November Wrap Up #1

So far in November, I have read 5 books.

On the first I picked up Coraline by Neil Gaiman. (Since this was my spooky book I wanted to read it close to Halloween.) This was adorable about a little girl who finds a magical pathway that leads to a different life. At first she thinks it's exactly what she wants, but finds out not all is well. The audiobook was great and I enjoyed it so much that I watched the movie adaptation later that evening. I gave it 3 stars.

I then picked up A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved the movie as a child but I had never read the book. This was a sweet classic about a girl who is very wealthy and attending boarding school. She then finds out her father dies, leaving her a penniless orphan and is badly mistreated. She still pretends she is a princess and acts with grace towards those who are cruel to her. Even though it was written in the early 1900s, it felt timeless to me. I gave the book 4 stars.

My hold of The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill finally came in and I was able to see what the fuss was about. This is a cute graphic novel about creatures called tea dragons which are about the size of cats. There wasn't much story but it was sweet and I really liked the art style. I gave the book 3 stars.

After months of waiting, I also picked up No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder. This is a narrative nonfiction focusing on domestic violence and how that sometimes leads to more violence ending in mass shootings or family annihilation. This was a difficult book to read. She focused on victims, perpetrators, and resource communities trying to prevent the family violence from escalating. Incredibly informative and utterly heartbreaking. I gave the book 5 stars.

Additionally, I read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. This is his memoir of training to be a surgeon and when he was finally about to reap the rewards of his efforts, he is diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. So sad, I literally sobbed at the end. I would recommend it to anyone but be prepared to cry. I gave it 5 stars.

November TBR

I'm partaking in two readathons that take place the whole month of November. The first is Nonfiction November and the other is Believathon which focuses on reading middle grade books. Here are the books I want to read for each:

Nonfiction November-

Sport- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer
True- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Design- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
Voice- No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder



Believathon-

Read the group book: Frostheart by Jamie Littler
Read a book with an animal character: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Read a children's classic: The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Read an atmospheric or creepy book: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Read a book featuring magic: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Read a book with real-life issues: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

October Wrap Up #2

In the latter half of October, I've read three more books.

First I picked up an essay collection called Snape: A Definitive Reading by Lorrie Kim. It was a wonderful examination of Snape's character and motivations in each of the seven books. While in the beginning, I felt she was making conclusion with little or no real evidence, in the later books she had much more to back up her theories. She really opened my eyes to some particular motivations which I had seen through Harry's eyes, that is to say a biased perspective. I loved reading the essays and it nearly felt like I had found a new Harry Potter book. I enjoyed in immensely and gave the collection 5 stars.

Next, I picked up the seventh Harry Potter book to finish my re-read of the series. With fresh eyes, I could see the many layers of Snape's decisions throughout the story. I almost lamented that he wasn't in the story more. I grieved the loss of him in addition to Fred, Lupin, and Tonks. This is such a great series. I gave it 5 stars.

Lastly, I read We're Not Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby. This is a collection of essays covering various aspects of Irby's life. Many of them were funny and some were a bit gross. She suffers from Crohn's disease and has a number of digestive issues, some of which she details a bit too graphically. Overall, I gave the book 3 stars and would probably pick up more of her essays in the future.