18 Comments

Thank you for sharing your book reading for November :) You have got through a lot of reading this month - pretty impressive! I have always heard Jonathan Franzen recommended but have never tried any of his books. Will maybe have to try one this coming year!

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Glad to share! I think next month is going to be a bit lighter reading with the holidays and all but I am also working on some research for my Steinbeck project. I had heard a lot about Franzen as well. This particular book was good but not great. I really want to read The Corrections as I have heard more on that one. But I already have a lot on my plate for next year so not sure when I will get to it!

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I am also reading How to Read a Book! It’s great, isn’t it?

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Tiffany - it is awesome! I am reading an older version that I found in a book shop. I think it may have been updated at some point but I am really getting a lot out of it. Plan to do a write-up on it at some point. Glad you are also enjoying it. I am kind of taking my time with so the guidance seeps into me a bit.

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I'm excited to read your write-up on it, Matthew! I remember reading it as a child, and it definitely deepened my own reading experience into adulthood.

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I'm going to have to add some of these books to my list!

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Pamela - thanks for stopping by! What types of books do you typically enjoy? I am really loving The Covenant of Water. Had no idea what to expect. I am glad I chose to listen to it on audiobook because the narrator is really amazing. Hope all is well and all the best!

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I've been meaning to read The Covenant of Water. I read a lot of non-fiction, memoir, and historical fiction. I'm currently reading Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World: Essays

Barry H. Lopez and The Boleyn Heresy Part One: The Time Will Come by Kathleen McGowan. I typically don't do audiobooks because I like to highlight passages in books.

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I typically get through 1 audio book each month. I listen on my commute to work and while walking my dog. I do prefer physical books but occasionally a narrator is superb and really makes the book come to life. Thandie Newton's reading of Jane Eyre us exquisite.

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This might be why I don't listen to audio books, I have not really had a commute for decades!

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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.

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This is my first book by him and I am very impressed. Going to add Cutting for Stone to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!

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You are an impressive reader, Matthew! I loved Cutting for Stone too.

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Have you read Covenant of Water? I am going to add Cutting for Stone to my list because I am so impressed with this book.

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I haven't yet, but I just bumped it up my list after reading this post. Abraham Verghese seems as extraordinary a person as his writing.

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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.

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Hi Emily! Thanks for stopping by. I am really enjoying the Steinbeck biography. While I had read several of his books previously, I didn't really know much about his life. It is a good introduction to the man behind the words as I prepare for my year long journey through his works.

For the Ender Saga the original trilogy included Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. Years later he published a fourth book called Children of the Mind. Then there is a parallel series that follows the life of Bean, one of Enders friends from battle school. Then Card also wrote a prequel series about the Bugger wars and a sequel series as well. The first book is the best and can easily stand alone. But if you enjoy sci-fi the rest of the books are interesting.

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I really like biographies of authors. You've already been in the author's mind via their creative works and so a biography (or autobiography) is almost equally intriguing, providing the family history, environment, culture, and time in history that formed that mind (or at least influenced it). As for Card, I'm always amazed at how one writer can write so much from one original world/concept. I'm a dabbler in sci-fi. Ender's Game and Ursula LeGuin short stories are as far as I've ventured to date.

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