Books Read in November 2023!

Posted On November 29, 2023

Hi Readers! Now that November is over, I cannot even contemplate whether it was too short or too long. At times, it felt like it was passing too slowly but over these last two weeks, it has flown by. All the reading I did this month was over the span of one week at most where I was in my most frenzied zone of reading ever! I read SIX BOOKS across 1204 PAGES in November. I read nothing for two weeks, then I read all these six books in that one week and then I haven’t read anything after this. Even though I didn’t put in a reading goal this year, I really want to read 80 books. I have read 77 this year, so only 3 more to go! Anyway, check out which ones of the six were a hit and which ones were a miss.

~~THE DEVIL’S FLUTE MURDERS by SEISHI YOKOMIZO TRANSLATED by JIM RION~~

The Devil’s Flute Murders was my fifth Seshi Yokomizo book. Having read all the four published before, I had an idea what I was getting into. But, each of his books are unique in their story telling. There are multiple murders including a locked room mystery, multiple crimes including theft, multiple red herrings including an unsurety about the death of a character, multiple culprits all revolving around one damned act. If you are in a reading slump, you should definitely read this book. I have rated The Devil’s Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Jim Rion at 4/5 stars!

You can read the full review below!

Book Recommendations: Seishi Yokomizo’s Murder Mystery Novels!

~~MANUSCRIPT FOUND IN ACCRA by PAULO COELHO TRANSLTATED by MARGARET JULL COSTA~~

Manuscript Found in Accra was a book that took me completely by surprise. Given the title of the book, I was expecting historical fiction or mystery or action. But, instead I got fiction that read like non-fiction with a sub-genre of philosophy. And yet, I enjoyed it! Hard to believe, isn’t it? The book has several chapters exploring different kinds of topics. The ones I loved reading about revolve around defeat, solitude, change, beauty, elegance & anxiety. I think every reader will find something meaningful in this book, after you set the correct expectations of what the book is truly about. I have rated Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho at 3/5 stars!

~~EM AND THE BIG HOOM by JERRY PINTO~~

Em and the Big Hoom will likely make the list of my 2023 favorites! It’s a short book but it explores the theme of mental health and belonging. It is unique in its story telling, perfectly imperfect in its characterization and will definitely leave you in tears. So, would definitely recommend. I loved everything about this book and I think everyone should read it (after considering the triggers.) I have rated Em and The Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto at 4.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review below!

Book Recommendation: Em and the Big Hoom

~~WE HAD TO REMOVE THIS POST by HANNA BERVOETS TRANSLATED by EMMA RAULT~~

The title ‘We Had to Remove This Post’ carries way more intrigue than the book itself. Naturally I had high expectations given the book title and the blurb, but it was all a disappointing ride overall. The protagonist Kayleigh works as a social media content moderator and has to see traumatizing things every day where she works at Hexa. The inhumanity of her job is conveyed within the first ten pages to grasp the reader’s attention, after which the story starts wandering to meaninglessness. I have rated We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets, translated by Emma Rault at 2/5 stars!

You can read the full review below!

We Had to Remove This Post: Hyped Book Not Worth It

~~THE HOUSEGUEST AND OTHER STORIES by AMPARO DÁVILA TRANSLATED by MATTHEW GLEESON & AUDREY HARRIS~~

Reading The Houseguest was a wild ride. I did not know that Amparo Dávila is a celebrated Mexican author and The Houseguest is the first book of hers which is translated to English. So, I was very open minded and wanted to love it. I went into it knowing that it was extremely weird. But, as you know, I love weird stories, like Cursed Bunny! But, was that a whole other level of weird! There are twelve short stories and in most of them there is a constant question lingering of either “who is it” or “what is it” or “could be a dog or a cat or a ghost.” In the first two stories, it felt very fun, but the newness of the concept became repetitive and wore off. I rated The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila translated by Matthew Gleeson & Audrey Harris at 1/5 stars!

~~SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by CLAIRE KEEGAN~~

Claire Keegan has been making the rounds of Instagram often and never have I seen a critical review of her books. I guess that should have been my first sign. More often than not, I end up disliking the books that everyone else loves. The real-life incidents on which the story is based needs a wider audience, for sure. But, the way the story is written doesn’t highlight it well enough. I rated Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan at 2/5 stars!

~~READING STATS~~

In terms of statistics, I guess I did okay. Three physical books and three digital books. Five books were less than 300 pages, but you knew that already. And, unfortunately because of my rampant reading this month, I couldn’t participate in Nonfiction November.

~~LIFE LATELY~~

Slide 1: There was a Recruiter Connect session hosted by LinkedIn at JW Marriot. I met my colleagues and had a good time.

Slide 2: Just a family Diwali selfie with the parents!

Slide 3: Another Diwali photo when we celebrated Bhaubeej.

Slide 4: I went to see Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Concert Film twice. The first photo is me in my rep era and the second photo is me in my evermore era. I love putting so much thought into the outfits. I enjoyed the actual experience so much that words will never be able to express my happiness.

Slide 5: The first week of the month I lived alone because my parent went on a trip to Andaman. I prepared a lot of food and was pretty proud of myself.

Until next time,