What We Read in November

Well after several months full of stellar books, I was due for a month that was a bit "meh." And that was this month. I've read some good books, but lots of 3 star reads which is the rating I give books that were meh to just ok. 

Best books:

Let's start with the good news! These 3 were the best books of the month. Think Again is a non-fiction book by Adam Grant. It's a book about questioning previously held beliefs and leaving yourself open to changing your mind. I was drawn to read this book after hearing the author interviewed on Steven Levitt's podcast, People I (Mostly) Admire. Grant sounds like an amazing professor! Wrong Place Wrong Time is a thriller/suspense book with a sci-fi'ish element. At the start of the book, a woman witnesses her son stabbing someone to death. The next day, she wakes up and it's the day before - and then she keeps moving back in time. In her author's note, she says it's the story of a crime told backwards - you see all the things that led up to the crime occurring. Lastly, The Measure was another really great book. The world wakes up one day and everyone aged 22 and older has a box delivered to their door with a string inside. The length of the string tells them how long they will live. This would make an excellent book club book! 

Meh books:

Now for the not so great read. The Maid was promising and I enjoyed much of the book, but there were some things that happened in the final 1/3 that felt unrealistic, and I didn't love the epilogue. I'll Show Myself Out is a collection of essays about motherhood. Some of the essays were really funny but omg this book is dripping with privilege. She acknowledges her privilege, but still. For example: they came home from the hospital to a full time nanny and a night nurse. So I struggled to relate to the challenges she experienced given all the help they had... So I felt less sympathy towards and comradery with the author. Acts of Violet is an example of a book with magical realism that didn't work for me. The main character is a magician that goes missing, and it just didn't work for me. The Crane Wife is another collection of essays that was critically acclaimed but was a very uneven read for me. I liked some essays but some were just ok and I was glad to be done with the book.

Abandoned Books:

I abandoned 3 books this month - I've abandoned 7 YTD, so 3 in a one month is a lot and speaks to the "meh" mood of my reading! First, I gave up on the short story collection, "You Have a Friend in 10A" by Maggie Shipstead. I want to like short story collections but unless they are linked stories, the genre doesn't seem to work for me. I abandoned this after reading 2 stories. Next I abandoned "Our Wives Under the Sea" at around the 20% mark. It's only around 220 pages, I think, but it was feeling like a slog so I gave up. Lastly, I abandoned the memoir, "Once a Poet" by Ada Calhoun. I've seen this book on several "best of 2022 lists" so take my abandonment with a grain of salt. I abandoned around 10%. It's a memoir about her father who was a student of the poet Frank O'Hara. But I have no clue who Frank O'Hara is and couldn't be bothered to care, and I think her father was kind of a jerk, which luckily is a parental dynamic I have not experienced so I didn't feel like I needed to read about it.

Paul's Reads:

Here are some recent library books that were read multiple times!

First up, the latest Mo Willems book! These books are so delightful. I will continue to read anything Willems writes, even when my kids outgrow picture books. The pigeon is just hilarious. 

This was a random book I pulled off the shelf at the library. It's about a cow that just can't figure out how to dress for the seasons. The story is told in a rhyming cadence and Paul thought it was so funny!

Lastly, we have read nearly all of the "Bruce" books by Ryan T. Higgins. This was probably the best of the batch, but you can't go wrong with any of them. Bruce is a grumpy bear. One morning he goes fishing and his brother, Kevin, shows up. Kevin is soooo much fun - too much fun actually. The funniest part of this book is when one of the mice that lives with Bruce says Kevin is Bruce's doppelganger. Another mouse says, "he's Bruce's dingle pooper?" Potty humor lands very well with Paul. He laughed so much on that page! 

Did you read anything you loved this month?