5 Books I Read in November
5 Books I Read in November
By: Brittany Shields
Holiday season is in full swing!
More family time means less reading time, and I’m okay with that trade-off.
Nonetheless, I was still able to read five books this month.
Three books are from series, two are new releases, and the fifth is one I’m borrowing that I needed to return and needed to read…
Since it’s a shorter list this month I’m not going to do a spotlight.
There’s a lot of stuff coming up on my site in the next couple months though, so head over to my Facebook page and follow me so you get all the updates!
I’ll be putting out a list of the best books from 2022, a list of most anticipated books for 2023, a Goodreads Choice Awards reading list for 2023, a Shelf Reflection 2023 Reading Challenge, and a Bible Reading in a Year series (through Daily Grace Co) that others can join me on and get a weekly email about.
Lots of things to get excited about!
PLUS, I officially launched my merch shop for unique and fun book-related apparel and more. So check that out, especially if you need some gift ideas for the readers in your life.
Which brings me to my next plug… Check out my post Gift Guide for Book Lovers for more bookish gift ideas!
1. The Last Graduate (The Scholomance #2) by Naomi Novik
Genre: Fantasy/YA
[Nominated for ‘Best Fantasy’ category of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“Senior year, you spend half your time staying alive, half your time on your lessons, and half your time working out a graduation strategy to get you through the hall. If you can’t make that equation add up properly, you die.”
Book One is A Deadly Education. The series is about a school of magic for wizards honing their powers before being sent off into the world where mals want to eat them.
The main character is part April Ludgate part Captain Marvel and makes for an entertaining first person POV.
The third book in this series has currently been nominated on Goodreads for Best Fantasy of 2022.
Read my full review for what I liked and didn’t like about this one!
2. Live Your Truth (and Other Lies): Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed by Alisa Childers
Genre: Christian Living/Cultural
Alisa Childers (author of ‘Another Gospel?’) was part of the Christian band ZOEGirl back in the 90s. She had her own deconstruction journey and questioned her faith and Christianity. In her study and questioning, she reconstructed in truth and is now an apologist.
I hear that phrase ‘live your truth’ so often as positive encouragement. What Childers tackles in this book is exposing phrases like this and ideas that are marketed as positive and life-changing and showing how they actually promote the worship of self instead of God.
If you’re a fan of Jen Hatmaker (Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire and For the Love), Glennon Doyle (Untamed), and Rachel Hollis (Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing), you may find this book insightful and possibly even surprising.
If you’ve thought there’s just something off about some of the ideas these Christians promote but can’t put your finger on why, this book will affirm your discernment and wariness and direct you to what God’s Word says about them.
Read my full review to find out the lies she talks about, the 7 steps to being deceived, my favorite parts, and other relevant books.
3. Box 88 (Lachlan Kite, #1) by Charles Cumming
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
“They want something that couldn’t be found in his phone calls, his emails, his text messages… They want his memory.”
I requested the sequel to this book on NetGalley (Judas 88) and so naturally I decided to read the first book in the series.
I haven’t read an espionage thriller in awhile so it was a nice change of pace.
This is a European spy novel.
Box 88 is the name of a secret intelligence organization that works with both the US and MI:6 in some capacity, but is mostly off-the-grid.
“‘Box 88 does the things [governments] don’t want us to do, that they don’t ask us to do, which they don’t realize need to be done.’”
With alternating timelines between the present (2020) where Kite is captured for information and the past (1989) where Kite is on his first mission— of which his captors are interested.
Read my full review if you don’t know the difference between MI:5 and MI:6 or you’re interested in some other things I learned.
4. Mastering the Art of French Murder (An American in Paris #1) by Colleen Cambridge
Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction
“I suppose if one could count having a father for an investigator and reading mystery novels as the groundwork for real-life detection experience, I was as prepared as anyone.”
I would probably classify this book as a ‘cozy mystery.’ (Even though there is a bloody knife and skulls and crossbones on the front…)
There is a double murder to solve and a killer at large, but it’s within the context of a light-hearted friendship between Tabitha (our protagonist) and Julia Child (the not-yet-famous chef). Hence the play on words with the title.
Read my full review for some hard-hitting knowledge about cats and mayonnaise.
5. Resisting Gossip: Winning the War of the Wagging Tongue by Matthew C. Mitchell
Genre: Christian Living
“The problem is not that we love stories but that we can love stories too much, and, especially, we can love the wrong stories.”
Dividing his book into four parts, Mitchell seeks to help us Recognize gossip (are we doing it?), Resist gossip (can we avoid it?), Respond to gossip (are we experiencing it?), and Regret gossip (are we sorry for it?)— the last one referring to God’s forgiveness for people repenting of gossip.
Supported by Scripture throughout (a lot of Proverbs) with an emphasis on the gospel message of sin, forgiveness, and the help of the Holy Spirit, this book is biblical, practical, and encouraging.
Read my full review to find out the five types of gossipers and see if you’re one of them!
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