In November I read four books which is lower than some months for me but with the holidays and how this year has been any reading is good.
Books:
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia is a young adult nonfiction book that tells the history of the Romanov family during World War I and the Russian Revolution. It adds information about peasant lives and historical accounts from those not connect to the crown which many accounts of the Romanov Family don’t include. If you like Russian history its a very fast and easy read but not its not written with the younger side of the YA audience in mind.
So You Want To Work in a Museum? by Tara Young is a nonfiction book about working in museums and how to get a job in the field. My degree is in Public History and I’ve had jobs in museums but due to the pandemic my job search has stalled out. So, I’ve started to read more museum focused books for continuing my education and hoping that I the new year that I can restart my job search. This book would be good for anyone interested in a museum job. I already knew most of this information but I can always use a refresh on certain topics.
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher is a very creepy adult horror/fantasy novel. When Mouse agrees to clean out her grandmothers house she ends up finding her Step-grandfathers journal which is full of bizarre and creepy writing. However, when she ends up finding this place full of carved stones behind the house she realizes that the writings she found might be true. This is a very creepy and atmospheric book that kept me wanting to find out what would happen next. I loved the characters and the humor they bring to such an unsettling plot and I loved the ending.
The last book I read was From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back which is a series of Star Wars short stories set during The Empire Strikes Back but told from the perspective of background and side characters. Most of the stories I liked. However, I feel like there was too much focus on Hoth and Cloud City. There was also more focus on characters that show up in other Star Wars media that I’m not familiar with which in turn caused me to not know what was going on in some stories. Great for fans of Star Wars and those who like to see different takes on beloved stories and franchises. I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is an Adult Scifi/Fantasy novel. The story is very hard to explain but its amazing. What I heard about the book was that it was lesbian necromancers in space and that was all I needed to know to pick it up but its much more than that.
The Anti-Virginity Pact by Katie Wismer is a new self published young adult contemporary. The book follows Mare and her best friend who have signed a pact agreeing that they won’t be virgins by the end of their senior year of high school. This is a hard hitting contemporary that deals with topics such as family and religion. I have a full review up as well.
Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries is set in a world where length of ones hair determines your power as a witch but having too long of hair will get you killed. Nyneve has hidden her true hair length but when the Witch guard conscription comes around she decides that she will determine her own future. A short graphic novel that is the start of a new fantasy series. Great for young adult fan of graphic novels and comics.
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is an adult fantasy novel about alchemy, language, math, and family. The story follows Roger and Dodger who were created by Reed to embody the Doctrine of Ethos which would allow someone to control how the world works. Adopted by different families Roger is all languages and works while Dodger is math and logic. When they connect as children talking to each other in their minds they know something is different about them and that it could be dangerous. I have a full review of this book but it is very hard to explain but is absolutely amazing and one of my new favorite books.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Fazbear Frights #2: Fetch by Scott Cawthon is the second collection of three short stories in the FNAF universe. The stories in this collection are Fetch, Lonely Freddy, and Out of Stock. Fetch follows a group of kids that find a animatronic dog inside an old Freddy’s Fazbear pizzeria that starts terrorizing them. Lonely Freddy is a creep story about a older brother who wants everyone to know how fake is younger sister is but things go bad at her birthday party at Freddy’s. The last story Out of Stock follows several kids that get their hand on a Plushtrap toy that seems to have very human eyes and teeth which then attacks them at night. Though I like how creepy these story collections can be I don’t like the fact that kids in the stories get hurt or punished for not knowing any better.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is the first book in the Wayfarers series a series of slice of life adult science fiction novels. The story follows the crew of a tunneling ship the Wayfarer as they take on jobs creating tunnels between different planets. The is a character driven story that the plot takes second place to but I loved all the characters and their relationships. I have a full review for this book and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero is a self-help book about how everyone is a badass in their own way and how to stop messing around and get your life track. The author believes that if you set your mind on changing something you can do it if you are willing to put in the work. I listened to this and its a very short audio book which is what I wanted at the time. It has advice on many different topics but focuses on how mindset is everything. Good for someone looking to this kind of information and to be encouraged to do and change whatever to be a better, happier person.
The Hunger by Alma Katsu is a historical fiction novel with a bit of a supernatural twist. Follows the Donnor party and their attempt to travel to California. I like the ideas and concepts of the book but it jumps between too many characters. Because I this I didn’t really connect to the story or the characters which meant that I didn’t care what happen to them.
I watched three movies this month which I haven’t done in a while. The first movie I watched was Rocketman which is the musical about the life of Elton John. I didn’t know really anything about Elton John before watching the movie but I movie kept me interested. I think it would also make an amazing stage musical.
Knives Out is a murder mystery movie following death of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey the night of his 85th birthday. This is a murder mystery in the similar vein as Clue but not as comedic. I loved the ensemble cast and all the weird family drama that changed how I thought each character was involved. If you haven’t seen it yet I would highly recommend it.
The last movie I watched this month was Joker. This movie follows the origins of the DC and Batman villain The Joker. This is a very good movie that shows one mans decent into madness and how a person could become a villain like the Joker. I plan to have a full review out shortly but I would recommend seeing this movie if you haven’t already.
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher is the fourth book in the Dresden Files series. This book follows Dresden as he deals with the consequences of starting a war against the vampire courts. The main plot focuses more on the Fae Courts and his deal with Leananshidhe who sold it to Mab, the Winter Queen. Dresden must now work for Mab and attempt to find out who killed the Summer Knight.
Night Owl Reviews 