THE BOOKS:
The Beginning by Lemony Snicket- 5 stars I had never read this book, but it was so much fun. The Tim Curry audiobook version is AMAZING! I love the suspense that this novel builds. I also think it's kind of brilliant how Snicket builds vocabulary words through integrating the definition into the story. It's really funny and snarky. I love it! Also, this book is so dark (which is to be expected), but I didn't realize how violent it was. The scene where Olaf beats Klaus and shakes Sunny is horrifying and the audio brilliant captures the panic because we hear Sunny screaming and crying throughout the whole interaction. Brilliant!
Coraline by Neil Gaiman- 4.5 stars (reread) I still stand by my original rating and it's a pretty solid high rating for me. It just isn't a perfect book for me and the middle section lags for me about as well as the ending tying up loose ends. I felt the same way when I listened to an audiobook last year and the same way when I read the novel. My opinions stand which shows me that this book is pretty solid.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler- 4.5 stars I read this for my post-apocalyptic book and I'm so excited that I finally read a book by Butler. I have been wanting to read her writing forever, but I was wary of this one because it's about a girl creating her own religion. It's good. Theology wise it's ridiculous and it's a great basis of people being cultural believers in their households, but this book is just good. The concept of violence being so escalated is stark and so close to our society (even though it was reading 20 years ago) that my skin crawled. Plus, if I read this like Lauren is recruiting a cult it makes it more fun. One of my favorite aspects was definitely the wandering and survival aspects after the large change shift in the story. There's some brilliant stuff here. I'm excited to read the sequel!
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom- 4.25 stars This is a nonfiction novel about a Dutch family who hides Jewish people from the Nazis during WWII in their watch shop/house. It is a powerful story. This is a story that follows a lot of people doing things because of Jesus because her family was greatly impacted to love the Jewish people because of how Jesus loved people. The audiobook was dry and made my experience hard to always get through.
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girl Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston- 1 star DNF @ page 109 I tried. I really did, but this was one book that I just could not finish and didn't want to finish. Kingston is pretty racist and loves stereotypes, but it's not in a way of being self-reflective. It made me uncomfortable and after doing a bit more research, I just think this collection is just not strong or a good example of Chinese culture. It's a good representation of Chinese American culture or China through the eyes of someone who has never been, but I was not a fan of the writing. It was so boring.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare- 5 stars (reread) This play is my favorite. I loved rereading this SO MUCH. It's such a brilliant story and the characters are so interesting to follow. The ending is one of the best Shakespeare plays for me. I also adore the Kenneth Branagh film. It's the best adaptation of Hamlet hands down and you can fight me on that because I have feelings.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson- 5 stars Honestly, I did not want to read this. I thought I was going to hate it, but I absolutely loved it. The story was so good and the humor was my favorite. Every time Nimona turned into a shark I could not stop laughing. The ending is so bittersweet. I want more Nimona stories. Give me more, please!
The Road by Cormac McCarthy- 5 stars (reread) WOAH! What a surprise. Y'all, I absolutely hated this book when I read this as a junior in high school. Here I am. Thinking that this was one of the best books I've read out of all of my four literature courses. This book is so bleak and beautiful. I walked away feeling so much hope when I remember hating the ending for being too bleak. This book is so profound and I wasn't ready for this book when I read for a high school class, but I'm in a different place and have more experience in life. This book is amazing. So powerful!
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang- 3 stars This graphic novel is funny. It's not amazing, but it's interesting and shows a great example of how stereotypes can affect younger children in America. The storylines eventually all weave together for a big plot twist that I'm sure many young children will lose their minds over. It's a good book for kids, especially kids struggling with their cultural identity.
Meet the President! by Zadie Smith- 2 stars I was not a fan of this short story. It's interesting in terms of apocalypse stories, but Smith is not a science fiction writer and this short story is a great example of why. There was no depth. It was too extrapulative in taking real events and only building on them. This can be effective in scifi, but it can also hinder the story. I believe that it hindered this one.
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket- 4.25 stars I am enjoying these books so much! The audio narration is so immersive and it's a fun little three-hour listen. This wasn't as strong as the first book, but I really loved the character of Uncle Monty. Mr. Poe's idiocy is why this one felt stilted to me. He is just too easily fooled.
Snug: A Collection of Comics About Dating Your Best Friend by Catana Chetwyd- 4 stars This webcomic is pretty famous online. The strips are super cute and they were funny. This was just a fun time, but I will admit that there isn't really any flow or purpose to the collection.
The Complicated Heart: Loving Even When It Hurts by Sarah Mae- 5 stars This book hits hard. It's about the author and her mother's tumultuous relationship and the hardships that they both experienced. It's crazy to see how much their own sin patterns overlap, but generational curses are a real thing so it's not surprising. It's a really powerful testimony book and I could not stop crying. SO GOOD!
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle - 4 stars I have never read this famous book, but I really enjoyed it. It's a very powerful story with incredibly smart concepts surrounding time travel and universes. It's a great science fiction novel and I'm planning to continue the series.
Overall Thoughts: November was a busy month and I didn't have much free-time. That's pretty much because I did a lot of reading for school. I had a great reading month. It was filled with four books that I chose to read and that was just so much fun. I miss picking out the books I want to read.
Here are my 5-star reads:
1. The Road
2. The Complicated Heart
3. Hamlet
4. Nimona
5. The Bad Beginning
2019 TBR:
The Hiding Place
Total Read: 15
December TBR:
I've already finished four of these books and my goal for December is to knock out the 17 books that I have been reading since before school started. I want to finish ALL of them, but I also don't want to force myself to finish them. I'm pretty going into them with the mind of whatever happens, happens.
Have you read any of these books? What were some of your top November reads? What are your goals for reading in the last month of the year? Let me know down below in the comments!
Meet the President! by Zadie Smith- 2 stars I was not a fan of this short story. It's interesting in terms of apocalypse stories, but Smith is not a science fiction writer and this short story is a great example of why. There was no depth. It was too extrapulative in taking real events and only building on them. This can be effective in scifi, but it can also hinder the story. I believe that it hindered this one.
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket- 4.25 stars I am enjoying these books so much! The audio narration is so immersive and it's a fun little three-hour listen. This wasn't as strong as the first book, but I really loved the character of Uncle Monty. Mr. Poe's idiocy is why this one felt stilted to me. He is just too easily fooled.
Snug: A Collection of Comics About Dating Your Best Friend by Catana Chetwyd- 4 stars This webcomic is pretty famous online. The strips are super cute and they were funny. This was just a fun time, but I will admit that there isn't really any flow or purpose to the collection.
The Complicated Heart: Loving Even When It Hurts by Sarah Mae- 5 stars This book hits hard. It's about the author and her mother's tumultuous relationship and the hardships that they both experienced. It's crazy to see how much their own sin patterns overlap, but generational curses are a real thing so it's not surprising. It's a really powerful testimony book and I could not stop crying. SO GOOD!
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle - 4 stars I have never read this famous book, but I really enjoyed it. It's a very powerful story with incredibly smart concepts surrounding time travel and universes. It's a great science fiction novel and I'm planning to continue the series.
Overall Thoughts: November was a busy month and I didn't have much free-time. That's pretty much because I did a lot of reading for school. I had a great reading month. It was filled with four books that I chose to read and that was just so much fun. I miss picking out the books I want to read.
Here are my 5-star reads:
1. The Road
2. The Complicated Heart
3. Hamlet
4. Nimona
5. The Bad Beginning
2019 TBR:
The Hiding Place
Total Read: 15
December TBR:
I've already finished four of these books and my goal for December is to knock out the 17 books that I have been reading since before school started. I want to finish ALL of them, but I also don't want to force myself to finish them. I'm pretty going into them with the mind of whatever happens, happens.
Have you read any of these books? What were some of your top November reads? What are your goals for reading in the last month of the year? Let me know down below in the comments!
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