Literature: November 2020 Books

November Books

Every month instead of writing individual book reviews for the books I had read, I just post a list of those books.  At the beginning of the year, I set a target of reading 60 books but due to lockdown and having more time on my hands, I actually hit that target in April so I increased my target to 100, and by end of July, I had read 102. Instead of increasing my target again, I decided I would just read for the sake of reading. 

So now it’s November and I have managed to read 10 books and these are the books I have read:

Biography

 A Grateful American by Gary Sinise

Children’s

What not to do if Turn Invisible by Ross Walford

Christian

Dirty Glory by Pete Greig

Be Holy by Warren Wiersbe

Praying the Bible by Donald S Whitney

Fiction

When Life Gives you Lemons by Fiona Gibson

The Dilemna by B A Paris

The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt

Crime

The Disappeared by Joy Ellis

In the Name of Truth by Viveca Sten

 

So the best book I read this time was A Grateful American by Gary Sinise which was a biography of Gary’s life which included his childhood, his teenage years, and the start of his theatre company Steppenwolf in Chicago. Gary also talks about the relationship with his parents, his marriage, his children, and the parts he has played in theatre productions and movies and shares of the role that made the most impact on his life - Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump. 

The role in Forrest Gump was Gary’s break into the movies as well as the start of his journey of supporting the military and the formation of his band, the Lieutenant Dan Band.  This was very interesting and informative book, not just about his life but about the role of the military within the United States of America.

Literature: October Books

 

Every month instead of writing individual book reviews for the books I had read, I just post a list of those books.  At the beginning of the year, I set a target of reading 60 books but due to lockdown and having more time on my hands, I actually hit that target in April so I increased my target to 100, and by end of July, I had read 102. Instead of increasing my target again, I decided I would just read for the sake of reading.

Most months in 2020 I have been able to read 10 or more books, but in October I only managed to read 8 books.  So what books did I read?

Crime

Blue Moon by Lee Child

Little Bird by Sharon Dempsey

Christian

Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Healthy Faith and the Corona Virus by Luke Cowly etc

Fiction

False Impressions by Jeffrey Archer

Short Stories

Six Foot Six by Kit De Waal

Non-Fiction

Diary of a Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

Children’s

The Trouble with Donovan Croft by Bernard Ashley

The best book I have read in October has to be Diary of a Naturalist by Dara McAnulty. This book is brilliant in many different ways but mainly because it was written by a 14-year-old boy who is also Autistic. It is written so well and Dara’s descriptions of nature are brilliant and I had to read it with google in my hand so I could look up the birds and other things he talked about. When Dara was describing being in a place or looking at something, I actually really felt I was standing there beside him seeing or experiencing the same thing.

Literature: September Books

 

Every month instead of writing individual book reviews for the books I had read, I just post a list of those books.  At the beginning of the year, I set a target of reading 60 books but due to lockdown and having more time on my hands, I actually hit that target in April so I increased my target to 100, and by end of July, I had read 102. Instead of increasing my target again, I decided I would just read for the sake of reading.

Most months in 2020 I have been able to read 10 or more books, but in September I only managed to read 7 books.  So what books did I read?

Crime

Past Tense by  Lee Child

Christian

Darkness Visible by William Styron

Fiction

The Librarian by Sally Vickers

Short Stories

Notting Hill Carnival by Candice Carly Williams

The little dreams of Lara Cliffe by Milly Johnson

Non-Fiction

Why you should read Children’s Books by Katherine Rundell

The Prison Doctor – Life Inside by Amanda Brown

None of these books really stood out to be this month. To be honest I am struggling to get the enthusiasm and concentration to read at the minute and am not sure why, think it maybe because I am suffering from fatigue – which is why there are a couple of short stories in there.

Literature: August Books

Every month instead of writing individual book reviews for the books I had read, I just post a list of those books.  At the beginning of the year, I set a target of reading 60 books but due to lockdown and having more time on my hands, I actually hit that target in April so I increased my target to 100 and by the end of July I had read 102. Instead of increasing my target again, I decided I would just read for the sake of reading.

Most months in 2020 I have been able to read 10 or more books, but in August I only managed to read 9 books.  And in total, I have now read 113 in 2020. So what books did I read in August?

Crime

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

Dying Light by Joy Ellis

The Gift for Dying by M.J Alridge

Christian

Walking Backwards by Jeff Lucas

The Art of Rest by Adam Mabry

Short Stories

Cut Off by Mark Billingham

Looking for Captain Poldark by Rowan Coleman

A Fresh Start by Fanny Blake et al

Non-Fiction

52 Times Britain was a Bellend by James Felton

 

The whole title of James Felton’s book is ’52 Times Britain was a Bellend:  The history you didn’t get Taught at School’. It is a fully illustrated book chronicling 52 of the most stupid and weird things the Brits have done to the world and then conveniently forgetting all about them! This includes:

• Starting wars with China when they didn’t buy enough of our class A drugs
• Inventing a law so we didn’t have to return objects they had blatantly stolen from other countries
• Casually create muzzles for women
• And almost going to war over a crime committed by a pig!
• Despite the title of the book being a bit rude! I did enjoy this book and seeing history from another side – it was funny and eye-opening at the same time!

Literature: July Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books however in March I increased this target to 100 because I was already nearing the target. I had thought about increasing my target after getting closer to having read 100 books, but even though by the end of June I had already ready 89, I decided I would not bother upping my target and instead of reading towards a goal, I would just read for the sake of reading itself.

In July I managed to read 13 which has brought my total now up to 102. So what books did I read?

Short Stories

Valentine’s Day at the Café at the End of the Pier by Helen J Rolfe

Spring at the Café at the End of the Pier by Helen J Rolfe

Autumn at the Café at the End of the Pier by Helen J Rolfe

Summer at the Café at the End of the Pier by Helen J Rolfe

Christmas at the Café at the End of the Pier by Helen J Rolfe

Fiction

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Christian

A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada

Titus for You by Tim Chester

Spurgeon’s Sorrow by Zack Erswine

Joyful Hope: Jean Gibson

Crime

Down Among the Down by Damien Boyd

Lockdown by Peter May

Non-Fiction

It’s Not ok to feel Blue by Scarlett Curtis

 

One evening I started to read ‘Valentine’s Day at the End of the Café’ and about 2 hours later I had read all five books in the series, so addicted was I to find out what happened next to the main characters. They are great wee books and easy reads as you can see – just wee light chick lit books.

The most interesting book I read in July was Peter May’s ‘Lockdown’. Written just after the Ebola Crisis a few years ago Peter May wrote this book in which the whole world would go into lockdown due to a pandemic which was killing hundreds of people, however the publishers said that the storyline was ridiculous and something like that would never happen – ha, welcome to 2020 where the whole world basically went into lockdown due to flu pandemic which was killing hundreds of people. So when this happened, what did the publishers do? Yes you guessed it, they published May’s book hoping many people would be intrigued and buy it – which seemed to work as many people have read it. It is basically a crime drama set in the backdrop of a flu pandemic, and while not being a masterpiece it is still an interesting read and one with a very charismatic main character who pulls you into the story.

Literature: June Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books however in March I increased this target to 100 because I was already nearing the target. And then again in May, I thought I should increase the target as was only 23 books away from my target having read 77 books.  Now it is the end of June and I have managed to read another 13, taking me up to 89 – so will reassess target in July but may go up to 145 as my friend said that since I read 139 in 2019 then I should try and read more than that in 2020.

So what have I read in June then?

Short Stories

The Beach Wedding by Dorothy Koomson

Non-Fiction

These are the Hands by Michael Rosen

Fiction

Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles by Phillips Ashley

Christian

In the Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliott

Traveling Light by Max Lucado

Soul Ties by David Cross

Revelation For You by Tim Chester

Galatians For You by Timothy Keller

Crime

The Midnight Line by Lee Child

Lies that Bind Us: Andrew Hart

On My Life by Angela Carter

These are the Hands by Michael Rosen is a compilation book by people from the NHS writing poems in reflection on the work that they have done in their time working within the NHS. It was a good book and interesting seeing how people see their work and the positives and negatives they face every day. The poems are a mixture of sadness and happiness and seem to be a true reflection of the work within the NHS.

Literature: May Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books however in March I increased this target to 100 because I was already nearing the target. Now we are in May and I think I may have to increase the target again soon as I am only 23 books away from 100.  My friends said that since I read 139 last year then I should try and read more than that – so I may increase my target to 145.

But for now, I will concentrate on the books I read in May – lockdown is giving me the time to read more. So in May I have read 17 books which now brings my total number of books read so far in 2020 to 77.

So what have I read in May? Here goes:

Christian

Isaiah 43 Explained by Mitch Glaser

The Stories we tell by Mike Cosper

A Woman’s Battle for Grace by Cheryl Broderson

Deep Magic, Dragons and Talking Mice by Alister McGrath

Discipleship in the Present Tense by James Smith

Fiction

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Crime

The Bat by Jo Nesbo

Night School by Lee Child

I’m Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

The Shrine by LJ Ross

Here to Stay by Mark Edwards

Short Stories

The Great Summer Sewing Bee by Alex Brown

The Donor by Clare McIntosh

20 Minutes Earlier by Daniel Hurst

Clean Break by Tammy Cohen

Non-Fiction

Turning Left Around the World by David C Moore

Becoming by Michelle Obama

The worst book this month, in my opinion, was The Bat by Jo Nesbo, people rave about this author and how could he is but this book was disappointing and did not make me want to read the others in the Harry Hole series.

There have been many TV/Movie adaptations of books and some have been disappointing and some have actually been better than the book. Well one Friday night I started watching Sally Rooney’s Normal People on BBC and after episode 7 decided I wanted to read the book, so that night and the next morning I read the book and then finished the series on TV. So which one was better? Well in my opinion the TV adaptation stays quite true to the book with a few variations in there for dramatic purposes – so I can’t actually say one was better than the other – they were both good but I did like the ending of the TV series better than the book  - it was more emotional and drawn out. Overall, 10 out of 10 to the director, writers, and the cast of the TV series – a  job well done.

Literature: April Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books which I said I would review within the first couple of months with the view of raising the target depending on how I was getting on with reading, as sometimes I can go through phases where I just can’t concentrate on reading. However, in March I upped this target to 100 as between January and March I had already read 40.

And in the month of April, I managed to read another 20 bringing my total read books up to 60, so it is a good job I upped my target for the year since I had already met my original target within 4 months!

So what have I read in April? Here goes:

Christian

Facing Cancer by Adrian Adger

God’s Discipline by Tim Chester

Rediscovering Joy by Tim Chester

Where is God in a Coronavirus world by John Lennox     

The Ascension: Humanity in the Presence of God by Tim Chester

Crown of Thrones by Tim Chester

The Five Marks of Mission by Chris Wright

Ordinary Hero by Tim Chester

Psalms for You by Christopher Ash

Children’s

The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll

Itch by Simon Mayo

Fiction

Everything I know about Love by Dolly Alderton

The Second Worse Restaurant in France by Alexander McCall Smith

Non-Fiction

Seven Signs of Life by Aoife Abbey

Bookwork by Lucy Managan

The Prison Doctor by Amanda Brown

Crime

In the Shadow of the Power by Viveca Sten

Ravenhill by John Steele

Death’s Door by Paul Finch

Young Adult

One of us is Lying by Karen McManus

The most popular genre this month seems to have been Christian Books with Tim Chester being the main guy after having read five of his books. Tim Chester is a great writer and gets into the heart of the subject he is writing about.

In the summer I bought his book Ordinary Hero before I realised that I had actually read it in 2012. I had no memory of reading which doesn’t say much for my memory. However, I am glad I bought it again and re-read it as it is a great book which points to the cross and resurrection of Jesus and shows how they provide the pattern for discipleship today calling Christians to a radical new way of living,

Literature: March Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books which I said I would review within the first couple of months with the view of raising the target depending on how I was getting on with reading, as sometimes I can go through phases where I just can’t concentrate on reading.

In January I managed to read 12 books and in February I read 12 books which brought the total to 24. And now in March I have managed to read 16 which brings the total up to 40. I had made the decision to review the total in March in a view of increasing my total, so I have decided to increase the total to 100.

So now after reading 40 books, I now have 60 more to read. And now we are in lockdown and more time to read, well may get to that total sooner rather than later!

So what have I read in March? Here goes:

Christian

Uncovered by Jonathan Carswell

Finding More by Rico Tice

Praying the Promises by Max Lucado

Enjoying God by Tim Chester

Crime

In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten

In Harm’s Way by Viveca Sten

Until the Night by Giles Blunt

Young Adult

Dear Martin by Nic Stone    

                                             

Children’s

The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson

Josie Smith by Magdalen Nash

Josie Smith at the Seaside by Magdalen Nash

Josie and Eileen by Magdalen Nash

Josie Smith at Christmas by Magdalen Nash

Fiction

The Word Game by Steena Holmes

Postscript by Cecilia Ahern

Non-Fiction

A History of the World in 21 Women by Jenni Murray

This month I decided to go down memory lane into my childhood and read books which I read when I was a small child which included the Josie Smith books and also a great wee book about The Owl Who was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson. This is such a sweet book about guess what, an owl who was afraid of the dark and with the help of a few friends overcame his fear and embraced his life as a night owl.

The stand out book for me this month was Dear Martin by Nic Stone. Dear Martin tells the story of a young man called Justyce who is top of his class and to go to an Ivy League college, but then everything goes wrong when he is arrested just because he was black. And this sets him on a downward spiral. To help him through Justyce looks to the readings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers and starts a journal to Dr. King to help him work out his problems.

It is a very interesting book which discusses the issues of race and mistaken identity, and a recommended read, not just for young adults but for readers of all ages.  

Literature: February Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books which I said I would review within the first couple of months with the view of raising the target depending on how I was getting on with reading, as sometimes I can go through phases where I just can’t concentrate on reading.

In January I managed to read 12 books and now at the end of February I managed 12 books, bringing the total to 24. This means if I stick with 60 books then I need to read 36 more – and if I keep reading 12 books a month then I will have read 60 by the end of May. And then what do I do?  Stop reading? Heck no!

I am going to review my target in the middle of March depending on how I get on book-wise.

So what have I read in February?  Here goes:

Romance

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Short Story

Exquisite Corpse by Stella Duffy

Thriller

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Children’s

Boom by Mark Haddon

The Dare by John Boyne

Christian

In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado

Fiction

Roar by Cecilia Ahern

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Crime

Tonight you’re dead by Viveca Sten

The Patient Man by Joy Ellis

Young Adult

The Watchers of Eden by T.C Edge      

                        

Non-Fiction

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

The book that really stood out to me this month is “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides – wow at the end of this I was like wow, I never saw that coming – what a ride that book was, really kept you thinking and wondering if the killer really was the killer. I would recommend everyone read it, it is a great read.

I read Margaret Attwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” because I had watched the series on Channel 4, but I was really disappointed in the book and preferred the TV series – which is not normal as it is usually the book is better than the film/tv adaptation, but this was not the case of this book. It may be because the series is quite different from the book and has actually gone far beyond the book in the storyline and it keeps you on the edge of your seat more with the action than the novel does.

Literature: January Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In 2019 I managed to read 138 books and was struggling to decide what my target should be for the Goodreads 2020 challenge so I went with 60, but I may review this in the first couple of months.

In January I managed to read 12 books, so if I stick with 60 books that means I need to read 48 more, but that may change if I up my target.

I love reading across genres and am going to list the books by genre:

Crime

Controlled Explosions by Claire McGovern

Hidden River by Adrian McKinty

Psychological Fiction

The Friend: Dorothy Koomson

Graphic Novel

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charles Mackesy

Autobiography

May I have your Attention Please? by James Corden

This is going to hurt by Adam Kay

Christian

Integral Mission by Melba

Release from Despair by James McClelland

Disability and the Gospel by Michael S Beates

Fiction

A Perfect Cornish Christmas by Philippa Ashley

Grief comes with Feathers by Max Porter

Young Adult

The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders                          

The best book I read in January has to be “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse” by Charles Mackesy. Wow, what a book – the pictures are amazing and the story tore at my heartstrings. The book follows the adventure of the boy who is lonely, the mole who just wants to eat cake, the fox who is silent and wary because he has been hurt by life and the horse who is gentle and wise. They are four different characters, like us who all have their own weaknesses but together they take the adventure together. It is an excellent story of friendship. The next day I was raving about it and told everyone I met about it – still do.  I think every household should have this book and should be read by people of all ages.

Literature: December Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

At the beginning of 2019, I set myself the task on Goodreads to read 120 books this year, which means I need to read about 2 a week. Between January and October, I managed to read 123 books which meant that I reached my target of reading 120 books in the year! And in November I managed to read 5, which brought me up to 128. So what is my total book count at the end of the year?

Well in December I managed to read 10 books so at the end of 2019, I have read 138 books. Good going I reckon. The most books I have ever read in a year.

So here are the December books listed in genre order.

Young Adults

Looking for Alaska by John Green

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Children’s

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child by J.K Rowling

Crime / Thriller

Death is a Welcome Guest by Louise Welsh

Verona by Jeffrey Deaver

Imposter by L.J Ross

Ryan’s Christmas by L.J Ross

Fiction

The Library of Lost & Found by Phaedra Patrick

Science Fiction

You have arrived at your Destination by Amor Towles

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

One Sunday morning I was feeling lazy and stayed in bed and started to read Harry Potter & the Cursed Child and two hours later I had it finished.  This is the transcript of the play that is in London’s West End. It was a lovely story that focused on the children of Harry, Ron, and Hermione – the main protagonists of the original Harry Potter series.

After watching Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why television series, I decided that I would read the novel it was based on, which I had found in a local charity shop.  However, it was such a frustrating book to read but that was mainly because whoever put it in the charity shop had torn out pages of the book, which meant that if I had not had already watched the TV series, it would have been a difficult story to follow. Like who would do that to a book – and then have the audacity to take it to a charity shop to be sold on!! After I read it, I put it into the recycling bin.

Literature: November Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

At the beginning of 2019, I set myself the task on Goodreads to read 120 books this year, which means I need to read about 2 a week. Between January and October, I managed to read 123 books which meant that I reached my target of reading 120 books in the year! And in November I managed to read 5, which now brings me up to 128 - 8 more than my target.

I am listing the books by genre.

Autobiography

Peggy & Me by Miranda Hart

Science Fiction

Randomize by Andy Weir

Crime / Thriller

Crime Machine by Giles Blunt

Fiction

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

Some of you may be saying, but didn’t Jane Austen write it? Well yes she did, but Joanna Trollope has written a more modernised version with the characters bringing the book into the 20^th Century. It was a good read but still prefer the original classic Austen version.