Books Read in November

Bare November trees reflected in the water

My reading last month was devoted to Nonfiction November, though several of my nonfiction books were actually finished in December. Here is what I finished reading in November:

• Lost Child: The True Story of a Girl Who Couldn't Ask for Help by Torey Hayden (Wales) - memoir on audio
• In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (Germany) - nonfiction
• Guts by Raina Telgemeier (CA) - middle-grade graphic memoir

• Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott - memoir/inspirational
• An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina, with Tom Zoellner (Rwanda) - memoir/autobiography

I finished a total of five books in November, all nonfiction which is highly unusual for me! Only one was audio because I started a very long audio book mid-month that went into December. Four of the books were for adults, and one was a graphic memoir for middle-grade readers. I enjoyed all of these books--each was fascinating and thought-provoking in its own way--but An Ordinary Man was my favorite of the month because it was so powerful and moving. Everyone should read it, both to understand what happened in Rwanda in the 1990's and also to let this one ordinary man who did extraordinary things restore your hope in humanity.

Progress in 2019 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge - Four of my five books were from my own shelves, bringing me up to 37 for the year so far.

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - For the first time this year, I failed at this one. Nothing I read fit the motif of Seasons, Elements, and Weather.

Back to the Classics Challenge - No classics in November.

Monthly Keyword Challenge - Another big zero for this one! 

Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2019 - Five nonfiction books added, bringing my year-to-date total to ten.

Diversity Reading Challenge - Two of my books read last month had diverse characters or themes.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I read books set in Wales, Germany, and Rwanda.

2018 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added no new states. It was mostly an international reading month.

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 16 squares in November:

Spaces Filled:

Lost Child - family, audio book
In the Garden of Beasts - travel, feast, party
Guts - read a physical book, in a series, cooking, free book
Hallelujah Anyway - not in a series
An Ordinary Man - police, shelf love, clean shaven, rescue, thankful

What was your favorite book read in November?