2018 November Reading Challenge

[Elizabeth]

In honor of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), your challenge is to read a novel. Any novel will do, it could be a short novel like The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner or a long novel like The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Let us know why you picked it and if you liked it!

Good luck!

[Tanya]

That's the easiest topic ever! I'm going with The Witch Elm, by Tana French.

[Jackie]

HA!! Perfect. I hope to complete this challenge at least 3 times this month.

[Greg]

I also am going for The Witch Elm by Tana French.

Easy peasy.

[Pam]

I'm rereading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for this one. Love that one!

[Teresa]

I'm reading Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong. It's a novel about contract killers and I'm really enjoying it.

[Debbie]

I've been on a quest to read Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone books. Currently I'm reading S is for Silence so that will be my book. I also love it when a challenge is "easy peasy"!

[Greg]

Debbie wrote: "I also love it when a challenge is "easy peasy"!"

I like easy peasy. I also like very challenging.

Mostly I just like reading.

But then, look where we are...

[Greg]

I chose and have finished:

The Witch Elm by Tana French.

Other qualifying novels I've also finished:

The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Airframe by Micheal Crichton
Skin Game by Jim Butcher
The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth
A Case of Need by Michael Crichton (as Jeffery Hudson)
Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke
Zanna's Gift: A Life in Christmases by Orson Scott Card
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

and some other stuff that isn't novels.

I chose The Witch Elm because I've read all of the rest of French's novels, and they've all been excellent murder mysteries. I would highly recommend her to anyone who likes complex mysteries that are very character-driven.

I really enjoyed it. This one is different than her past novels in that her past novels have been told from the POV of the investigating detective; this book is told by a character who is either a witness, victim, or perpetrator (the narrator's exact role is part of the mystery). Different, but very compelling.

[Debbie]

I have finished S is for Silence by Sue Grafton. It's not likely that I will finish any others for this challenge because all the other books I'm reading that I'm likely to finish in November are non-fiction. Although I have started Grafton's T is for Trespass.

I picked it because it is the one novel I'm reading that I'm likely to finish in November, although I started it in October. I'm reading Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series in order. I think this is the best one so far and the most creative, writing style wise.

[Elizabeth]

Dont forget to let us know why you picked it and if you liked it. Good job you guys for getting some finished so quickly.

[Jackie]

Pam wrote: "I'm rereading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for this one. Love that one!"

That book is one of my all time favorites! I hope to re-read it again soon.

[Britt, Book Habitue]

I read The Indigo Girl... too late to count for Reader's Choice, but I'm still plodding through the list, lol.
I listened to it on audio, which wasn't bad though print might have made some parts easier to follow.
It's a compelling story. I wish I'd been aware of the historical information from the get-go, because it made the story that much better.

[Elizabeth]

Nice. That's on my list. There are just too many books sometimes.

[Susan]

I’m reading Y is for Yesterday.

[Becky]

I finished Feed, which I started in Oct, and didn't care for (too long). I also finished In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, a junior historical fiction, which was very good and made me want to go on a road trip. More to come.

[Becky]

Finished How I Became a Ghost. I'm trying to read some Native American stories this month.

[JoAnn]

I read White Rose, Black Forest. It was an enjoyable read. I selected this book from among the Goodreads Choice nominees.

[Brianon]

Novels are my jam! I just finished Promise Not To Tell, by Jayne Ann Krentz. It's a grocery store suspense novel, haha. I also read the last book in the Throne Of Glass series, called Kingdom of Ash. It wasn't my favorite, but it was good to have an ending to the series. I'm looking forward to starting Three Dark Crowns this week, or maybe the new Markus Zusak book!

[Elizabeth]

Susan, have you read them all? I'm so sad that, "the alphabet stops at Y." But, I'm glad that she had very clear instructions that there are to be no adaptions and no other writers finishing her work.

Becky, I just recommended In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse to a group of 4th graders at one of my elementary schools. It seems really very interesting.

JoAnn, that sounds interesting.

Brianon, they're mine too. I read a lot of them. I love cosy mysteries. I also need to finish the Throne of Glass books. I read the first one, then got distracted.

[Debbie]

Susan wrote: "I’m reading Y is for Yesterday."

Interesting that two of us read books in Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series!

[Becky]

Also just finished Today Will Be Different. It was the right book at the right time. :)

[Linda]

So far the novels I have read in Nov are
, and

[Jackie]

I finished "The Bookshop of Yesterdays", which was a recommendation from Goodreads. I would not recommend it. Predictable and too long.
I also finished "Emergency Contact", solely for the fact that Rainbow Rowell loved it, and she is one of my faves! I want to be her sister kind of favorite. She was right. The book was worthy of 4 stars. I want to send Sam to college, and loved Penny and all her weirdness.
I will finish "Sold on A Monday" today, and will give it 3 stars. Compelling story, but a little heavy on the predictive side. A feel gooder, if you are looking for that.

[Elizabeth]

Great job you guys. I wonder who will read the most novels this month? You all seem to be voracious readers, and I love it!

[Carolyn]

I'm working my way through The Two Towers by Tolkien. I read the "The Fellowship of the Ring" around the time the movies were being released, but I never got through the rest of it. May wait to read the third part of "The Lord of the Rings", but we'll see when I'm finished with this.

[Donna]

I do 4 big reading challenges a year. When I finish one, and I'm waiting for the next one to start, I read the books I have on hand that I don't use for the challenges....usually for me that means big chunksters or those that don't meet the standard requirements for the challenge. November is a "waiting for the next one to start" month. So that is why I've read what I've read so far.

I've read 14 books this month, but only 9 have been novels.


The Death of Dulgath -- 4 stars
The Rose and the Thorn -- 5 stars
Kingdom of Ash - 4 stars
Tower of Dawn -- 3 stars
The Crown Tower -- 5 stars
Heads You Win -- 4 stars
The Nix -- 3 stars
The Crossover -- 4 stars
Elizabeth I -- 3 stars

[Valerie]

I read Romancing Daphne by Sarah M. Eden. I picked this book because I was looking for something light and different than what I'd been reading.

I really liked it. It was a twist on the classic fairy tale retelling. It was a Regency era Greek mythology retelling. I really enjoyed it.

[Susan]

I have read all of the alphabet series. I too am sad that there is not going to be a Z.

[Audrey]

Donna wrote: “I do 4 big reading challenges a year. When I finish one, and I’m waiting for the next one to start, I read the books I have on hand that I don’t use for the challenges....usually for me that means …”

I love all those Riyria books.

[Donna]

Audrey wrote: "Donna wrote: “I do 4 big reading challenges a year. When I finish one, and I’m waiting for the next one to start, I read the books I have on hand that I don’t use for the challenges....usually for ..."

Me too. I think I've finally read everything that author has written. Have you read Brandon Sanderson too? or Jim Butcher?

[Audrey]

Yes, both of them; they’re great.

[Becky]

I've recently finished A Separation, Well, That Was Awkward, and Bridge of Clay. Been a good reading month.

[Alyson]

So far I've read Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" and Jennifer Donnelly's "A Northern Light." I should finish "The Librarian of Auschwitz" in the next day or two!

[Amanda]

I read Darth Plagueis.

[Donna]

I've added three more books to my list:

The Winds of War
War and Remembrance
River of Bones

All of them were 4 stars.

Elizabeth, I just want to point out that, because of length, the audiobook version of War and Remembrance is split into two volumes. And for some odd reason, the library only has Vol. 1....not Vol. 2. I didn't want to read only half a book so I bought mine from audible. The library really needs to have the complete audio, either on CD or as a download.

[Carolyn]

Finished "The Two Towers" ('The Lord of the Rings part 2.) Excellent. Even though I left the characters in peril, I'm taking a break from Middle Earth. Listened to an audiobook of "A Christmas Carol" while I went about completing my to-do list today. It's short and adds a little Christmas spirit to the weekend.

[Debbie]

Susan wrote: "I have read all of the alphabet series. I too am sad that there is not going to be a Z."

Me too. And sadder once I learned that, after Z, she was planning to start with numbers.

[Becky]

I also read Adventures with Waffles and Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection

[Jackie]

I also read "Adventures with Waffles". Cute story on 2-4 grade level, if you are looking for juvenile fiction.

[Teresa]

I actually read all three books in the Nadia Stafford series by Kelley Armstrong. The main character does Mafia hits a few times a year to fund her B&B lodge. It was totally different from her Women of the Underworld series but just as good. I'm on the last two audio books in the Bloody Jack adventure series, about an orphan girl in 1800-ish London.

[Audrey]

Sarah wrote: “I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this month! I can’t believe I hadn’t read it before because it’s a perfect book for me. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend it!”

Classic! Have you tried Terry Pratchett? He’s sort of the same style.

[Audrey]

My November novels:
The Warrior Heir
Waking Gods
Foundryside
Alanna: The First Adventure

[Elizabeth]

Good job everyone!

[Elizabeth]

Sarah is our prize drawing winner for November 2018’s reading challenge. They read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Congratulations!

[Elizabeth]

Also, I just realized this, but Sarah's comment was 42! Which is the answer to life, the universe and everything*. Unfortunately, the computer matrix running the question was destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass. :D

* If you are confused by this comment, might I recommend you read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[Jackie]

Congrats, Sarah!

[Greg]

Elizabeth wrote: "Also, I just realized this, but Sarah's comment was 42! Which is the answer to life, the universe and everything*. Unfortunately, the computer matrix running the question was destroyed to make way ..."

That is awesome. Do I believe in coincidences? Yep. But I'm not sure this is one of them.

[Audrey]

Elizabeth wrote: “Also, I just realized this, but Sarah’s comment was 42! Which is the answer to life, the universe and everything*. Unfortunately, the computer matrix running the question was destroyed to make way …”

That’s awesome.

[Debbie]

Elizabeth wrote: "Also, I just realized this, but Sarah's comment was 42! ..."

That's entirely too funny! Congrats, Sarah!