November Reading Wrap-Up + Books I'm Trying to Cram in Before December 31 Hits

 

Hey, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted consistently on here. Life has just gotten busy and I've been kind of horrible with keeping up with reviews and even reading my review copies. I'm reading a ton, but not what I thought I would be reading. SO OOPS. Here are the books I read in November. It was a slower reading month and I had less books than I normally do, but I am okay with thtat.

THE BOOKS:

    

    

    

    

Culture of Revival: A Revivalist Field Manual- Never Be Lacking in Zeal Anthology- 5 stars This is a Christian anthology about revival and zeal. Which I rarely see anthologies in the Christian nonfiction section, so this was a cool experience and I really enjoyed this collection. It was powerful and some of the stories really stuck with me. I am currently on the fence about Sean Feucht, so I will not be commenting about I how feel about him spiritually in regards to his work.

The Insanity of Sacrifice: a 90-Day Devotional by Nik Ripken- 2 stars DNF I finally gave up on this devotional. I wasn't connecting with it and I haven't touched it months. It was time to call it quits. I'll be gifting this to my mother who is really in the area where Ripken does missionary work and since she prays for this area, I know she will benefit from this more than I did. 

September Love by Lang Leav-4 stars This is a beautiful poetry collection and while I didn't love it as much as Love Looks Pretty on You, I appreciated the poems on authorship, being a poet, and writing. It added a wonderful layer to the collection. (Review ARC Copy)

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite- 5 stars I love this book so much. The writing is transcendent and a wonderful experience. The characters are horrifying and disturbing. This follows two men who are both serial killers- one is a cannibal roaming around the French Quarter of New Orleans another has just escaped from a London prison by faking his own death. When the two come together it becomes a horrifying Jeffrey Dahmer encounter with two men who can't stop killing and are obsessed with each other. ALSO THAT ENDING. PERFECT.

Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite- 4 stars This is a short story about a girl in Nigeria who wants to be Instagram famous and what happens when one of her followers decides she would make a perfect wife. This has a good twist and it was a fun time. 

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks- 3 stars This follows a girl accused of killing her best and is recruited to become an assassin alongside other Class A Killers. Fun concept and at times I loved it. At others, it was ridiculous and wanted to hit way too many different points within this story. It didn't work. (Review Audiobook Copy)

The Phantom of the Opera: The Graphic Novel by Varga Tomi- 2 stars I did not care for the art, but I do plan on reading this class novel soon. (Review ARC Copy)

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare- 4 stars I thought this was going to be a 5-star and once the killings start in the cornfield by a killer clown it is, but the first 100 pages is a slog and took forever to get through. I am impressed with this book though. It works well for a slasher novel.

The Bright Light and the Super Scary Darkness by Dan DeWitt and Rhea Zai- 4 stars This was a sweet children's novel about the dark and the light. Also, I'm so happy to see Jewish characters that are not white with blonde hair and blue eyes. It's time we move away from that false ideology (which is super anti-Semitic and one could even argue it helps to align with Hitler's own desire to erase Jews) and celebrate how diverse the Jews are.

 The Night Swim by Megan Goldin- 3.5 stars This mystery is interesting because there are three plots to focus on- a podcast, a trial about a rape, and a girl who claims her sister was murdered and wants justice.

The Troop by Nick Cutter- 5 stars This is one of my favorite books of the year. This was intense, horrifying, and the characters had me in tears. One of the best books I have read in the horror genre.

Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh- 1 star I hated this book. The listening experience was horrible and then the book in general was just trash. I hated everything about it. I appreciated the commentary and what it is trying to do and say, but nope this wasn't the one for me. (Review ARC Copy)

Is God Speaking to Me?: How to Discern His Voice and Direction by Lysa TerKeurst- 5 stars these three chapters were fantastic and I can't wait to read the book because I think I will get a lot out of it. This is a Bible Study that I highly recommend especially if you don't have time to dedicate to the entire book. (Review ARC Copy)

Malorie by Josh Malerman- 3 stars At first I was super invested and really enjoying this and then after 50% it was annoying and convoluted. I was disappointed. I did like the perspectives of Tom and Olympia because it added another layer to the story.

A Nest of Nightmares by Lisa Tuttle- 4 stars This is a strong short story collection for horror fans. I can see why Tuttle is so well known for her short stories. There were a couple in here that I absolutely loved and enjoyed a ton, but I'm not giving away too much of my thoughts just yet.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman- 4.5 stars Not as good as the Beartown books, but this has so much heart and it's so much fun. I love a good Backman and this one didn't disappoint.

Manga Classics: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Crystal Chan, & Kuma Chan- 4.25 stars I love Anne of Green Gables it's one of my favorites children's tales. I didn't connect fully with this one because so many was cut out, but the key moments there. Some of what made me love the characters so much felt like it wasn't present, but still a fun adaptation. (Review ARC Copy) 

Overall Thoughts: 

I read 16 books and DNFed one in November, so it was a pretty good month. Not as productive as October, but still I go a lot of reading done. Here are my 5 stars:

4. Culture of Revival

3. Is God Speaking to Me?

2. Exquisite Corpse

1. The Troop

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 Challenge Tracker:

*2020 52 Owned Books TBR:

5/5 A Lineage of Grace books
Binti: Home
The Most Important Women of the Bible
Hidden Bodies 

Elevation
Bonhoeffer Abridged
Four Past Midnight 

Parable of the Talents 

Tuck Everlasting

*none this month

9/52 (I did horrible with this challenge, I will conquer it in 2021!)

*Books That I Owned Before 2020 That I Read:

Binti: The Night Masquerade

The Beauty of the Cross

Twenty-Two

Uglies

Carrie

This is Not a Test

Becoming a Next-Level Prophet 

The Illustrated Man

*The Insanity of Sacrifice

Total Combined with 52 Books: 18/52

*Audiobook TBR: 

We Are All Good People Here
Uglies 

Tuck Everlasting 

My Dark Vanessa

4/20

*5-star Predictions Tracking Progress:

Stop Calling Me Beautiful: 5 stars (reread)

The Wives: 1.5 stars
The Return: 4.5 stars
The Only Good Indians: 5 stars

*none this month

4/20

*Series I Want to Read:
Binti: Home
Beneath the Sugar Sky

Binti: The Night Masquerade 

Authority
Hidden Bodies 
DEV1AT3 
In An Absent Dream

Parable of the Talents 

Juice Like Wounds 

Please Remain Calm 

Acceptance 

The Wide Window 

The Miserable Mill 

The Austere Academy

 Killer's Kiss

You May Now Kill the Bride

The Wrong Girl

The Lost Girl

Can You Keep a Secret?

The New Girl

The Surprise Party

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Overnight

Missing

The Elite

The One

The Ersatz Elevator
28/10

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Currently Reading/Hoping to Finish in December Because I'm Running Out of TIME LOLOL

          

        

    

        
Already Finished: Let's Go Play at the Adams', The Devil All the Time, The Auctioneer, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, After the Rain, Black ≠ Inferior, Candy Hearts, The Party, Lovecraft Country, The Dance, The Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe, The Girl Who Wasn't There

Gotta Finish: Fahrenheit 451, Until the End, Black Sun, 7 Feasts,  For All Who Wander, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot, Delilah: Treacherous Beauty, Samson, Highway of Tears, Some Kind of Animal, The Borden Murders, Know My Name, Kingdom Come

Probably Won't Finish This Month: Jesus of the East, Prevail, The Stranger Beside Me, His Hideous Heart, The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, Bind, Torture, Kill, Until the Mountains Fall, Women in a Patriarchal World, Love to Eat, Hate to Eat, The Elijah Task

On Hold: Conjure Women, The Harp of Kings, A Gathering of Shadows, TRUEL1F3, Children of Virtue & Vengeance, A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World, Biblical Healing & Deliverance, The Spiritual Gits Handbook,Celebration of Discipline, The Good Nurse, The Purple Book, East of Eden, Moments of Grace

I'm sure there may be other books I pick up, but I won't be putting them in a list because I don't want to add more pressure to finish books.

 

Have you read any of these books? What are your goals before the 31st hits? Let me know down below in the comments!