Quick Lit: November 2016

Yes, there is a reason this simple square is my first
image in this post. Read on to discover why! :) 

I think I'm winding down for the year... Since I met my reading goal for 2016 a few months ago, I don't feel the push to blow through easy reads just for the sake of finishing as many as I can. So I've been taking my time, doing other things instead of reading during down time, and for the month of December decided to re-read something that will easily take the entire month (and likely beyond)!

Promised by Caragh O'Brien

Last month I read the first two books in the Birthmarked trilogy, and was already halfway through this one when November started. It was an enjoyable, unpredictable dystopian story that I highly recommend to fans of books like Divergent.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles is one of my all-time favorite series, so when I saw she was coming out with another book I made sure to request my library ordered it (and got my name first on the hold list of course!). It honestly took me a little bit to get into. I thought some of the romance happened too quickly for my taste, but as the rest of the story progressed it became un-put-down-able. It's been awhile since I've read or seen Alice in Wonderland, so I'm sure some of the hints to that story were lost on me. The entire time I found myself hoping Catherine wouldn't become that Queen of Hearts! (but I won't say anymore for fear of spoilers :)

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I had put this one on hold a loooong time ago for my Kindle using Overdrive and had completely forgotten about it. It popped up as available right as I finished Heartless, so even though I wasn't sure what to expect, I thought I'd give it a try. It's VERY much out of any "normal" genre I would typically read, but since it was an engaging, easy read (most of the time), I kept going. And I finished it in a couple of days. And I recommended it to my husband, who is now staying up late reading it (which he never does). It's one of those books that makes you think, and sticks with you for awhile after finishing!

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I had NO IDEA until I created this post that I read 3 black & red books this month! What are the chances! :-D :-D :-D

Now we're up to the last month of the year, and I've completed 50 books, with a goal of 36. The other day I was scanning my own shelves (something I NEVER do -- I actually don't own very many fiction books [I love my library!!]), and my copy of Lord of the Rings caught my eye.

I had bought and read the trilogy as a single-volume paperback when I was in college (while the movies were coming out). Now, I am NOT a re-reader -- I re-read Harry Potter this summer before the new one came out, and now that we're reading chapter books with our kids I'm reading things like Narnia again. But that's about it. I've always felt that there are so many good books in the world that I should spend my time reading new things instead of stories that I already know how they end.

But there's something about these chilly days of early winter and the desire to actually avoid quick-read books for awhile that made me pick it up (maybe also the fact that the movies all came out in December??). It might take me a little getting re-used to Tolkien's flowing, descriptive, old-English language, but I think it's going to be worthwhile. Maybe I'll convince my husband to re-watch the movies with me over Christmas break too. :)

Are you a re-reader?

Linking up with Anne Bogel's Quick Lit on December 15.

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