November & December Wrap-up

writer_alexandra_lee
Dec 30, 2020
7 min read

Updated: Jan 27, 2021

So...I haven't posted in a while. Oops.

I missed my November wrap up so, as I did with my September and October wrap up, I'm going to combine the books I read in these months into one post! Hopefully, I can begin posting more regularly in the new year. That is definitely a goal of mine, and I have some awesome content ideas. I hope you enjoy this post! Make sure to leave a comment of what you've read over the last few months, and let me know your thoughts on these books if you've read them.

November

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

I read the majority of this book in October, but I'm counting it in this wrap up because I finished it in November. My thoughts about this book are kind of all over the place. I had a hard time getting into it, but ended up enjoying it.

The story is set in 1969 in a town in India called Ayemenem. We follow a set of twins—Rahel and Estha—as they grow up, are separated, and are eventually reunited. This book caught my interest with its title and the historical period it is set in: communist India.

I was deeply intrigued by the characters, especially Sophie Mol, Estha, and Velutha. This book had some twists and turns I did not see coming, which I enjoyed. Some of the themes and topics this story touches on are serious, so it is definitely more mature than I was anticipating. There are other themes in the story that are heartwarming—it shines a lot of light on family and love both of which offer a welcomed break from the book's darker themes of death, poverty, and pedophilia.

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

This was a last minute read for me. I didn't plan on reading it, but it was short, and I was trying to hit my reading goal for the year, and it was on my TBR list, so why not! It is a compilation of Brother Lawrence's maxims and letters, and it was a welcome break from my high-paced reading life.

Since I'm used to reading fiction, I sometimes struggle reading non-fiction or textbooks. I read them too quickly, and don't take the time to fully comprehend the information. Throw in the writing and vocabulary of the 17th century and this book was a little difficult for me, but I'm glad I read it.

I've been trying to read more books on Christianity this year, and I think I did a really good job of it. My goal in reading all of these books is to better understand Christian doctrine and the character of God, both of which these types of books have greatly helped me with. I plan on reading more in 2021!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My high school literature class read this book, which was great because it's been on my TBR list for a while. I quite enjoyed this book. I have a love-hate relationship with the majority of classic books—I always admire why the stories are timeless and see some of the brilliance behind the works, but I'm never one-hundred percent satisfied.

I liked Gatsby, but the ending left me with a few unresolved questions. Daisy and Tom were, as Nick puts it—"Careless people," which I thought summed up their characters perfectly. I loved Jordan for the majority of the story, but she became pretty snobby in the last chapter, so that love trailed off rather quickly.

By the end of the story, Nick was the only character I still liked. Gatsby entertained me, and Fitzgerald wrote his character arc flawlessly; sadly his character itself was not flawless. The lessons and thoughts I took away from this story were pretty negative, but I believe that was the whole point the author was trying to get across—possessions, debauchery, vanity, the 1920's material American Dream, if you will, leads to loneliness, self-pity, and death. What good is a million dollars, fancy parties, and monstrous mansions if you haven't got a real friend in the world? In the end, Nick seemed to be the only character to grasp this realization.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Oh Miss Schwab...I don't really know what to say. I went into the Shades of Magic series with very high expectations, and I'm not sure those expectations have been one-hundred percent met. I enjoy these books, but I'm not blown away by them and with all of the hype they have, I was expecting to be blown away.

I thought A Gathering of Shadows was so much better than the first book—there was more action, we learned more about the characters, the Essen Tasch was a great addition to the plot and gave me some Hunger Games vibes, which I appreciated. Alucard Emery is one of my favorite characters, and I love when a series incorporates the sea and ships and pirates into the plot.

One thing I especially appreciate about this series is that the romance doesn't start pick up until book two. That delay was a great choice on Schwab's part. It provided a realistic coming together between two of the main characters. That delay isn't something often seen in YA literature, so I was happy that the author took the book in that direction and made the readers wait.

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I loved this book. Obsidio is the final novel in the Illuminae Files trilogy, which is one of the best series I read in 2020. When I was reading the reviews for this book after finishing it, the opinions seemed a little mixed on whether or not it aptly brought the series to a close. I thought it did a brilliant job—the plot was wrapped up well, I've loved the characters from the start, and I loved them at the end. That's all I'm going to say about this book. If you haven't read it and you love Sci-Fi, witty dialogue, adventure, crazy AIs, court cases, corrupt corporations, and space travel—this book is for you.

December

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I've been hearing about this series for years, so in 2020, I decided to give the first book a go. I enjoyed this book a lot—the world and political system were very interesting to me. The plot had so many twists and turns that by the end of the book, so much had changed that I wasn't sure if I was still reading the same book. That may sound like a negative comment, but it was an interesting experience.

Darrow is an intriguing protagonist who I couldn't help but cheer for. In my eyes, he was an underdog, and who doesn't love a good underdog? A teenagers-take-over-the-corrupt-government rebellion? His character arc was magnificent. His motivations and goals were believable.

In end the, Sevro won my heart—not because he was nauseatingly handsome like the other Golds, but because of his witty remarks, absolute brilliance, and his ability to save everyone's, and I mean EVERYONE'S, lives again and again.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

This was a quick last-minute read I picked up to check another book off of my reading list. I finished this classic in about a day. It was a sweet story, definitely geared toward children, but interesting nonetheless. Heidi was a lovely protagonist, and I can definitely see why this tale is nostalgic for so many people. As for me, I wish I would have read it when I was younger. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

I was quite hesitant to pick this book up due to the heavy topics it touches on, especially rape. I ended up enjoying this story, but it was one of those books that lingers in your mind because of how dark it is, and you almost have to unravel the entire story in your head a few times before you true feelings about it are uncovered.

The characters in this story were hit or miss for me—I didn't like Viviane, Jack, or even Emilienne that much, but I really connected with Gabe and Henry, and Beauregard made me laugh. When I look back on the story, the plot is very jumbled and disorganized and that was due to the jumping back and forth in time, but I actually kind of liked its randomness. I never really figured out what genre this was, which was a bit confusing—it had elements of horror, fantasy, romance, some historical aspects, and an over all eerie feel to it.

The ending of this book is the part everyone talks about and has an opinion about. The ending is, at least to me, quite open to the reader's interpretation, which is a trait I often appreciate in books, but for this particular story, I wanted a clear-cut this-is-what-happened message from the author. That wasn't given, so the ending of the story did leave me a little disappointed. With all of the strings of emotion this story pulls on in its readers, I wish it would have laid some of those emotions to rest, one way or another.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

I just finished reading this series this morning, and I was very satisfied with the ending. Holland surprised me with this final book. I loved him, but how his character arc ended kind of broke my heart. I realize why Schwab finished his part of the story off the way she did, and I believe it added a lot to the plot, but it still hurt me. I really connected to Holland's character in this final book. I'm not sure why because he was definitely very dark, but he intrigued me a lot. Probably my favorite character in the series.

The last two-hundred pages of this book pulled me in the most. As with A Gathering of Shadows, I appreciate the entire aesthetic of this series—the Londons, magic, ships and sailors, etc. The characters aren't the most original, but I still enjoy reading about them. The plot is captivating and had me on the edge of my seat. It was a good, well-rounded series. I look forward to reading more of Schwab's books.

Dubliners by James Joyce

Dubliners is a collection of short stories I've been working my way through for over a month now. It's taken me that long because I'm not really that into it. I've enjoyed some of the stories—"An Encounter," "Araby," "A Little Cloud," and "The Boarding House"—some of the others aren't so great.

I have one story left in the collection and, based on what I've heard about it, I think I will enjoy it! If I finish this book by the end of the year, I will have read 70 books in 2020, so I'm really trying to finish it.

Thank you all for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm working on a lot of content for 2021. If you are interested in staying up-to-date with my posts, please subscribe to my blog. Have a Happy New Year!

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time—stay weird and stay writing! - Lexi