November Reading Wrap-Up

It's hard to believe that November will be over at the end of today, and that we are heading into the busy holiday season!  I've already managed to get most of my Christmas shopping completed, and have spent much of this weekend decorating the house.

Reading-wise, I've been in a bit of a slump lately. As discussed in my recent post Genre Fatigue: Historical Fiction Edition, I'm in a major rut when it comes to historical fiction right now and, as indicated by my November reading list below, I'm reading only non-historical fiction books these days. I think my genre fatigue will likely carry-over into the new year. 

Books Read in November 2014:

• The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg (Fiction - Contemporary Mystery)
• Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season by Nick Heil  (Non-Fiction - Adventure/Mountaineering)
• The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick (Fiction - Modern-day Pride & Prejudice re-telling)
• The Grey Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima (Fiction - YA Fantasy)
• Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (Non-Fiction)
• The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (Fiction - Contemporary/Humour)
• Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg (Fictional)

When I look over my reading list I realize that, other than The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet (click on title to read my mini-review), none of the books stand out as outstanding reads. In fact, a couple of the books on my list were a disappointment:

The Rosie Effect: I really enjoyed Graeme Simsion's first novel featuring Professor Don Tillman, The Rosie Project, but this follow-up didn't have the same effect on me. While the book did have a few laugh out loud moments, and I continue to adore Don, I felt the overall story to be a little over the top.  In addition, I didn't find Rosie anywhere near as likeable in this one.  While The Rosie Effect is by no means a bad book, I didn't have the same connection with it that I did with The Rosie Project, and for this reason it was a disappointment.



Texts From Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg: Based on reviews and blogger feedback I expected Texts from Jane Eyre would produce non-stop giggles. The book features series of text messages sent by famous literary characters, including Jane Eyre. While I found a few of these messages to be quite funny--the texts between Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter, and Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights stand out--the vast majority left me wondering what I'd missed. Granted, many of the characters featured in the book come from novels I've never read, but even those featuring characters I'm quite familiar with, such as Lizzie Bennet from Pride & Prejudice and Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind, failed to elicit from me any humorous response. While I found this book disappointing, others might find it appealing.

 
Have you read any of the books on my November reading list? If so, what did you think?