Here is a round up of book related favourites for the month of November, 2015. For a glimpse into October, 2015’s Bookish Favourites please see here.

1. Books

 I  read a total of seven books in November. Two of these books, Emily of New Moon and Little House on the Prairie were part of the #ReadKidsLit read along .

1) Emily of New Moon (4/5*) by LM Montgomery. This is the heartwarming tale of a young motherless girl called Emily who has recently lost her beloved father. Emily’s mother’s side of the family draw lots to decide who will have the responsibility of taking care of the young child. Emily goes to stay with her strict Aunt Elizabeth, loving Aunt Laura and friendly Cousin Jimmy at the idyllic location of New Moon Farm on Prince Edward Island. Despite her immense sense of loss, Emily draws comfort from her beautiful surroundings, the friendships she makes at every turn and ultimately her new family.For a full review see here.

2) Martha, Eric and George (4/5*) by Margery Sharp. This is the third book in Margery Sharp’s ‘Martha’ trilogy. In this book we follow the lives of Martha, Eric and George a decade after where ‘Martha in Paris’ left us. We learn of George’s upbringing in the hands of his grandmother, of Eric’s disillusionment at being unable to progress in both the personal and professional spheres of his life and of Martha’s tremendous success as an independent artist. Martha’s success prompts her to show her paintings at an exhibition in Paris. In Paris, Martha, Eric and George meet one another and this book deals with the circumstances and repercussions of the meeting between a mother and a child who have been distanced for a decade.

3) They Were Sisters (4.5/5*) by Dorothy Whipple. Three sisters marry three very different men. Lucy, the eldest is happily married to William. Charlotte, is besotted with Geoffrey who is a cruel, dominating husband and Vera, the beautiful youngest sister marries caring, wealthy Brian, whom she marries for  security. The story deals with the fact that choosing a life partner can have far-reaching consequences, and that this decision can dictate to a large extent a person’s individual happiness and the happiness of their families.Whipple delivers a masterful plot and powerful cast of characters. She creates extraordinary drama and turbulence within the boundaries of everyday domestic occurrences. For a full review see here.

4) Little House on the Prairie (4/5*) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This story recounts the brave migration of a small family of five, on a small cart and horse laden with all their worldly possessions from the Woods of Wisconsin to the heart of the MidWest. It also describes the trials and difficulties of setting up house as a pioneer family in a land inhabited by wild animals, and unknown dangers, a land they must share with the Native American people.

5) Illyrian Spring (4.5/5*) by Ann Bridge. This book is a part travelogue, part love story set in 1930’s Croatia, along the picturesque Dalmatian Coast. World-renowned artist, thirty-eight year old Lady Kilmachael, the wife of an eminent economist and mother to three grown-up children, leaves her family and all that she holds dear and escapes to Venice and Croatia’s remote Dalmatian Coast. She fears for her marriage, suspecting her husband of embarking on a possible affair and also is saddened by the strained relationship she has with her daughter. In Venice she meets a disillusioned young man, Nicholas, a man on the verge of being coerced into an architectural career by his parents but desperately yearning to paint. By chance, Grace and Nicholas find themselves on the same cruise to the Dalmatian Coast. Grace is persuaded to guide and train Nicholas in his artistic endeavours and together they spend several idyllic weeks together painting and enjoying each other’s company. However, when young Nicholas falls in love with Grace, she finds she must choose between following her better judgement or her heart.

6) Family Roundabout (4.5/5*) by  Richmal Crompton. This Persephone book looks at the complex relationship between two neighboring families, the Fowlers and the Willoughbys,  whose outlooks on life, are on one hand in opposition to one another, but on the other hand, find their paths unavoidably intertwined. Both the matriarch’s of the families, keep a close eye on the fates of their beloved families, but employ different styles. Mrs Willoughby, has control of the family fortune, and dictates the actions of her family members by way of controlling the money she bestows upon them. Benevolent Mrs Fowler, watches silently, as her children fall in and out of their individual problems. Most of her children appeal for her help when they require it. But despite, however, much the mothers’ try to resolve their children’s problems, new troubles, recur in cyclical events, almost like a roundabout.

7) The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay. In this vintage crime fiction novel, a large family gathers together in their large family home, in the country during the Christmas season. The head of the family, wealthy Sir Osmond Melbury, is found dead on Christmas Day by a guest, dressed up as Santa Klaus. Everyone in the house has a motive for committing the murder except Santa Klaus himself. However, Santa Klaus is the only person, in the entire house, with the opportunity, or so it would seem…

2. Blogposts

 I published eight blogposts excluding this round-up post this month. Three were reviews of children’s books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Green Eggs and Ham and Madeline. The rest included reviews of the books-  Martha in Paris, They Were Sisters, Emily of New Moon and Cheerful Weather for the Wedding. I also published The Thoughtful Holiday Gift List for the Booklovers in Your Life.

I wrote a blogpost for Budgettraveller.org describing Fifteen Books that Made me Fall in Love with Europe. In doing so I was able to read and re-read a number of delightful travelogues.

3. Movies

We watched Jim Carrey’s ‘A Christmas Carol‘. This is such a delightful movie to watch around the festive season! The special effects are just magical and conjure a beautiful image of Dickensian London during yuletide. We also watched ‘Cheerful Weather for the Wedding‘. I saw the film soon after reading the book by Julia Strachey. As a consequence the dialogues in the book were fresh in my mind and were not faithfully repeated in the screenplay. This rather disappointed me, but if watched independently of the book, this is not a bad film. We also commenced watching Season 1, part 2 of the dramatization of Diana Gabaldon’s  ‘Outlander’ series. There is so much drama in this series and very entertaining to follow.

4. Audiobooks

 I listened to the excellent BBC dramatization of Dodie Smith’s ‘I Capture the Castle’ on BBC radio this month. I am also slowly listening to the BBC dramatization of CS Lewis’s excellent Narnia novels. Starting with ‘The Magician’s Nephew’. I also was quite interested in the discussion about Jane Austen’s Emma in an episode of ‘In Our Time‘ hosted by Melvyn Bragg.

5. Miscellaneous

 I indulged in purchasing a few audiobooks this month. These include a series of readings from Anthony Trollope‘s Barsetshire  novels. I also have the recording for  ‘War and Peace‘ at hand. I hope to embark on a reading challenge of sorts next year, centered around either one of these books.

I did a few paintings for my art journal on Instagram. You cnd some examples below.

6. Next Month

Next month I hope to make a dent in my TBR pile. Books that I am looking at are the Mystery in White, Sweet William by Beryl Bainbridge and the illustrated copy of Harry Potter.

Wish you all a happy and bookish, festive December!

Please tell me what you have been reading this month?