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Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!
Here we are, and once again, the year is nearly over…at least we have season 5 of Fargo to distract us from the inevitable passage of time.
Let’s begin, shall we?
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
Break aside, November has been on the busier side, but it’s been a productive one for me. It’s been chaos as far as my workload has gone, but part of that chaos was the editing that led me to send off two of my short stories for consideration to be published in some school literary journals! I won’t hear back for several months, but I’m so excited!! The initial impostor syndrome has faded (it’ll probably come back in a few months, mark my words…I’ve got my NyQuil ready), but either way, I’m really proud for taking this first step. Now, the workload chaos is in the form of looming final projects, which is not nearly as fun, but at least I don’t have to take a stats final at the crack of dawn like last year.
My reading has been a bit slower this month (see above), but as far as enjoyment goes, I’ve had a much more successful month! I had another 5-star read in the form of Ceremony (me when mixed-race experience and themes of storytelling), and I only had one book in the 2-star range for this whole month! I ended up reading a ton of literary and literary-leaning fiction for no particular reason, but the ones I read this month were almost all hits. I’ve had some more time to blog, what with break and whatnot, so it’s been fun to write more frequently before finals hits me like a train.
Other than that, I’ve just been trying to draw and play guitar (when I can), watching Taskmaster and The Great British Bakeoff (hEY NOW NO SPOILERS US AMERICANS HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY FOR THE FINAL), trying to ignore how cold the weather is, and rejoicing the return of Fargo! FARGO! I FEEL ALIVE AGAIN!
…say, are we gonna talk about how utterly insane episode 3 was? Just me?
Also, for your casual amusement, here’s the mess that is my Apple Music Replay for this year:
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READING AND BLOGGING:
I read 15 books this month! Again, slower than normal, but it’s impressive to me, given how much editing and pre-finals chaos has consumed me this month.
2 – 2.75 stars:
![](https://madelinetodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-14.png?w=332)
3 – 3.75 stars:
![](https://madelinetodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-19.png?w=661)
- Player Piano – Kurt Vonnegut (for school) (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Appleseed – Matt Bell (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Give Me a Sign – Anna Sortino (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
- Eternally Yours – edited by Patrice Caldwell (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Where Peace Is Lost – Valerie Valdes (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- A Crooked Mark – Linda Kao (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Hunger Makes the Wolf (Ghost Wolves, #1) – Alex Wells (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
4 – 4.75 stars:
![](https://madelinetodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-20.png?w=652)
- The Deep Sky – Yume Kitasei (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- The Crane Husband – Kelly Barnhill (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Family Lore – Elizabeth Acevedo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- This Place: 150 Years Retold – Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2) – Arkady Martine (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
- Our Wives Under the Sea – Julia Armfield (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
5 stars:
![](https://madelinetodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image-9.png?w=300)
- Ceremony – Leslie Marmon Silko (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
POSTS I’M PROUD OF:
- I had fun reviewing The Deep Sky, The Crane Husband, A Crooked Mark, and Hunger Makes the Wolf!
- Music rambling! Here are my Sunday Songs from 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, and 11/26.
- I made a list of books for Native American Heritage Month!
- I had fun with the Wasted Potential Book Tag!
POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I’VE ENJOYED:
- T.K. @ Genie in a Novel talks about why she doesn’t like celebrity book clubs!
- jan @ inkspun tales talks about her favorite book cover illustrators!
- Elli @ AceReader made a great list of books similar to Sex Education!
- Becca @ Book It With Becca had a great take on the Queer Book Tag!
SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I’VE BEEN ENJOYING:
Today’s song:
That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
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