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November Wrap-Up

Where did November go? It seems like Halloween was only a couple of weeks ago! And I didn't read a lot, either - sure, 7 books is pretty good, but 2 were read-in-one-sitting picture books. I'm definitely going to do better next month.

Frankly, I can't think of anything that happened in my life in November that was exciting enough to share. Thanksgiving happened - my favorite holiday! I went to my aunt and uncle's house, since going all the way across the country for such a short break would have been more chaotic than anything else. And my aunt is an amazing cook, which made Thanksgiving dinner perfect.

I'm also busy preparing for finals - I can't believe my first semester is almost over! Everything started going by so quickly in September, and it hasn't slowed down. Maybe that's why I haven't been reading as much. It doesn't really feel like I'm spending as much time not reading, when it's really a lot more. But I did read some! Here's what I got around to:

 THE BOOKS:

THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp: I was really expecting a lot more from this book. It's about such a powerful subject and I heard so many people praise it so highly that I thought it would really blow me away. It didn't. ★★★

BLOOD FOR BLOOD by Ryan Graudin (Wolf by Wolf #2): I had such high expectations for this book, after absolutely loving Wolf by Wolf, and for the most part, they were met! It was a really exciting book, an I never quite knew where it was going next. However, I think a lot of what I loved about the first book was the idea of the motorcycle race, and since this was set after it ended, I didn't get that. ★★★★

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A DISNEY LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK by Diane Muldrow: Definitely wasn't expecting to read this, but it was right there in the store and I just had to. It was so cute and inspirational! Now I want to buy a copy so that I can just read the whole thing whenever I need something to brighten my day. ★★★★★

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A STAR WARS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK by Geof Smith: I think you can guess where and when I read this book, based on the last one. Again, so cute and inspirational! Parts of this one didn't seem quite as smooth, since a lot of parts in Star Wars movies are a little dark for a Little Golden Book, but I still really liked it. ★★★★

A MILLION WORLDS WITH YOU by Claudia Gray (Firebird #3): I'm so sad that this series is over! It's been one of my absolute favorite trilogies of all time, and I'm so glad that I got to follow along as the books came out. Each of these can be easily devoured in one sitting, and while I didn't get to do that with this one, I still flew through it. The plot of this book didn't allow for quite as much worldbuilding as the first two, but it was so exciting that I hardly cared! ★★★★★

LIKE A RIVER GLORIOUS by Rae Carson (Gold Seer Trilogy #2): This was so exciting! It was pretty similar to the first book in premise, but very different in situation, which was an interesting balance. I think it worked pretty well! There are so many things that I love about this book, but I can't talk about any of them because spoilers! And I absolutely can't wait for book three next year. Just pick up this series already. ★★★★★

EMMA by Jane Austen: As of the time this post goes up, I technically haven't finished this book yet, but I'm including it here because I'm going to finish it before December starts if it kills me. Besides, I already know what I'm going to say: I was bored to tears. I just didn't care. I ended up skimming large sections of it because I just couldn't bring myself to DNF a Jane Austen novel. I have no idea why it was like this - I love every other Austen book I've read - but this was just so unbelievably boring! ★★

READING STATS:
  • Total books: 7
  • Longest book: Blood for Blood, 481 pages
  • Shortest book: the two Little Golden Books, 96 pages each
  • Favorite book: A Million Worlds With You
  • Least favorite book: Emma
  • Diverse reads: 4 (This Is Where It Ends, Blood for Blood, A Million Worlds With You, Like a River Glorious)
  • Comics/Graphic Novels/Picture Books: 2 (the two Little Golden Books)
BLOG POSTS:
What did you do in November? Did you have Thanksgiving? What was your favorite book you read? Tell me in the comments!
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Comments

  1. CillaDecember 2, 2016 at 1:14 AM

    Ooh I actually have a post about Emma going up tomorrow, in which I basically had almost the opposite reaction to Emma. It was slow to start, but I fell into the swing of it after a while and thought some of it was quite funny! Emma is an incredibly frustrating main character to follow though. Anyway, good luck with your finals! It's totally understandable that you haven't been reading a lot; I think reading for fun was at the bottom of my priority list in my first year of uni!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ClaraDecember 2, 2016 at 7:50 AM

      That's really interesting! I think things in Emma started picking up in the last few chapters, but unfortunately, not enough for me to really care. Emma (the character) is definitely frustrating - up until the end, it just feels like she's going in circles!

      And thanks! I think I had grand delusions of being able to read a lot AND do well in school at the same time, but that's not happening. That's not stopping me from having an absolutely ridiculous TBR for this month, though....I guess we'll see how that goes!

      Delete
  2. Danielle H.December 12, 2016 at 7:22 AM

    It's so difficult reading through an entire book that seems to be wasting your time. I've allowed myself to not finish books this year as there are so many others out there. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just not in the right mood/time in my life for a book that others have raved about.

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    Replies
    1. ClaraDecember 12, 2016 at 2:19 PM

      I've started DNFing books this year, too! Only a few, but it's such a relief to not have to finish books that I'm not liking anymore. I just couldn't bring myself to DNF a Jane Austen book after having loved 3 of hers! I think that Emma just isn't for me, because I've tried to read it 3 times over the past few years and I haven't liked it that much any of the times.

      Delete
  3. Constanza RiquelmeDecember 19, 2016 at 5:57 AM

    OMG I haven't read Emma but I love the 2009's adaptation

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    Replies
    1. ClaraDecember 19, 2016 at 7:53 AM

      I haven't seen that one! I'm going to hold off on it for a while so that not liking the book doesn't affect liking the movie, but I really want to give it a try at some point!

      Delete
  4. ChristineDecember 26, 2016 at 4:59 PM

    Oh, my heart hurts at your review of Emma! That's one of my all-time favorites. It can seem a bit slow at the beginning, but I feel like the plot picks up and becomes more deliciously convoluted and entertaining as it goes on. Plus the ending is just the best ❤

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    Replies
    1. ClaraDecember 27, 2016 at 10:19 AM

      I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with Emma! I agree that the ending was great, and I could feel it getting a bit better towards the end, but I'd just spent so long not caring by that point that it was hard to get invested again. I really thought I'd love it!

      Delete
  5. joDecember 28, 2016 at 8:13 AM

    Is Blood for Blood good? Sould I read it or should I pick a Star wars book?

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    Replies
    1. ClaraDecember 28, 2016 at 9:29 AM

      I really liked Blood for Blood, so assuming you've read Wolf by Wolf, I think you should read it! On the other hand, I've loved the Star Wars books I've read, too.

      Delete

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