November Wrap Up | 2014

November was quite the productive reading month for me which shouldn't be as unexpected as it was. Autumn is my favourite season with it's chilly weather and long nights, making it the perfect time for reading! I read six books and in that discovered some the best books I've read so far this year. 

The first book that I completed in November was a book that is currently on GCSE and A Level reading lists and that is Journey's End by R.C. Sheriff. This book was a perfectly timed read with Remembrance Day being in November and it definitely helped me to feel the poignancy of the 100 year anniversary of the First World War. Sheriff's portrayal of officer's at the front was beautiful, from the wonderful writing to the touching relationships and even the tragic plot. 

Journey's End tells the story of a group of officers at the front who are all in their own way brutally affected by the war. Whether it be paralysing fear, alcoholism or loss of innocence each of the officers is faced with something different that will change them forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed this play and was shocked at how much I was touched. Observing Remembrance Day every year as we do here in the UK can easily make what should be a poignant act of respect a hollow tradition. I firmly believe that if were face with writing like Sheriff's every year then that would be more easily overcome.

I gave this play a well deserved ★★★★★

The second book that I read in November was Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone. I first read this book when I was a child and decided to make it a goal earlier this year when I was rediscovering children's literature. Something that stopped me enjoying this series as a child and has prevented me from picking it up since is the huge hype that has surround the franchise. The fact that it was a franchise has also always been a sticking point as I struggle(d) to believe in the integrity of the series and the sequels in the storm of mainstream success. However, I decided that the only way to know the books' true value is to read them for myself.

I am very glad that I did decide to take the plunge and start reading the series again. The first book is wonderful and I think could have quite easily been left as a stand alone. I felt for the poor orphaned Harry and admired his spirit. He was definitely my favourite of all the characters and also the character that I related to most, a feeling that I remember from my first reading. I liked the other characters and thought that they performed their roles in the narrative well. However, Harry Potter was complex for the protagonist of a children's books, though not always original.

I also appreciate the adventurous aspect of the book and was unsurprised to see that mischief and mayhem are still key ingredients in books about boarding schools. The world that Rowling has created added to this as spells and potions made skulking around halls at night and generally breaking the rules far more exciting than at an ordinary boarding school.

I look forward to reading more about Harry's hijinks at Hogwarts.

★★★★

Harry Potter left me with a little bit of a book hangover so I was still in the mood for children's adventure, but not enough that I wanted to invest in another full length book. So next I decided to listen to an audiobook instead. Enid Blyton was probably my favourite author as a child, but I haven't actually read that many of her books for older children. However, earlier in the year I discovered a channel on YouTube dedicated to her Famous Five series and listened to the very first book, which I had never read before. I rejoined the Five in their second adventure and listened to Five Go Adventuring Again.

When listening to this I quickly realised that the story was familiar to me and so this is probably one that I did read. It was a fun, fast-paced story with interesting twists and exactly the light read that I was looking for. I don't think that I appreciated when I first read this that it is only the second of the Famous Five books so I missed a lot of the character and relationships development. On the second reading I picked up on the fact that the cousins were still getting to know each other. At the end of this book I really felt like they were bonded and the dynamic that I was familiar with was established.

These books are a really enjoyable quick read/listen and I'm looking forward to the next book. A solid ★★★


After listening to the light-hearted adventures of Julian, Dick and Anne, George and Timmy the dog I was ready for something with a little more substance and so turned to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I picked this up mostly because I had to read another biography in order to reach my goal of three over the year, but I am so glad that I did. I didn't really know anything about the book or it's author before I read this book, but I had heard that as a feminist it was one to get reading.

Maya Angelou is an inspiration to everyone and having read this I can now see that she was always strong-willed, creative, humble and so many other things that I have aspired to be. The book is the first in her biographies which follows her from her childhood in the south with her Grandmother and uncle to her teenage years living with her mother in San Francisco.

I loved the honesty with which she approached her life and the way that that came through in the writing. I am definitely going to continue on with her memoirs and was thrilled to have discovered such a wonderful writer. Fantastic!

★★★★★


After the deep and touching account of Maya Angelou's life I really needed to lose myself in something that was not so real and so I decided to finish the Fables graphic novel. The copy I have is a hardback bind up which contains the first two stories and is beautiful to own, but not so easy to commute with. This is probably why it has taken me so long to get to it.

I love the vibrancy of the artwork in this book. The vivid colours particularly the red help to bring the story to life and was also reminiscent of the colour animation films of the stories I used to love as a child. The mythology of the characters and the world were much less like that. They were darker in tone and stayed much closer to the original tales which I really liked.

Each story seems to be set up like a mystery which is something that I have really enjoyed. I love murder mystery books and TV shows and love fairytales and so this is the perfect combination for me. I can't wait to continue on with the series and will be putting Volume 2 at the top of my wishlist.

★★★★★

The final book that I completed in November was the last on my rediscovering children's literature list and that was Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I have a full review of that here. The rating will tell you that sadly I was not much of a fan.

★★

So that was everything for November. Unfortunately I couldn't be as dedicated to the blog as I would have liked, but hopefully that will all be changing in the New Year. It's time to get back into a routine.

Happy Reading!