December 8, 2015

November Books



#67 It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell A-
I read this in about 36 hours. I really enjoyed it. It was a memoir by someone my age, growing up in the 90s, and struggling with weight. She'd ultimately become a food blogger, and I have seen her blog before.  It's nice to make that connection, though 29/30 is young to write a memoir. I can see why you'd want to tell your whole story though. It's something I've often gone back and forth on because everyone has a story.
Anyway, the beginning struck me as a bit prosey, and I'm not a prosey writer myself so I had trouble getting into the first chapter.  Then it was easy reading. I, personally, could definitely tell that it was written by a blogger. One of the reviews said it was like one big long blog post. Perhaps, but there's nothing wrong with that.
I never thought I'd be that person, but I really am noticing my preference for non-fiction in 2015.


#68 The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion C+ 
So I'm not the smartest because I picked up The Rosie Effect at the library and then realized it was, indeed, the sequel. So then I went home and downloaded The Rosie Project onto my iPad from my other library and read it.
The Rosie Project was okay. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. I liked Don's character.  There was some forced reading done in order to get it finished before my ebook loan was up.
I didn't love it enough to read the sequel, ironically enough.  Oh well.  Would make a cute movie.


#69 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson A
This was recommended by this blogger way long ago and it's been on my to-read list for the better part of 2 years.  I could never find it. I decided to just get it from Audible this month because a nice engrossing fiction story is always good for commuting.
It started off slowly for me, but Atkinson has a way with crafting her words, chapters, and storylines.  I really enjoyed it. I mean, it was a REALLY good story and I was always eager to see what would happen next.  If you like historical fiction, this is a good one.  It reminded me a a choose-your-own-adventure story because it kept starting over and ending and ending in a different place.  Very descriptive writing (but not prosey) and I really do recommend it if you like WWI/WWII history. Kind of remind me of parts of Downton.

#70 The Lake House by Kate Morton B-
This kept popping up as a recommendation on Audible and was just released this fall, so I tried it.
This book moved along slowly.  Very slowly.  There were over 10 different plot lines happening at once and, while I normally enjoy stories told from multiple POVs, it wasn't the time-period jumping or the narrator-jumping that bothered me.  THERE WAS TOO MUCH GOING ON.  I didn't care about Sadie. I didn't care about her past. I didn't care about Constance. I didn't care about her past. I didn't even care about Alice that much. I rather liked Eleanor.  The Anthony/Howard WWI storyline was as predictable as predictable gets. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEO.  The ending was one big eyeroll for me.

#71 The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans A-
A student gave me a Richard Paul Evans book for Christmas years ago and I loved it.  I didn't want to like it but I did.  His books are just...good.  And I love a good Christmas read.  I read this one in an hour and enjoyed it very much.  If you're looking for a Christmasy book to spend an evening with, go for it. 


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Linking up with Jana and Steph!

Do you have a good Christmasy book to recommend?  
Though it will count as part of December's books, I just finished reading The House Without a Christmas Tree by Gail Rock.  I got it out of the book order last month and it's a super quick read, perfect for a 4th or 5th grader.  Written in 1974, it takes place in 1946 and it's just a nice little Christmas story.  I'm reading it to my class now and, while it wasn't initially something I thought they'd love, if I don't expose them to different types of books, WHO WILL?  I edit a few of the swear words out but they'll never know...unless they decide to read it themselves.  I love Christmas books.