“What kind of life can you have in a house without books?” – Sherman Alexie
Well, here I am. Late, again. But Happy New Year! At least November wasn’t a full reading month and I don’t have a lot to write about. I only read three books. The end of last year was a struggle, reading-wise. With the holidays reading seems to slow down even more than normal for me. I suppose I just get too distracted by family events and traveling to devote time to reading. In any case, here are the three books I read in November.
(Side note: I go by the Goodreads star rating system: ★ – I did not like it. ★★ – It was ok. ★★★ – I liked it. ★★★★ – I really liked it. ★★★★★ – It was amazing.)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) – Stieg Larsson – ★★★★ – I think everyone is familiar with this series. It can be found in literally every bookstore, used or new, libraries, and lobby waiting rooms. I had started this on audiobook a few years ago but never took the time to finish it. I loved the narrator while listening to this and since I could listen to audiobooks during work, I decided to take the plunge and finish this. I really enjoyed it. This is very well-written, and while I don’t read many mystery or thrillers, I could tell that this was executed brilliantly. This follows a whole cast of characters, including the girl with the dragon tattoo, while they uncover the mystery of a family of billionaires and one of their female family members who went missing years ago. There are chapters told from many character’s points of view, which I find can be boring in books depending on which character it is, but in this case, I enjoyed every chapter. For such a long novel, it went by very quickly. I am sure this is due to me loving the narration, as it is very good, but so is the story. I recommended this to my brother and he devoured it in a few days, so clearly, it is very readable either way. I would highly recommend you give it a chance.
The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass, #0.1-#0.5) – Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★ – This one was a re-read for me. I am very behind in reading this series, but I can’t remember any of the plots for the life of me. There are too many characters, plot twists, and side stories. So, I decided to re-read the series to prepare myself for the last three books that have come out and I simply haven’t read yet. Also, if you read YA books, I’m sure you know about this series. This follows Celaena Sardothien, an assassin who has a mysterious past and a powerful future. This book in the series is five short stories about Celaena’s life before the first book takes place. I enjoy these stories a lot, they are fun, adventure-filled, and provide us a solid sense of who Celaena was before the events of the first book take place. It managed to break me out of the reading slump I tend to be in lately, and enjoy the easiness of reading YA writing, rather than adult fiction. Just a fun, easy, and light read that I recommend to any lovers of YA.
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium, #2) – Stieg Larsson – ★★★★ – I also read the second book in the Millennium series, also on audiobook, and also at work. This was just as good as the first book, in my opinion. It follows all the same characters, and picks up where the first book left off. It follows another mystery separate from the first one, a journalist and an advocate are murdered and the story revolves around finding out who did it and why. In the process, we learn more about the girl with the dragon tattoo and her background. This audiobook has the same narrator as the first and again, made it so much more enjoyable to listen to. I really loved the story in this one just as much as the first, because they are separate-but-together, if that makes any sense. They are brilliantly crafted, interesting, and fantastic mysteries. I can see why they are so popular and I am definitely keen to read the rest of the series.
Those are the books I read in November, like I said, I didn’t read a lot at the end of the year last year. And December was not any better, but I’m hoping for improvement in January and I am determined to read at least five books a month in the new year.
stories seldom told 