The Sunday Salon: November in Review

Books Read in November
(click for reviews)

• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (part ghost story, part tale of decaying estates of England)
• Away by Amy Bloom (based on the legend of the woman who walked to Russia)
• Saving Cee-Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (motherless girl rescued by her relatives and friends)
• Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

Best Book of the Month
Hmmmm. None of them were phenomenal, but I enjoyed the first three. Backseat Saints, not so much.

Guest Review
My Dad read and reviewed Shadows Walking by Douglass Skopp as part of the book's virtual tour.

Read Alouds (with 10-year-old)
Born in the Year of Courage by Emily Crofford
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
Wherever you Go by Joan Leegant (reviewed by Bibliophiliac)

Currently Reading
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro

Book Club News
Our book club had its first weekend retreat. We had a blast! We also picked upcoming books for the next several months. Not surprisingly, all of my book choices were rejected because they sounded too depressing. Instead, we have a couple of mysteries, a memoir, and a humorous one. I've been reassured that we can read a depressing book after the winter months. Our upcoming books are:

• Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass
• The Sex Lives of Cannibals
• She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb (I've read this one and LOVE it)
• You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

We also went to see The Help together. I read the book a year ago and loved the movie. Those who had just read the book were disappointed that so much was left out but enjoyed the movie. Fortunately, I don't remember details from a year ago!