Three-Star Reviews and November Releases

a whole lot going on right now

Hello readers!

I spent the day yesterday driving across the state to visit my Oma (the new 1989 helped the miles fly by ~ thanks Taylor!), and then sprinting back for the opening night of my 6th grader’s play! Two more performances today, along with a much-anticipated lunch with my dad, sister and niece, and then I get to luxuriate in turning 43 tomorrow. I’ll be staying home and eating cake, reading books and working on a quilt ~ my dream day!

A lovely visit with Oma and my early birthday cake!

Today’s newsletter brings you some links of interest, my recent three-star reads, and the November 2023 book releases I have already read and enjoyed. PLUS, for paid subscribers ~ access to my November 2023 book releases highlights magazine.

Let’s dive in!

October is “switch the quilts out” month! These are three of my living room quilts I washed, dried, and put away for the darker months.

Links of Interest

• Speaking of quilts, I started this year’s Christmas quilt and am using this fabric collection! I mentioned to the oldest that I need to quick get another one made this year, since she’ll get to take a holiday and year-round quilt with her when she moves out …… and then we both got pretty emotional

• When Both Silence and Statement Become Complicity from Charlotte's Web Thoughts ~ one of the most impactful pieces I read all week. When you have the capacity, please read it.

• A timely reading list and thoughts on “reading is political” from

  Sara Hildreth

• Jennette McCurdy has a brand-new podcast and the first two episodes are excellent.

• This episode of the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast is a must-listen. Matthew Desmond is one of my very favorite authors and thinkers, and his discussion with Kelly about poverty in America is so thought-provoking. Yes, listen even if you have already read both Evicted and Poverty, By America.

• This episode of Books Can Kill about a book I won’t be reading, but a topic that I do read a ton about ~ homelessness.

• I keep telling you to subscribe to this, but have you yet? This soft girls episode by

  Jo Piazza
  was everything. Jo, PLEASE keep on insisting that young women maintain the capability of being financially independent!

• Speaking of podcasts and Jo, a while back she informed me (and all of her readers) of the 1.5x Speed podcast newsletter from Vulture and I wholeheartedly recommend it! You should be able to subscribe here ~ scroll down, and it’s under the Vulture section.

• Scholastic walks it back when the heat gets turned up, but how about just doing better in the first place? If your child has a Scholastic Book Fair at their school as a fundraiser, I would LOVE for you to donate cash to the school / department raising money, and then go buy your books at an indie. If you don’t have a local, order online from Birchbark Books!

• I forgot to share this when I first read it, but I keep thinking about it. I really appreciate this look at the New Adult category and its impact on what gets published inYoung Adult.

• Sending all my best wishes to Tattered Cover in Colorado ~ I am so sad I’ll never be able to return to their McGregor Square store location

• This interactive analysis of romance book covers is fascinating ~ thanks to

  Michelle Martin
  and
  Gayla Gray
  for putting it on my radar!

• Ummmm, PopSugar has a list of 99 Romance Releases from 2023, including November releases. I have this bookmarked for whenever I’m struggling to pick my next read!

• Want to be Book Buddies with me? I love Emily so much. Yes, I already shared the Spotify song, but this is the VIDEO and I am so so excited to introduce it to my kinders!

Recent Three-Star Reads

Sigh. Sometimes I read books that I just detest, so I write long scathing reviews of them and can’t stop thinking of how mad they made me. Much more often I read books I really like (4 stars), or love (5 stars), and I share about them in this newsletter!

But right there in the middle are the books that I rate with 3 stars. I don’t dislike them. But I wouldn’t really recommend them to people either. They’re honestly just filler in my reading life and serve a definite purpose in helping me hone my tastes. However, they actually still frustrate me a bit because they are SO HARD to write about. That’s why I rarely include them in newsletters ~ there are always disclaimers and caveats and I feel weird showing covers of them when I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend them.

With all that being said, here are links to some of my “don’t really know what to say” 3-star reviews from the past two months ~ maybe they’ll provide some use to you!

• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

• Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

• Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

• The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis

• The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

• The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary

• Tiny Imperfections by Alli Frank

• Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates

• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

• A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

• The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart

And in case you missed these most recent bookish installments of the newsletter

• Recent Reads from the Mindful Library (10.21.23)

• My Book Discovery Process

• Recent Reads from the Mindful Library (10.7.23)

November 2023 Book Releases

Friends, I read EIGHT November releases already, and they were a mix of titles I loved and recommend wholeheartedly as well as some that I have a few issues with.

The five titles pictured below were the standouts, and includes one, Absolution, that technically releases on October 31st. However, it was in my book notebook from months ago on the November page, and since it comes out after this newsletter does, I am going all in on it being a November release!

• Absolution by Alice McDermott

• So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

• The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

• Today Tonight Forever by Madeline Kay Sneed

• Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change by Ben Austen

My November 2023 Book Releases magazine for paid subscribers includes:

• links, book descriptions and release dates for the five titles shown above

• the additional November releases I read but have some quibbles with

• more November releases I can’t wait to read

• my November book notebook page

• the titles librarians across the country are most excited about
  

DOWNLOAD THE NOVEMBER 2023 RELEASES MAGAZINE

That’s all for this edition, my friends!

Thanks for reading and supporting my work,

I love to hear from readers, so please do reach out to me with questions or feedback at mindfullibrarian@substack.com . If we aren’t already connected on Goodreads, I would love to see you there as well! If you’re new here, don’t forget to check out the archives!