November. The month of birthdays, anniversaries, and, this year, Christmas decorations shopping. Opening my reading list I was very surprised by the number of books I read and finished this month. However I wasn’t completely satisfied (the number was four) and as there was still a week and a half to go I decided I wanted to add to the list. I chose comfort reading because of everything that’s been going on, and my current comfort reading genre is romance where the books tend to be shorter. Suffice to say a few of these books are here due to my personal readathon. In addition, I also took part in Jenn’s Thankfully Reading Readathon, so there’s an extra book on this list thanks to America. And I hit the mini goal I set for myself a couple of months ago, to reach 70 books. Books 71 and 72 are on the go as I type.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Eloisa James: An Affair Before Christmas – Born of love, four years later Poppy and Fletch’s marriage is on the rocks, but can it be saved by Fletch’s acceptance or Poppy’s realisation that her mother has ruled her thoughts? The very funny second book in James’s duchess series, even if it is flawed.

Juliana Ross: Improper Arrangements – An independent Victorian Lady travels to France to walk the High Route, but didn’t expect to find a match in her guide. Just as wonderfully written as Ross’s debut and a good candidate for those wishing to try erotic romance as the writing is very literary.

Kimberly S Young: The Eighth Wonder – A woman on her second career path moves to a small town where she meets a man who is still coming to terms with the loss of his daughter. When it’s good it’s good, when it’s not it’s in dire need of editing. I was actually scheduled to review this a couple of weeks ago but after I found out the reviews were to be a favour for the author I pulled out.

Natalie Whipple: Transparent – An invisible girl in a world of mutants tries to leave her father’s syndicate and live as normally as possible. A fair premise but the content is rather silly and nonsensical.

Rainbow Rowell: Eleanor & Park – When the large, strangely-dressed, girl is denied a seat on the bus, Park gives up the free one next to his, not thinking anything would come of it. A stunning story told by an author who has a brilliant talent for characterisation.

Shannon Stacey: All He Ever Desired – Lauren rejected Ryan, refusing to leave her bad marriage to elope with him, but now she’s divorced, Ryan is back, and maybe she likes him more than she’d realised. A really good addition to the series.

Tanya Byrne: Follow Me Down – Adamma’s new boarding school turns out to be not so boring as it seems and when her new friend goes missing after a previous incident, it doesn’t seem plausible that Scarlett has simply run away. A very good book with a few messages included.

Vincent Lam: The Headmaster’s Wager – In war-torn Vietnam, a Chinese emigrant who does not take heed of what is happening in the world around him continues his life in ignorance and beliefs that will cost him everything. A very good book, though the main character remains difficult.

When you’re comfort reading it can be hard to pick a favourite but I think my non-comfort read of Eleanor & Park just about took the top spot. Objectively it most definitely did but that An Affair Before Christmas was incredibly funny. I was happy to read Juliana Ross again; I’m creating a special post for her books because I read very few erotic romances and review even less, but her work is particularly good and may even interest people who don’t read the genre. My least favourite was Transparent. I’d been excited about it for months so it was a pity it wasn’t as well written as the author’s blog.

Quotation Report

In Improper Arrangements, Lady Alice reminds us of changing fashions and attitudes when she says that without crinolines and petticoats she will look ridiculous. And whilst generally a girl might feel upset that another girl is wondering what the man sees in her (the first girl), the reaction of Eleanor from Eleanor & Park is one of agreement. It’s funnier than this blogger makes it sound.

I will be very surprised if I read anything in December. Details to come.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?

This month we said a sudden goodbye to my aunt and my boyfriend and I embarked on a potentially exciting but stressful adventure (all will be revealed soon). I created space for advertising on this site. I read in patches and albeit that the Readathon went as it usually does (not much reading time), it afforded me another book this month. It’s getting dark, it’s getting rainy, and I’m not sure how to end this sentence clause because I’m running on very little time at the moment – but I will miss October because it’s not been so bad, weather-wise, after all. I currently have three books on the go. I’m starting to wonder if ‘currently’ numbers are a sign of how stressed a reader is.

The Books

Non-Fiction

Michael Palin: Around The World In 80 Days – In 1986, Palin undertook a journey to replicate, as much as possible, the race of Phileas Fogg. Brief and a bit dated now, but still good and very informative.

Tom Kizzia: Pilgrim’s Wilderness – Kizzia tells the story of the quasi-religious Hale family, where (in Alaska at least) problems began with ‘simple’ disputes over property, and ended in revelations as to the children’s treatment that shocked previous supporters. You couldn’t say this is a nice book, but the story ends well and Kizzia’s style is very readable.

Fiction

Andrew Blackman: On The Holloway Road – A man discontent with his life embarks on a journey with a notorious local, aiming to find true freedom in a country full of restrictions. Excellent.

Debbie Dee: Tiy And The Prince Of Egypt – A wealthy but regular girl saves the heir to the throne from death, and travels to the capital to begin schooling and a new life granted her by the Pharaoh. A rather good introduction to Ancient History for children and teens.

Lucienne Boyce: To The Fair Land – A wannabe author seeks the writer of an anonymous bestseller to improve his own chances, and finds it’s not quite as he’d thought. Not bad, but it has its issues.

Meike Ziervogel: Magda – A fictionalised take on what may have happened in the last days of the Goebbels, surrounded by relevant background information. Brilliant and edited to perfection.

Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (ed.): Rags & Bones – An anthology of retellings in short story form, featuring the likes of Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr herself, Kami Garcia, and Saladin Ahmed. A stunning and at times exceptional collection that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes fantasy, paranormal, and horror.

I’ve three favourites this month: On The Holloway Road, Magda, and Rags & Bones. If pushed, I’d probably say the latter wins by a smudge, because of the variety. All three of those books are amazing, it’s just that they are so different. I wasn’t so keen on To The Fair Land – I did enjoy it, it is just a case of this month being rather exceptional.

Quotation Report

If one has an issue creating names, they can always do as Neil Gaiman has with his contribution to Rags & Bones and use the backdrop as a good excuse. Indeed it may just create a similar sort of humour. And while we’re at it, if you’re in a medieval-ish setting, it’s likely the girl has blushed because she’s suggested the prince will wake the princess with a kiss – not with the bucket of water the dwarf considered appropriate. In the 1980s, Michael Palin shared a train with two other people apparently also known as Michael Palin. But it was the camel and its owner, again both called Michael, that may have surprised him the most when he went Around The World In 80 Days.

Apparently November and winter are set to be atrocious so I suppose I’ll be reading enough. I’ve read a fair number of books so far this year, more than the last, and I hope to reach the next whole number on my list before the arrival of that holiday that begins with a C. I’m not typing it out, it still feels far too early, whatever the shops say. It is possible that even if I read whenever I can November may be scant, books-wise. I guess I’ll see.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?

It’s now getting chilly. We’ve had a few nice days but the weather’s definitely on the turn. Not so surprisingly I read a fair amount this month, though not as much as I may have because life happens and sometimes you have to take time out. You may remember I sent a tweet out some months ago regarding my aunt who had cancer for the third time. She died last week following complications during the fourth comeback of the cancer. A few days later my father was given a diagnosis. His has been caught early, but it’s not a good time and the recent death has caused extra anxiety for him. So reading slowed down towards the end of the month.

The Books

Non-Fiction

Anya Von Bremzen: Mastering The Art Of Soviet Cooking – Von Bremzen looks at each decade of USSR history in the context of food, simultaneously introducing the reader to her family and life in Moscow. Very good, though the writing style was odd.

Fiction

Andrea Zuvich: His Last Mistress – The story of the love affair between the Duke of Monmouth (Charles II’s son) and Henrietta Wentworth. A good use of history, a bad book.

Bee Ridgway: The River Of No Return – When Nick jumps from the 1800s to 2013 he has no idea he’s a time traveller but there are many such people and some are enemies of the Guild. A comedic historical fantasy.

Martin Wagner: Deutschland – Three stories of different members of the same family each getting to grips with free will, choice, and the affects those aspects have on a person. Greatly recommended.

Mary Stewart: Stormy Petrel – A teacher, who is also a writer, goes on what is supposed to be a peaceful holiday to a Scottish isle, only to find her cottage entered in to by someone claiming to be the resident. Fantastic descriptions and engrossing, all except for the plot which is pretty poor.

Joint favourite this month are The River Of No Return, which I loved for its cleverness and comedy, and Deutschland which is a masterful blend of short story and novel. I didn’t get on with His Last Mistress at all, but whilst Stormy Petrel was nothing to write home about, ironically, it showed a lot of promise in regards to Stewart’s other work.

Quotation Report

Don’t be like Nick from The River Of No Return – if you choose to return to the past having lived in the future (our present), modern phrases just do not work, and as much as the person you fancy (ah, they may not understand that either) seems modern, they really aren’t. Even if their actions indicate otherwise.

Not a bad month of reading, considering. Roll on October, maybe if you’re quick enough summer will come back sooner and hopefully you won’t be such an upsetting month either.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?

So, August. It was nicer weather than was first expected and I read a lot. It just doesn’t look like I did. The reason? Take a look at the first book on the list.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Margaret Mitchell: Gone With The Wind – A vain, selfish, ignorant girl goes through life in a war-torn country careless of everyone else, even the hero. It wasn’t as Rhett-and-Scarlett focused as I thought it would be (the famous film poster was in my head) but it is a very decent book.

Ruth A Casie – The Guardian’s Witch – A man tries to save his new lands and win the heart of his wife at the same time. Terrible.

It’s pretty obvious that Gone With The Wind was my favourite this month, and The Guardian’s Witch a waste of a few days reading time I can’t get back. Ironically I pondered getting the book for a long time before I decided to, and I wish I hadn’t got it. Mitchell’s book left me much to think about, in fact I’ve written a ‘further thoughts’ post on what happened to the characters where I skip quickly between points, much as I did my post on identity in Du Maurier’s classic. I can sense impulsiveness being a theme of those sorts of posts. My usual writing style goes out the window.

Quotation Report

If you are having an argument with Rhett, the sort in which you should be slamming doors, rest assured he will do it for you.

I feel out of the loop with my own reading, having pretty much read one book the entire month, but it was somewhat according to plan so it isn’t so bad. At the start of summer I decided I’d like to read Mansfield Park as I had a lot of success with Austen in previous summers, but try as I might I just couldn’t get into it. Mitchell’s book was a good substitute, especially as I’d been meaning to read it for the couple of years I’ve had it. And now I’ve finally done it. I will miss the summer, I’m not a winter person at all, but I’ve read lots, read well, and been on numerous day trips.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?

July was incredible. For the first time in I don’t know how many years, the UK finally got a proper summer. I say ‘got’ because it’s over now, but we had over three weeks of sun and heat without rain and it was amazing. I’m a bit confused by the complaining, everyone complains about the wet and then they complain when we finally get a true summer, but at least the complaining didn’t ruin the weather. We had a music teacher at school who made us sing a rain song that always worked so I do worry about jinxing things. Reading wise I’ve not done badly because the heat made it impossible to be at my computer when home. But I did some day-tripping this month so it all evened out, and to be honest, not being able to be on the computer isn’t bad when your work is primarily reading and writing notes. I’ve been able to carry on my critique work regardless (I’m considering calling myself a Developmental Editor to make my role more obvious).

The Books

Non-Fiction

Michael Pollan: The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Pollan explores the GM industry, the organic industry, natural farms (those two are different things) and becomes a hunter gatherer, in order to find out where our food comes from and how to find the ‘perfect’ meal. A very good book with a lot of information on both sides of the fence, and whilst I couldn’t identify with everything, not living in America, I loved Pollan’s accessible humorous style and the general atmosphere of it – I’ll be reading more of his work in future.

Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In – Sandberg explains why women need and should take a more prominent position in the boardroom. Half of it is great, half of it is very bad.

Fiction

Elizabeth Fremantle: Queen’s Gambit – Fiction about the life of Katherine Parr. In general very good, though some will not appreciate a few of the speculative elements.

Jill Myles: Wicked Games – A book reviewer joins the cast of a reality survivor show for a book deal and to keep her job, but falls in love in the process. This was discussed on Dear Author and sounded good, but I wasn’t keen overall (it was a light read at the end of a long day, though).

Kate Forsyth: The Wild Girl – The fictionalised tale of Dortchen Wild who fell in love with one of the Grimm brothers and helped them in their task of collecting fairy tales. Very good, hard to put down.

Kristina Carlson: Mr Darwin’s Gardener – An exploration of faith and identity via an oft-busy-body crowd of villagers who think too much of others and not enough about themselves. Good, and a lovely style, but quite confusing.

Pavarti K Tyler: White Chalk – Chelle is neglected by her parents, the only person who gives her any time is her male teacher, and she finds it difficult to live in such a state. A harrowing story, it’s very good except for an abrupt ending that whilst appropriate and shocking nevertheless closes the door on any possibility of teaching (though if the point was to shock and to educate on the single issue it has done well).

Taylor Stevens: The Doll – Whisked away under the pretence of an accident, Munroe finds herself at the mercy of criminals who want her to deliver a ‘package’ in return for the life of her loved ones. Excellent book.

My favourites this time were The Doll and The Wild Girl. In the case of the former I was able to read most of it in one day which was fantastic because I couldn’t put it down. In the case of the latter it was compelling and should be well met by fans of Bitter Greens. I knew that Lean In carried mixed reviews, and mine only added to that. It was an interesting book with promise but never kept that promise, and as it carried on it just became more and more alienating.

Quotation Report

None this time.

July’s been good and I had a non-fiction phase which I’m glad about. August is set to be rainy so I’ll likely be reading (and blogging) quite a bit.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?