November is the month that a warm sunny day is an unexpected gift. Reading outside becomes a rare treat, even with sunny skies since the breeze is quite unfriendly. It is also the month that I wonder how much more reading I can accomplish as December looms ahead as well as my hopes to best last year’s reading accomplishment. In the past few years I have surpassed my yearly Goodreads Challenge goal of 101 books. This year though, I wonder can I beat my all time record of 173 and possibly get to 200 books?
Here are the five star reads of November:
The Place of Tides by James Rebanks
“I am only the storyteller. She is the story.” This the essence of the book. The author, seeking to change the manic pace he had created in his life, seeks out Anna, having made her acquaintance years ago when she is tending the ducks nesting on a remote Norwegian island.
He commits to spending the nesting season with her and the book is his account of that time. Part journal, part autobiography, Rebanks relates the season as it unfolds, the cadence of the work and how the pace of the work impacts him as he learns more about Anna’s chosen role as a “duck woman.”
Rebanks unfolds the story in sequence similar to a rolling wave, how it drifts forward and then curls back, only to repeat, with an occasional stormy sequence. Two thirds of the book revolves around the preparation of the nests, the tedious rebuilding and checking, as they awaited the arrival of the ducks. The last part is a reflection of life beyond tending the nests.
The book, like life on the island, unfolds on its own terms, setting a pace that needs to be unhurried. Rebanks describes the simple and stunning environment he is immersed in with often profound prose, allowing the reader to share in his appreciation of the island and its remote beauty.
This book is companionable with, Raising Hare, another journal-oriented book, as both books emphasize how the pace of life is bettered when it slows down to enjoy nature, especially its wild creatures.
Words on Fire by Jennifer Nielsen
The historical fiction intended for middle grade readers opens with Cossacks arresting Audra’s parents for being book smugglers and Audra running for her life to hide in the Lithuanian forests.
Words on Fire recounts vividly the struggle Lithuanian people faced to keep their culture alive once Russia invaded their land and subjugation began. Audra, though young, eventually becomes a book smuggler herself through the help of Lukas, Ben, and Milda and others willing to risk their lives to keep their culture alive through obtaining books written in their own language.
Full of adventure with vivid descriptions the story is both engaging and encouraging. The message how important it is to preserve books as a means of preserving a culture is well-presented.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Tom Lake. One of those books I’m sure I must have read but as I start reading this story that is gently set during the early days of the pandemic, the realization is I have been intending to read the novel but have put it off. And now I can see why Ann Patchett is such a big deal as an author.
Lara, once upon a time, had been born Laura. She discovered she was also born to play Emily in the play Our Town, so she did. From there she was discovered, made a movie, starred in summer stock, became the momentary girlfriend of a movie star, before he became a movie star, and then married a cherry farmer.
This is the story she tells her three daughters as they pick cherries, at least most of it. There are parts only we readers get to know.
Tom Lake is funny, poignant, often brilliant, and is difficult to set aside, because, after all, work does not stop, even for a good read.
Onto to find another Ann Patchett title and try not to chastise myself for not reading her sooner.
Lost Stories by Dashiel Hammett
Hammett may be most remembered for The Maltese Falcon and his private detective Sam Spade, but it took him several years, and much personal travail before he became regarded as the inventor of the hard-boiled (such a cliche now) detective.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
In my reading experience stories set in Ireland tend to have a sadness threaded through them which creates a resonance long after the last page is turned.
Such is the case for Keegan’s novella which centers around Bill Furlough, a decent man who loves his wife and daughters, yet is haunted by his past. Unlike many, if not most, of those living near the convent Bill does something about the injustice he witnesses when he drops off a load of coal.
As the story ends, it hints at another story, one that may never be told, yet for Bill he is willing to take on the challenge of care that needed doing. The story is made much more riveting knowing Cillian Murphy plays Bill in the film version.
The Impossible Fortune (The Thursday Murder Club #5) by Richard Osman
There have been some definite changes since the Thursday Murder Club gang last met. For one, they moved from the more formal setting puzzle room into the therapy pool aka hot tub for their meetings creating a chummier consultation session. Secondly, the recognition of their capabilities has primed them to be sought out by all manner of people with a problem. Thirdly, and quite profoundly, Connie, the hardened criminal mastermind, has shed tears and offered up a sincere and appropriate apology when it mattered.
With sophisticated wit and clever plotting this fifth series entry is all the more fun to read since Netflix provided an excellent movie version. Elizabeth’s tart remarks are spoken with Helen Mirren’s brisk delivery and so it goes with each of the characters. The in joke about Pierce Bronsan and Bond was delightful.
Looking forward to the further adventures of the TMC crew whether in film or in print.
How is your reading challenge going?
Pam Webb 