WRAP-UP | November 2017

Hello, friends! It’s the final day of November, which means wrap-up time! I read quite a bit, despite being busy, and really enjoyed everything! So yay!!

 

 

“Species that rebel against seasonal norms are loved for their courage. The mistle thrush that can be heard to sing when all other birds have turned shy, even during winter gales, earns our respect, and his nickname, ‘tormcock,’ comes alive on the wind. The red berries and dark-green leaves of holly have found their way onto Christmas cards and earned a little fondness, despite their prickles, because they refuse to let their colors be bowed by a decrease in daylight or a blanket of snow. Gorse will flower at any time of year, and our love of this resilience can be found in the old saying, ‘Gorse is out of bloom when kissing’s out of fashion.'”

 

 

If you are interested in learning more about the way we perceive nature, and how we can improve, and benefit from improving, our observational skills, this is a book for you! I picked this up mostly just because I thought the audiobook would be nice to listen to on walks with my dog. I ended up loving it and getting so much out of it. Gooley even walks the reader through observational exercises to explain the way we see certain things and how we might see them in more detail. It was so enjoyable!

 

 

“‘To one as young as you, I’m sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them.'”

 

 

This begins my reread of the Harry Potter books through the illustrated editions. Every time I reread Harry Potter I am struck by Rowling’s mastery. Part of it is nostalgia, I’m sure, but I seem to always forget just how perfect every word is. It’s been several years since I’ve reread the entire series, and it’s so incredible to love it as much or more as I remember loving it. It’s been like that every time. How is that even possible?

 

 

“‘I guess I don’t discount anything. You don’t when your best friend in the world’s a witch. But I think a big part of that is you’re open to those connections. You reach for them, you do. It’s hard not to reach back, even when you’re not the reaching type in general.”

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I started reading it because of my mom. She loves Nora Roberts. Like, loves as in she’s read almost every single book Roberts has published under this name. So you can see how this trilogy being one of my mom’s all-time favorites of all of Roberts’ works intrigued me. Plus, I was in the mood for some romance, and I started this in October, so the witches were perfect! I liked it, but the two main characters weren’t my cup of tea. Not for any overwhelming reason, but just because they aren’t personalities I tend to enjoy reading. That being said, I still had fun reading this, which is a compliment to Roberts, I think, since I didn’t even really love the characters in the primary romance. I can already tell I’m going to be thrilled by the next two in the series, as they focus on characters we meet in this book, who I already love more!

 

 

 

“‘So? It’s only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.'”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, you all know how much I loved The Graveyard Book last month, so it should come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the graphic novel this month. This story is so beautiful, and the illustrations throughout this adaptation are STUNNING and fascinatingly varied.

 

 

“People in my village think I cannot understand what they say because I cannot hear.

So I watched their lips and learned about what occurred…

After a very strange man entered Hameln.

But I already knew more than they could ever know…

Because I knew him best.”

 

 

I stumbled across this in Target, of all places, and oh my goodness. No lies here, the cover drew me in, but upon further inspection of the synopsis, I was hooked for sure. I read this in one night. It’s based on the Pied Piper legend, which is explained in a really cool introduction by Asher and Freeburg. I’d never heard it before actually. Now I want to dive into the original story! Stokely’s artwork in this is nothing short of breathtaking, and the story also features a deaf main character, which I loved.

 

 

 

“Sometimes being a girl isn’t easy. At some point, someone probably will tell you no, will tell you to be quiet and may even tell you your dreams are impossible. Don’t listen to them.”

 

 

 

 

So I had a Barnes & Noble coupon for a picture book, and my sister and I were there getting other things, and I just ended up grabbing this! I had wanted to take a look at it anyway, but hadn’t really planned on buying it. I’m glad I did though, because it’s wonderful, and I think my mom might use it in her classroom, which makes me so happy! It has a wonderful message of course, and the illustrations are adorable too.

 

 

 

“Alia waggled her fingers. ‘Google knows all and sees all.’

‘Google,’ Diana repeated. ‘Is Google one of your gods?'”

 

 

 

 

This. Book. I thought I wasn’t going to care too much about it. Like I was excited, but I’m not a superhero person, so most of my excitement was stemming from the fact that Leigh Bardugo wrote it, and from hearing her talk about it in person. What I didn’t realize is that this particular superhero story involves a ton of classical mythology, at least in Bardugo’s version. I adored this. It’s just as empowering as you want it to be, and Bardugo clearly takes pains to fully dive into issues of sexism and racism. The characters are so endearing. The mythology is used in such a cool way. Seriously, I was completely nerding out over it. All in all, I looooved this, and it makes me much more excited than I was for the rest of the DC Icons series!

 

 

 

“You will perceive love from everything around you. This is the state of bliss. You perceive love directly from everything, including yourself and other humans. Even when humans are sad or angry, behind these feelings you can see that they are also sending love.”

 

 

 

 

For some reason, the month of November always wants to make me read at least one self-help book. I think it’s because it’s a month that makes you reflect on gratitude, and I never feel I’ve achieved true, lasting gratitude for my blessings, so I need to better myself in that way and others? Anyway, this little book was genuinely life-changing for me. The four agreements themselves seem straightforward when you read them off of the flap on the inside of the cover. But by the end of this little book, they are so expanded. If you are someone who loves to reflect on your inner self and your response to everything outside of you, with the goal of betterment and/or contentment, you will get so much out of this.

 

 

 

“I think NYC comes off way better on TV and in the movies, when a taxi is just a whistle away and superheroes save the day. In the real world (ours) every day in Gotham is a little like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a lot like Baggage Claim after a long, crowded flight.”

 

 

 

 

Wow. Tom Hanks! I was surprised when I heard about this, but I love Tom Hanks, I love short story collections, and Book of the Month was offering it, so count me in! I’m so glad I grabbed this, because it was the perfect Thanksgiving weekend read. Reading a short story at a time, while surrounded by family and having pumpkin pie and coffee, was oh so good for my soul. Each of these stories is original, humorous, and poignant. I’m quite impressed with Hanks. If I had to pick favorites? I’d probably go with “Christmas Eve 1953”, “Welcome to Mars”, and “Alan Bean Plus Four”.

 

 

 

“‘Your king is a humble scholar and thinker, but he has the will of a warrior. He is a man who has the nerve to fight, and I think—perhaps—you have yet to see the best of him.'”

 

 

 

 

 

This one was a little slower moving than the first, which I think contributed to me taking a little while to read it. It wasn’t that anything was uninteresting. It just didn’t move the way the first did, and when a book is 700-plus pages, it can take a while to get through even if it is a page-turner! That being said, I loved watching the growth of so many characters in this one, and political strategy has always fascinated me, so I enjoyed that part of it as well! Also, Vin is such a badass. There were so many passages I wanted to use involving her, but I was trying my hardest to keep spoilers out of this. So I’ll just leave it at that. She’s SUCH a badass. Now, on to the final book in the trilogy, and then on to the next trilogy! As I’ve said many times before, I’m so excited whenever I think about the amount of Sanderson in my future!

 

 

Would you be interested in reading full reviews on any of these books? Let me know in the comments!