Book By Book: Books Read in November

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Books Read in November

Quick camping trip in early November

Yes, you read that correctly. While everyone else is posting their year-end summaries, I am just posting my November summary! Ah, well. The good news is that November was an excellent reading month for me, with lots of good books, as I focused on #NonfictionNovember. Here's what I finished reading last month:

Follow Me by K.R. Alexander (NY) - middle grade fiction on audio
White Trash by Nancy Isenberg - adult nonfiction

Back to Blackbrick by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Ireland) - middle-grade fiction
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois - adult nonfiction on audio

When All Is Said by Anne Griffin (Ireland) - adult fiction
H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (UK) - adult nonfiction/memoir

The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery by Chris Schweizer (VA) - middle-grade graphic nonfiction
The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes by Kate Hannigan and Alex Graudins (IL) - middle-grade graphic nonfiction

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox - adult nonfiction/memoir on audio

I finished nine books in November, which is a really big reading month for me! There were a bunch of middle-grade and a couple of graphic "novels," so those are quicker. I did well for Nonfiction November, with 6 of my 9 books nonfiction. I listened to three books on audio. While I didn't read any YA last month, I did include four middle-grade books and five books for adults. They were all good in their own way, but my favorite book in November was No Time Like the Future. Michael J. Fox's memoirs are always wonderful, especially read by him on audio--warm, honest, raw, and very funny (review and audio sample at the link).

Progress in 2020 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link above. I have some fun ones going this year!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 - I read four books from my own shelves last month, bringing my year-to-date total (as of the end of Nov) to 40. So why are our shelves still so full?

2020 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - November was Dynamic Duos, so I chose Cosmo and his grandfather in Back to Blackbrick by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Back to the Classics 2020 - I read another classic! The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois which fit into the category "Classic by a Person of Color."

PopSugar Reading Challenge - this is a unique one. Most of my categories are filled now, so I was surprised to see I filled three more with my November books!

A bildungsroman - The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Du Bois
A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name (almost missed this one!) - No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox
A book with only words on the cover - White Trash by Nancy Isenberg

2020 Nonfiction Reader's Challenge - Six of my books were nonfiction in November, bringing my total up to 14 so far.

2020 Diversity Reading Challenge - Five of my books were diverse last month, including
The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery by Chris Schweizer, which fit into November's category of Native American.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I only traveled globally to Ireland and the UK in my books last month, where I've spent a lot of reading time this year!

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added two new states, Virginia and Illinois, which is tough to do at this time of year.

2020 Big Book Summer Challenge - Ended in September, with a grand total of ten for me this year.

RIP XV - Finished, with a total of 16 books read this fall.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In November, I filled 18 spaces on my bingo card: