Good morning, fellow readers! I decided to extend my reading blog, again. In today’s blog, I will be discussing the books I read in October and November, and at the end I will give my December TBR. October was a slow month for me. I am still working to get my website up and running. I have set up my free book club through my website and I have started re-learning Python for free through Coddy Tech (not sponsored). I did begin reading The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, but I was unable to finish it by the end of October, which is my reasoning for extending my blog. My November TBR will be the same as October’s. Note: I though about treating November like it had 31 days so I could give myself one extra day to complete the last book I read, but decided to start December off with its TBR and not push myself to read 263 pages in one day.

Side note: I just want to say the last two months were really slow. I did not end up in a slump, I just had put a lot of pressure on myself to get my shop up and running. With a majority of my website finished, I set a goal of opening my shop in January 2025. That being said, I spent the last two months purchasing my site, setting up an extension to handle shipping, and set up my tax ID so I can collect sales tax. Needless to say, I have not given myself time to just read and relax, and I haven been feeling extremely tired and under the weather. Hopefully, my seasonal depression will not be that bad and I can finish 2024 on a high note for a change. Now, let’s get started.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Pages: 346

Published by ATRIA Books in February 2021

Genre(s): historical fiction

star rating: ★★★★★ (5)

I want to begin by saying the beginning was a little emotional for me as my mom battled breast cancer from December 2017 to March 2018, and in the midst of her surgeries my grandfather suddenly passed. Ever since then, reading about people’s loved ones dying makes me emotional. You can probably view that as a tiny spoiler. Lily’s mom does end up sick and while the author doesn’t mention her mom dying, it becomes obvious next time we have Lily’s POV. Originally, when I picked up this book, I was intrigued by this dark secret that connects Lilly and her elderly neighbor, Odile (pronounced Oh-deal). And I will say the reader can infer what that dark secret may be but you only learn about it in the last 89 pages.

I was telling my mom the other day that I know when I find a great book; I get to a point where I don’t want it to end and so I take longer to finish it (the same thing happened with the Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris). I mentioned previously that I was curious about the dark secret, and I can honestly say I was surprised by what it was. I think this dark secret was a huge turning point in Odile’s life. I can also see why Odile and Lily are so connected. Odile uses her life experiences to shape Lily’s. Odile doesn’t want Lily to have any regrets in life or make the same mistakes she did. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but one of Odile’s regrets is losing her friendship with Margret. I have to agree with Lily, being that Odile should reach out to Margret after 40 years - maybe they can patch things up or start their friendship over.

For me, I was quite surprised to learn about what France was like during World War II (WWII). When I was in school, I don’t remember learning much about nazi-occupied France. I was even surprised by half the stuff I learned when I took a WWII Topics class in college. This is why I love reading historical fiction books based in WWII as you learn more than what you did in grade school. Note: I always read the author’s note to see how much was fictionalized. In this case, Janet Skeslien Charles worked at the American Library in Paris and did extensive research to write her book. She even met Boris and Anna’s children, whose son had mentioned Charles had captured his father well. From what I can tell, most of the characters are real people. Overall, I gave this book 5 stars and would probably read this again in the future; maybe even dive into the book club questions at the back of my copy. I will say the book felt a little rushed at the end and it seemed like Lily’s POV was not necessary but I think her story was needed to help Odile overcome her past troubles (i.e., her guilt when it comes to Margret).

The Parisian Dancer by Doron Darmon

Pages: 263

Published by Valcal Software Ltd in August 2022

Genre(s): historical fiction, based on a true story

star rating: On Hold

I did start The Parisian Dancer. However, I have decided to put it on hold for now (does not mean a DNF). That being said, if I can finish my December TBR, I will pick this back up again. What I read so far is interesting. Marek, Annette, and their son, Olivier, moved to France from Poland after being forced to leave by the people there. They currently live in a bohemian village with Marek working at a print shop and Annette working as a seamstress. Helena is a dancer who lives in their apartment building. From what I can tell, Annette is worried about the next world war and being forced to move again. I am wondering if Helena is the dancer that helps them, and I am curious about how that comes to be. For now, I will have to keep wondering.

December TBR

For my December TBR, I will be re-reading Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. On the side, I will be reading Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation as my mom and I are about to finish the TV show and my mom wants to know how the book compares to the show (this will be second time reading it and first time reading the book format). My plan is to complete my reading goal that I set on Goodreads (20 books); I just need 9 more books. Feel free to follow me on Goodreads (click here).

Now that the blog portion of my site is available, I would like to mention that I would like to start a book club in January 2025. If you are interested, feel free to subscribe to the book club. Keep an eye on our instagram around Christmas (check highlights after 24 hours) for a chance to provide book options and to vote on the book we will be reading (last week of December). Just a reminder: I will also make my shop available in January 2025; in the meantime you can purchase my products on Etsy (code: CYBER2024 ends December 4 at 11:59pm). As per usual, feel free to send me book recs, ideas for reading challenges, and ideas for future reading blogs at blueoceans.sanddollar@gmail.com or comment down below.

See you next blog!