November and December Reads

I didn’t read much in November. Between NaNoWriMo (which I did finish, for the record) and Dad getting sick, I just didn’t have the time.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dressen was one of my November reads. My coworker, Sarah, recommended it as she’s also a fan of YA. I’ve been meaning to read something by Sarah Dressen for a while and I think this was a great introduction – Remy and Dexter were so perfectly imperfect. I loved them. It was a really cute love story.

Crossed by Allie Condie was the second in the Matched trilogy. I didn’t love it as much as the first, but it was still really good.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks was the other book I read in November. It was another YA love story, but this one I couldn’t stand. For me, the whole thing was embarrassingly cheesy and predictable.

December was a better month for reading.

I started out with Maman’s Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan. It was a memoir of her life growing up in Iran and becoming a chef. It was written beautifully and each chapter ended with a few recipes. I can’t wait to try them out.

Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Nation’s Most Bizarre Mass Murder by Robert Graysmith was the basis of the 2007 movie Zodiac. Serial killers fascinate me so I ate this one up.

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris is a collection of short, holiday-themed werewolf stories. I’ve really enjoyed the collections I’ve read that Harris has put together before but this one was rough. I’m not sure if that was because of when I read it or the stories themselves.

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris is the third in the Aurora Teagarden series. While I’ve plowed through the rest of Harris’s series, I’m trying to spread this one out so I don’t run out of new things to read by her. I felt like there were some unrealistic relationship jumps in this one, but aside from that it was enjoyable.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan was also a recommendation from Sarah. I loved this one too. It tells the story, through varies narrators, of mothers growing up in China and then their daughters growing up in America. Very well written and one that I would highly recommend adding to your to-read list.

Night by Elie Wiesel is one that I’d read in middle school but I’m so glad I re-read it. It was beautifully written – an elegant portrayal of an amazingly awful ordeal.

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut was another re-read for me. My friend, Maya, and I devoured all of Vonnegut’s books somewhere around 8th or 9th grade, but I don’t remember them well. I loved it this time through, too.

Honeymoon in Purdah by Alison Wearing was recommended to me by one of my reading buddies. It chronicles a (fake) couple’s honeymoon to Iran. The writing was almost poetic and I really enjoyed reading this one so soon after Maman’s Homesick Pie.

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse was high school required reading for me. I appreciate the book for what it is, but I didn’t really enjoy the re-read very much.

What have you read recently?