The Kat Files

November was an outstanding reading month for me! I completed 10 books in the month of November, finished the #moremontgomerychallenge, fulfilled four prompts on Kelsi’s Nostalgic November Readathon, and made progress on Melissa’s 7th Grade Book Challenge. November is also the month I completed the most books of the year. As of today, I have read 70 books throughout 2022. I have surpassed my Goodreads goal of 50 books, and I still have two more weeks left of the year with plenty of superb stories to finish the year off splendidly. How I would love to end the year with at least 75 books under my belt in 2022!

Since several of my books/stories overlapped for the different challenges, I will wrap up the month by Readathons instead of my normal categories. With that being said, I still managed to read a nonfiction book, several children’s literature books (#Read21in2021 Challenge), a Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club selection, and a book written by Stephen King for Year of King.

#MoreMontgomeryChallenge

Of all of my bookish adventures in November, I am the most proud of completing every prompt on the bingo board for the #MoreMontgomeryChallenge that was hosted by booktubers, Mitzi (Mitzi Reads and Writes) and Elizabeth (LizzyfayeLovesBooks). This was a three-month long reading challenge (September-November) which ended on November 30th, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birthday. However, I read only one book in September (Anne of Avonlea) for the “Read An Anne Book” prompt and did nothing in October because of the spooky season.

Therefore, I had to complete the remaining eight prompts in November. In addition to reading stories/books, two of the prompts were to watch something related to the works of L.M. Montgomery. For “Watch Any Anne Adaptation,” I watched the 2016 version of Anne of Green Gables which I really enjoyed. There are two other versions that I would love to watch in the future. For “Watch Any Non-Anne Adaptation,” I chose an episode (Season 1, Episode 4) from the television series, Road to Avonlea. Although Anne Shirley is not a character in the episode, it does include other characters from Anne of Green Gables. I really enjoyed the episode and plan to make some time in the future to watch the entire series.

As for the reading prompts, my favorite book was Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side. This young adult selection fulfilled the “Short Story Collection” prompt. This collection includes 19 tales, some with supernatural elements and some with darker societal subject matter. Since I have not read much L.M. Montgomery, I chose “The Deacon’s Painkiller” from this collection to satisfy the “Reread or Rewatch A Favorite” prompt. It was one of the more humorous stories in the collection and provides a good lesson for Andrew, the protagonist in the story. While I enjoyed all of the stories in the collection which I read throughout the entire month, the following stories were my absolute favorites:

• “Davenport’s Story”
• “The Deacon’s Painkiller”
• “Detected by the Camera”
• “The House Party at Smoky Island”
• “The Man on the Train”
• “Miss Calista’s Peppermint Bottle”
• “Some Fools and a Saint”
• “White Magic”

Another young adult selection that I read was Kilmeny of the Orchard. What a pleasant surprise! This short novel, counted for the “Standalone Novel” prompt. It is a sweet love story about a recent college graduate, who takes a temporary teaching position in the small town of Lindsay where he meets a beautiful mute girl named Kilmeny. Mitzi recommended both this book and the short story collection to me which turned out to be wonderful recommendations.

Two middle-grade selections for this challenge were Maud: The Life of L.M. Montgomery by Harry Bruce for the “Nonfiction or Biographical” prompt and Emily of New Moon adapted by Pricilla Galloway for the “Book From Duology or Trilogy” prompt. While both books were well-written and entertaining, I want to read more biographies about L.M. Montgomery and an unabridged version of Emily of New Moon, especially if I continue the Emily trilogy.

The final prompt, “A Retelling or Anything Related” and a huge disappointment was Anne of Manhattan, an adult fictional retelling by Brina Starler. While I think Starler writes well and is a good storyteller, I was not thrilled with how the characters of Anne of Green Gables were portrayed overall in this retelling. Personally, it could have been fantastic minus the excessive drinking, the graphic sex scenes, and the situation with Anne’s thesis professor. It was hard imagining Anne Shirley, who is one of my favorite literary characters, and her friends behaving the way they did in this novel.

I loved participating in this reading challenge. L.M. Montgomery has become a new author favorite of mine. I look forward to reading more of her work as well as reading more about her life. Additionally, since I got blackout on the bingo board, my name was put into a drawing, and I won a prize. I will be receiving two books from the Pat series by L.M. Montgomery. Elizabeth will be mailing them to me. Exciting!

Nostalgic November

Kelsi hosted Nostalgic November on her channel. I completed four squares on the board.

• Old Technology on Cover/In Story (Only The Brave by Paul Evan Lehman)
• Female Author/Woman Protagonist (Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw)
• Witches or Magical Elements (Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman)
• Retro/Vintage Mood Read (The Dead Zone by Stephen King)

#Book Challenge

My friend Melissa, who I worked with at HGCS, teaches 7th Grade Language Arts and created a challenge for her students as a way to make reading for Accelerated Reader more fun. So, I decided to participate in this challenge as well. This challenge runs from mid October until December 12th. I had already reached my AR goal, so I fulfilled the Free Space. Otherwise, I did not complete any prompts in October. I did a combination of books and short stories for the prompts I read in November.

• Read a Book Outside for 15 minutes (“White Magic” from Among the Shadows by L.M. Montgomery)
• Read a Genre that You have Never Read (Only the Brave by Paul Evan Lehman)
• Read a Book from a Series (Emily of New Moon adapted by Priscilla Galloway)
• Read at an Appointment (Maud: The Life of L.M. Montgomery by Harry Bruce)
• Read a Book Just Because It Has an Amazing Cover (Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw)

Chills, Thrills, & Kills Book Club

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman was our November book club selection. It has witchy vibes, magical elements, and romance. A bit more romance than any of us was expecting.

It follows three generations of sisters who are gifted with magic of varying degrees. There is plenty of heartwarming moments blended with heartbreak and dangerous situations. Even though some of the romance was over the top, and I am not a fan of insta-love, I enjoyed the relationships between the women and the overall plot. 4 stars!

Dear reader, if you want to hear more about my thoughts on any of the books I read in November, please check out my wrap up on my YouTube channel, Kat’s Novel Adventures.

Year of King

Kelsi and I chose The Dead Zone for November. This slow burn was a reread for me, and I was excited to revisit it.

After having a second serious accident, Johnny Smith falls into a five-year coma. When he awakens, he discovers his life has dramatically changed and he has developed second sight. Because of his new gift, he finds himself involved in a murder case and faces an adversary with political connections. It has a good balance of heartbreak, turbulence, and rawness that make for an enjoyable read. 4 stars!

Kelsi and I had a grand ole time discussing The Dead Zone (novel, film adaptation, and first episode of the television show) on December 11th. Dear reader, you can check out the recording on Kelsi’s YouTube channel (see below).

My sister Rachel and I finally finished the 5-star read, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. I recently published a blog post, “Book Nook: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” where I shared my thoughts on this AWESOME book. We are planning to read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach To Living A Good Life, starting in January 2023.

December is in full force, and I am participating in three readathons. What is wrong with me, dear reader? LOL. I am currently reading The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand for #Read21in21. NO book club selection for December. My book club is on hiatus until January. Our first selection for 2023 will be No Exit by Taylor Adams. Kelsi and I are reading The Shining for our Year of King project. This will be our last book for this reading project. Our live discussion about the novel, movies, and documentary will be in January. Date and time TBD. Last but not least, my nonfiction selection this month is The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil by Al Ridenour. 

Thanks, dear reader, for reading this very long blog post. I appreciate YOU. To see my current book reviews or books I have read in the past, follow me on Goodreads at Katherine Loyacano. Happiness!

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” ~ Ernest Hemingway