Books, books, books. November was a good reading month for me; December – not as much. There were too many other activities going on and not much time for reading.
I started with quite a long read (724 pages) because I felt like I needed a beautiful reading experience to get me back into the swing of things. I’d heard wonderful things about The Covenant of Water and Abraham Verghese consistently writes books that are well-loved and highly rated and reviewed so I knew I was in for a treat.
The 4 books I read in November & December last year
The Covenant of Water – by Abraham Verghese
Yes, this is a long read. (I’d recommend reading this one on a Kindle if you’d be put off by the sheer size of this book.) You won’t be sorry that you took the time to read this beautiful book. Set in Kerala, India between 1900 and 1977, this story follows three generations of a family that has had at least one person die by drowning, every generation. Many members of the family over many generations suffer from an aversion to water. Abraham Verghese writes a beautiful story about this family and the history of the area during these times. There’s a wealth of information about history, geography, medicine, religion and how so much changed during these characters’ lifetimes.
I will admit that it took a little while to get into the story, but then I was hooked and thoroughly loved it. My overall rating is 5/5.
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Related: The 2 inspirational books I read and enjoyed in October
The Wishing Game – by Meg Shaffer
This was the cutest book – a real feel-good one. Lucy Hart, a teacher’s aide, loves books (especially the Clock Island series). And she enjoys sharing this love of reading with her students. After experiencing a lonely childhood, she feels particularly drawn to one of her students who was recently left orphaned after his parents’ tragic death. She would love to adopt Christopher but doesn’t have the funds needed for this, especially on her meagre salary.
Then Jack Masterton, the author of her favourite book series, announces that he’s written a new book after many years of silence. Not only that, but he’s holding a competition and Lucy has been chosen as one of four contestants to win the coveted only copy. Who are the other contestants? And what twist does the author have planned during the contest on Clock Island where he lives? I was glued to this book until the last page. My rating is 4/5.
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How to Keep House While Drowing – by K.C. Davis
By the end of November, things were starting to get very busy, as they always do at the end of every year. So I was attracted to this book and its premise of solutions to the chaos. However, despite the tempting title, I would have preferred a simpler presentation of the solutions – bullet points as opposed to the lengthy chapters. I realised that I wasn’t actually ‘drowning’, just in need of some simplification in life. So this book wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but for anyone who is feeling very overwhelmed, it presents many handy tips. I still enjoyed the book and learnt a few things. And I was surprised at the depth and breadth of the topics that were covered. It’s a thorough self-help kind of book that anyone feeling extremely overwhelmed while still having to perform certain tasks, would find very helpful. My rating is 3/5.
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Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before – by Dr Julie Smith
Dr Julie Smith has drawn on her many years of experience as a clinical psychologist to write this book. It provides the necessary skills we all need to get through life’s challenges and have healthy mental health. She teaches about the coping techniques we need to deal with anxiety, criticism, and depression, and shows how to build self-confidence and resilience. The book covers common issues and then details practical solutions with a helpful summary in bullet point format at the end of each chapter. She also offers some great tools (that are often taught in therapy) with blank toolkits to fill out. I think this book would be beneficial to anyone going through difficult times. My rating is 3/5.
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