Friday | It’s November! + 4 Days

Happy November, friends. I have been under the weather the last couple of days so today’s post will be quite short. I created the mood board in the opening picture earlier this week and hope that it captures the upcoming month. I’m looking forward to the beginning stages of my independent learning plans and to the beginning of the holiday season. How about you?

Today’s blog post is just a few words about: my November TBR, a book that I’ve finished in the second half of this week, and the book that I’m currently reading. I am so excited about reading right now and am excited to chat about these books!

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I’ve been reworking my November TBR and hope to share it with you next week. I’m trying not to make it too overwhelming for myself but friends – there are so many good books out there right now! I think I might push pause on my monthly prize winner books for the year (Women’s Prize and Female Booker Prize winners) and just revel in the vibes of the season. I’m enjoying mystery, fantasy, and cozy villages right now and want my TBR to reflect that.

And I finished a novel since we last chatted on Wednesday that perfectly encapsulates those feelings:

The Drownings by Hazel Barkworth
This book is set on a college campus somewhere in the northernmost reaches of the UK where Serena Roberts is studying history after the end of her promising swimming career. By coincidence Serena’s cousin Zara, who is a popular social media influencer, starts school at the same time. Though not close, they end up in the same circle of people who are working to improve women’s safety on campus along with Serena’s favorite history professor, Jane, who teaches the group about the parallels of the treatment of women in the 1600s and now. And thanks to all of her intense hours practicing visualization, she’s found that she can actually manifest her visions which comes in very handy for the social changes they’re trying to enact.

The structure of this novel was so compelling: it alternated between describing the arc of Serena’s swimming career and her time at college and kept me turning the pages. The setting was spectacular: full of old buildings and libraries, dusty dormitories, and walks along the river. Even the scenes describing Serena’s time in the pool captured the sounds, smells, and the textures perfectly. The characters were carefully drawn and vivid. I just couldn’t stop reading this book and was on the edge of my seat, worried about the trouble they were getting into.

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And I’m about 200 pages into the newest Armand Gamache mystery, The Grey Wolf. I keep thinking that at some point these characters are going to grow stale and need to be retired; I’m here to report that these characters are still as vivid and fresh as ever! The food is divine of course: plenty of chocolate croissants and cafe au laits, as well as the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches you’ve ever read about. But most excitingly is that Gamache’s investigation has taken him back to the setting of my favorite book in the series, The Beautiful Mystery. Yes! They’ve returned to Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, the Gilbertine monastery hidden deep in the woods of Quebec.

As you can see, I’ve been taken by this novel and am looking forward to finding some time to read more today.

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And now there are only 4 days until the election. Thanks to all of your reassurances via comments and emails, I know that you all have plans to vote or have already taken advantage of early voting or mail in ballots. So I’d like us all to take a collective deep breath and remind ourselves that this country is full of good people who understand how important this election is and will do the right thing. And that we need to make sure everyone shows up on election day because we know the outcome of this election will be based on turnout. Our democracy depends on our votes!

And with that, I must get to work with these children! I’ll be working at the library this weekend with a hot cup of tea at my side to nurse my sore throat and reminding every patron that we have an election on Tuesday and our town’s voting location. I hope your weekend is full of what you love and you find a way to remind a few people to vote too. Take good care!