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, 2020:

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Slightly Foxed No. 67: A Separate World, ed. Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood – It’s always a pleasure to curl up with the latest issue of Slightly Foxed (bonus points for a cup of tea to go along with it) and this one was no exception. I particularly enjoyed the article about the latest Slightly Foxed Edition, Jessica Mitford’s Hons and Rebels. (I already own a copy, so won’t be buying it – but I’m inspired to pick it up off my shelf sooner than later.)

High Wages, by Dorothy Whipple – Dorothy Whipple continues to deliver the goods! I really enjoyed her first novel, a story of a young shopgirl with a head for business. Fully reviewed here.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte – This was a re-read for me, and I loved it as much as I did the first time I read it, years ago. Anne Bronte might be the least-known of the three Bronte sisters, but Tenant is possibly the most revolutionary of their collective bibliography – the story of a woman hiding from an abusive husband in a time when that was just not done, it’s unabashedly feminist. Fully reviewed here.

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A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – I was feeling a pull to 221B Baker Street, and wanting to read the great detective’s origin story, so I pulled A Study in Scarlet off my shelf. Bit of an oddball story, but fun to finally get to the first appearance of Holmes.

Going Solo (Roald Dahl’s Memoirs #2), by Roald Dahl – I skipped the first volume of Dahl’s memoirs, Boy, having no desire to read about the real-life versions of the atrocious adults from his fiction. (Imaginary Trunchbull is quite bad enough.) But I was in the mood for adventure, and Dahl’s memoir of his young adulthood as a Shell Oil employee in Dar-es-Salaam, followed by his days as a fighter pilot in World War II, was captivating. (“Simba” was my favorite chapter, but really every page was exciting and wild.)

The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery, by Agatha Christie, with Mathew Prichard – Still in the mood for adventure after blowing through Going Solo, I picked up a book that’s been lingering on my TBR for too long. In the early 1920s, Agatha Christie and her first husband, Archie, embarked on a trip around the world as part of the British Empire Exhibition. The Grand Tour collects the letters she wrote home during the epic voyage, along with Christie’s own photographs from the trip, and is edited by the Queen of Crime’s grandson, Mathew Prichard. It was a fun glimpse into a vanished world, and good for scratching the armchair travel itch during COVID-times.

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A Promised Land, by Barack Obama – I pre-ordered President Obama’s memoir (part one!!) and it arrived on release day, and I almost immediately dove in. A Promised Land was a perfect combination of insider political baseball, fun anecdotes, and introspective musings about the most consequential moments of President Obama’s administration (through spring 2011; the remainder of his time in office will be addressed in the second volume). I loved every minute, but I also kind of hated it, because it brought back memories of when we had a President with not only the ability to string three words together, but the capacity and inclination to be thoughtful and considered in his decisions, and who put the country before his own interests… sigh. Those were the days. Is it January 20, 2021 yet?

Persuasion, by Jane Austen – Another re-read, a good one for fall. Persusasion is one of my favorites of Austen’s novels (to the extent that one can have a favorite; they’re all wonderful) but it had been years since I visited Kellynch and Uppercross and Camden-place. I blew through it in a day, but what a day – walking the gravel walk in Bath with Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth is always such a joy.

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Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke – Since Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell came out more than fourteen years ago, I’d pretty much given up on another novel from Susanna Clarke (although I did enjoy her short story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu). So naturally I snapped up Piranesi when it was released and I happened to luck into a copy at my favorite indie bookstore, Old Town Books. It was good, well-written and interestingly plotted, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Jonathan Strange, nor as much as I’d expected to. A solid three stars, and it’ll stay on my shelf, but I can’t imagine I’ll hanker for a re-read anytime soon.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson – I’ve been meaning to meet Miss Pettigrew for years now, and what took me so long? Another one that I blew through in a day, and I loved it. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a quotidian novel of an impoverished nursery maid who reports for a job interview and finds herself swept into a world of nightclubs, cocktails, and romance. Other than one or two instances of dated opinions, it was a joy from the first page to the last, and I’ll be re-reading it soon.

What a month of reading! I’m not even sure I can pick a highlight. President Obama’s memoir (which I’ve been awaiting for years, like so many others) was absolutely wonderful. High Wages and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day were delightful confections, Going Solo and The Grand Tour were full of adventure and fun, and Tenant and Persuasion were wonderful as ever. I’ve moved on to my Christmas reading now, but November was a banner month in books, indeed.