I really enjoy baking. I like cooking, but I’m not as talented at it and it isn’t quite as satisfying to me as the process of baking. So even though this year on Thanksgiving we opted to go to a fancy buffet, I still spent the day making food. I made two pies (double-decker pumpkin and a chocolate pudding), rolls from scratch, chicken salad, and eggs to become deviled eggs. It was a fun day, and the restaurant was good. Our service was bad, but honestly I felt like we were all in such fun moods that it wasn’t too big of a damper on the day overall. (Besides, the kid was working on Thanksgiving.) It was a great kickoff to the full-blown holiday season, and I’m so grateful to be surrounded by family and that we get to spend this time together.
November Reads
This month was a super slow reading month for me. I set a big reading goal this year—after hitting 80 books in 2023, I figured I could at least maintain that pace this year. As the year has progressed, I was far ahead of my original goal of 75, so I increased it to 94, and eventually, 100. (I use Goodreads to track my books for the year.) I guess I didn’t anticipate how much getting close and then hitting that goal would be a brain-shift for me, but it was. I hit 100 books, and since then have only read one more. I’m not done reading for the year, but the pace has just dropped significantly, and I’m okay with it because I know it won’t last forever.
So, this November, I only finished five books. Two were for book clubs, one was a reread, one was an audiobook that was recommended to me, and the last was just a fun one from an author I enjoy. Here they are, with brief reviews.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is a borderline-cozy murder mystery, with an all-new cast of characters by the same author as The Thursday Murder Club series. I love the way Osman writes—he is really funny, and the characters are often hilarious. This time, a retiree named Steve and his daughter-in-law Amy get caught up in a plot that has already resulted in the deaths of three influencers. Amy is potentially being framed, and Steve has to step out of his comfort zone (literally) to help figure out who is actually to blame. Hijinks ensue, with a dazzling older author along for the ride named Rosie D’Amelio. My one critique—too many characters. Still, a fun and entertaining ride. Read my Goodreads review here.
Upstream by Mary Oliver, yes that Mary Oliver the poet, was not really my cup of tea. It is a collection of essays that are kind of about nature, but also about her favorite authors, and also about home…it was a big random. The writing is pretty and she has some good lines, but I wasn’t emotionally invested in any part and only ended up giving it two stars. However, we did have a fun and engaging book club discussion, so I guess it was still worth it. Read my Goodreads review here.
The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh is a middle-grade historical fiction novel set in the USSR in the 1930’s, New York in the 1930’s, and modern-day 2020 New Jersey. The story revolves around a great famine that occurred in 1934-1935 that was a huge government coverup by the Russians. An estimated 4 million people died. Watching these kids all get a glimpse into different worldviews and grow up was sweet and sad. It also told a little-known story, and I think that is more important than ever these days. Read my Goodreads review here.
Atonement by Ian McEwan is his masterpiece. I read it for the first time in college, in a life-changing class that was all about post-modern literature. I loved it then, and got the chance to read it again for book club this month. The beautiful writing, the almost Dickensian descriptions, and the emotional buildup and release are all so expertly done. My one critique on re-reading is that the main character, Briony, is supposed to be 13 in the main part of the story. She does not act 13—I would place her maturity closer to that of a 10-year-old. This can be partially explained by the fact that Briony is rich, entitled, and babied by her entire family, but it still irked me a bit. It is a minor flaw in a fantastic work of art.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune was another reread that I decided to pick up since the sequel is out. I loved it the first time I read it, and I loved it again. The characters are just absolutely wonderful—I fell in love with the children and Linus Baker and Arthur—and I would recommend it to anyone with a heart. I wrote about the book in my post about great teachers here.
TL:DR: If you only read one of the books from these recommendations, I’d go with Atonement or The House in the Cerulean Sea.
If nothing else, I hope you are getting close to or surpassing your reading goals for this year.
Thanks for reading, see you soon!