WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN— EMORY ROSENOW? Well, I’m still in my awesome reading chair and lost in a book! I’ve just spent the last month lost in a novel of my own writing for a change. (Oh my!) Don’t worry, I still have a couple of book recommendations for you people from things I read in November. There’s just fewer this month – partly because I’ve been waiting for an approximate AGE on SEVERAL books from the library (READ FASTER, PEOPLE).
WHERE— No wait we just established that. WHAT?
So. I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month this year, after talking about doing it for the last I DON’T KNOW six years? But this year I completed it. (Note that this is not the same as completing the novel.) The challenge, for all the cool kids out there who aren’t horrible nerds like me, is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November, or about 1667 words per day. I have accomplished that (please clap), and right now I’m sitting on I don’t know what percentage of a very rough draft, not ready for human consumption yet. So unless you’re a literarily-inclined cat (in which case I have questions) there’s nothing for you to read yet. Patience.
I will say, I have discovered this neat trick for writing a novel. It’s not a novel idea or anything, but I think it could be useful for you, if you’re interesting in getting into any kind of writing. If you want to write something, you write, and then you don’t stop writing. (Just like flying is falling but missing the Earth.) Anyway, now onto the reading part of the November Reading Writing!
Book Recommendations
Now the really good stuff that you’ve actually been waiting for! (And if that’s the case I’m really sorry, but you have hyped this up too much. Not me. You.)
Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
This is my #1 reading recommendation from November. It’s part grammar, part memoire, part history, and entirely delightful. I legitimately was laughing out loud frequently while reading this. Mary Norris worked in the editing stews of the New Yorker as a copy editor for twenty-four years, and draws heavily on those experiences to write her version of How English Works. She uses a lovely writing style (shocking) and interesting anecdotes to explore different facets of grammar, spelling, and common usage. Good luck predicting what she’s going to write about next, too. Huge thanks to Appletree Books for including this in their November local author reading recommendations (Mary Norris is a Cleveland native). Now I know even more useless trivia with which I can amaze (not annoy) my friends!
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
Yes, more Julia Quinn. I’m going to read all her stuff. They’re better romances than most of the ones you see. Anyway, none of that’s the point. The point is that, in this book, they wait for the tea to steep. That’s right: the characters take the time to steep their tea properly. None of this nonsense of dropping a teabag into water and going HEY LOOK IT’S TEA, or, even worse, using a gottdam Keurig and magically having tea (Ilona Andrews I love you so much but I am looking at you so hard right now). Tea takes a hot second. Not like an age, but LORDY PEOPLE let your poor characters drink some proper brew, you’re putting them through enough without making them drink leaf water.
Make Space by Regina Wong
This is a book about minimalism. I was like hey cool, sounds interesting, I’m interested in leaning more that direction in my life, I’ll see what Regina GeorgeWong has to say. Oh. My. Goodness. This was the most repetitive book I think I’ve ever read. You would think that a book on minimalism would, I don’t know, get to the point? Not repeat itself multiple times? WongWrong. There are good points to it but HEAVENS TO BETSY does it take a DAY to get to them. My assessment: not worth your time. Don’t make space in your reading schedule for this one.
November Reading Writing Others
The others are more Julia Quinn, but honestly there’s like only so much you can write about them. Rather, only so much I can write about them. An Offer From a Gentleman is a Cinderella retelling. The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever is what happens when you never move on from your childhood crush. What Happens in London is enemies to lovers trope… no, actually on second thought there’s a little more I can say about that one: it takes place entirely in London, and there are Russians.
I’m also considering adding more than books to my recommendations, because I think that my opinions should be valuable to you. If you want this from me, please go yell out your front door so I know. If you missed it, be sure to check out my October Reading Roundup for even more romance novels (because nothing says Spooktober like Regency-era lovers). Otherwise, this is my November Reading Writing Roundup out.
