Blogmas Day 4: November Reading Wrap-Up
Hello! Welcome to Blogmas Day 4!
Another busy day for me – two Zoom meetings, and a violin lesson. I’m learning exclusively Christmas carols on violin right now, like Silent Night, O Holy Night, and We Three Kings. I tried What Child Is This for the first time today, which is significantly harder, but my teacher thinks I’m up to the challenge. I’ve been having lessons for about 8 months now, and it’s been a lifelong dream come true!
And to think, just over a year ago my physiotherapist said I might not ever be capable of playing the violin. I have pretty severe scoliosis, so my back and shoulders are a mess, and my muscles cramp up really easily. It took me a while just to figure out how to lift the violin and hold it under my chin, let alone move the bow back and forth, but I have a very patient teacher who helps me figure out ways to compensate for anything I find too difficult. I think it’s been a rewarding experience for both of us! I’m certainly having a lot of fun.
Advent Jigsaw Puzzle Calendar
Anyway, today’s advent jigsaw puzzle was… interesting. I said before that I suspected someone had used it and returned it, and Amazon sold it to me anyway, right? Well, today my suspicions were confirmed in a very quirky way. Today’s box not only contained the pieces for today’s puzzle, but also a random little pig toy??
I wonder what else this advent calendar has in store for me this month. 🤣🐖
O Christmas Tree
I also kinda promised a picture of my freshly decorated Christmas tree, didn’t I? As always, apologies for the picture quality (or lack thereof), but here she is! With a special appearance by one of my bookcases:
In case you’re wondering, there’s nothing spectacular at the top. No room! 😅 I really wanted it in that corner by the dormer window, though, despite the lower roof. I have a lot of little snowman, teddy bear, and penguin ornaments, a few special ones from my childhood, plus a lot of random ornaments I’ve made myself. I always use either multi-coloured or red lights. This year it’s multi.
And for the book-curious, the top 3 shelves you can see are A-S modern fiction, with Greenwood by Michael Christie out-turned. The lower shelf has graphic novels, a stack of literary anthologies, and S-Z of modern fiction.
November Reading Wrap-Up
Okay, time for my November reading wrap-up! I somehow managed to complete 12 books in November. Here are my thoughts on each of them, in order from least to top favourite. As always, my affiliate link to Bookshop.org is at the bottom of the page, if you’d like to purchase any of these books while also helping me pay the webhosting bills.
The 1-Star
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
This was my biggest disappointment of the month. I honestly can’t express how much I did not like this book. I kept hoping it would get better, maybe surprise me at the end, but… nope. Predictable, uncomfortable at times in not-fun ways, and kind of a cop-out ending. I read it for Goodreads’ Spine Tinglers challenge, but my spine remained tingle-free throughout the reading process.
A 3-Star venture outside my comfort zone
Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan
For some reason, I can’t get the cover image of Remain to upload, but you can see it by following that link. I’ll be honest, I picked this up because M. Night Shyamalan is credited as co-author, and I love his movies. I don’t read romance as a general rule, but there was enough of a supernatural mystery in this to keep me turning pages. Didn’t love it, but it was a nice change from my usual.
A couple of 3-Star disappointments
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
I didn’t love this, Bunny.
I absolutely adored the original Bunny with my entire heart and soul. I was kind of confused when this sequel/prequel was announced, because I felt like the first book had perfectly said everything it needed to say. Having now read the sequel/prequel, I can honestly say that I still hold the same opinion. This continuation (or re-write?) is unnecessary. In some ways it even dulls some of the brilliance of the original.
The thing is, the metaphor of Bunny was subtle and satirical. The metaphor of We Love You, Bunny (which just rehashes the same) is spelled out for us. Even the Frankenstein allusions, which almost impressed me, get several “Hey, this reminds me of Frankenstein!” comments from the characters. Couldn’t we have been allowed to come to that conclusion on our own? And using Sam’s POV in Bunny kept us the perfect distance from the real weirdness to truly appreciate the absurdity of it. The POVs in We Love You, Bunny keep us uncomfortably immersed in it all without a moment’s break, which made me start to wonder how I stomached it in the first book.
I added a few spoilery thoughts here in my Goodreads review, but in summary: I think I’ll return to my happy little Fiction world in which Bunny was a brilliant standalone.
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland by Bryan Sykes
I picked this up hoping to learn a lot about my British and Irish roots, but it was mostly things I already knew. Probably an interesting read if you’re not as familiar with British history and the many different peoples who came together to populate the Isles.
A couple of Canadian 4-Stars
Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes and Christina Wong
I borrowed this one from Libby because they were doing a Canada-wide book club thing. Nothing really came from it, I’m not sure how many people were interested, but I enjoyed the book. It experiments with form in interesting ways, and it’s a moving story about an elderly immigrant in Toronto who has trouble dealing with change.
Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa
This was my only truly successful experience with the Giller Prize shortlist. (I DNF’d The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, hated The Paris Express, was disappointed by We Love You, Bunny, and my library hold on The Tiger and the Cosmonaut didn’t come in before the winner was announced.) It’s an odd little novel, but I liked it. It’s an expansion of Thammavongsa’s short story “Mani Pedi,” which I’d read in her short story collection How to Pronounce Knife and enjoyed. Wasn’t sure what to expect of a novelization, but it’s basically a day in the life of a nail salon. I predicted it would win the Giller Prize, and it did. Well deserved!
More 4-Stars
This is an interesting novel that combines historical fiction and ecological fiction with a bit of a murder mystery. I enjoyed the dual perspectives of an anthropologist from today examining the remains of an ancient woman discovered in a bog and the ancient woman herself. I’ve always been interested in history and anthropology, and it was cool that Anna North gave the ancient woman a voice while tying her to our world today. I haven’t heard anyone much talking about this book, but I recommend it.
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green
I’ve heard a lot of glowing reviews of this book all year, but to be honest, I was a tiny bit underwhelmed, even though I enjoyed it for what it was. It isn’t one of the best nonfictions I’ve read, but it’s extremely interesting. I loved learning about some of the ways tuberculosis has shaped our world and our lives without us even realizing it. Didn’t love the general YA feel of most of the rest of the book. I think a better balance could have been struck between the history of TB and the story of Henry, the TB patient Green came to know. Overall, though, it’s a good read.
I read this as part of a reading challenge at my library, but then they wouldn’t accept my submission. 😭 It was a good time, though. It’s supposed to be contemporary Ukraine’s answer to Voltaire’s Candide, and I love Candide, so I was intrigued. I kind of wish it had leaned a little more into Candide‘s absurdity (beyond all the poop jokes that got old after a while), but I did enjoy it.
I never quite bought into the motivation for Alice and Peter’s journey into Hell, but I really enjoyed the ride. I love the way Kuang blends magic and word-nerdery, and the addition here of various combined mythologies fit in with that formula really well.
The two 5-Stars
Vagabond: A Memoir by Tim Curry
Such a fun memoir, told with Curry’s dry wit and deep compassion. I reviewed it on my blog here. If you’re at all a fan of his work, definitely check this memoir out.
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
I was going to review this one for the blog, but I had trouble formulating coherent thoughts about it. I just really really enjoyed it. It might actually have ended up my top favourite of the year if it weren’t for a lengthy and excruciatingly graphic passage about a stomach bug, which my emetophobia did NOT enjoy. But even that was written brilliantly.
I just kept thinking while reading this book that this might be the first time I’ve read a dystopia that actually feels like something that will totally happen. There are so many layers to it, but it all comes down to The Almighty Algorithm and how we’re allowing it to shape our lives. Brilliantly written, terrifyingly real, and full of warnings we shouldn’t take lightly. I highly highly recommend this book. I’ll say it right now, it’s the 1984 of the 21st century.