November TBR

  I'm going to make a reasonable TBR (To Be Read) stack to choose from. If I feel I can always add a few more later on.

I am feeling very positive about being able to complete my TBR set for this month. 

Small reminders: In bookish social media (YouTube being my main reference) November is the month dedicated to reading non-fiction books and Also, Indigenous authors. If it's within your power try to read more. Personally, I have made small efforts especially this year to broaden my reading tastes and add a few more of them to my monthly TBRs. 

These two are not so popular maybe it's a good idea to try a few of them to find the subtypes you enjoy and get an idea of your reading taste. Knowing what you like within specific genres helps you find books you can finish and do not feel like a chore. 

A few non-fiction books:

-The three laws of performance by Steve Zafron and Dave Logan. This book is one I know very little about but it is very popular in my workplace. We can get a lot of beneficial ideas on how to work as a team and improve as an organization. This month is the very first time my team is making a Reading club and our manager picked this book as our first. I am looking forward to reading it and also the discussion we will get from it. A nice way to spend together as a team. 

-Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi this is a book very popular when the antiracists movements started to get more exposure earlier this month. As many people have already said, racist killing and antiracist movements in the USA and in many other countries is not a 2020 issue. It has been happening for all history of most countries. It is something people have to be reminded of more often, not only when the news emits the killing of an innocent young man or woman. 

As many others mention, it is hard to continue reading about these social disparities based on racial matters. The hardship of reading this literature comes from the emotional impact you get, the human race is wicked. Seeing such injustices continue happening at this date when we are supposed to be much more civilized cultures... That is such a lie. It makes it hard to want to read more of atrocities, but if you hide from it and pretend it's not happening it's like endorsing and giving it your approval. I am very aware of how mentally exhausting it can be to read of this can be, but we need to push through. Take a small break and then dive into the topics once more. Informed decisions cannot be made if you have zero information.  

Please try to get more information about inequality among people. Discrimination in our society nowadays is based on gender, sexuality, self-identity, race, nationality, and many other forms. We need to make an active effort to diminish it or else it will continue to the end of time. 

For the Literally Dead book club ran by Kayla from BooksandLala set for this month The only good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. This book has been going around Booktube for a few weeks at least as far as I have seen it. I have heard huge praises for this fantastical paranormal story. It follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Next, I also have a few series I must get through in order to finish my Series to read before 2020 ends. 

-The ersatz elevator by Lemony Snicket. This is the sixth book in the series, almost halfway through. We will follow the very unlucky sibiling as they are taken from their stay in the Academy and are sent to somewhere else. Just knowing they will find another unfortunate encounter with Olaf and very inept caretakers, annoys me even before starting to read it. But I am so eager to read it. I am decided to finally finish this series.  Within the chapters of this story, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, some friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway, and parsley soda. It does sound very adventurous and dangerous. 

-Mad ship by Robin Hobb. We continue to follow Athea from the Vestrit family in her struggle to get her ship the Vivacia. But things ended up in quite a hassle in the first book of the series. The official book description has spoilers for the first book in the series so if you have not red it, skip the next chapter please. 

The Vestrit family’s liveship, Vivacia, has been taken by the pirate king, Kennit. Held captive on board, Wintrow Vestrit finds himself competing with Kennit for Vivacia’s love as the ship slowly acquires her own bloodlust.
Leagues away, Althea Vestrit has found a new home aboard the liveship Ophelia, but she lives only to reclaim the Vivacia and with her friend, Brashen, she plans a dangerous rescue.
Meanwhile in Bingtown, the fading fortunes of the Vestrit family lead Malta deeper into the magical secrets of the Rain Wild Traders. And just outside Bingtown, Amber dreams of relaunching Paragon, the mad liveship.

For the Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell, I plan to read the 3 and fourth installments. I am eager to finish the series. Saint's blood tells us how the Dukes were already looking for ways out of their agreement to put Aline on the throne, but with the Saints turning up dead, rumours are spreading that the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. Now churches are looking to protect themselves by bringing back the military orders of religious soldiers, assassins, and (especially) Inquisitors - a move that could turn the country into a theocracy. The only way Falcio can put a stop to it is by finding the murderer. He has only one clue: a terrifying iron mask which makes the Saints vulnerable by driving them mad. But even if he can find the killer, he'll still have to face him in battle.
And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

-Tyrant's throne After years of struggle and sacrifice, Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, is on the brink of fulfilling his dead King's dream: Aline, the King's daughter, is about to take the throne and restore the rule of law once and for all.
But for the Greatcoats, nothing is ever that simple. In the neighbouring country of Avares, an enigmatic new warlord is uniting the barbarian armies which have long plagued Tristia's borders - and even worse, he is rumoured to have a new ally: Trin, who's twice tried to kill Aline to take the throne for herself. With the armies of Avares at her back, she'll be unstoppable.
Falcio, Kest and Brasti race north to stop her, but in those cold and treacherous climes they discover something altogether different, and far more dangerous: a new player is planning to take the throne of Tristia, and the Greatcoats, for all their skill, may not be able to stop him.
As the nobles of Tristia and even the Greatcoats themselves fight over who should rule, the Warlord of Avares threatens to invade. It is going to fall to Falcio to render the one verdict he cannot bring himself to decide: does he crown the girl he vowed to put on the throne, or uphold the laws he swore to serve?

Another fantasy series I am trying to make a dent in is the way of kings by Brandon Sanderson. This series I was supposed to start in previous months but has been pushed back without even starting it. Mainly due to the huge volume, it's very intimidating. November is the month I will finally get through it! It is an adult epic fantasy, with nations at war and filled with peculiar magic abilities. This one of the books mentioned in my 5-star prediction I need to get to them soon! I am getting to the books much slower than I expected. 

I intend to read a few graphic novels and manga as well. If you have been here for a bit you know the stories very well by now.

-Walking dead volumes 22 to 24 by Robert Kirkman. I am intrigued, what happens now. The threat of the Saviors is finally over but the way of life of the survivors is still as hard as ever. What will happen now?

-My hero academia vol 15 to 18 by Kazue Kato. We continue the training of the youngsters. The struggles to continue their school and their tasks as now Heros in the field now that they have their permits. 

-Inuyasha vol 9 and 10 by Rumiko Takahashi. We follow Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha in their journey to find Naraku and get the pieces of the Shikon No Tama. Their group has finally solidified and they are now actively a team.

-I intend to finally reread the 5th wave by Rick Yancey. I have been wanting to reread the story as I have very few recollections of the ending and it's best to reread the whole thing as I am sure I have by now lost most of the details. This is a-first-contact with aliens story. After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until Cassie meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope for rescuing her brother and even saving herself. Now she must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Cassie Sullivan gets up.

As part of my task of getting to the works of 

*Agatha Christie:

-Murder at Orient Express this tells us the very classic tale of a murder that happens in a train ride and the search of the culprit when many of the travelers seem to have a good reason for committing the crime. 

-Why didn't they ask Evans? Another stand-alone Murder mystery story. Was it a misstep that sent a handsome stranger plummeting to his death from a cliff? Or something more sinister? Fun-loving adventurers Bobby Jones and Frances Derwent's suspicions are certainly roused-especially since the man's dying words were so peculiar: Why didn't they ask Evans? Bobby and Frances would love to know. Unfortunately, asking the wrong people has sent the amateur sleuths running for their lives-on a wild and deadly pursuit to discover who Evans is, what it was he wasn't asked, and why the mysterious inquiry has put their own lives in mortal danger. 

*Stephen King

-Different seasons a short story/novellas collection.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption--the most satisfying tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat escape since The Count of Monte Cristo.

Apt Pupil--a golden California schoolboy and an old man whose hideous past he uncovers enter into a fateful and chilling mutual parasitism.

The Body--four rambunctious young boys venture into the Maine woods and in sunlight and thunder find life, death, and intimations of their own mortality.

The Breathing Method--a tale told in a strange club about a woman determined to give birth no matter what.

Remember when I said I would make a very reasonable TBR? This ended a bit longer than what I had in mind when I first started it. Oh well, I can't help myself. This is it, for now, have a great rest of the day, see you later.

Stay safe!