It seems that like all months this year November just raced by, maybe it’s for the best less time for thinking about the sorry state of world affairs…Reading-wise it was not a bad month, but it was actually only saved on Monday when I read two books in one day, that does not happen to me often when I’m not on vacation. My reading has been quite varies, because at some point I just needed some rest from my Irish project.

I finished all my Irish books, I loved some, some not so much, but I didn’t hate any. I probably won’t be friends with Mr Banville, though I have plenty of respect for him. Edna O’Brien and Anne Enright will definitely be on my radar. And I was swept by Solar Bones by Mike McCormack, review coming in the next weeks. I am behind on my reviewing, but all in good time, they will all be linked here as I publish them. One thing I have to say about my experience with Irish literature so far – it has been a very depressing reading, beautiful, but depressing. I would really appreciate some recommendations for more cheerful or at least positive Irish books! Please add them in comments.

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

75. Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig (r) – another very easy read, it took me just three hours, despite sad subject – depression – it reads very well and definitely is an important book to make people more aware about depression. A book with a mission I’d say.
74. Amsterdam – Ian McEwan (r) – I literally swallowed it in two hours and I liked it, even if it’s very improbable the moral questions it poses are important ones.
73. Solar Bones – Mike McCormack  (r)- it blew me away, beautiful.
72. Beduinki na Instagramie – Aleksandra Chrobak (r) – another book for a break from the Irish project, it’s about the everyday life of women in UAE, written by a Polish woman who lived and worked in UAE for years, I read it in one evening, non-fiction, but written a bit like chick-lit, interesting, but only scratched the surface. It definitely made me more interested in UAE culture.
71. The Sea – John Banville (r) – Mr Banville’s second chance, made me appreciate The Book of Evidence more, review coming soon
70. Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas that Shape the World – Wade Graham (r)- interesting non-fiction, made me take a second look at the city I live in and what shaped it (I always suspected it was pure chaos)
69. Time and Tide – Edna O’Brien, Polish edition (r) – moving if at times confusing, very different from The Country Girls, but yet dreamlike in similar way

Photo by Violetta Kaszubowska