November Wrap-up & December TBR

Welcome to another monthly wrap-up and TBR post!

November has been a busy month, and I didn’t get quite as many reviews posted as I would have liked, but I did hit a big milestone on this blog: 500 followers! I’ve been blogging for a bit over six months now, and I feel really lucky to have been able to connect with so many other book lovers!!

I’ve also been working really hard on my Instagram, and I realized this month while looking back at some of my earlier photos just how far I’ve come. Looking at two photos of the same book taken two months apart, I realized that I’ve learned a lot about setting up photos and also that you can’t compensate for crappy lighting through editing. 😂

@jennabookish on Instagram

But let’s move on to the good stuff: the books! All hyperlinks in book titles will lead to my reviews!

Books I reviewed in November…

• House of Gold, by Natasha Solomons ⭐⭐⭐
• The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• When the Lights Go Out, by Mary Kubica ⭐⭐
• Sadie, by Courtney Summers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Dear Mrs. Bird, by A.J. Pearce ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• This Will Only Hurt a Little, by Busy Philipps ⭐⭐⭐
• Her Pretty Face, by Robyn Harding ⭐⭐⭐
• Our House, by Louise Candlish ⭐⭐⭐
• My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• My Plain Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton ⭐⭐
• On a Cold Dark Sea, by Elizabeth Blackwell ⭐⭐⭐
• A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult ⭐⭐⭐
• Rage Becomes her: The Power of Women’s Anger, by Soraya Chemaly ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Air You Breathe, by Frances de Pontes Peebles ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The standout book of this month was probably My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman. The protagonist was ridiculously precocious for her age and totally unrealistic, but the whole book was so charming and I adored how her grandmother’s fairy tales bled into Elsa’s understanding of the real world. This was my third book by Backman and I’ve really enjoyed all three; I have a copy of Beartown which I really need to make time to read. If you’re in need of a feel-good read that will also probably make you cry at some point, pick up one of Fredrik Backman’s novels.

And now on to December…

As always, I’ll be reading this month’s Girly Book Club pick. In this case, they’ve given me an excuse to reread one of my favorite books, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. You can read my review of it here. This novel follows the story of Evelyn Hugo, an elderly woman who was a Hollywood starlet when she was young. As she is nearing the end of her life, she allows a young journalist to interview her for a biography to be published after her death. Evelyn Hugo is ready to reveal all of her secrets to the world.

I also have some new NetGalley approvals I’m hoping to finish this month:

Women Talking, by Miriam Toews
A story about Mennonite women facing sexual assault and the possibility of needing to escape their community into a world that’s totally foreign to them.

Killing Adam, by Earik Beann
This one looks like a fun science fiction/dystopian novel.

The Night Olivia Fell, by Christina McDonald
This is a mystery/thriller about a teenage girl in a coma after a mysterious accident and her mother’s search for the truth. I’ve already started it, and I’m not super into it so far, honestly. It seems very similar to Reconstructing Amelia, and I’d be shocked to learn the author hasn’t read that book.

The Farm, by Joanne Ramos
This book may be a good fit for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale. It involves women essentially signing over their rights to live in a super luxurious retreat for nine months, all while carrying a baby for the wealthy clients of the Farm. Based on the blurb, it seems like there should be an interesting exploration of sexism, classism, and racism.

That’s it for today.

Thanks for reading! What was your favorite book that you read in November? Is there anything you’re most looking forward to reading in December? Share in the comments!

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