November 2024 Book Recommends

Like pairing the perfect wine with a good meal, or eating produce in season, the right book that suits the month can make it all the more pleasant. What that book for you is, we couldn't say. Nonetheless, here's on our take on the matter. At the beginning of every month, we'll be posting some reading suggestions.

Elli’s Recommends

Nothing says November like Soviet Russia, am I right? When the nights get longer, and the holidays are in sight, but not yet here, the leaves have all fallen but the snow hasn’t come, everything can feel dreary. This is why it is an excellent time of year to appreciate all of life’s little luxuries: a glass of wine, a good book, or a nice suit of well-fitting clothes. In A Gentleman in Moscow, our main character is confined to his luxurious hotel under house arrest for life. Through his confinement, He gains a new appreciation for the people in his life. Whether it be the confidence and skill the hotel Barber provides him at his weekly appointments, or the opportunity to approve the hotel chef’s masterpieces  every evening, the staff become his only family, as the hotel becomes his home. In the midst of a tricky political regime and economic ruin, the protagonist finds hope and light. Being a “gentleman” he has received a fine education and upbringing which aids him even in his degrading circumstances. The prose is simple but elegant and elevated. There is a plot, but like most literary novels, it is not ruled by it. Despite all this, you won’t want to put it down. Though I hesitate to call it “cozy,” (it’s Russia we’re speaking of after all), it could be called charmante. 

Instead of letting dark, cold, and wet days get you down, why not go on an adventure far over the misty mountains? If it’s been a while since you’ve visited Tolkien’s The Hobbit, let this be your cue to do so again. While that feeling of “northenness” in middle-earth complements the colder and darker weather, Tolkien’s tone in The Hobbit is much more light-hearted and humorous (not to mention, shorter) than the epic trilogy. It’s much more, shall we say, hobbitish. The epic conclusion to the hobbit—The Battle of the Five Armies—coincidentally happens in November, but overall the enjoyment of hobbitish things—a nice cup of tea, a cozy fireplace, good food, smoking a pipe, talking long into the night with old friends—is sure to help lift yours spirits and prepare to enjoy the colder months ahead. If you can, read it aloud, it has an episodic nature which makes this manageable in nice chunks. If you can, read it by the fire, with a hot cuppa-something. And remember, Bilbo’s adventures are good, old-fashioned humorous, so don’t forget to laugh. 

Nate’s Recommends

The Terrible Speed of Mercy by Jonathan Rogers

If you’ve read anything by Flannery O’Connor, you may just remember her as a Southern Catholic lady that brutally kills everyone in her stories. If that doesn’t appeal to you, I get it. I believe understanding her project and why she writes what she does will at least give you a better appreciation for her work. Roger’s biography of O’Connor, The Terrible Speed of Mercy, can give you that context and background. This is a spiritual biography of O’Connor, who read the Bible and Aquinas religiously (in the truest sense of the word). She coined herself a “hillbilly Thomist” after all. She also has a biting, clever sense of humor which she retained even during her debilitating bouts of lupus. The introduction of this biography alone should convince you to read more O’Connor, such as…

“The Enduring Chill” by Flannery O’Connor

So long as I’m recommending an autobiography about Flannery O’Connor, I’d better recommend a short story of hers as well. Everyone knows O’Connor for the shocking violence bit, and yes, she does a good amount of that. But the striking thing about “The Enduring Chill” is twofold: It does not rely on that device and it’s so darn funny. In Flannery O'Connor's "The Enduring Chill," Asbury, a failed writer, returns to his mother's farm in the South, believing he is dying from a mysterious illness. But not is all as it seems with his condition... If there are any high school literature teachers reading this (or anyone whose last foray into short stories was back in tenth grade), the one takeaway I give you is that there are other O’Connor short stories besides “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” And if you want a short list of some of O’Connor’s other best short stories, here you go: “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” “The Lame Shall Enter First,” and “Good Country People.”

This is a children's science fiction novel. I’ve never seen the movie. And because the movie posters look like Oprah Winfrey is unironically modeling for Hunger Games apparel, I never intend to. This novel was written before the idiotic, shallow parent characters that are ubiquitous in children's stories today, which means that the interactions between the children and their parents felt real. A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin as they travel through space and time to rescue Meg's father from an evil force. Guided by three mysterious beings, they confront dark powers and discover the strength of love and courage. Scattered throughout are interesting mathematics and science facts, which I of course blazed by as a kid because I wasn’t about to learn about the fourth dimension when I was just reading for fun.  What I appreciated about it was that it was classic good versus evil, a battle between light and dark. But even so, the story sucked me in face first.