November Books

I read 14 books in November. 

Fiction:

1. Crosstalk by Connie Willis: what a rollercoaster of a book! The pacing was breakneck speed! An operation awakens girl's telepathic gene and she bonds with the guy who helps her learn the ropes of telepathy, all while doing battle with corporate spies and a cell phone company's attempts to research telepathy to augment smart phone technology. There's too much in the book to do a good short summary, but suffice it to say that this book was so fast paced and full of stressful situations like hiding, dodging responsibility, lying, and panicking, I couldn't read it at bedtime. But clever commentary on communication and a very twisting turning plot! A fun, well-written daytime read.
2. The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara: Lyft driver finds a guy's phone and tells the guy's girlfriend that the guy was cheating on her, and over time the driver and girl become friends, etc.
3. Georgana's Secret by Arlem Hawks: this book was a breathtaking Regency adventure on the high seas, with a dash of romance and a hearty dose of sailor's life. I loved it! The pacing was spot on and the characters got into and out of some serious predicaments. The plot kept me guessing and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Thanks for the birthday book gift, Danae!
4. In Pursuit of a Gentleman by Arlem Hawks: generic regency romance, set at Christmas time. Nothing particularly good or bad about it; just average and generic. How did this same author write the exciting tale of Georgana's Secret?
5. Literally Gone by Eryn Scott: third book in the Pepper Brooks cozy mysteries series. An actor playing a theater rendition Mr. Darcy gets stabbed and when Pepper gets too close to the murderer, she is kidnapped! Definitely lives up to the cozy mystery genre. 
6. Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy: middle school girl gets hit by lightning and it makes her able to hear dead people talk. She uses her new gift to make mischief and to help people. I liked this quirky book and all of the funny, embarrassing, and sweet parts of the story.
7. A Love Unexpected by Leah Brunner: guy contracts a marriage of convenience to boost his political career and of course ends up falling in love with his wife. Sweet, and I liked Leah Brunner's writing for the most part.
8. A Love Uncontainable by Leah Brunner: young widow and her 3 year old daughter move into handsome surgeon's basement apartment and agree to babysit his daughter. A sweet love story with a very tacky proposal at the end, which kind of didn't fit at all, haha. Still liked this darling story. I always like love stories with kids in them.
9. *Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City by Wendelin Van Draanen: Book 16 out of 18 in the series and Sammy's most exciting intense adventure yet! I've read it before and loved sharing it with Rose. Sammy solves the biggest mystery in her own life in a satisfying way. Rose and I have listened to all of the previous Sammy Keyes books together, and it was so fun to see her so excited about this excellent installment!
10. Maid of Dishonor by Gracie Ruth Mitchell: one of the sweetest, funniest friends-to-lovers stories that I've read. I loved the characters and I always relate to happy close friendships blooming into love. Two teachers on summer break try to stop the guy's cousin's wedding while helping plan it. So funny and cute! Worth purchasing.
11. Eye of the Beholder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell: absolutely adorable high school romance! Seriously darling. During her senior year in high school, a shy girl decides to go out of her comfort zone and make friends and learn to flirt. She tutors her neighbor in exchange for his help getting a date. Of course they become friends and more, etc. Such a sweet sweet book, I loved it. Must own this one! Book 1 in the Stone Springs series.
12. The City of Love by Gracie Ruth Mitchell: second book in the Stone Springs series, set mostly in Paris, which was fun. Girl goes on senior trip to France with her HS French class to meet with the French pen pals they've been writing for 3 years. The girl assumed her own pal was female, but it turns out to be a guy instead! Sweet love story ensues. I like the author's writing. Book 1 in this duo was still my favorite.

Non-fiction:

1. Inventing Latinos: a new story of American racism by Laura E. Gómez. This book had a lot of good history and information, but it was also oddly unbalanced. The writing seemed determinedly accessible but still with enough large words to stay aloof from the average adult reader. The arguments in each section were kind of circuitous, without clear points being made until the conclusion. The whole thing read rather like a B grade undergrad paper that was expanded into a book. That sounds harsh, but the writing and thought organization was not tight enough for the overall work to make an impact. I learned some good information about the history of Latinos, but it did not flow; it tangled! In spite of the writing, I learned interesting facts about the census as a tool for race categorization, along with the tough role of Latinos as a "buffer race" between white and black. All of the reading I've done about white-black racism has been eye opening and important, but since our community is 90% Latino, I thought I'd shift and read a little about that dynamic since it's more applicable to my daily life. Definitely not done learning about this topic.
2. *The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal: I listened to most of this book while staying up all night and running that fundraising relay for our cross country team. This was an amusing book. The author was a tad cynical about marriage at the beginning, but his stories about running were interesting, inspiring, and entertaining. 

Quotes from Inventing Latinos by Laura Gomez:

"The story of American colonial exploits is particular to each Latin American country, but the connective tissue is the same: the racialization of native peoples as subhuman; the region’s geopolitical strategic value; how military exercises support and reinforce corporate capitalism; human rights abuses by U.S.-installed dictators; and displacement caused by violence and economic deprivation, leading to migration of an exploitable workforce."

"As Latino children learn their racial place in their communities and in the nation at large, they readily grasp what their parents may not: that the White-over-Black racial hierarchy in the United States means that they do not belong in either category. For the U.S.-born children of Latino migrants, their racialized Latino identity grows out of their sense of exclusion." 

"Inventing Latinos offers an account of how Latinos came to be. The story includes individual and organizational agency but highlights the power of the racial state, larger forces in the political economy, and the shape-shifting nature of racism to reemerge in new and different forms in response to changing conditions. Racism works best when it is taken for granted, when its structure and scaffolding are more or less invisible. In this way, the racial state is not seen as a contradiction to our constitutional commitment to equal treatment under the law, to the rule of law."

Quotes from fiction, to end on a smile:

“The real question is, why would they put pieces of chalk in a children’s cereal and call them marshmallows? --Connie Willis, Crosstalk. This quote is discussing Lucky Charms cereal and it made me laugh because my kids love the marshmallows but probably only because they're called marshmallows. They're definitely chalk, hahaha.

"We’ve settled into a comfortable routine, enjoying the happiness that comes from being surrounded by those you love, even if it’s just mundane everyday life." --Leah Brunner, A Love Uncontainable

"I feel ready to conquer my demons. I mean, probably not all of them. Maybe just one or two of them. Or, you know, maybe not conquer them. I might just look them in the eye, acknowledge their existence—that kind of thing." --Gracie Ruth Mitchell, Maid of Dishonor

"Behind every splendid marriage is an exhausting amount of communication." --Leah Brunner, A Love Unexpected

"Football is not simple. It is not interesting. It is not fun to watch. It is none of the above." --Gracie Ruth Mitchell, Eye of the Beholder