What I read in November 2025
November was kind of intense: lots of Big Days (at and outside of work) and low-energy recovery time from them. I read nine books, which is less than I’m accustomed to, but nonetheless pretty good.
I’m reading out a couple of stories at Emotional Madness with Mary-Ann & Mates tonight, yay! One is the gloomy Gothic one I had published in The Kleksograph the other month, and the other is a funny (I hope) Christmas flash.
The Best of Everything, by Kit de Waal - 4*
Scars of Silence, by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner
A Granite Silence, by Nina Allan - it amuses me that I read two consecutive books with ‘silence’ in the title, just after reading The Whisper of Stars, by Cristin Williams and all. 4.5*
Opposite World, by Elizabeth Anne Martins - 4.5*
The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo - 4*
The Old Goat and the Alien, by Veo Corva - 4.5*
Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells - 4.5*
Dark Entries, by Robert Aickman - I was let loose in the superlative charity bookshop in Chesham, and this was one of the spoils. 3.5*
Good and Evil and other stories, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell - 4*
Looking ahead…
I’m only working 12 days in December, and I’ve already done three of them! Whether this translates into more reading, time will tell…
I’ve got a couple more reviews I’d like to get out by the end of the year, of the third instalment in D. Harrigon’s Desolation series (see my reviews of Desolation: The Overdue Library and Desolation: Keep Your Imaginary Friends Close), and Apex/Violet Lichen’s ECO24 collection.
Wise Children, by Angela Carter, was another book I picked up while visiting friends in Chesham, and the striking cover has been calling to me ever since I put it on top of my TBR pile!