November Wrap-up – What I Read This Month

If October has been an amazing, rich month from the readings point of view (you can find a dedicated post about all books I read in October here), November unfortunately has been pretty different! I only read three books plus a series of comics (The Chilling adventures of Sabrina) this month, but on the other side, I've been watching lots of TV Shows and movies at the cinema, so we'll discuss about those as well in a coming post. Today though we talk about books, let's start!

Image source

Caraval, by Stephanie Garber

I read this book because it was suggested to me by a friend. She said that as I loved The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, I would have surely loved this one as well.

Protagonist of the book is Scarlett, who lives on a remote island together with her sister Donatella and their cruel, violent, cold father. The two girls have been living a miserable life since their mother died, and their father became more and more cruel, and have always been dreaming of escaping the suffocating life of the island and live fantastic adventures in the Caraval. The Caraval is a sort of travelling circus, lead by the mysterious figure of its owner Legend.

According to the story a girl died during a Caraval exhibition, and the show had not been performed since. Then, all of a sudden, it started again, and the two girls keep on hoping to be invited to live it.

One night a mysterious boy enters the fife of the two sisters, a sailor named Julian, who, after having witnessed the cruelty of the girls' father, proposes them to escort them to the island where the Caraval is set. Scarlett is very afraid of fuelling their father's fury if they try to escape, but Donatella wants to go at all costs, even drugging Scarlett and bringing her to island by force.

When Scarlett awakes she is on the Caraval island with Julian, but there is no sign of Donatella... then the Caraval begins, and she finds out with horror that the game around which Caraval is based that year is to find a person, and that person is Donatella herself... so all of the people participating to the Caraval will look for her sister, and Scarlett needs to find her before anyone else, but especially before their father.

I have to say, I found Caraval a nice reading, but I didn't love it.

The story leaves many open questions, and that is understandable as the book is only the first of a series, but... I still found the finale a bit rushed up, and built on a series of twists that leave the reader a bit confused (no spoilers, I promise), or at least they confused me. Legend's motivation is not clear at all, and a bit contradictory (if the story with Annelise is true, his final action have really no sense to me), but well, maybe these questions will find answers in the following volumes, who knows (I don't think I'm continuing the series though).

Image source

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

A book that I wanted to read in October, as my “spooky” Halloween reading, but for a series of reasons it slide to November. Its classic of horror literature, but I still had never read it before (I know, I am missing a few literature pillars in my portfolio, absolutely need to make up for that).

I really like Stoker's work, and well, it is the base of horror literature for a reason. All the elements of the book are winning ones (a weak lady, a stronger one, a malevolent demon, a creepy castle, a wise master, some valid allies), and work fantastically together.

Also the idea of writing the book as a collection of articles, diary pages, letters, ship's logs, is great, and makes the story more interesting as it is narrated from the point of view of many different characters. I really enjoyed reading this book, despite finding it a bit slow in some point, but hey, we have to remember that it was written in 1897!

Image source

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

This book seems to be the fashion of the moment as the Netflix show was so popular that everybody ran to buy the book as well (a bit what happened with Sabrina).

I haven't watched the TV show yet, but I read this short book and I know, having read some reviews around, that show and book differ quite a lot. Where in the TV show is a family returning to the old house where they lived and where painful events happened, in the book its a bunch of strangers called by dr. Montegue, a passionate/professor of paranormal activities, who wants to study what is supposed to be the most haunted house in the Country. He calls to join him also the house heir, Luke, and two girls who had to do with paranormal events when they were young, Theodora and Eleonor.

Where Theodora is an extravagant, chatty, lively girl, Eleonor is very quiet, timid, having lived all her life taking care of her ill mother, she finds difficult to built social relationships with other people. She is a dreamer, and she will be the one most affected by the strange events that will happen in the house. Scary noises in the middle of the night, clothes covered in blood and threatening messages left on the house walls, among the others, will have a massive impact on her psychological state, til the unexpected finale (which of course I won't spoil to you).

I found the reading very interesting, quick and intriguing. The events are narrated in a way that the reader just wants to know more, and keep on turning the pages. Is Hill House really haunted? What do the ghosts want? Who is going to be picked next? Will all characters lose their minds?

The book left me so curious to have a look at the TV show as well, even if the two are completely different, so we'll chat again about Hill House when I binge the series too.

Image source

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa

After having watched the TV show on Netflix (and having loved it!) I decided to read the comics as well, mostly because I was curious to understand the differences between the two. I talked about that in a detailed post that you can find here, and very soon I am posting another one in which we talk about what the second season might bring us given the material offered by the comics and the TV show finale.

If you'd like to read about all of my thoughts about the series, feel free to click on the link above, and please let me know what you think about either the show and the comics!

I really loved them both, and I can't wait for the new season to come out. I was reading online that they are filming it, and might come on Netflix as soon as February, so fingers crossed!

Also, I will keep an eye on the comics release, to check when volume n.9 might come out.

Those are all of my readings for the month, no too many I know, but pretty intense!

Did you read any of those books? And if yes, what you think of them?

Talking to you very soon, til then take care and happy readings!

M