November 2024 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
Happy December, everybody! Only 31 days left of 2024, can you believe it? Thinking about all of the things I have to get done in those 31 days...yikes. I'm going to be very busy in the next few weeks, that's for sure.
But before we can even think about that, we have to do November's reading wrap up! In the month of November I read 12 books: 6 novels, 3 novellas, 1 poetry collection, 1 nonfiction, and 1 manga volume. I'd read some new favorites and some disappointing reads. Almost everything was fantasy or fantasy-adjacent, with a few literary leaning things as well. Also, 7 of the 12 books I read were from my own shelves, which I'm happy about. I love the library, don't get me wrong, but I've noticed that lately my physical TBR was a bit neglected because I kept reading library books. It was nice to tick some things off of my physical TBR.
Okay, let's get into the wrap up!
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Novels
1. I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.26 CAWPILE
Page count: 278 pages
Day(s) read: 11.01 - 11.04
Final thoughts: I thought this was a very fun time, though not very thought-provoking or deep in any way. Just a silly, goofy time. I was struggling a bit in the middle as I thought the trek was pretty boring and I didn't care enough about the characters to enjoy the development there. But the last third really picked up and I ended up flying through the ending. I found myself comparing it to the other dragon books I read last month, and it was fun seeing how dragons have evolved in story-telling over the years.
2. The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4.5 stars/8.96 CAWPILE
Page count: 421 pages
Day(s) read: 11.03 - 11.05
Final thoughts: This was probably my favorite book of Emily Lloyd-Jones so far. I've read all of her works, and they all deal with Welsh mythology and history (which I enjoy immensely) but this one just had a little extra, you know what I mean? Since I don't know much about Welsh mythos, I didn't see the plot twist in this book coming and it left me thoroughly dumbstruck. My gob was smacked, if you will. I felt very betrayed, especially since I was thinking the story was going to go a certain way and then that just completely fell apart around me as I read.
3. The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare
Translated from the French version by Barbara Bay
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.59 CAWPILE
Page count: 205 pages
Day(s) read: 11.06 - 11.12
Final thoughts: Read for the World Tour Book Club on Fable, and my very first Albanian work. It was very reminiscent of 1984 by George Orwell and other dystopian literature I've read in the past. It made my brain work overtime trying to figure what was going on and what was going to happen. The allegory for totalitarianism was very good, and I definitely want to read more from Albania and Ismail Kadare specifically.
4. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.23 CAWPILE
Page count: 661 pages
Day(s) read: 11.11 - 11.16
Final thoughts: Y'all, I finally did it! I read the book that has been sitting on my physical TBR the longest, it only took me...six years! Whew. I'm so happy that I finally read this and got it off of my TBR, and bonus points that it's a five star! There was so much here, I feel like I need to reread and annotate before I can give a proper review. I remember finishing it and immediately wanting to jump into book two, but also immediately turn around and read it over again.
5. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.94 CAWPILE
Page count: 1,000 pages
Day(s) read: 11.17 - 11.28
Final thoughts: While this is objectively a four star book, I can't tell you what a disappointment this was in comparison to book one. It started off strong, picking up right where The Name of the Wind left off, but then we went on a thousand different side quests and met so many new characters that I just didn't care about. I wanted more of the University, but that was probably only about 30% of the story. The mystery of the Maer was pretty cool, but was solved quickly and without any fuss, and then I really didn't care about the bandit storyline or Ademre. Not to mention that it's more than likely that book three will never actually be published...I'm upset, to say the least.
6. The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez
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Means of reading: Mixed Media
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.75 CAWPILE
Page count: 243 pages (8 hrs 56 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 11.26 - 11.30
Final thoughts: So beautiful and sad. I didn't really care about the modern storylines of Alma and Filomena, but the historical storylines of Bienvenida and Manuel had me hooked. In fact I'm sure that I will be going down a research rabbit hole about Bienvenida and "El Jefe" later on, because I want to know everything now. I liked seeing how each story was entwined with the others, though some made me very sad to know about since the characters were kept in the dark. Knowing things about the characters that they don't even know feels almost insulting, somehow.
Novellas
1. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 stars/5.34 CAWPILE
Page count: 213 pages
Day(s) read: 11.08 - 11.11
Final thoughts: This was fine. It didn't blow my mind or anything like that, but I enjoyed my time reading it well enough. The writing was funny (if a little juvenile) and I was interested in the mystery element, which are both aspects of this author's writing that I've liked in the past. I don't know if this is to become a series or not, but if it is, I think I'll be okay passing it over for other things (Dead Djinn Universe book two when?).
2. The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 240 pages
Day(s) read: 11.28 - 11.29
Final thoughts: I liked seeing how Bast has integrated himself into the town where he and Kvothe run the inn, but I was hoping for more of his backstory and how he became Kvothe's apprentice, which is not what this novella is about. That's on me for not properly looking at the synopsis. I would have appreciated a more definitive timeline to this story: I know that it takes place before The Name of the Wind, but how much before?
3. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.50 CAWPILE
Page count: 159 pages
Day(s) read: 11.29 - 11.30
Final thoughts: Auri is too precious for this world and must be protected at all cost. I was a bit confused at times since Auri's mind is so scattered, and also there were a lot of words that Rothfuss made up for this world, so that didn't help matters. But I loved seeing how Auri spent her days in the Underneath of the University, and you really got a sense of how much she cares for Kvothe. Very cute.
Nonfiction
1. Letters From a Stoic by Seneca
Translated from the Latin by Robin Campbell
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.07 CAWPILE
Page count: 254 pages
Day(s) read: 11.05 - 11.10
Final thoughts: I'm not sure what I was thinking when I started this, but it certainly wasn't "I bet this is going to be a new favorite." Well the joke's on me, except not really, because it was a new favorite and I am very happy about it! Despite living 2,000 years ago, Seneca was extremely relatable and palatable. I was laughing, I was crying, and overall I was having a grand time with this collection of letters. Some letters weren't anything special, but when I tell you I highlighted or annotated nearly every page of this book, I mean it. His musings on illness and chronic health problems in particular made me feel so seen.
Poetry
1. She Followed the Moon Back to Herself by Amanda Lovelace
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Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 208 pages
Day(s) read: 11.26 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: I think I read this at the exact right time in my life. I've always loved Amanda Lovelace's poetry but this one just hit deeper than her previous works, not only because it's so personal to them, but also because it touches on a lot of subjects that are personal to myself as well. She is probably my favorite modern poet.
Manga
1. Spy x Family vol. 12 by Tatsuya Endo
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 208 pages
Day(s) read: 11.24 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: Truly just a silly goofy time, and each volume brings a smile to my face, even when there are more serious or dangerous topics being explored. The levity this story brings is such a joy. And this volume has quite a cliffhanger ending!
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Total page count: 4,090 pages (8 hrs 56 mins total audio)
Favorite book of November: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
No unfinished books this month
No DNFs this month
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Alright, that's all I have for you guys today! I'm honestly glad that I slowed down a bit with my reading this month. I know 12 books is still a lot, but compared to last month when I read 17...well I feel better anyway. Especially since I finally tackled a series that's been on my physical TBR for six years. Patrick Rothfuss, please come out with book three!
Until next time.
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