…on my bookshelf {november} …

With the end of the year coming up quickly, I’m in a race against time to complete my 2017 Goodreads challenge. My goal was 52 books in the year, and my tally currently sits at 31. 6 weeks until the end of the year. 21 books to read. That’s 3.5 books a week, which is totally doable…if I didn’t have four children, homeschool lessons, oh, and just for fun, nine Santa photo sessions, a newborn session and an afternoon of mini-sessions to shoot between now and Christmas. First thing I need to do is re-block Facebook on my phone. Second thing I need to do is download a heap of books to my phone, because ain’t nobody got time to read a hard copy right now. 

On my “done and finished” bookshelf for November:

The Stalking of Julia Gillard ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️ ⭐️ not going to lie, this was hard going at times, and brought back a lot of the rage against the unfairness of that time. If you are Team Julia, it’s worth a read. If you aren’t, I would recommend skipping it. 

Unveiled ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️ I love and adore Courtney Milan, she does historical fiction so fabulously. This was a reread for something fun after the heavy politics of the book above. If you like historical fiction with a feminist bent and more diversity than a lot of the genre, I highly recommend giving her a try (I think one of her novellas is free on most platforms as a teaser)

The Last Time They Met ⭐️️ I struggled to get into this book, not the least of which is due to the whacky, pretentious formatting of the dialogue. It also occurs in reverse chronological order, and it’s ending is so jarring and abrupt – the whiplash way the last paragraph negates pretty much the entire story carries faint echoes of the How I Met Your Mother finale. And anyone who knows me well, knows exactly what level of rage THAT entails! This is probably the first book I have moved straight from my reading pile to my declutter pile. 

The Secret Keeper ⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️ while it took me a while to get into it, in the end I really enjoyed this book. It was a loan from a friend after I read The Lake House, which I didn’t mind but wasn’t overly in love with. The Secret Keeper I enjoyed a lot more and the twist was perfect – I guessed it wrong at least twice! 

IN PROGRESS FOR NOVEMBER:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John le Carrè – carry over from October

So Much For That – Lionel Shriver – a find from the Yamba second hand bookshop at quilt camp. I’m around a third of the way through it, and need to stop nerding out quite so much when the main character’s Merrill Lynch balance is mentioned…doesn’t he know there is a GFC coming?? Cash it out, sunshine!!

(Hitchhikers Guide to are Galaxy in the above pile belongs to Mr 11)

I’m about to use one of my audible credits for Eleanor Oliphant to try and help reduce the gap between Actual Read and Want to Read tallies. Any other other great books, audio or otherwise, I should consider?