November book list

I'm tired, but nonetheless I am bringing you the November booklist. You'd better all appreciate it. :)

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce: A sweet children's story. Very definitely fantasy, if you object to such.

Skellig by David Almond: Reviewed HERE.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip: I've heard several people say this is their favorite McKillip. Not so much for me (so far it might be Alphabet of Thorn). It's fine, I enjoyed it, but it's not my favorite.

Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee: Reviewed HERE. NOTE: I'm currently stuck in the beginning of Wolf Star. We'll see.

Harrowing the Dragon--Patricia McKillip: Short stories. I really liked this. It's hard to beat a good short story collection.

The Talisman Ring
The Spanish Bride
An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer: Definitely a fan of Talisman Ring and An Infamous Army (which made me BAWL and laugh, sometimes on the same page), not so much The Spanish Bride. I couldn't quite believe in Juanita as a character, which kind of ruins it.

The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge: Reviewed HERE.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card: Reviewed HERE.

The Riddle-master of Hed
Heir of Sea and Fire
Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip: A trilogy. Very nice although they didn't feel like the "usual" McKillip. This is an observation, not a criticism. They felt a bit like a grown up version of the Prydain Chronicles. A bit.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I guess technically I didn't read this. I listened to the author read it. Which might be even better. Man, I loved this book.

The House on Parchment Street by Patricia McKillip: It was okay--I liked the realistic description of interactions between happen-to-be-related children, but I'm not keen on ghost stories in general. They just...don't do much for me. Bar The Graveyard Book, but that's different


City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau: Excellent. A word of advice though, if you are planning to read the book DON'T WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER. Seriously.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula LeGuin: Probably my favorite of all the Earthsea series. Which I am a fan of anyway.

Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey: I liked this book a lot. The only problem with it was combination of the really short chapters and two narrators. Until I got into it a bit I kept getting mental whiplash.

At the Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green: Excellent book for both the baptized Orthodox and those interested in finding out more about it.


The End of the Affair by Graham Greene: For school, but I loved it. Seriously loved it. It made me cry and all in all I just thought it was beautiful.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr: Sigh. I was okay with the first book--not wild, but okay. I thought I might as well read the second one and I was more than not wild. I didn't hate it. I just didn't care very much. It was interesting to see Niall from the first book in a different perspective.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley: This book is in my top five of all-time favorite books ever. I read it obsessively in middle school. I still love it. And I love the cover of my copy which is miles better than the awful one that was on the middle school copy.

The Street of Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters: Dare I say I have a new (slight) addiction? I can't heeeeelp it. (Schmidt! Dashing thieves! Art history!) I blame Leila. There is some content, although it's pretty understated.

Movie Shoes by Noel Streatfeild: I definitely have a Streatfeild addiction. Okay, maybe it's more like nostalgic love. I like Movie Shoes because the plot gets varied a bit and because it contains what I choose to interpret as a veiled jab at the butchering of stories in movie adaptations.


The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner: Can we just accept that I really, really, really love this series? Cause I do *insert obligatory Gen fangirl squee*. Did I mention fourth book in 2010? And without dancing bears, with baths and sparring.

Return to Gone-Away by Elizabeth Enright: Another MAJOR nostalgia read. It's been awhile for this one and I felt like I was seeing old friends again after a long absence. Uncle Pin and Aunt Minniehaha! Villa Caprice! Othello!