The November ’17 Overview

I knew my reading spree could not last forever and sadly I have only managed to finish three books this month. Thankfully I am still 2 books ahead of schedule for my new reading goal of 60 books, so not all is lost! This month was all about finishing ‘Het smelt’ and reading our book club pick of the month.

So what did I read last month? Read on and find out! As always they have been given a rating X out of 5 and a short review. If you click the title it will take you to the books’ Goodreads page.

November

‘Het smelt’ by Lize Spit ***

This book has been hyped a lot in the Netherlands and I thought Lize Spit might have been the Flemish Gillian Flynn I have been waiting for, but alas it was not meant to be. This book described horrible events with some great writing, but it felt too long and pointless. Hopefully, her next novel will be shorter because there is no doubt she is a good writer.

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ by J.K. Rowling *****

Only one left to go! I almost cried in public listening to the end, it sure left me feeling sad.

‘House of Names’ by Colm Tóibín ***

This was our book club pick for November as part of our ‘Modern Mythologies’ theme. It is a retelling of the tale of Agamemnon/Electra/Orestes/Clytaemnestra. However, it did not stick to the original story in some places which really threw me off. Where ‘Het smelt’ could have been half as long, this book should have been double the size to fit all the context/stories/debt it could have had.

Review November

Only three books this month, but let’s see what I had planned to read in November. Last month the plan was as follows:

• ‘His Dark Materials’ by Philip Pullman (actually three books)
• ‘Het smelt’ by Lize Spit (I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK)
• ‘De werkelijkheid houdt het lang vol’ by Y. Né

So I finished ‘Het smelt’, I started ‘His Dark Materials’ and I stopped reading ‘De werkelijkheid houdt het lang vol’. The poetry was not for me, so I returned it to the library and continued on with reading stuff I do enjoy. Since ‘House of Names’ should have been on the list for November, I feel like I did not do so bad. I just did not read a lot, so therefor did not manage to finish ‘His Dark Materials’.

December

The last month of the year is already upon us, how time flies when your reading loads. I am currently on 57 of 60 books this year. Which means I only have three books to go to my goal! Considering I will definitely finish ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, this leaves only two books. Or I could make it seven and get myself to 65…

• ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ by J.K. Rowling
• ‘Hunger’ by Roxane Gay (currently 80% finished)
• ‘1984’ by George Orwell (currently 50% finished)
• ‘The Golden Compass’ by Philip Pullman (the first book of ‘His Dark Materials’ currently 40% finished)
• ‘The Fall of Icarus’ by Ovid (a little black classic, should be a short read)
• ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ by Agatha Christie (the book club pick for December)

Will I make it to 65? Who knows.. What are you planning to read this month? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to know!