No.322: My Latest Reads // November

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#67. THE BORROWERS by Mary Norton
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Our school read aloud for October.

#68. UNOFFENDABLE by Brant Hansen
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Yes, the world is broken.  But don’t be offended by it.  Instead, thank God that He’s intervened in it, and He’s going to restore it to everything it was meant to be.  His kingdom is breaking through, bit by bit.  Recognize it, and wonder at it. (p.40)

Unoffendable takes an interesting look at anger, especially in the age of social media.  I think some of his reasoning was a little too simplistic, but as whole, we can agree that it’s universally beneficial to allow others to have differing opinions without feeling disgust/offense.  This is one of those books that would have made a great article, but loses its effect when it’s draaaaaagged out into 200 pages.

#69. THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD by John le Carré
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

He knew what it was then that Liz had given him; the thing that he would have to go back and find if ever he got home to England: it was the caring about the little things – the faith in ordinary life; the simplicity that made you break up a bit of bread into a paper bag, walk down to the beach, and throw it to the gulls. (p.91)

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold has so many great reviews…so I’m thinking I maybe just didn’t understand it?  Well written but not what I was expecting.  (This was also my 1963 pick for my 20th Century Reading Challenge.)

#70. THE A.B.C. MURDERS by Agatha Christie
My Rating: ★★★★☆

I really, really liked this one!  Agatha Christie had such a gift for writing about crime, but without all the gore.  This story line was interesting and had a twist at the end that I never saw coming.  So good.


#71. WOMAN ON THE EDGE by Samantha M. Bailey
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Woman on the Edge was an intense psychological thriller with a harrowing premise: What if a woman on the subway platform hands you her baby, then jumps in front of a train?  The first half of the book was strong and I couldn’t tear myself away.  Unfortunately, I found the second half to be too far-fetched and the ending a little too neat.
(And thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  Woman on the Edge will officially be released on March 3, 2020!)

#72. SIMPLY TUESDAY by Emily P. Freeman
My Rating: ★★★★☆

If they don’t know who you are, then you have been given the gift of obscurity.  Let this not be offensive.  Let this be a relief.
When I celebrate my smallness and receive the gift of obscurity, I am free.  I have hope.  I can give generously.  I can be who I am rather than either who you think I am or who I want you to think I am.  When I resist smallness it’s because I’m afraid it means invisibility. (p.104)

May we be sensitive to the ways our words land in the hearts of others.  May we be quick to turn to you when the words of others land heavy in ours.  Show us the people you ask us to love and give us the courage to be loved in return. (p.130)

My first thought as I started reading Simply Tuesday: Emily Freeman, you’re preaching to the choir.  A lot of what I write about here on my blog follows her idea of small moment living.  She had many good points and even a few that spoke right to my heart and got me all choked up.  My only critique is that it was a little repetitive, but otherwise a really good book.

#73. FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT by Patricia Marcantonio
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆


I signed up to read and review a book from Netgalley before realizing that it was a sequel!  I quickly found a copy of the first novel to get up to speed.  Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit is about a feisty independent young woman in Victorian times who investigates the murder of her beloved mentor and friend.  There’s something about the way that it is written that really bugs me, although I can’t put my finger on it yet.  Maybe with book #2.