Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby.  I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book.  Here are my reads for November, 2015…

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, by Sarah Vowell – I love Sarah Vowell’s work!  This is the third book I’ve read from her bibliography and I am always impressed by the thoroughness of her research, the quality of her social observations, and the witty, wry sense of humor with which she approaches her subjects.  Lafayette was no exception – in fact, it may be my favorite so far.  Vowell observed that the Marquis de Lafayette, an adventuring teenager who ran away from his pregnant wife and overbearing inlaws to become one of the most beloved figures in American history, was pretty much the only thing that could unite an incredibly fractious country.  Americans in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries couldn’t agree on much, but they could agree that they all adored Lafayette… and after reading Vowell’s tribute to the darling deadbeat daredevil, you will too.

Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff – I loved Groff’s last book, Acadia, so was expecting great things from her newest work – and I was not disappointed.  Fates and Furies tells the story of Lotto and Mathilde Satterwhite and their passionate, creative partnership over their decades of marriage.  The first half of the book, Fates, is told with its focus on Lotto, a rich boy who is cut off by his odd bird of a mother after he marries Mathilde on a whim, but goes on to be a famous and successful playwright.  The writing is excellent and the setting is brilliantly portrayed.  If the book was just Fates, it would still be terrific – but then.  With Furies, the focus switches to Mathilde, and everything the reader thought they knew about the Satterwhites’ marriage suddenly blows up.  Revelations pile upon revelations, proving that marriage is a mystery, sometimes, even to the people in it.  This book deserves all the acclaim it has gotten.

Honor Girl, by Maggie Thrash – I devoured this graphic memoir, about the experience of falling in love at summer camp, in one sitting.  Maggie attends Camp Bellflower, a conservative Christian camp deep in the Bible Belt.  At the start of the summer, fifteen-year-old Maggie is insecure, unsure of everything except one thing: her deep, abiding love for the Backstreet Boys, and Kevin.  But then she meets Erin, a female counselor, and falls headlong into all the feelings.  The art so perfectly captured the spirit and feeling of the story.  I was rooting for Maggie and Erin to get together, even though I knew their feelings would never be tolerated at their conservative camp.  I just found this book so sweet, so endearing, and so fascinating.

Fables, Volume 2: Animal Farm, by Bill Willingham – The second volume of Fables picks up where the first left off.  Rose Red is sentenced to community service for the trick she pulled on the Fabletown community in the previous volume, and Snow White has a particular task in mind: a sisters’ trip up to the Farm, the secluded enclave where those Fables who are unable to pass as human live, presumably, a peaceful and idyllic life.  Not so much – Snow and Rose walk right into a revolution led by Goldilocks, all grown up into a gun-wielding revolutionary, and the Three Bears.  Best line of the series so far: “I’m Snow White, and I’m never outgunned.”

Kind of a light month of reading in November!  It’s been a bit wild and woolly around here.  I just got back (yesterday!) from a family trip to spend some time over Thanksgiving with my brother and sister-in-law in Colorado.  Before the trip I was working every night, trying desperately to avoid having to take work with me on vacation.  (I was unsuccessful and ended up doing a couple of hours of work each day.  Ah, well.  It happens.)  Then the trip itself involved almost no reading.  I brought a couple of books but barely took them out all week – between kids, work, sightseeing and family time there just wasn’t a moment to spare for reading.  So, yeah, a light month.  The good news is that I really enjoyed everything I did get to read this month.  As for December – well, I’m hoping for a longer list of books read, but with the holidays and preparing for a move my next couple of months are looking quite full.  Still, I’m sure I’ll read.  When life gets really hectic, it always makes me feel more grounded to come back to a book.