I Read Six Books in November - Here’s Why I Only Enjoyed One 📚

[@jay_poet]

I went through a brief Sarah J Maas phase a few years ago when I first started bookstagram and enjoyed them well enough but could definitely have done without the spice and the ‘my mate’ business 😂 My reading picked up from the middle of the month onward and ended up with a few solid 4 star reads. I think my favourite was the last one - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.

[@aiscahill]

I can't completely disregard the ACOTAR books because they've done immense things in terms of getting people who don't normally read into reading, and admittedly they're great fun for the most part. I have conflicted feelings on them overall, but so far I have no regrets about reading them ☺️ Drive Your Plow sounds so good. It's one of those ones I've been meaning to pick up for a long time so I'm really glad to hear another good review on it 😃

[@spexi513]

I read Hum and Grief is the Thing W Feathers last month and loved them both 📖📖🪱💚

[@aiscahill]

Hum sounds so good. I've really felt drawn toward dystopian type books lately. I've wanted to read Grief is the Thing With Feathers for such a long time. I've never read any Max Porter and this one in particular sounds like nothing I've ever read before. I'm glad to hear another good review for it ☺️

[@amy8458]

Hi Aisling, I will never read King or Mass but you gave great balanced reviews that I hope will help others. Anatomy is going on my TBR. I read seven books in November. My favorites were The Girl who Drank the Moon and the first two books in The Fairacre Series by Miss Reed who is Jane Austen light.

[@aiscahill]

I don't think you're missing out, Amy. I'm delighted to hear that The Girl Who Drank the Moon was such a hit for you ☺️

[@amy8458]

@@aiscahill Need to pass on Anatomy due to cw'. It's another example of YA now a days only denoting a characters age and not having to do with content.

[@katiechatseyeshadow4394]

Fave Nov read was When the moon hatched x

[@aiscahill]

I really must get around to reading this one, Katie. It sounds like such a great read ☺️

[@azu_rikka]

My favourite book in November was The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker- a beautiful, sparse, slow book about grief and familial relationships with allusions to elder neglect at the beginning and homoerotic undercurrent in the 2nd half. It might feature in my favourite books of 2024😊!

[@aiscahill]

If that's not a review that has me sold on reading a book I've never heard of before now, then I don't know what is. I love quiet, slow books in rural settings so I'll definitely be looking this one up. Thanks for bringing it to my attention ☺️

[@azu_rikka]

@@aiscahill you're welcome! My attempt to sell it to you worked😊!

[@MsA277]

I felt so similar to you when I read Stephen King’s Elevation, there was a lot of pointless objectification of the women and also some eye roll-worthy cliches about the lesbian couple. Anatomy sounds great! In November I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. It was a nice dark spooky read to kick off winter

[@sararistic499]

Hi! I have enjoyed "Rebecca" by the same author and would love to pick "Jamaica Inn", thank you for bringing it to my attention! :)

[@MsA277]

@ Oo and I’ll have to pick up Rebecca! I’ve heard good things about it

[@aiscahill]

I can confirm that Rebecca is a fantastic read! I'll have to look into Jamaica Inn, too ☺️

[@marjoriedybec3450]

My very best read of November was the 600+ page Collected Stories of Colette, an easy 5-star read. As someone who likes short stories, try this one if you can find it in a used bookstore. Absolutely tremendous writing. Wow. November wasn't a great month for my choices either. I read The Face of Britain: A Nation through its Portraits. I gave it 4 stars but listened to it on audio which was the wrong choice. You want to see the portraits author Simon Schama is discussing. I also read Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New World, by Martyn Whittock. Only 2 stars. I didn't trust his assumptions, I found the writing plumped with filler. And in the end, he focuses on fewer than a dozen passengers when the boat carried over 100. I also read Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch and DnF'd it. Its incredibly well written but too much relentless tension for my taste. Maybe I'll go back to it because I am curious how it resolves. I just don't need to add that much angst to my life. December has been a month of short reads, many with Christmas themes. Its been a really fun reading month. Have you prepared a 2025 TBR or are you still trying to clear your bookshelves in 2025? I spent four days shaping my 2025 TBR. It was complicated to do, bc early next year, I need to read about a dozen contemporary lit/hist fiction titles to find a few comp titles for my own novel that I hope to query in 2025. Happy Christmas. marjorieapple.substack.com

[@aiscahill]

I'm so sorry to hear that you DNF'd The Goldfinch. It's truly one of my all time favourites, but I think you made the right call if you're struggling with the tension. It really doesn't let up for the entirety of the book. Wonderfully written, but I can certainly understand why it wouldn't be for everybody. I'm mostly still sticking with reading my own shelves in 2025. I don't want to leave the job only half done ☺️ Thank you. I hope you've had a lovely Christmas yourself ✨