November Wrap-Up
My Monthly Reading
November was so generous and brought me three 5-star and six 4.5 star books for the month, as well as two 4-star books.
FINISHED
📱 Joan Crawford by Scott Eyman (2025) ★5
I’m thrilled that this may be his best yet and it features a female subject!
🎧 What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte (2018) ★4.5
A call to stop reducing this giant, multi-state region to one segment in West Virginia.
🎧 The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard (1980) ★4
A story about two sisters and their lives. Hazzard’s gorgeous writing is the star.
📖 Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez (1981) ★4
A strange, looping investigation into a murder everyone saw coming.
🎧 The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (Poirot, 21) by Agatha Christie (1939) ★3.5
Christie’s short stories have always been hit-or-miss and this was no exception.
🎧 The Zorg by Siaddarth Kara (2025) ★4.5
Kara handles this without sensationalizing — never forgetting the humanity of those murdered.
🎧The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (2015) ★4.5
An unflinching look at the ways women are forced to constantly guard themselves.
🎧 Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre (2020) ★5
In true Macintyre fashion, it reads like a thriller, but it’s grounded entirely in history.
📱 Fallen City by Adrienne Young (2025) ★4.5
Exciting fantasy with forces of magic and mortal vying for power, and two brilliant MCs.
🎧 Sad Cyrpress (Poirot, 22) by Agatha Christie (1940) ★4.5
A dying benefactor, a fatal dose of poison, and a courtroom ready to condemn.
🎧 We Did OK, Kid by Anthony Hopkins (2025) ★5
Full of introspection and self-awareness.
🎧 To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (2020) ★4.5
Epic, thoughtful, and surprisingly tender for a story that spans galaxies.
DNFs
📖 The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin (2014)
🎧 Endling by Maria Reva (2025)
CARRYING OVER TO NEXT MONTH
📱 The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson (2025)
📱 The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, 1) by V. E. Schwab (2023)
🎧 Red Comet by Heather Clark (2020)
Full reviews and thoughts will be on Goodreads.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copies provided.
Happy reading!
—C.