November 2025 Recap!
Hi Readers! November went by very quickly. It was kind of a mellow month, where nothing major happened. The major highlight was meeting two of my friends after the longest time. This was just the second time we met in 2025, so you can imagine! Work has continued to be hectic, but I think I have reached nirvana stage where I have stopped letting it impact me. It’s just supposed to be a part of life, not the entire life. My reading spree of October gladly continued in November as well, for which I was very happy. I didn’t read as much as the last month, but definitely higher than the monthly average I’ve had this year. Have a look, will you?
~~BOOKS~~
I read FOUR BOOKS across 1449 PAGES in November! I loved two books and did not love two books. Check out my reviews to see if you would want to pick any of them.
~~LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN by LISA SEE~~
This is the real life story of woman doctor Yunxian Tan from 15th century China. We are introduced to her when she has just lost her mother at the age of 8 and we see how beautifully she grows up to become a dutiful wife, mother and a doctor! We see her become forever friends with Meiling, who’s a midwife herself. We see her become more accepting and appreciating of her dad’s concubine; Miss Zhao. We, of course, see her learn everything from her Grandmother Ru. We have see her mother in law challenging and testing her. These and so many more women became a part of Lady Tan’s beautiful, worthy and admirable life. I have rated Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See at 4/5 stars!
~~JULIE CHAN IS DEAD by LIANN ZHANG~~
Julie Chan is Dead is the story of Julie Chan who assumes the life of her twin sister Chloe Van Huusen after her death. The twins were separated at a very young age when their parents die in a car accident. Only Chloe was adopted by rich white parents, while Julie had to live with her aunt who tortured her. So, when the opportunity presented itself, knowingly or unknowingly, Julie became Chloe and lived her life. I have rated Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang at 2/5 stars!
~~THE EXAMINER by JANICE HALLETT~~
The Examiner is the story of six students; Jem, Patrick, Jonathan, Alyson, Ludya & Cameron, taking an MA course led by tutor Gela Nathaniel focusing on improving their artistic skills to make them employable in the real world. In a typical epistolary fashion, we see the one year of academia unfold in the form of emails, chats, WhatsApp groups, essay submissions and the like. The students are all diverse, ranging from the ages 21 to 59, some professional artists, one designer, few with no art background but a lot of interest, and one who had just completed BA. We see them bonding and bitching throughout the school year. But, only after a third of the book is completed, do we understand that it wasn’t about academia and art at all. What unfolds is a disappearance of a student, underground climate activists, undercover PI agent and the twisted unravelling of what happened on the trip to Somerset when 5 of the 6 students went to retrieve objects for an art installation. I have rated The Examiner by Janice Hallett at 5/5 stars!
~~DAYS AT THE TORUNKA CAFÉ by SATOSHI YAGISAWA, TRANSLATED by ERIC OZAWA~~
Days at the Torunka Café consists of three short stories revolving around the Torunka Café showcasing the tenderness in relationships above anything else. Located at the end of a tiny alley, this cozy café is run by Isao Tachibana alongside his daughter Shizuku and a part-timer worker Shuichi. All the interconnected stories had heavy themes of death, grief, regrets, self-identity which revolved around finding and staying in those memories of happiness. While the connections to those long-forgotten memories brought the characters a lot of solace, they also painfully reminded them that it was in the past. So, we see them cling to those memories in self-destructive patterns, but at the end of it, they move on with the help of the community built around the Torunka café. I have rated Days at the Torunka Café by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa at 2/5 stars!
~~STATS AND MORE~~
Of the four books, three books were paperbacks that I owned. I had the copies of Lisa Tan & The Examiner for a long time, so I’m happy I finally got around to reading them. The love-hate ratio was about 50-50 this month, but somehow even the books I didn’t like, I enjoyed on occasion.
~~LIFE LATELY~~
This must be the slowest month where I barely did anything, so there are very few photos to capture the lived moments.
Slide 1: I have started working out again, but it has been slow, with a lot of breaks because life keeps getting in the way. I also realized how much those big breaks actually costed me. I used to walk 5K easily, but now tackling 3K has become daunting. It’s mostly a state of mind, but I will get over this! I love the version of me where I work out EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Slide 2: It was Aai’s birthday this month. On the day, she had to attend two family functions so she got to dress up in two pretty sarees. Since working out is slow, diet has taken front seat. So, I made a no-maida, no-sugar high protein date and walnut cake. It was delicious, and we didn’t even feel like it was a guilt-free cake so it was even more delicious. LOL.
Slide 3 & 4: PAM reunion!! That’s Poonam, Aish & Mindy. It might be cringe, but we have owned it for a lot of years now. We had very little time together. Especially since we met after so long, it felt even more tiny. But, we had the best food at Eve in Powai and the most fun time together. <3
Slide 5: After seeing in the news that winter is going to be cold in Mumbai, it did come true. But only for about a week, and now it’s hot again. But, given how much I love winter and winter clothes, I didn’t let the opportunity go. 😀
Slide 6: Source of my happiness for legit an entire week! Never have flowers stayed alive for so long.
Slide 7: Yep, got up at 6.25 AM to watch Stranger Things Season 5 Volume. I LOVED IT!
Slide 8: That’s all this time, folks!
Until next time,
About The Author
Aishwarya Shenolikar
Hello! I'm Aishwarya, an Introverted bookworm & writer. I have been reviewing books since 6 years on my blog - Mindscape in Words. My favourite genres are Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers, Magical Realism, Poetry, Fantasy & Memoirs. I like the kind of books which evoke emotions on several levels leaving me wrecked, but also incredibly content. I'm dreaming for the world to paint a landscape full of words, more like Mindscape in Words. Hope you enjoy the view.