My November Reads

 November is over already and Christmas is three weeks away! Where, oh where, does the time go? Here are the books that I read in November!

1) Haven by Emma Donoghue: I like Ms. Donoghue's writing. I saw this at the library and swooped it up.  It was on the "It's Your Lucky Day" shelf, where you can check out the book but only have a week to read it! This was a reasonably short book, so I got it read in time! It was an interesting concept for a story!

This story took place in seventh-century Ireland. There was a priest named Artt who was considered the wisest and holiest of all.  He had a dream about an island and wanted to take two of the brothers (monks) in the community and go to the island to create another community of brothers. He chose the two that he wanted to go with him and they left with the very barest of supplies because Artt felt that God would take care of all their needs.  They sailed away and searched for the island that Artt dreamt of. Eventually, they came across an uninhabited island that Artt approved and they settled there. They sought to do and make everything with what was there on the island and Artt would not let them go out to sea to obtain supplies as theirs dwindled away. 

The ending was superb. It's a book worth reading!

2) A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry: Yes, I am still reading Sebastian Barry. What can I say? I love his writing! This book begins where his book Days Without End ended!

The story takes place in Tennessee in the post-Civil War time. Winona Cole, a young orphaned child of the Lakota Indians was taken in and raised by John Cole and Thomas McNulty. 

"Where John Cole abided, there was to be found Thomas with his simple heart.  Their love was the first commandment of my world-Thou shalt hope to love like them. We have all to meet many souls and hearts along the way-we are obliged to-we must pray we can encounter one or two Thomases and John Coles on that journey.  Then we can say life was worth the living and love was worth the gamble."

Winona was a smart young woman living where Indians were not welcome, nor were smart women. She was viciously attacked one evening and that lead to her search for her attacker. She believed it to be Jas, a boy/man who had been interested in her.  When Jas was found killed, Wenona was arrested and sentenced to hang.

This is a spiritual book in some ways. I loved it!

3) Such a Pretty Face by t. greenwood: I have read many of this author's books and really liked them.  This one was a disappointment for me. 

The story has two timelines: present-day and 1970's New York City.  Young Ryan's mother, Fiona, dreamed of becoming a movie star. Her dreams were just that...dreams. But one day, young Ryan was discovered and treated as a grown woman rather than the young girl she was (around ten years old). Of course, Fiona was her biggest promoter. Forty years later, Ryan got a text from her oldest friend telling her that a pre-teen picture of her had been found in the possession of a well-known wealthy investor who had just been found to be a pedophile and a sex trafficker.  To make it worse, the photo had an inscription written to him by Ryan's mother.

After this discovery, Ryan began examining her childhood and her relationship with her mother and what it all meant in the present time.

Some of the story was interesting, but it just dragged on for me.

4) The Cloisters by Katy Hays: Oh, this was a good one! I look forward to more from this author!

Recent college graduate, Ann Stilwell, arrived in New York City from Washington (the state) to work for the summer at the Metropolitan  Museum of Art. Instead, she was assigned to work at the Cloisters (at the Museum) where the Museum's medieval art was kept and displayed along with an elaborate garden.  There was a small, but seemingly close staff working there.

Ann soon finds that the researchers there are working on a theory that medieval tarot cards hold the key to telling the future. This leads to much mystery and power-seeking among the staff.

This book was well written and a great mystery! Read it!

5) Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bittinger: Ok, so I am able to tell you the name of the book, but that's about as much as I understood.  Not that the book isn't well-written, it's that I have absolutely no understanding of anything vaguely scientific. I try, but it just doesn't happen.  That being said, there were some (few) parts in the book that I highlighted because I did understand, so that was helpful!

For those who do understand science, etc. I think that this book would be extremely helpful.  And I am hopeful that as I continue to study DNA I will be able to use the book more!