Hello all! I know we’re a week in, but can anyone believe it’s already December? Like much of the rest of the year, November flew by for me, especially since I was so busy with my (vague) Nano plans. As a lot of you guys know, in the end I had a pretty successful writing month 😀
I’ll admit, that took up a huge proportion of my month, although I also did go to La Bayadere and Simon Boccanegra at the Opera House- both of which were epic (although obviously I did not have as good seats as the way I’ve painted it 😉 ):
(is it obvious at this point that I’m half interested in sharing what I do and mostly just into making these monkeys?)
Anyhoo, back to books, I didn’t read a tremendous amount last month, so only have a few mini reviews today:
Autoboyography– initially, I thought the one line concept wasn’t all that interesting- but as it went on I did get more into the premise. Mostly cos the execution was so good. The writing was inventive with the style and voice and definitely had me rooting for the characters. I ended up liking Tanner, for all his *do first, think later* attitude and being pretty keen on the rest of the cast… However, speaking of infatuation, I wasn’t too obsessed with the romance. It just felt too much like instalove for me and there was only one squeal-worthy moment. I also wasn’t crazy about how his best friend Auddy’s story arc- I kept thinking she was treated unfairly by the plot. She was set up as an interesting character- but all I kept thinking was what about her dreams? Her love? Her book? I can’t imagine a real life person as spunky as her would appreciate being faded into the background so much. Overall, it was not perfect, but I did enjoy it.
Rating: 3½/5 bananas
Captivate– this took me quite a bit of the month to get through. When I picked it up I thought it was aimed at people who are somewhat socially awkward, but by the end I thought maybe it was more tuned to major introverts. Either way, I didn’t find a lot of it resonated with me. The conversation starters were a bit of fun, however, certain hacks like using people as your “riser” felt too weird to me. And this linked to an issue I continually have with self-help. A lot of self-help philosophy is based on a “what can I get out of this” mentality, whereas valuable moral philosophy centres on “what can other people get out of this” or “what can I give of myself”. Aka, it’s about what we can do for each other and selfless good deeds (can anyone tell I’ve been rewatching the Good Place lately?). While the mechanics behind both actions can often be the same, the intent behind it is very different, and I find it quite off-putting. Ironically, I also think you get more out of the selfless mentality than the selfish one. So, while this wasn’t terrible, there was nothing particularly groundbreaking about it and it fell foul to the usual demons of the genre.
Rating: 2½/5 bananas
The Girl of Ink and Stars– I will say this had beautiful writing and an alright story. The main issue for me was that the characters didn’t have enough depth. And because of that I felt it was aimed at people a bit younger than it was pitched at (although who even knows what age demographic YA is aimed at anymore). It was quick paced and didn’t do anything technically wrong- I just didn’t end up remotely enthusiastic about it.
Rating: 3/5 bananas
A List of Cages– okay I totally understand the hype around this book. It was beautiful, intense and moving. I loved the contrast in light and dark tones of each narrator. I don’t actually tend to read contemporaries on the topic of child abuse, but even if you’re like me, I’d make an exception in this case. It was wonderfully executed, emotional and had excellent characterisation. There were certain aspects of the crazy-dramatic ending I wasn’t completely sold on- but it (minor spoiler) did make sense to take the abuser out of the picture for the conclusion (though I’d have preferred jail time). Regardless, I definitely recommend it!
Rating: 4½/5 bananas
Before I go, the marvellous Mim Inkling is hosting a bookish bingo this month in celebration of 6 months on the platform- it looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to participate. If you fancy joining in, all the details are here. I figured I’d do a wrap up at the end and maybe update a little as I go. I will say as a massive mood reader, it’s a real struggle to keep to a tbr, but so far for this contest/month I’ve read… Wicked Deep, One Day in December, After the Fire, Coco Caramel and Shadow of the Fox. Although I might swap some of these out- I’m still hoping to squeeze this into my December reads:
And that’s all for now! Have you read any of these? Do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!
I loved the drawn monkeys… I haven’t any of the other books 📚
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Aww thank you so much!!
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Funny story about it already being december.
I was making some reservations at a restaurant for our church small group and when I emailed everyone the date, I wrote “November 13th” because I was still thinking it was November. Sigh, I really don’t know where that particular month went. Of course, one of the smart asses emailed me back saying they had a time machine, so they were all set with that date 🙂 Got a good chuckle out of it.
And I like your monkey drawings too.
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hehe whoops! I completely understand that- I keep having to remind myself that it’s December already- I’ve no idea how I’ll remember it’s 2019 when we get to it 😉 hahaha- well it’s good they can make it then 😉
Thank you!
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Those monkey drawings are great! I’ve had autoboyography on my TBR pile for a while. Hopefully I’ll get to it this month!
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Aww thank you so much!! ❤ Brilliant- hope you love it!
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Glad you had such a great writing month 🙂
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Thank you!! 🙂
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Cheers! You reminded me to dust off T. H. White, Once & Future King et Poul Anderson, Q of A & D.
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Ah brilliant- I have that on my tbr too! I need to read it!
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I haven’t read any of these books!
I’m really sensitive to the topic of child abuse, so I typically avoid it at all costs. Is the abuse in A List of Cages graphic? You said it was intense… like emotionally intense or graphic intense?
The cover for The Girl of Ink and Stars is stunning! To bad it came up a bit short 😦
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Ah no worries.
I also tend to avoid it, but though it was quite graphic, I thought it was handled very sensitively. It’s really upto you if you want to check it out, cos I do understand what you mean.
It really is!
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I’m planning to read A List of Cages! I wasn’t entirely too sure of it at first, but I felt it might be interesting. As for any of the books in the Shadowhunters Chronicles, I’ve already given up trying to keep up (there’s so many books in that series!)
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Ah brilliant! It’s definitely worth reading! Ah fair enough!
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Yaaay I’m so happy you liked A List Of Cages, it’s such a stunning book. I’m glad you also liked Autoboyography, I’m curious to read that one, I only heard great things about it so far 🙂
Lovely reviews! xx
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Ah it really was!! Oh hope you like it- I really had fun with that one 🙂
Thank you!! xx
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I read Captivate after hearing the author on a podcast and… I don’t know how much of it I believe (although it was pretty interesting). I also agree that a selfless mentality is better than a selfish one.
A List of Cages sounds pretty interesting! Hopefully my library has that!
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Some of it was interesting- but it’s not totally for me I guess. Glad you agree there!
It was! Definitely recommend it if you get the chance to read it!
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I also can’t believe we are in December. Time does fly! 😊 Glad to hear you enjoyed your opera experience- sounds like a lot of fun.
I haven’t read any of those books but A List of Cages is something that does appeal to me. I may check it out, thanks! 😊
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I know right!! Thank you 🙂
Ah awesome!! 😀
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Now I want to read A List of Cages!
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Oh definitely give it a try!!
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Haven’t read any but I do keep thinking to try Autoboyography. And that money picture is so sweet. Maybe you can add some illustrations to your book? 😉 🙂
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Aww thank you so much! hahaa maybe on a future project 😉
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Your monkey drawings are always the best! I haven’t read any of the Shadowhunters books yet but for some reason I’m really taken with the covers of these last three. Wouldn’t be the first time I read something just for the covers 🙂
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Aww thank you so much ❤ I love the covers too lol! Possibly why I picked up the infernal devices series in the first place and got started on Cassandra Clare 😉
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I love your review for Autoboyography. It’s been a while since I read it, but I completely understand it.
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Thank you so much!
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Lovely reviews 🙂
I’m really curious about Autoboyography.
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Thank you so much! 🙂
Oh definitely pick it up if you like fluffy YA contemporary 🙂
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Great reviews for all these books. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed Autoboyography though sorry to hear there were some things you weren’t too keen on, that was a book I actually ended up really loving. A List of Cages is still on my TBR list actually, but so far I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.
I hope you manage to get around to Queen of Air and Darkness this month, so far it seems like everyone is loving it. 😀
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Thank you!! 🙂 I can understand that- I enjoyed it, but it was just shy of being amazing for me. Can totally understand the hype though! Ah I hope you love that too!
Thank you! I’m hoping I do too 🙂
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List of Cages is terrific! I totally agree that the last part of the book is way too dramatic, and it made it fall down to a 4 star rating for me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the friendships in the book. 🙂
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Really agree with you there!! Yeah that happened to me too- but otherwise, I loved it 🙂
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Great mini reviews! I haven’t heard of some of these, will have to look them up. 🙂 This month is already flying by too, before you know it we’ll be in 2019!
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Thank you!! Ahh I know!!
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Completely get your comments about Captivate. Self-help seems to have become a genre which focuses entirely on the self, and doesn’t have any outward sense at all. It’s fine to want to improve, but if you’re not giving anything back or contributing in any way…? LOVE the Good Place! The phrase “what we owe to one another” has reallyyyy stuck with me… That show has some serious pearls of wisdom! Thanks for playing, as well! Excited to see your wrap up at the end! Queen of Air & Darkness is on my “must read soon” as well… Everyone raves about Cassandra Clare, and I feel like I’ve missed out somehow…?
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Ah I’m glad you get what I mean! Yes that’s exactly it!! Ahh I love that show so much!!! Me too!! No problem- I’m having a lot of fun so far!! 😀 Ah fair enough- I hope you have fun with her books when you do check them out 🙂
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I hope i like them too… I’m in 2 minds about them, so I’ve put them off, but I think I have to try them because everyone raves about her…
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YAY! So happy you loved A List of Cages! It’s such a sweet, emotional, amazing book! I agree about the ending, but overall still really loved the book! ❤
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It really was!! 😀 ❤
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Great reviews! I didn’t expect to like Autoboyography because I hate insta-love and cliched romance but surprisingly I found myself enjoying it. I’m glad you enjoyed it too! 🙂
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Thank you! I can understand that- I still enjoyed it overall, even if I wasn’t totally blown away 🙂
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I have wanted to read A List of Cages for a long time. Maybe next year. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 👍✨
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