Recommended Reading - November

I am shocked that I managed to read as much as I did during November - NaNo, anyone? I enjoyed a number of books, but it's the two Standouts below I want to highlight. They're both different types of books than I usually read - a humor/comic collection and a short story collection - but I'm so glad I picked them up….

*****

Books Read in November:  9

Total Books Read in 2013:  87

Standouts:

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh - I've been a huge fan of this blog of the same name for awhile now, and I'd made a note of this book way back before it came out. I couldn't wait! And let me just say, it was well worth the wait. There's an honesty here - in both the humor and in the baring of heartache. I laughed out loud (see: "Motivation,"  and "Dinosaur.") I nodded in understanding (see: "This is Why I'll Never be an Adult,") and I even wiped away a few tears (see: "Depression" Parts One and Two, and "Identity" Parts One and Two.) This is a book I will return to again and again, no doubt.

*****

Nine Inches: Stories by Tom Perrotta - I don't usually read a lot of non-genre (mysteries, thrillers, etc) short story collections because I often find them to be too literary and/or the stories themselves too long for my taste. But I'd read and enjoyed Perrotta's work before, so I thought I'd give this collection a try. What I really liked about it was that the stories focused on regular people who struggled with issues that, on the surface seemed ordinary or superficial, but were really forcing the characters to face their own humanity, whether they were aware of it or not. A few of my favorites: "Grade My Teacher," "The Chosen Girl," and "The All-Night Party."

*****

If you participated in NaNo, did you manage to read much - or anything! - during November? Plan on reading either/both of the Standouts? Do you read short story collections, and if so, do you have any you'd recommend? Read anything lately you can't stop raving about?