What We’re Reading (and Watching!): November Edition!
The leaves are falling, it’s dark at 4:30 PM, and I’m ready to curl up on the couch with a good book and some tea (aka red wine)!
At our last Literally meeting, we announced our November book: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. The story follows Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl” of the North Carolina coast in the late 1960’s, as she navigates a lonely childhood as a societal outcast, abandoned by her family. When a popular boy is found murdered in the marsh, the town naturally suspects the strange girl. There are so many twists and turns in this beautifully written book, and I’m way excited to dig into it at our next meeting. I hope you’ll read along with us!
In other news, have you been following the new HBO series “His Dark Materials?” I just watched the first episode the other day and am Game of Thrones-level excited to see how the series develops. Philip Pullman’s trilogy, which includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, was first published from 1995 to 2000, and I read them for the first time while in elementary school.
As a self proclaimed “Harry Potter gal” who grew up reading the series, I can safely say that Pullman’s trilogy is as near and dear to my heart as J.K. Rowling’s books. I have read and re-read the books time and time again, to the point that my copies are looking a bit tattered. The mystical and magical realism that Pullman creates through his storytelling provokes powerful imagination, and his writing is just splendid in its imagery and character development. The newly released HBO series, starring an adorable Dafne Keen as Lyra, along with James McAvoy (!!!), Ruth Wilson (!!!), and Lin Manuel Miranda (!!!), is beautifully filmed and seems to do quite a bit more justice to the books than the 2007 film. Anyway, if you haven’t read the books and are looking for a great escape, I cannot recommend them enough.
Our next Literally meeting takes place on November 20 in order to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US. We don’t have much time to get through Where the Crawdads Sing, so I’m going to get cracking! I’m looking forward to having you all join us!
Happy reading!
-Emily