My reading plan derailed a bit this month as I was finishing many books planned for October and got a late start. And also in part because I just some different books than I planned to read. That happens sometimes. Anyway, here are the five books I read/started in November that I enjoyed the most.
- The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny – The latest in the Inspector Gamache series. This one hit differently because it dealt with themes of the pandemic and different people’s reactions to it. It is set as the beloved characters of Three Pines are celebrating together again for the holidays. I love this whole series, but there were times reading this one that I had to put it down and catch my breath.
- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman – Why did I wait so long to read this? I devoured this book in early November, and I’m already halfway through the third in the series. If you like magical realism and you haven’t read it yet, learn from my mistake. Do not wait any longer.
- Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God by Brian Zahnd – This is a quick read, but I was reading along with my discussion group at church, so I took it more slowly and finished it with them. Highly recommend for Christians who get mad at God every time they read the Bible. It might help you do that less. Be advised that it might not help you be less mad at Christians, though.
- Still Life by Sarah Winman – Not to be confused with the first Inspector Gamache novel. Beautiful storytelling. I am not finished yet because I keep going back to re-read really exquisite passages. The dialogue is particularly well done.
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Another “Why did I wait so long?!?!” title. For years, this book has been recommended to me by people who know what I love to read the most. They were right. It’s so good. There’s not one thing I dislike about it.
What have you read recently that you loved?
M. Suzanne Terry 
I read the (first?) book Practical Magic years ago and loved it, but I never realized there was a series! I’ll have to revisit this now!
Actively on the hunt for a few older novels that have escaped from my collection (Alan Dean Foster and Harry Turtledove among them) but that I am craving to read again. Just discovered a new author online promoting a free first book, so I downloaded that immediately, too.
A good nonfiction read that I just finished up is “Music on the Brain” by Arlene Taylor and Michael Hudson.
If the novels pan out (including the ones I hope are still good now), I’ll be glad to recommend them, but it’s been a long time, so I’m not sure they will resonate the same way now. Look forward to finding out, though!
Music on the Brain is on my TBR list! I’m looking forward to it.
I like the way the Practical Magic series was written sort of in reverse order. Each book focuses on a different generation, and I think they would be just as wonderful in any order.
That sounds even better (the series)!
And I hope you enjoy Music, too! The subject matter is of course fascinating, and the structure rather delightful.