Books Read in November

Last of fall color & crisp blue sky in November

Whew, it's taken me awhile to catch up reviews from November because of the holiday season, my illness flaring up, and especially...because I read so many books last month! Here's what I finished in November (links are to my reviews, where available):

• How To Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (MA) - teen/YA novel on audio
• Flawed by Andrea Dorfman (Canada) - graphic memoir
• Escaping Wars and Waves: Encounters with Syrian Refugees by Olivier Kugler (Iraq, Greece, France, UK, Germany) - graphic nonfiction - reviewed for Shelf Awareness

• Seven: In the Lane of Hope by Michal J. Marini (DE) - memoir
• Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka (MA) - teen/YA graphic memoir
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (South Africa) - memoir on audio

• Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - essays
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (GA) - nonfiction
• On Two Feet and Wings by Abbas Kazerooni (Turkey) - memoir on audio

• The Lyme Solution by Darin Ingels, ND - nonfiction
• Happiness Is a Choice You Make by John Leland (NY) - nonfiction on audio
• Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley (NY) - essays

  
Yes, that's right - I read 12 books in November! That is an all-time record for me. Now, granted, three were graphic novels and very quick reads, and I crammed in four audio books, but that is still a big accomplishment for me. Not only that but I crushed Nonfiction November, with 11 of those 12 books nonfiction (the novel was a leftover from October that I finished in early November). I read almost all fiction normally, so this was a nice change for me. I enjoyed every one of them. The four audio books were especially good and have all stayed with me, long after I finished them. Both Hey, Kiddo and Escaping Wars and Waves were very powerful and unique graphic-novel style books. I guess Born a Crime would be my top book of November, but it's a close race!

Progress in 2018 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge - I added 5, bringing my total-to-date to 31 (and I think I should get extra credit for finally reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil after 20+ years on my shelf!). 

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - November was Family month, and Seven: In the Lane of Hope was a family memoir.  

Back to the Classics Challenge - Gift From the Sea counted as a 20th century classic, published in 1955.

2018 Badass Books Challenge - nothing new added
  
Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I added Iraq, Greece, France, UK, Germany (all in one book!), plus South Africa and Turkey.

2018 Literary Escapes Challenge, I added Georgia and Delaware (it's rare to find books set in our tiny state)

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month. I filled in 22 squares in November - an excellent Bingo month for me (though impossible to get "set in the future" or "magical abilities" when you are reading all nonfiction!)

Spaces filled in:

How to Hang a Witch - in a series, baking/cooking, mysterious character, bad boy actually good
Flawed - free book, graphic novel
Escaping Wars and Waves - read a physical book, travel/distance, start over/new beginning
Seven - family gathering, feast, sports
Hey, Kiddo - not in a series, married couple, sassy/sarcastic character
Born a Crime - library book, pet, brown on the cover
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil - shelf love, made into a TV show or movie

What was your favorite book read in November?