Books Read in November

Book By Book

Whew, it’s taken me awhile to catch up reviews from November because of the holiday season, my illness flaring up, and especially…because I read so many books last month! Here’s what I finished in November (links are to my reviews, where available):

• How To Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (MA) – teen/YA novel on audio
• Flawed by Andrea Dorfman (Canada) – graphic memoir
• Escaping Wars and Waves: Encounters with Syrian Refugees by Olivier Kugler (Iraq, Greece, France, UK, Germany) – graphic nonfiction – reviewed for Shelf Awareness

• Seven: In the Lane of Hope by Michal J. Marini (DE) – memoir
• Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka (MA) – teen/YA graphic memoir
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (South Africa) – memoir on audio

• Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh – essays
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (GA) – nonfiction
• On Two Feet and Wings by Abbas Kazerooni (Turkey) – memoir on audio

• The Lyme Solution by Darin Ingels, ND – nonfiction
• Happiness Is a Choice You Make by John Leland (NY) – nonfiction on audio
• Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley (NY) – essays

  
Yes, that’s right – I read 12 books in November! That is an all-time record for me. Now, granted, three were graphic novels and very quick reads, and I crammed in four audio books, but that is still a big accomplishment for me. Not only that but I crushed Nonfiction November, with 11 of those 12 books nonfiction (the novel was a leftover from October that I finished in early November). I read almost all fiction normally, so this was a nice change for me. I enjoyed every one of them. The four audio books were especially good and have all stayed with me, long after I finished them. Both Hey, Kiddo and Escaping Wars and Waves were very powerful and unique graphic-novel style books. I guess Born a Crime would be my top book of November, but it’s a close race!

Progress in 2018 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary – updating my Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge – I added 5, bringing my total-to-date to 31 (and I think I should get extra credit for finally reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil after 20+ years on my shelf!). 

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge – November was Family month, and Seven: In the Lane of Hope was a family memoir.  

Back to the Classics Challenge – Gift From the Sea counted as a 20th century classic, published in 1955.

2018 Badass Books Challenge – nothing new added
  
Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge – I added Iraq, Greece, France, UK, Germany (all in one book!), plus South Africa and Turkey.

2018 Literary Escapes Challenge, I added Georgia and Delaware (it’s rare to find books set in our tiny state)

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break – not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month. I filled in 22 squares in November – an excellent Bingo month for me (though impossible to get “set in the future” or “magical abilities” when you are reading all nonfiction!)

Spaces filled in:

How to Hang a Witch – in a series, baking/cooking, mysterious character, bad boy actually good
Flawed – free book, graphic novel
Escaping Wars and Waves – read a physical book, travel/distance, start over/new beginning
Seven – family gathering, feast, sports
Hey, Kiddo – not in a series, married couple, sassy/sarcastic character
Born a Crime – library book, pet, brown on the cover
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil – shelf love, made into a TV show or movie

What was your favorite book read in November?