November 2021

 Good reading month for me. Read five books. If I had no life I could have added a sixth today, but you know, daddy needs money, so he's gotta work... 

• A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carre. Another great addition to the Smiley universe, with the benefit of having an interesting character in my eyes (a Breton!). 
• Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte. Knocking book #1 off my list of 50 classics to read before December 2026. It was ugh, but now I've read it, so no one can make fun of me for reading the Cliff Notes instead of the novel in 12th grade. 
• Empire of the Sun, by JG Ballard. And there is book #2 from the classics list! Great book. War book. Loved this. 
• Kromosomoj, by Lorjak. My read for the Esperanto Sumoo this month. Fun book. Don't know that this would work in English, or be as exciting. 
• Phantoms, by Dean Koontz. Scary. Can't wait till the wife finishes so we can rent the movie. 

Books bought this month (uh-oh):

• Leviathan Falls, by James SA Corey. Best space opera in a long time (book #5 notwithstanding). Can't wait to read this. Sad it'll be over.
• Stars and Bars, by William Boyd. I loved the first two of his that I read. I'm sure this will be good. Another author for whom I may decide to read the entire oeuvre. I very possibly might pick this for our family's book club when it is my turn again.
• Flights, by Olga Torkarczuk. Bought based solely on her placement in awards (hello, Booker), and for the fact that it was just $1.99 in Kindle.
• Starship Troopers, by Heinlein. Wife and I love his earlier (smaller) books over horrors such as Stranger in a Strange Land. Yeah, I said it. Re-read it. You'll realize you were wrong. Same with Ringworld. (Bleck!)
• I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I've Ever Had, by Tony Danza. Yes, that Tony Danza. Had no idea he did this. Want to read about it.
• Phantoms, as discussed.
• American Moonshot, by Douglas Brinkley. Can't wait to read this. Read a "space" book last year (Leaving Earth) that was a bit dated. This looks so good.
• The Good Soldier, by Ford Maddox Ford. On my "50" list and it came up for three clams, so I grabbed it. 
• The Lost Shtetl, by Max Gross. Sounded good in the description, and again Kindle deal for $1.99, so why not try?
• The Exorcist, by William Blatty. Another cheap deal and it is, after all, The-capital-T Exorcist!
• The Arrest, by Jonathan Lethem. I loved his Motherless Brooklyn and this one sounds good. 
• Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. My wife says this is his best. We'll see.

Sad but those are my purchases. And only the Kindle ones. I also bought the following in dead tree versions:

• Pearls, Girls, and Monty Bodkin, by PG Wodehouse. This is the December read for the FB group I'm in (PG Wodehouse Book Club). 
• Listen, by Joseph Kerman. Last year, or maybe 2019, I was on an Art kick, and read a bunch of books on art. This book always comes up for those who want to learn about classical music. I'll read this sometime in the new year. 
• The Swarm, by Frank Schatzing. As discussed, this was my #GermanLitMonth pick. And I quit it. See my blog entry on why. 
• BUtterfield 8, by John O'Hara. GREAT book. (So far.) I love this book. I love ingenue books. Gloria (again, so far) is an ingenue. This reminds me of other books. Full review to follow. (Yes, the U should be capitalized.)

I am probably missing some used books I might have bought, but now that I've started these monthly posts, I'll start keeping track. 

Oh, and to be fair (to my wallet?), most of my Kindle purchases are deals, in the $0.99 to $2.99 range. Also, I'm too tired now to add Amazon links to these books. But if you're planning on buying one of these books and wanna help me out, leave me a comment and I'll send you an Amazon link that'll give me a credit. Thanks! Smooches!

Edit: Oh, and I should mention I got the idea of doing monthly posts from Nick Hornby in his Ten Years in the Tub. I almost didn't read the book (got it from the library, so not in the above list) due to the stupid intro by Jess Walter, whoever the hell he is. (Member of the Polysyllabic Spree? Probably. Jackass.) He makes fun of a lady on a plane because she likes the second amendment. Why the hell would you even mention this? You're pissing off 50% of your potential readership! 

Anyway, I decided to try one 'chapter' of Hornby's and I was so happy I did. I love his writing and will finish that book. Thank you Nick!