What I Read in November 2020
As we approach the end of November, it’s time to share what I read in November 2020. It’s been a bit of a slow reading month for me, but I’ve managed to read seven books this month. Although, if you count the Chronicles of Narnia as separate books then actually I’ve read 13!
What I read in November 2020
Failosophy by Elizabeth Day
I really enjoyed Elizabeth Day’s non-fiction book How to Fail last year, so I was thrilled to see that she was publishing a semi-sequel in 2020. Failosophy takes some of the stories and advice from Elizabeth’s podcast How to Fail and turns them into a new philosophy, which is the titular name of the book. It’s a supporting book for the podcast, but listening to the audiobook version was amazing and the stories shared are heart-wrenching. Well worth listening to the audiobook.
Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
It’s no secret that I love a good Greek Myth re-telling. I have to admit though, that I’m not a massive fan of Ali Smith. I think you either get her writing or you don’t, and I’m in the latter category. This was a re-telling of the Greek Myth Iphis, and I just didn’t connect with it like I’ve done other re-tellings.
The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
So, I have previously read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the Chronicles of Narnia. But that was it. When we went into Lockdown 2.0 I decided to download The BBC 4 Radio Dramatisation of the entire Chronicles to listen to as a bit of a comfort read. I really enjoyed it. Whilst it’s not word-for-word the same as the stories, the dramatisation was still fab and I can finally say I know the full Chronicles.
Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor
This is an Avon book I’m working on for 2021, and all I can say is prepare to be addicted. I skipped Great British Bake Off to finish this book because I needed to know what happened.
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
In recently watched the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit and adored it! It was brilliant. One of my favourite TV series of 2020. After I watched the show I immediately downloaded the eBook, because I am that person, and I started to read. This is a word-for-word screenplay adaptation, although a few scenes were cut (for good reason). A really enjoyable read, about the 1960s world of chess. Who knew that would be my thing?
The Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
This was my Book Club’s pick of the month, as my friend had never read Agatha Christie before! The horror. This isn’t her best Poirot mystery in my opinion and I will be suggesting my friend reads others, but it wasn’t bad. This is one of the latter stories of Poirot’s collection, and it’s quite dark with a child being murdered whilst bobbing for apples. Hence the Halloween theme.
Love in Colour by Bolu Babolola
And finally, my colleagues and I have a diversity book club and this was this month’s pick. It’s a collection of short stories of myth retellings from Western Africa. From tales of Greek mythology to 1001 Arabian Nights. It was excellent. A little slow to begin with, but by the third story I was hooked. The writing is so rich and evocative. Well worth reading.
And that’s what I read in November 2020. What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments below.
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