Everything I Read in November
I am happy to report that now that December has rolled around, I am officially healthy and was able to rest up over Thanksgiving! November was THE WORST. Although the weather was pretty great, my intense workload and the school germs finally caught up with me and I had the double pleasure of tonsillitis followed by covid. In addition, don’t get me started on my feelings surrounding not getting tickets to see Taylor Swift. However, I am now feeling back to normal, have energy for fun projects, and have been getting back to all my favorite gym classes! Despite a lot of sick days, I wasn’t in the reading mood the way I typically am. My lazy butt decided to catch up on tv and binge Christmas movies (shockingly I liked Lindsay Lohan’s Netflix Christmas movie) rather than curl up with tons of books. Even in my reading rut, the four books I finished this month are all A grade recommendations if you are looking for your next read. Ok, let’s start the reviews…
Pretty Things- Janelle Brown
This book has it all…a con, plot twists, and lots of intrigue! This story shifts narration between Nina, a professional con artist, and Vanessa, a wealthy heiress. While the plot seems fairly predictable or standard, I genuinely was captured the entire book and did not predict the ending. This was just a fun read!
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grows- Zoulfa Katouh
This is the one book from this month that I can’t stop thinking about! Set in modern Syria, this story follows the path of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive amongst war and fighting in her country. As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is heartbreaking and sad yet also demonstrates the power of human resilience. This was another gem from Book of the Month and I can’t recommend it enough!
Mad Honey- Jodi Picoult
Ummm….where do I begin with this one? Murder, revenge, and a trial, but this just skims the surface. I was sold on this based on the author, but it has also received great reviews on how it incorporates so many unexpected themes. Without being a post of spoilers and giving it all away, I thought this book lived up to its hype!
The Measure- Nikki Erlick
What if you were told how many years you have left to live? The characters in The Measure are faced with this exact problem. Across the world, each person 22 and older one day receive a wooden box that contains a string. The length of the strings determines how many years you have left to live. Would you look when “the measure of your life lies within?” This book follows the path of a few people in the aftermath of receiving their strings- some short and some long. It was so well written that I was invested in each character and found the whole concept ok the book entirely unique/thought provoking. I highly recommend!
I am now 47 books down, so only 5 more to go to reach my goal of 52 for 2022! I hope to report back with 5 great books in December. In the meantime, my books from November would be excellent reads during cold winter days spent inside. As always, thanks for following along and sharing in my passion for reading!
xoxo,
L