There are many new beginnings in my life right now. There are also a few sad endings. We can only go forward in life, trusting the Lord to guide us to where he wants us to go. He is the way, the truth and the life.
Word of the Month
Truth
Bible Verses of the Month
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” – (John 17:17 NKJV)
This month’s reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
⇓ – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
EVENT: Nonfiction November!
Finished Reading This Month
✓ Survival: Island of the Lost, by Joan Druett
Reading because – I like survival literature and I’m wanting to read something I’m likely to really enjoy reading.
Finished November 29. It was well worth reading if you like survival stories. Review
✓ Legend: Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival, by Velma Wallis
This was such a good story! Only eight short chapters and I read it in one evening. Review
✓ Psychology: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
This is rather interesting! I finished reading it on November 23. Worthwhile! Review
✓ Art: Brave Intuitive Painting, by Flora Bowley
More art! I enjoyed reading this inspiring book about creating intuitive art. Here’s my review.
✓ Classic Humor Memoir: The Egg and I, by Betty MacDonald
This is a classic memoir, said to be humorous… and I’ve never read it before. It is about a woman living on a chicken farm in Washington state in the 1920’s.
Finished November 13. I couldn’t give this memoir a very good review… there was some 1930’s style racism and I don’t find negative comments about people to be funny. Review
✓ YA novel: The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo
I’m sorry I couldn’t give this novel a better rating (I gave it three stars) but it really struck me as something I’d never give my teenager to read because of the rebellious nature of the first-person narrator, and other elements. Of course there are many teens that would identify with the girl, especially those in the process of leaving their parents’ religion behind. The author seemed to have some basic misunderstandings about Christianity and the Bible, maybe because of the way she was raised. I thought my three star rating was generous and am still wondering if I should change it to two stars only. Review
✓ True Crime Memoir: True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, by Michael Finkle
I listened to an audiobook version of this memoir. Journalist Michael Finkel became embroiled in an almost-friendship correspondence with a man who had murdered his family after the man stole Finkel’s identity while on the lam in Mexico. Review I don’t think this book won any awards, but it did get a movie deal.
What I’m Reading Now
★ Nonfiction: Area 51, by Annie Jacobsen
I’ve heard this is worth reading. I’m happy to be reading it for Nonfiction November 2024.
★ Classic Fiction: Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
I’m not giving up on this one.
★ Art: The World of Urban Sketching, by Stephanie Bower
Because… ART. I love urban sketching!
My November 2024 Reading Diary
November 1 – I’m in a depression. I hope I can shake it soon.
November 4 – Feeling better today. I had a nice day at church yesterday and had lunch with friends after that. Today feels like a day to create a video.
November 8 – I finished the “True Story” true-crime memoir yesterday. How tragic, for the innocent family members who were killed by the crazed narcissist! I normally don’t read true-crime genre books but I was drawn into this one by the author’s name. This is the second book I’ve read by him.
November 9 – I spent the evening listening to an audiobook version of a YA novel, The Poet X. Can’t recommend it unless you’re like me, trying to finish an annual A to Z reading challenge. That was my book for the letter X. Mission accomplished. The only two letters I have yet to conquer are E and Q. I’ve got books picked out for them: Quiet by Susan Cain, and The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald.
November 11 – It is raining outside, but I’m warm in my house. Praise the Lord! I’ve been reading through The World of Urban Sketching the last few days. It is always interesting (to me) to see the work of other artists.
November 13 – Yesterday I drove to Yreka, then Mt. Shasta to get my new car smogged and then registered. FYI, if you buy a new car in Oregon where there’s no sales tax, you still have to pay that tax if you register it in California. On my drive I spent hours listening to the audiobook version of The Egg and I, a 1930’s humor memoir. I finished it today.
November 23 – We’ve had a snowmageddon kind of week around here. I stayed home… I’ve been sorting things, organizing things better, reading, etc. I finished two books this week: Bold Intuitive Painting, an art book… and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking.
November 25 – I had a nice time at church yesterday. After the service we had a potluck dinner. I took the copycat hashbrown casserole (copying Cracker Barrel’s recipe) and it was so good! So was everything else. Three of us brought potato dishes, which was fine with me. All that potassium is good for my health. Afterwards I napped, then woke up and finished chapter 7 of the Area 51 book. I’m not even halfway through it yet. And it has occurred to me that military history is not something I’m especially interested in. I’d rather read a good survival story, so I got the audiobook version of Island of the Lost by Joan Druett for bedtime reading, and started it.
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