Friday, November 30, 2018

November Books

I can't believe my goal of reading 17 books in 2017 (ha, I ended up with 88!) has morphed in this passion for books. Let's be real, not having cable TV to keep me "entertained" also gives me more free time to dive into a great book or seven ;)

There were SEVENTY books in the first ten months of the year, so when I add November's TWO that brings my total for 2018 thus far to SEVENTY-TWO! If you're interested in what I read (or how I'd rate them), check out my previous recaps which I post on the last day of the month! {January's Books / February's Books / March's Books / April's Books / May's Books / June's Books / July's Books / August's Books / September's Books / October's Books}


  • Ghosted by Rosie Walsh - Another book that I don't remember how it made its way onto my reading list (it was either recommended by a friend, found on a "must-read" list or maybe it just had a long wait line at the library so I assumed it was good), but another winner! I don't want this to sound like I am tooting my own horn, but I can often figure out the plot of story pretty quickly (whether it be a TV show, book or movie). Maybe it's that I watch too many Law & Orders or read too many books and the story lines just seem to repeat themselves, but, I've gotta say, this one had me guessing the entire time. And just when I thought I had it all figured out, everything got flipped turned upside down! It did take me a few chapters to really get into the story, but once I was hooked, I WAS HOOKED! It was definitely a page turner (with a HUGE plot twist I did NOT see coming) and one I wish had kept going and going! I would give it a 9 out of 10.


  • Boy Erased by Garrard Conley - I grabbed this book because I saw they were making a movie adaptation from it and recently the books made movies have been some pretty great reads. (I am of the camp that believes books are better than the movies 99.95% of the time. #SorryNotSorry #Truth) This is a memoir about a nineteen year old who was subjected to "conversion" therapy - a way to 'pray the gay' out of him. I won't get into my feelings on the topic in this post (although, if you are interested, let me know and I am more than willing to share my thoughts on the subject), but suffice it to say I found this a very interesting read. At first I felt like it was a little slow and hard to stick with, but you have to remember - this is a real story! This isn't being dramatized or embellished to sell more copies. When you take the time to really sit and ponder the damage that this type of thinking has done to men and women, boys and girls, it is astonishing (and sickening!). Folks in liberal, progressive communities may be shocked to learn that there are still 77,000 people in conversion therapy across America. Hopefully this book (and subsequent movie) will shed some light on the topic and get people talking. Major props to Garrard for opening up about his experience. I would give it an 8 out of 10.


With that, November has come to a close. My reading definitely took a drastic halt (due to getting all of my blog posts ready for my #12DaysOfCarleesChristmas and being out of town for Thanksgiving), but I definitely hope it never completely stops. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I'm always willing to add them to my library wait list!

PS I created an Amazon list that includes all of the books I've read and would recommend to others. Check it out!

What was the best book you read this month?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Insane!!!!! And amazing!! It’s been ages since I’ve curled up with a book!! Cutting off the cable is definitely not an option for my hubby lmao