Look at me being all on time for my November tallies! Aren’t you impressed? It was a busy month, but I think I did a marginally better job reading in November than I did in October. Here’s how it shook out:
And as always, I’m happy to jabber about anything that’s on the following lists. If you want my opinion about something, just comment and ask.
CULTURE CONSUMPTION: November 2013
Books
The Kevin Carroll books were read for a conference I went to, hence why there’s something that’s WAY outside of my usual reading stats. But it was a very solid reading month, as I enjoyed all of the fiction I was able to consume.
The Red Rubber Ball at Work by Kevin Carroll
Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll
A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
Parasite by Mira Grant
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Short Fiction
I went on a bit of a spree, trying to fluff up my reading count for the year with novellas. These have been wasting away on my Kindle, but they were all quite enjoyable (with the McGuire being exceptionally good).
Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews
Forbid the Sea by Seanan McGuire
Muse of Fire by John Scalzi
Comics
Now that I’m done with Hellblazer, I’m holding off on starting any completed series, so it’s been my monthly readings as usual. I re-read my first Morning Glories hardcover in preparation for reading the second volume, which I’m currently working on. I will say that of my monthly titles, I’m officially leery of Batwoman, as it’s the first issue without J.H. Williams III writing it and you can tell it was done in a rush. Also, it introduced some family ties that my husband said used to be part of the character’s background before Williams III took over, but hadn’t been hinted at until now, so it was jarring to me, who’s never read that character outside of Williams III treatment. Right now, I can’t say I’m very happy with DC.
Graphic novels first:
Morning Glories: Deluxe Hardcover: Volume 1 by Nick Spencer (re-read)
Batgirl #25
Batman #25
Batman Superman #5
Batwoman #25
Coffin Hill #2
Collider/FBP #4
East of West #7
Harley Quinn #0
Hinterkind #2
Kick-Ass 3 #4
Saga Chapter 15
Sex Criminals #2
Star Wars #11
Star Wars: Legacy #8
The Manhattan Projects #16
The Sandman Overture #1
The Wake #5
The Walking Dead #116
Trillium #3 & #4
Wonder Woman #25
Movies
My theater pickings were super-enjoyable this month, both movies leaving me with a warm, happy feeling when I left the show. In terms of what I watched at home, Only God Forgives was weird, and Session 9 was fantastically creepy, a horror movie that could be explained either supernaturally OR realistically, and both explanations work great.
In Theaters:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Thor: The Dark World
At home:
Only God Forgives
Session 9
The Hunger Games (re-watch)
Thor (re-watch)
Television Shows
No completed shows. Indeed, we’ve started nothing new on Netflix because we’re too busy watching Sleepy Hollow, Almost Human, Dracula, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story: Coven, and our variety of comedies
EDIT: It probably says something that I forgot to originally mention Once Upon a Time, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
And that’s it! What did you watch and/or read? What did you love, what did you hate? As always, please refrain from spoilers, as I’m obviously catching up on some shows rather late and don’t want to be spoiled.
Cheers!
Calico Writes 
So how was Parasite? I read one review that was far from positive, and I haven’t had a chance to pick it up myself yet.
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It was good. But I felt the climax was building to something that I’d long since figured out, so it didn’t stick with me the same way that the Newflesh trilogy did. That being said, I’ve heard some readers love it MORE than the Newsflesh trilogy, so obviously, YMMV.
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Interesting! I’ll have to check it out.
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I’ve been following the books you’re reading and planning to read on Goodreads and have been amused at how much overlap there is between your reading and mine recently. This month, for instance, I read The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Cat Valente, The Shadowed Sun, by NK Jemison, Fortunately the Milk, by Neil Gaiman, and Parasite, by Mira Grant. I’ve started The Best of Tor.com – 2013. I’m halfway through the second story. I plan to read Ancillary Justice this month and Abhorsen’s Gate in January.
I really loved the Valente and Jemisin books. I did not like the second Fairyland book as well as the first. I was feeling so-so about this one, but the ending tied things together wonderfully and made me love the book. Jemisin was Jemisin. I have loved every book I have read by her and this was no exception. It did take me close to two weeks to read it though.
I enjoyed Parasite, though I did not think the twist at the end was particularly surprising. I don’t normally figure out twists ahead of time, but this one was pretty obvious. It was a fast, action-packed book, and I whizzed through it.
I am giving Fortunately, the Milk to my 5-year-old nephew for Christmas.
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I still need to read the Jemisin! I’m so behind on that one, and she has a new book coming out next year!
The premise and the world-building behind Parasite was really fascinating, though I kept thinking ZOMBIES even though I shouldn’t. I’m hoping now that the set-up and reveal is out of the way, book two will knock it out of the park!
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Woah! That’s a lot of reading!
I really enjoyed Catching Fire. It’s an excellent book-to-movie adaptation, one of the few that is truly successful on just about every level.
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I read CATCHING FIRE and MOCKINGJAY when I was recovering from gallbladder surgery. I don’t remember a whole lot, but the movie was a definite win. 🙂
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