The Terror of Knowing

Welcome one, welcome all, to my November Wrap Up. As mentioned in my previous wrap up, I was writing the post from Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort, and the holiday did affect my reading pace quite dramatically. Then, November rolled around, and I was trying to focus all my efforts on NaNoWriMo. It turns out working full time, trying to write 50,000 words in a month, blog at least sometimes, and also read is a bit of a difficulty to juggle. I’ve never felt that more so than during NaNo this month. Even so, I still think I didn’t do too bad of a job in maintaining a steady reading pace (although said pace was quite slow) throughout the month and I’m glad I managed to read a few things- all of which I really enjoyed! Let’s have a look…

In November, I read a total of 4 books – 4 fiction and 0 non-fiction – and 0 were re-reads (go me!). This amounted to 1544 pages in total.

In terms of format: 4 were paperback.

As for genre, 2 were contemporary, 1 was a historical fantasy, and 1 was a classic.

Onto the books themselves…

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Rating: 5/5
Genre: contemporary
Format: paperback
Pages: 416
Read: 26th October – 11th November
Review: Hilarious, OTT, and such amazing fun. Real page turner with occasional moments of genuine emotion offset against the outrageous circumstances the characters find themselves in. (Full review to come)

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Rating: 4/5
Genre: contemporary
Format: paperback
Pages: 378
Read: 11th – 15th November
Review: Full review to come

The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman

Rating: 4/5
Genre: young-adult; historical fantasy; paranormal
Format: paperback
Pages: 500
Read: 18th – 26th November
Challenge: Tome Topple
Review: This second book in the Lady Helen series takes the action outside of London to Brighton and we get to see the aftermath of Helen’s decision to join with the Dark Days Club and its formidable Lord Carlston. As well as moving outside the familiar London streets, this sequel also sees her leave her family behind and instead fleshes out side characters much more. The tone also shifts in this second book as we see Helen crossdress in order to allow her to work with Carlston without suspicion to track down deceivers incognito and in the seedier underbelly of the town. Very much a bridge book, The Dark Days Pact raises the stakes exponentially from the first book and ushers in the climax that the third book will undoubtedly prove to be. (Full review to come)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: classics
Format: paperback
Pages: 250
Read: 27th – 28th November
Challenge: Around the Year in 52 Books (Week 19)
Review: And Then There Were None tells the story of a disparate group of people invited by a mysterious benefactor to spend a holiday in an isolated house located on an island off the coast. When they get there they discover each of them have been purposely invited there to answer for “crimes” they have committed, and only time will tell whether they get their just desserts. Having seen the most recent BBC TV adaptation of the book, I will say that nothing was particularly surprising or alarming about the book, but it was yet another masterpiece of plotting by Agatha Christie.

As December dawns, I’m going to have a look back over my reading plans for the year and their remaining challenges to complete and check the readathons I’d like to take part in during December, and then I will have a serious think about what I need/want to read in the remaining month of the year. I can’t believe it’s December already, can you? Here’s hoping to a lot of reading this month!

How did your November reading go?
What was your favourite book you read this month?
Please do share in the comments below and let’s chat books!

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