revolved around Little Women.
• Two weeks later Nonfiction November’s topic of Reads Like Fiction was hosted by Rennie at What’s Nonfiction? Really! Who doesn’t love nonfiction that reads like fiction? Thirty-seven bloggers took part sharing hundreds of different books. Allison at My Novel Life shared a couple books I wish I’d included in my own list and Eva at The Paperback Princess talked about TEN different books that fit the week’s topic.
• One last thought for anyone who has trouble managing their TBR lists and/or keeping track of all the wonderful books you’ve read. The guru of data, Sarah from Sarah’s Bookshelves released her 2019 “Rock Your Reading” Tracker. I wouldn’t say it was awesome if I didn’t know from personal experience. I’ve used the 2018 version all year and even before that I used an earlier version that Sarah was kind enough to share with me. It has made organization a breeze and the pretty charts it automatically creates are amazing. YOU WANT THIS!

That’s a wrap! How was your November?

Disclaimer: There are Amazon Associate links contained in this post.