What are you reading in November 2022?

[Chris, Moderator]

Please share what you're reading this month (November 2022), and any comments you'd like to make about the book(s).

All genres welcome here!

[Lindsey]

I'm finishing up the currently published Lady Sherlock series with Miss Moriarty, I Presume?. This series has been so much fun, excellent mysteries, great characters, and the author really understands the Holmes oeuvre and plays with it in a clever way.

My book clubs are doing The Witch's Heart, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, and Six Wakes.

I'm also trying to get to Music Theory 101: From keys and scales to rhythm and melody, an essential primer on the basics of music theory and Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution.

[Shel, Moderator]

I need to get back to the Lady Sherlock books! I've read the first three and enjoyed them immensely :)

I'm a few chapters into The Sunbearer Trials right now, for another group, and having a hard time getting into it. It just feels too derivative of other popular YA series - the Mexican-inspired setting is wonderful, and I love that it includes lots of trans representation, but plot-wise it's like a cross between the Percy Jackson series, The Hunger Games, and Red Rising without many original elements (or at least, not that I've seen so far).

I'm going to try and give it more of a chance, since I'm only a few chapters in. Next up will be The Tombs of Atuan to belatedly jump into the Earthsea discussions.

[Ken]

Finished The Hard Way
Not the best Reacher book but enjoyable

Started book two of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Fatal Revenant

[Mary]

Babylon Red by Kit Sun Cheah

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finished The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffery Deaver, which I had started last month. 10/10– Suspenseful, well-written, well-researched, with some perfect plot twists! I cared about the characters and the subplots added depth to the characters without detracting from the main storyline.

I also finished Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the second part of her Six of Crows duology. 9/10 It’s a solid, entertaining read. The plot is complex, with heists and cons galore. The characters face serious challenges and undergo deadly trials; more importantly, they learn and grow from those experiences. The story has a satisfying ending—happy, sad, wistful, bittersweet. The author’s writing has matured since her earliest books and she has left room to return to these characters and this part of the Grishaverse.

[Nyssa]

So far this month, I have completed the following:

~ Reaper by Will Wight (4 Stars) - I actually started this in October; it took me a while to complete as I felt the signs of burnout and needed a breather. But it was a good installment of the Cradle series. I will be reading the 11th book later this month, and then the series finale will be published sometime in the next few months, I believe.

~ The Day Guard by Graeme Rodaughan (5 Stars) - This is book #4 of The Metaframe War series. It has been a (fun?) action-packed series so far. I question the word fun because war isn't really a fun topic, but the books have been enjoyable. Each book picks up shortly after the previous one left off, and it is high-octane all the way through—no rest for the weary or the wicked. The espionage and secrets suck you in, and the characters make you stay.

~ Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (5 Stars) - I have been meaning to read this book for a while and am very happy that I am doing so now. A great introduction to The Expanse series; and another character-driven tale. I also purchased the bonus stories collection and read The Butcher of Anderson Station (5 Stars), where we learn more about one of the essential characters.

I watched the show's first episode, but I like the books better.

I am currently reading:

~ The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin - This is book # 3 of the Earthsea Cycle series. I downloaded the accompanying audio version and have been reading along while listening to it with my daughter. We both find the series intriguing. We will be starting chapter 4 when she gets home from work today.

~ Token Black Girl: A Memoir by Danielle Prescod - the author and I seem to have as many similarities as we do differences. I, too, was the only black girl in my high school classes, friend groups, and neighborhood. But I come from an average, middle-class background. There was no "keeping up with the Jones," all-girls private school, designer label-wearing, or new car for your 16th birthday here. I also firmly believe that there is a difference in attitudes between Western Indian black families and American black families. I was influenced by both, as my parents and I are West Indian, but my step-mom, with whom I spent most of my childhood, is American. I believe this leads to the most significant difference between us - I have never hated my blackness; I hated how others perceived, projected onto, and/or reacted to my blackness. Yes, I wanted to fit in, but not to the point of wishing I wasn't black.
I am only a few chapters into the book, so I am curious to discover more about Danielle's journey.

[Mary]

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 10 by Kamome Shirahama

[Shel, Moderator]

Last few weeks - I finished The Sunbearer Trials and liked but didn't love it. Strengths are worldbuilding and characters - weaknesses are lack of originality and it wasn't especially well-written. I probably will still read the sequel when it's published.

I had another busy week without much brainpower so I went back to my David Eddings re-read and read the whole Malloreon series. Now I'm finally about a third of the way through The Tombs of Atuan for the group series read, a bit belatedly! I've also started Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau's Woods - just bought the book after hearing the author speak at a science teacher conference last week.

[Lindsey]

I can't believe I forgot that The Lost Metal came out this month! I'll be reading that as soon as my copy gets here.

I finished The Witch's Heart and definitely recommend. It's one of those stories that's probably best read in one or two long sittings.

My travel plans for the holidays changed, so I'm going to try to squeeze in The Golden Enclaves as well.

[Mary]

With Zeal and with Bayonets Only: The British Army on Campaign in North America, 1775-1783 by Matthew H. Spring

[DivaDiane]

I'm glad to see you recommend The Witch's Heart, @Lindsey. I started it, was enjoying it, but had to interrupt it to read a different book for a book club and haven't been able to get back to it, yet.

I'm reading A Half-Built Garden and enjoying it very much. Also, listening to Rosewater, which I am finding confusing with the jumping back and forth in the timeline. Maybe it wasn't a great idea to listen to it, but I am enjoying the African speech patterns of the narrator.

[DivaDiane]

Lindsey wrote: "I'm also trying to get to Music Theory 101: From keys and scales to rhythm and melody, an essential primer on the basics of music theory"

What's made you read that, if I may ask? Another book I can recommend is What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland.

[Lindsey]

DivaDiane wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "I'm also trying to get to Music Theory 101: From keys and scales to rhythm and melody, an essential primer on the basics of music theory"

What's made you read that, if I may ask? A..."

Thanks for the recommendation! I played ukulele and sang in chorus for many, many years and, after more than a decade, took up playing violin. I've realized via my violin teacher that I have a few gaps in my music theory knowledge, so I just wanted a basic book to get me both refreshed and fill those gaps. I like the 101 series entries I've read so far and this one is also good.

[Mary]

Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce

[Mary]

Haley's Cozy System Armageddon by M.C.A. Hogarth

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I read the 3 short stories in the Dead Djinn universe (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, and The Haunting of Tram Car 015) and am about half done with our BotM, A Master of Djinn. Really enjoying this world and story!

[Ken]

I have been adrift lately
I started Fatal Revenant and it was blah, then another book and finally settled on Decent Interval: An Insider's Account of Saigon's Indecent End Told by the CIA's Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam
saw an interesting video on utube about disinformation with the author. Decided to hunt down this book and read it

[Mary]

I have been big into Adrian Tchaikovsky lately and am currently starting Children of Ruin.

[Mary]

My Hero Academia, Vol. 3 by Kohei Horikoshi

[Mary]

Haley and the Catfish Invasion by M.C.A. Hogarth

[Mary]

Haley and the Spooky Dungeon by M.C.A. Hogarth

[Cheryl]

The Best of World SF, Volume 1

Mixed bag, as with all anthologies of course. Better for readers less squeamish than I.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, 8.75/10, comments in our BotM discussion.

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin, 10/10, comments in our series discussion.

[Mary]

Haley and Nana's Best House by M.C.A. Hogarth