November was a great month for me. The cool weather, Thanksgiving, family time, finding a community of writers and readers online here at
. It has been a refreshing experience and I am grateful to have a place to write and share my passion for reading along with interacting with other writers and readers.
Books I read in November 2023…
Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Book 13 in The Wheel of Time series. Everything is coming to a nexus in preparation for the finale in the next book. Jordan’s world is perfected in Sanderson’s writing. This is epic fantasy at its best.
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Book 14 in The Wheel of Time Series. Jordan’s masterpiece of epic fantasy was completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s untimely death from a rare blood disorder. They spent the last year of Jordan’s life working together in order for Sanderson to understand the scope and vision for the books. I don’t read much fantasy anymore but once every 10 years or so I pull this series off the shelf. Amazon Prime Video has released two seasons of a show based off the book series. While not exactly true to the books, the series is very well done, and in my opinion is true to the spirit of Jordan’s story.
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. First book I have read by this author. The story follows Patty and Walter Berglund as they navigate life and marriage. Their story is so middle-class it hurts. Rebellious children, mid-life crisis, love affairs, and more. Tragic and funny, it is the tale of all of us in a confusing and misguided world. I would like to read his book The Corrections which seems to have better reviews than this one did.
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. Book three in the Ender Saga. I last read this almost 30 years ago. It is much more scientifically technical than previous books in the series and I realized I missed much in the reading the first time around. I would say this book is probably only for die-hard fans of the series. While there are quite a few more books in this series including prequels, sequels, and parallel story lines, I am stopping here. I enjoyed the reread of the original trilogy but need to move on to other things.
Books I am currently reading…
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren. The classic guide to taking your reading to the next level.
Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck by William Souder. Reading this in preparation for my chronological read through of Steinbeck’s works which will be discussed in The Steinbeck Review.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. I am listening to the audiobook version on the Audible App. It is narrated by the author. The story so far is excellent and I am enjoying it tremendously.
Hopefully you find something here to pique your interest. Thanks for taking the time to following along. Let me know what you read this month that made an impact.
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Covenant of Water is my next read. Abraham's novel "Cutting for Stone" is one of my top five favorite books of all time.
Steinbeck book looks very interesting (I just read the paragraph on the link). I have only read Ender's Game once about 16 years ago when I had my first newborn and there was nothing to do but read while waiting for him to fall asleep. I didn't know there was a trilogy.