November TBR
Happy November!
Hooray!
We survived October!
I honestly can’t believe another month has gone by so fast, but I am keeping my head down and looking forward to a new season, holidays with family, and lots and lots of hours put in at work.
October was unbelievably hard for me. My body is stuck in fight or flight from it all. That being said, November will be a month of rereads for me. I haven’t written reviews for any of these books, and I probably won’t be posting reviews for them (You’ll see why in a second.) but the point is to bring comfort to myself. I’m hoping that by diving into something familiar, all the uncertainty and unsureness in other areas of my life will get easier, and I’ll be able to eat a whole meal again.
It’s been psychologically proven that people with anxiety are more likely to rewatch series or reread books because they know what’s going to happen. Nothing about it is unexpected.
Here’s to being a statistic.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
First book I pick up when I’m sad is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, A Court of Mist and Fury. The protagonist, Feyre, is in her healing era in this book. I can’t really say much about this book without spoiling the first one, but if you haven’t heard of this series, I highly recommend picking it up. It is incredibly good. A five star read.
There are fae. And there is spice. Read it.
Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe, born powerless from Greek gods, is an oddball. She turns to mortals and discovers that she does have powers. She learns witchcraft and becomes a menace to mortals and gods alike. She ends up banished on a deserted island, left to tame creatures and grow more talented in her craft. This book features Daedalus, Icarus, the Minotaur, and Odysseus.
This book is great. It feels longer than it is because of how much time it spans, but I enjoy every second of it. Circe is an incredibly strong, female lead who goes through heartbreak, devastation, and grief and finds herself on the other side of it. I could use a little bit of that energy.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
Do I need to summarize this book?
Harry Potter is a major comfort read. In fact, books one through four of this series are incredibly comforting to me. Something about the whimsy and homeliness of Hogwarts eases some of the constriction in my chest. It makes it easier to sleep at night.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Violet is ordered to attend Basgiath War College, a place where she either has to bond with a dragon or die. Her body, weak and brittle, makes her chances at this slim. In fact, many of the students at school would gladly kill her to better their own chances. Yet, there’s a war growing outside the walls of the school, one that calls into question leadership as the death toll continues to rise.
I haven’t read this book. I’m reading it with friends from work. One of them has already finished it, and has preordered the second, and I am so excited to dive in and see what all of the hype is about. It’ll be the first book I download on the Kindle I got for my birthday last month, and I’m excited to get some use out of it!
— — — —
November seems like it is going to be a good month!
A lot of fantasy, a splash of romance, and some spice are sure to liven my spirits.
All of these are familiar to me, except for Fourth Wing. I’m hoping the hype surrounding that book is not undeserved. I really want to find a new favorite series to obsess over, and I want Fourth Wing to provide that.
To be completely transparent, I really want November to be a month of creating for me, rather than consuming. I want to hone down and focus on Madeline, my version of Spider-Woman, and get that first draft written.
I can’t ignore that it’s also NaNiWrMo. I will not be participating in the fifty-thousand word sprint, simply because the pressure would kill my creativity, but I do plan on creating consistently. That’s all that matters.
Do you have any suggestions of books that feature strong, female protagonists? I could use some of that energy.
Happy reading this month!