November '22 Reads

After finishing one book in October, which you can read about here, I’m back with another monthly reading round-up. I’m (still) writing these for myself, and that’s okay. It’s fun. Kind of. I haven’t read this much in years, and I’m enjoying it.

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Last Chance Books – Kelsey Rodkey, read #38 of 2022

I technically read most of this one in October, but I finished it in November, so it counts as a “November read,” right? Either way, it needs a place to go, so here it is.

Last Chance Books was cute, but…it had potential to be cuter? Er, better? It just fell flat. Rival bookstore employees who fall in love? Yes, please. But the pranks Madeline and Jasper pulled on each other’s bookstores were too much. And borderline illegal. The relationships felt shallow and underdeveloped, while the side characters had more spunk and I would’ve liked to see more of them. Madeline was just too childish and immature to take seriously.

But it was a cute book, I’ll give it that.

That Was Then, This Is Now – S. E. Hinton, read #39 of 2022

A childhood? middle school classic I seemed to miss. I read S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders like so many other 8th graders and fell in love. But it stopped there; I didn’t pursue any of her other novels while in the target age range.

I feel like I say this about a lot of books, but I didn’t want to put this one down. That Was Then, This Is Now exists in the same universe as The Outsiders and has the same vibes, but in some way, I think it might be more intense than The Outsiders. Not necessarily in a physical sense – there are less fights in That Was Then, This Is Now – but in a mental, philosophical, growing up kind of way. Bryon makes a decision that not only changes the course of his and his best friend’s lives, but alters the way he thinks about himself and the world surrounding him.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg, read #40 of 2022

I love this book. It’s one of my favorites from childhood and is my earliest memory of taking a thing – a hobby, place, other forms of media – from media and making it a core part of my personality. In this case, it’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. To this day, the Met is one of my favorite places in the world because of this book.

I don’t need to do a deep dive on From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It’s just a good children’s book. Although now, and even then, slightly unrealistic. But that’s the beauty of children’s books – they don’t have to always make 100% complete sense. They just exist for the sake of existing. Even now, in my early 20s, I find myself going back and rereading childhood favorites as an escape from adulthood, November clearly being a month where that was prevalent.

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess – Nancy Springer, read #41 of 2022

I wish I had these books when I was a kid. I loved Sherlock Holmes. Like the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I was in fourth grade trying to digest what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, completely oblivious to the fact that there were movies, TV shows, and other, more child friendly books based around Sherlock Holmes. (I feel like that says a lot about 4th grade me and my lack of “popularity” on the playground.)

Regardless, I wish I knew about the Enola Holmes series back then. Which is unfortunate, because based on their publication dates, I was in the target audience age range during my Sherlock Holmes phase.

I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Marquess now, way out of the target demographic. The author didn’t “dumb” anything down, and I feel like it was an enjoyable mystery and definitely a good entryway into the genre for young readers.

The Book Charmer – Karen Hawkins, read #42 of 2022

The only library book on the list! Working at a library, I’ve been using the library more than I have in the past since I’m practically there every day. And I’ve grown to gravitate towards books about books and bookish people. Especially romances.

The Book Charmer wasn’t exactly that, a romance, that is, but it was cute. It had all the good, small town vibes, and a lot of discussion about the need for relationships – romantic, platonic, and familial. And there definitely were a lot of friendships and learning the importance of having a strong group to rely on even if you don’t like asking for help.

I don’t think I was the ideal demographic for the book – the characters seemed much older than their supposed 25 – but I liked it. I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series, though.

Honorable Mention – Verity’s Exclusive New Chapter

I caved and bought the special edition of Verity. I’m not proud about it – especially since I saw the special edition at my library the day after I bought it.

The new epilogue answered nothing, and only made me more confused. Who was the true Verity – manuscript or letter Verity? Was Jeremy the bad guy all along? Why is Crew acting suspicious? Where is Lowen going to go?

I’m not going to rehash all my Verity thoughts (you can read about them here, though) since I only read the new epilogue this month, but I still do count it as one of my favorite reads of 2022.

November was a good reading month, more or less. I had some stuff going on personally so I tried to stay clear of anything too dense and emotional. I cannot remember a time where I didn’t love books and reading, and you wouldn’t be far off if you would assume I lean into literary escapism when life gets to be too much.