November reading round up

Before we get too much further into December, I really should do my November round up! At first I thought that I had had a pretty good month when it comes down purely to numbers but I might have been a bit wrong.

This month I managed to read 11 books. One of those, Night Play, was a reread. I don't often do rereads, but in this case I had gone to my friend's house for a cocktail party and was up at 6am despite the late night we had had the night before. I actually didn't take a book with me, but I have been lending my friend quite a few vampire romances so this one was at her house. I couldn't help but to keep reading once I had started! Mmmm....Vane.

Here are the books that I read in November.

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson 4.5/5
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger 4.5/5
Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin 4/5
Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning 4/5
Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts 4/5
When the Duke Returns by Eloisa James 4/5
The Food of Love by Anthony Capella 4/5
The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters 4/5
Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell 4.5/5
Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon 4.5/5
Painting Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis 4/5

Do you have a scientific method for grading your books. For me, the grading is purely a gut reaction, and not really something that I can define enough to say well I gave this book 4 out of 5 and this one 4.5 out of 5 and these are the differences between the two books. The reason I mention this is that there is at least one book in there that I would probably have graded differently if I was to assign a grade to it now.

As far as challenges go, the year is coming to an end, and I think I have been pretty good at finishing most of the challenges I signed up for. The other thing that the end of the year means is that next year's challenges are all being announced, and it is fair to say that I have been signing up for more than I have been finishing!

One challenge that I don't think I will be completing this year is the Art History Challenge, although I did manage to finish one book for it during November. Painting Mona Lisa gives us a story behind one of the most famous faces in the world. It was a pretty good read. In order to complete the challenge you need to read 6 books, but I think this is only my third one so far.

The Harry Potter Reading Challenge doesn't finish until the middle of next year, but there is a fair chance that I am not going to finish that one either. When I originally signed up it was because my brother had told me that he had bought me all of the audio books narrated by Jim Dale so my plan was to listen to them. So far, I have not yet sighted those audio books, and I am not sure if I am really going to any time soon.

I have been waiting for what seems an eternity for the first book in the L J Smith series, The Vampire Diaries. It has just come into the library so I am planning to go and pick it up in the next week or so.

So, have you started thinking about the challenges you are going to sign up for next year? I have been signing up to a few. I am particularly partial to challenges for lovely buttons.

The first new challenge that I have signed up for this month is the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which is being hosted by Royal Reviews. I will be going to aim for the top level which is Obsessed and read 20 novels. Full details of the challenge can be found here.

Another challenge being hosted by Royal Reviews is the Romance Reading Challenge. Again, I will be aiming for the highest level, Obsessed, and try and read 20 romances during the year.

There are at least two challenges that I am waiting for announcements on so that I can formally sign up for. Of  course, there is also my own Terry Pratchett challenge which I will also be trying to read for as well!

I can't help but feel that there is another challenge somewhere that I said I would particpate in, but at the moment I can't think what it is. It will come to me eventually.