The Year in Books - November

This might as well be titled The Weekend in Books... We've escaped the renovations again for a weekend in Holt, returning to the beautiful and cosy Blackbird cottage where we stayed last year. It was booked long before we knew the kitchen work was scheduled for now and it is probably not the best time to go away but on the bright side, there is a washing machine and a cooker... And it is warm and clean! But the weather is awful so think we might be holed up in the cottage for most of the weekend, reading! I've already bought a another new book in the excellent Holt bookshop.

But back to my October Year in Books choice, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, the retelling of Jane Austen's classic. It was a light easy read, amusing and certainly not too taxing. I'm not entirely sure the manners of Jane Austen's era translate to modern day but I still enjoyed it for what it was. And I'm now thinking that perhaps I ought to read the Jane Austen original.

I also picked up Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris in a charity shop for 50p last month, which I quite happily enjoyed. A bit far fetched and I'm not sure I realised it was a murder mystery/thriller to start with (despite mention of murder in the first chapter!)... And I certainly didn't have a clue about any of the twists and turns that were revealed at the end, but none of that detracted from my enjoyment of the story, which is set out like a chess match between the main characters in a rather old and decaying private school St Oswalds. Joanne Harris spins a good tale in this story of revenge, she writes some excellent characters and there is always a dark and rather sinister under current lurking not far beneath the surface.

And this month I'm reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, which I'm already loving. A very powerful fictionalised account of the life of American abolitionist and suffragette, Sarah Grimke told in parallel with the story of her personal slave, Hetty.. I'll report back next month! I've also got a couple of others in my bag if I finish it this weekend, which looking at the rain outside could well happen!

And do you want to see what I've left behind at home...

Still no oven until next Tuesday (fingers crossed) but it is starting to look fabulous... and I'm looking forward to getting back and baking. Just a bit excited really!

Joining in with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees for The Year in Books.