Books Read: November 2021

Another month done and only one more month to go in 2021, hard to believe in some ways, but in others I’m very ready for this year to be done. This month I read what may turn out to be my favorite novel of the year, finished a comic series, and tried a few books that have gotten some press to see what I think. I didn’t love everything I read, but it all entertained or informed me in some way.

The Plot

This is a very popular book and I waited quite a while to get it from the library but I thought it was just OK. A struggling writer teaches in order to make ends meet and as he does he learns about an amazing plot from a student. Fast forward and we see what happens with that plot and so much more. There are twists and turns, some of which I saw coming and some of which I didn’t, but in the end both the main characters were kinda awful people, so I didn’t really care what happened to them in the end.

A Conjuring of Light

The final book in the Shades of Magic series and while it felt a bit like two books in one, it was very good and wrapped up the series well. I wasn’t too sure about this series when I started it, book one is the weakest of the three, so I’m glad I stuck with it. We continue to follow Lila and Kell as they fight some truly evil magic, but we also learn even more about many of the lesser characters. A very satisfying conclusion to this fantasy series.

Ascender Volume 3

I absolutely love the art in this series, the style of drawing is amazing. In this volume we start to come back around to story lines from the Descender series and the links start to become more obvious as young Mila meets some old friends of her Dad’s and the curmudgeonly captain continues to help her on her quest.

A Gentleman in Moscow

Since we’re getting towards the end of the year, I’m feeling OK saying that this is probably my favorite novel of 2021. I had no idea when I started the book exactly where it was going to go, and where I thought it was going to go about 50-75 pages in wasn’t at all where it went. It’s a lovely story about thriving in unusual circumstances and found family.

Ascender Volume 4

And the series is done, I don’t want to spoil it by saying too much, but the ending was quite satisfying. I really enjoyed both Descender and this series and love the artwork in these stories.

The House on Mango Street

I heard Sandra Cisneros interviewed on the On Being podcast and was intrigued by this book and how many people love it. Now that I’ve read it, I can see why. It’s an interesting book where each chapter is a vignette almost, showing you different characters and asepects of Esperanza’s life on Mango Street. She wants to get away, but the street and its community is central to her childhood.