November Reads
"She's a reader, of course her TBR is a mile long!"
Ah, the middle of the ‘ber’ months. The height of Autumn. The leaves have fallen, the temperatures are dropping (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), and we’re spending more time being cozy. Settling in for the long winter ahead of us, with an unnamed number of books just begging to be read. And in the States, Thanksgiving has arrived. The “official” kickoff to the holiday season… although I like to think November 1 is the actual kickoff, with Halloween ending.
As I write this, I glance over at my physical book collection and notice the ever-growing stack calling to me. Finish that book, Nicole, and pick me up next! And of course… I have a bunch of pre-orders rolling in that I, quite frankly, forgot I purchased during Barnes & Noble’s pre-order sale this summer (oops). So, I am looking forward to diving into those soon!
If you would have told me that at my age, I’d be finding myself reading hardcore like I did when I was a kid, I don’t really know if I would have believed you. At this point, I’ve sailed through 87 books for the year. !!!!! I was hoping to hit 100, but landing in the 90s will still feel like a major accomplishment. Heck, it already does.
My mantra continues: Just. Read. More!
We’re nearly at the end of 2024… isn’t it wild to think we’re about to enter 2025?! I can’t believe it. When I get through my December slate, I am going to post my faves for the year. It’s hard to narrow that down, because I’ve read some seriously great books this year. And this month was no exception! Let’s see what was on my shelf, shall we?
FICTION
THE GIRLS WEEKEND, by Jody Gehrman
Delicious drama! Sign me up! A group of women, who have been friends since college, get together at one of their sprawling estates in Western Washington — the owner of the home, Sadie, is a best selling author/influencer/celeb with some major notoriety and her friends are, at best, feeling iffy about the whole thing due to past grudges or present tiffs. And the main character we follow, June, used to date Sadie’s husband back in college. The Goodreads description says this is “a Celtic knot of suspense and surprise” and I could not agree more with this sentiment. I couldn’t put it down because I needed to know what happened — every corner we turned as the reader following June kept me guessing and I enjoyed the ride. If you need a quick suspense read to round out your year, grab this one.
(I linked this one to Goodreads, because I couldn’t find it on Bookshop!)
THE WILD GIRLS, by Phoebe Morgan
Grabbed this during a Barnes & Noble sale this summer and finally decided to pick it up off the shelf. This is about another group of college friends, who have loosely kept in touch but have their own lives happening, who get invited on a once-in-a-lifetime safari trip to Botswana by one of the girls (whom they haven’t really heard from in a while). It’s a bit twisty, fast-paced, and full of suspense. It was decent, but the structure of it left something to be desired. But the plot and the setting were great! Oh also, spoiler alert… the girls weren’t really wild, in my opinion. I’m left feeling a bit confused as to why the book was titled this way. Anyway, it was fine!
ALL FOURS, by Miranda July
This is the book everyone has been talking about this year (besides God of the Woods, which ruled), it seems. I kept delaying it from getting delivered on my Libby app until this month, when I finally felt like I had a better grip on my TBR stack. Anyway! It was weird. I rarely DNF books, because I suffer from a compulsive need to complete any piece of media I begin, but this one? If I’m being honest… it wasn’t for me. That does not mean it wasn’t well-written or anything. I was mostly confused about the main character and who they actually were, but maybe that’s a symptom of almost abandoning the book a handful of times. It’s about a person who embarks on a cross-country roadtrip, only to take a major detour on both the trip and their life. The first half had me going “wtf, no one does this, wtf” and the second half left me feeling kind of sad. Heads up, though: there’s a lot of sex (talk of it, having it solo, and having it with others). If you’re not into that, you might skip it.
THE SEQUEL, by Jean Hanff Korelitz
When I find a book I really enjoy and it has a “life” ending — you know what I’m saying, like a life just goes on vibe… I want more. I want to know what comes next for the character(s). What happens in their life after this perfectly packaged story ends? Well, dear reader, this satisfied that need. I read The Plot when it came out and was blown away by the writing and story. I loved it! And the way it ended, I didn’t realize at the time that I wanted more. This was a stunning follow up to its predecessor. The writing! The twists! The turns! I absolutely devoured it. Now, I’m wondering… will there be a third? Please, let there be a third! If you read and enjoyed The Plot, I think you’ll really like its sequel (no pun intended!).
FIVE BAD DEEDS, by Caz Frear
The opening had me hooked. I simply had to know what happened. As if the book jacket didn’t already have me invested, once I read that, I was in. This story is about Ellen, a mother/wife/teacher who receives an ominous note in the mail that sets her on a path to discover who sent it. Someone is out to get her and destroy her life… but why? There were so. many. secrets. to. uncover. !!! I couldn’t put this one down, and was so engrossed in the story that I didn’t even try to “figure out” what the twists would be, which were delightfully surprising, IMO. I really look forward to reading more of Frear’s work now!
NONFICTION
OVER THE INFLUENCE, by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque
Like most people, I know of JoJo because of her hit single in the early aughts “Get Out (Leave)” — in fact, it’s impossible for me to not start singing it when I hear the title. I picked this one up because the podcast Glamorous Trash covered it, and I think you know I enjoy a lil celeb memoir moment by now! Joanne Levesque started in the music industry at the tender age of TWELVE and became a pretty big star before she was eighteen. What I didn’t know about was her struggle with addiction, the awful time she had trying to release new music, and other things about her personal life. It’s a good memoir and I really enjoyed the audiobook.
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, by Joan Didion
Oof. The grief. I knew what I was getting into by borrowing this audiobook. Hailed as a "masterpiece of two genres: memoir and investigative journalism", Didion’s first work of nonfiction that was not a collection of previously written essays helped her make sense of death and illness — both which had shown up on her doorstep, unannounced. Her husband and partner of forty years suddenly died while their daughter was in the ICU being treated for pneumonia, which nearly killed her. Then, just a few short months later, her daughter is back in the hospital with a brain injury. Didion is well known for her honest and expertly crafted essays, and this work is no different. It’s unputdownable, despite the heavy topic.
ONE IN A MILLENNIAL, by Kate Kennedy
Buzzwords. Millennial Buzzwords. This book is full of them. Conjuring memories and nostalgia that smacked me across the face whilst listening. I needed a palate cleanser after reading The Magical Year of Thinking, something light and fun, and this definitely filled that need. I am not familiar with Kate Kennedy, nor have I listened to her popular podcast, but I saw this was nominated as one of the books of the year on Goodreads and it was available to check out immediately on Libby from my local library. I enjoyed it — this was a breezy listen and a nice way to reminisce on the things that are “core Millennial vibes”. If you’re into that, you’ll like it!
See what else I’ve read this year by clicking here.
Follow me on Goodreads!
All the (non-affiliate) links for the books reviewed go to Bookshop.org, a wonderful site where you can purchase your books and support your local independent bookstore(s). 📚