November was a pretty off reading month. I only read eight books. And technically I finished the last one today (December 1st), but I’m going to count it for November anyway. It was another month of starting and stopping so many books. I almost never do that, but it’s been happening so often this fall. I’ve been in such a slump and I hate it. Of the books I did finish, though, there were some very clear winners and a couple of total letdowns.
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman
Rating: 4 stars
I had a Barnes and Noble gift card burning a hole in my pocket the week that this book came out. I love Nick Offerman and figured I’d give it a shot. I think celebrity couples – particularly the ones that seem to have great relationships – are so fascinating, which I’m sure many, many people would agree with! Having the opportunity to get a deeper dive into their marriage was a pretty good reason to read this book. And overall – I liked it. My main issue is that the majority of the book was just a back and forth dialog that was clearly just written directly from a real conversation they had. I think listening to this on audio would have been a more enriching experience, but the hard copy book includes so many silly photographs that you don’t want to miss out on that either. The ideal solution would be to read and listen at the same time. I liked that in certain chapters they were brutally honest and really come across as an authentic couple with ups and downs that just wants to make it work together forever. But there are also chapters where Megan especially seems to just gloss over so many things, that it then feels inauthentic and annoying to me. But overall a fun and fast read.
Something New by Lucy Knisley
Rating: 4.5 stars
I just happened to read about this graphic novel somewhere the same week I found out my sister-in-law was about to get engaged. I immediately ordered it as an engagement gift, but wanted to read it first to make sure it was really as good as promised. And I really enjoyed it! I’m new to the graphic novel world, but I’d say this is a pretty great one. It’s autobiographical to Lucy’s own marriage and relationship history with her husband. She retells their entire history and then gets into everything that happened in the year of their wedding planning. I really liked how she showed how important the wedding was just to THEM and making it their own and in a smaller budget was super important and doable. I definitely agree that this will make a great gift to any newly engaged couple!
Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
Rating: 2.5 stars
This was an interesting “novel.” I’m always on the lookout for books with unique formats and I love photography, so I was really curious about this book when I read about it somewhere online. I got it from the library and read it in about half an hour. There are almost no words to this story, just a variety of photographs and photos of memorabilia and a few newspaper articles. While I was intrigued by the visual telling of a story, I was also a bit confused about what actually happened. I need a bit more clarity in my reading. The concept was unique, but not enough depth for me.
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Rating: 2 stars
This was my 100th book of the year and quite a disappointment. It’s another example of a very popular book that I really did not enjoy at all. It’s supposed to be a psychological thriller, but I didn’t find anything about it captivating or keeping me turning the page. The characters seemed ridiculous and unbelievable and I couldn’t stand it any time they had dialog. Overall, this book was just not for me.
Pines by Blake Crouch
Rating: 3 stars
I have heard so many great things about the Wayward Pines series that my expectations were set too high. Granted this was just the first of the trilogy, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it. The main character was just constantly being thrown into life threatening situations and had to keep running for his life, while also being super confused. I thought the book felt a little disjointed and I still can’t understand the whole suspending life thing. I’m sure I’ll eventually pick up the second book, but I’m not in any hurry.
Never Never: The Complete Series by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Rating: 4 stars
It took me a really long time to figure out that I hadn’t read this series. I’ve read everything by Colleen Hoover, but couldn’t understand why I hadn’t read this when it came out years ago. I was searching my book database and couldn’t find it, so I finally picked it up. And, I’ve read it. But I realized by book two that I had only read book one – now it’s sold as a completely trilogy in a single book. Anyway! While this collaboration wasn’t quite as good to me as Hoover’s other books, I enjoyed it, for the most part. I didn’t like Charlie’s character much and I found it stressful how the characters just kept losing their memory every 48 hours and AGAIN and AGAIN we had to go over them re-learning everything. I liked Silas, though, and enjoyed the ending.
This is How it Always is by Laurie Frankel
Rating: 5 stars
I really loved this book. But it took me an extremely long time to finish. It’s about a family with five boys and the youngest is transgender. The book jumps around a lot, but mostly focuses on when Claude/Poppy first decides he wants to become a girl at age 5 and when things start getting a lot more complicated when she is 10 and the secret is out. All the characters in this book were so endearing and wonderful. I loved reading about their family life and the focus of the book gave me a lot to think about. Which is probably why it took me so long to get through. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this, though, after all the buzz about it last year. I think it’s one of those books that everybody should read to enhance your perspective on issues like these that are happening everywhere, but so rarely talked about. Also, I really love this new paperback cover above. I think there was something about the peeled orange on the original cover that really turned me off from ever wanting to pick it up. Covers sometimes DO matter!
The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise
Rating: 4 stars
In recent years I’ve become really obsessed with book research. I LOVE going to actual bookstores and looking through books, but find it nearly impossible to actually purchase a book without doing some research and reading reviews. Sometime in the last few years I decided to stop trusting the blurb on the back and my initial reaction to it. And I think it’s kind of been my downfall. I’ve been looking back on the books I’ve read this year, searching for gift ideas and thinking about my end of the year best book post I’ll be writing later this month. And honestly, it just hasn’t been that good of a reading year. Fiction especially has disappointed me time and time again. And I think it’s because I’m putting way too much stock in what other people have to say about a book instead of simply trusting if I’ll like it or not. Anyway, all that to say, I found myself at the library this week picking up a few reserved Christmas books I wasn’t able to get on my kindle. I rarely look for books at our library because it’s teeny tiny and I feel like people are always watching me, or I’m in the way because my favorite YA section is crammed up against all the tables where everyone sits. I don’t feel comfortable browsing there, so I just don’t. But since I was there – we were all there, actually – I took a stroll through the YA section and this one jumped out at me. And I really liked it! Sure it’s not going to be for everyone, but I love YA, I love sweet romances and first loves that end in a very well timed perfect kiss. The premise of this one got a bit crazy for awhile, but I thoroughly enjoyed the main group of characters and the friendships that stuck through thick and thin. I definitely recommend it.
And that’s it for November. I’m really looking forward to a lot of sweet, light, romantic holiday reads in December. Though I’m also planning to stick in a few more serious reads I picked up as gifts for people, but feel weird about giving unless I can personally vouch for them! AND big news – Colleen Hoover has a new book coming out on December 18th!!! This was a surprise after seeing her in August when she said she hadn’t had time to write all year because of the first Book Bonanza. Anyway, I’m hoping to make reading in general a much bigger priority this month!
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