November Book Edit

I’m practically done with my Commissario Brunetti mystery series and while he regales us with his reading and rereading of my many books (mostly Greek tragedies, mind you), I couldn’t help but think about rereading A Gentleman from Moscow.

I finally picked it back up this week and I already love it as much as I remember. Whether that’s an oldie to you or must add to your list, you’ll also want to check out the following books to read this month.

What to Read This Month {November 2020}

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

This debut romance from Rosie Danan is hilarious and a real breath of fresh air when it comes to portrayals of sex work. Highly recommended if you need something amusing!

Clara Wheaton is a buttoned-up blue blood in love with her laminator. She moves to LA to pursue her childhood friend, convinced all he needs is a little reminder of her to start reciprocating her feelings.

Instead, she shows up to find him packing his bags, and a subletter in his place. Josh Darling is altogether too handsome and too laid back for Clara, especially when Clara finds out that he’s been acting in porn for the last few years.

A college drop out, Josh has found a large fan following but also feels insecure about his job and position in the industry. He wants to move on, but isn’t entirely sure how to.

What could just be bad joke or a conventional opposites attract novel instead turns into a wonderful relationship between the two of them. At first, a friendship built on supporting each other (Josh helps Clara overcome her fear of driving, while she makes sure he starts to see himself as more than a pretty face with one talent), and then, true love blossoms.

{Available on Thriftbooks}

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

This is the first in an epic fantasy trilogy rooted in precontact MesoAmerican history and lore. Black Sun is an innovative and truly entertaining book, and one that I predict will be on quite a few Best Of… lists.  As with N.K. Jemison’s Broken Earth series, it is truly refreshing to dive into a fantasy that does not derive its underpinnings from feudal Europe, and the writing and characterization lives up to the promise.

We follow four main characters through the events leading up to the Great Convergence (the winter solstice) in the holy city of Tova.

First, we meet Serapio, a young man dedicated to the Carrion Crow by his mother, travelling to Tova to fulfill prophecy. He is led there by Xiala, a hard drinking, exiled Teek (a sea-faring matriarchal people) with the power to direct the waves and calm storms.

In Tova itself, the young scion of the Carrion Crow family, Okoa, must find a balance in his own clan between cultists and realists. Meanwhile, the brand new and lowly-born Sun Priest Naranpa struggles to hold Tova’s Sky Made clans together and bring real power back to the priesthood.

All of our characters are seemingly at odds with each other, and Roanhorse deftly weaves each story line together in an increasingly gripping plot as magic and realpolitik bring them together. The only downside of this book? It ends with a cliffhanger (rather literally, given that Tova is a city built on cliffs), and the next book isn’t here yet!

{Available from Thriftbooks}

The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business by Mel Ziegler

A different kind of read, The Republic of Tea is the collection of faxes that brought about what is now the Republic of Tea (yes, the tea bag company). Mel and Patricia Ziegler, founders of Banana Republic, co-founded the tea company, seeking to create a new kind of business – one built on social good and an ethos open to everyone.

This book includes everything from sketches of the proposed packaging to the marketing ideas of creating a tea space for kids and adults. Fall in love with the ethos of the Republic of  Tea, the seeming simplicity of business started for good, and the creativity of a few successful entrepreneurs!

If this book doesn’t having you craving a sip or two of tea, nothing will! A fun read that feels like you’re along for the ride of creating the well-known brand, place, and identity!

Get the ebook here {for free with Kindle} or a paperback from Thriftbooks here!