For the Love of Reading: November 2021

Let’s take a look back on what I read in November 2021 . . .

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Louise Penny has brought us back to Three Pines and it feels like coming home. I truly enjoyed the plot, the characters are like old friends, and the setting is idyllic and makes me long to sip hot chocolate by a roaring fire while it snows outside. Highly recommend for fans of the series.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a touching and heartbreaking story of a grieving father and his autistic son. I connected with the parts that focused on the relationship between Theo and Robin, Theo’s commitment to dealing with Robin’s challenges without medication, and the backstory of Theo and Aly. I struggled with the imaginary trips to planets and some of the more science-y sections but overall I found it to be a lovely, if heartbreaking, book.

The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Overall, I enjoyed this series but I’m not sad this is the last installment. The plot felt repetitive and hearing the same characters say the same things and seeing them make the same mistakes is just not very exciting. Nonetheless, the ending is satisfying, everything is wrapped up nicely, and I am satisfied picturing life on Tradd Street continuing in a pleasant fashion.

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
While I appreciated this story about the friendship of 3 aging women, I did not actually connect with any of them and that made the book feel rather lifeless to me. Some of the backstory was interesting but I did not feel like any of it really explained how these women became (and stayed) friends for such a long time when they are all vastly different. Truthfully, I found it sad and bleak and I had to push myself to finish it.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book explores what happens when best friends are forced to deal with racism. While it generally felt very authentic to me, in a truly ripped-from-the-headlines sort of way, I think the authors could have dug a little deeper and had the main characters have more conversations about the issues they were dealing with and the differences in their lives. The ending was a little too convenient for me but overall I enjoyed the book and I recommend it.

I’ve read 73 books so far this year, only 2 to go to meet my goal of 75.

What have you read lately?