November booklist

[eleneariel]

1. Thornyhold, Mary Stewart
   Such a gem! Romantic, suspenseful, a little mysterious ... it left me wondering why I had passed over Stewart's books for so long.

2. Ah-CHOO: the uncommon life of your common cold, Jennifer Ackerman
A very engaging micro-biography that left me constantly paranoid I was getting sick.

3. Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before, Jean M. Twenge
  I liked this because it's written by one of our own generation (albeit the upper end of that generation), not a cranky old person yelling "dang woodchucks stop chucking my wood kids get off my lawn!" I think it's a fair and honest look at both the problems and strengths of GenMe, and I absolutely LOVED what it had to say about the self-esteem movement and the problems it has created. I'll definitely reread this when I have children of my own.

4. For Your Eyes Only, Ian Fleming
   I was about three stories into this before I realized it was a book of short stories and not a novel that just seemed very randomyl disjointed. Heh.

5. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
   Good GRIEF this was SAD. WHY?!

6. And Both Were Young, Madeleine L'Engle
   Apparently this was a controversial book at the time, but I don't really understand why. It was as good as L'Engle usually is, although not one of her very best.

7. Burning Road, Ann Benson
   There seemed to be a lot of loose ends and things not explained, so I rate this lower than her first book. However, historical stories about the plague still = ♥.

8. Peony in Love, Lisa See 
   I loved See's previous (first?) book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but this one didn't quite live up to that standard. It's elegantly written and offers much insight into a mostly-forgotten portion of Chinese history, but I couldn't quite get over the needless tragedy involved.

9. The Little Lady Agency and the Prince, Hester Browne 
   When I went to add this to my Goodreads account, I had read it so fast that I was almost at the end, so it came as a shock to find that it was ALREADY listed as someone I'd read ... back in 2008. I don't think I've ever reread something and gotten so near the end without realizing I'd read it before. I guess that illustrates that while this is good fun and well-written chicklit, it's still forgettable.

From the stack: 6