November Round Up

 I managed five books this month and two of those Library books and one was a book that was lent to me. It pains me to say it but I'm actively trying not to acquire so many books. I'm getting old. And I don't know what will happen to them when I put my clogs. So I've been giving some away. I'm not finding easy but I'm trying to be sensible. Five books is quite low for me, but the Philip Pullman was over 600 pages but that's a pathetic excuse. Bottom line is I didn't read as much this month as I've done in previous months. Does it matter? Of course not.

This book was one of those rare things nowadays - a copy from a publisher to read, review and blog about. I did all of those things. Here.   https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-bookbinders-secret-adbell.html

One of life's little coincidences. I had a free trial of the streaming platform from Paramount. And one of the films they had on offer was called The Substance. I remembered that it had been up for several awards. I didn't actually enjoy the film to be honest. It was pretty gory. And then in my local library I saw this autobiography from one of the film's stars, Demi Moore. I remembered her Work from earlier decades and there was always a hint of controversy about some of them. So I thought the book might be worth a read. It was okay. I quite enjoyed it but as an autobiography, it didn't stand out as anything special.

A long wait for the final part of the story. Was it worth it? Was it worth the wait? For me, it was. I've been enthralled by the whole saga and story of Lyra. I felt very sad that this is it. The end. And if I'm honest, I was a little disappointed by the conclusion. For it didn't seem conclusive, but maybe it never could be. It feels as if all the stories is now converge in this final volume. There's some nailbiting moments and the final denouement is a white knuckle ride. But I guess there's an element that even though our journey is at an end, the characters will endure and go forward and go forth with their lives and we can only imagine how that would be.

A friend lent this to me. The same friend that lent me the Susan Lewis book I read in July! This one was much longer and more convoluted. I regarded it as a bit of light relief after the 600+ pages of the Philip Pullman.

And my month rounds itself out with a Library book and a booker prize winner no less. Book awards always puzzle me to a degree. I like to try and read the winner and I often find myself wondering why it is this particular book that has gone at such an accolade. What is it that makes this book better than all the others. I don't know. I did enjoy it. I thought it was well written. I found it a very dispassionate exploration of one man's life, his rise and fall. But it's very clever, for the economy of words conveys as much as a verbose tale. It's all paired down to a minimum.