The November Book Reviews

Today's post is the latest in the monthly book review series. At the end of every month, I write short reviews of the books I read in the previous month. I hope you find a new book to read and share what you've read lately.

I only read 4 books this month (compared to 6 in October and 7 in September). Basketball season has started and I've noticed practice time cuts into reading time. Here's what I read:

1. Greater by Steven Furtick - I have followed Steven Furtick and Elevation Church for several years. I think Furtick is one of the best church visionaries currently so I was excited to pick up his latest book. Greater is an easy and enjoyable read. Furtick weaves jokes and personal stories throughout the book to relate to his readers. My favorite part was the study of the prophet of Elisha throughout the book. The Elisha sections had depth and weight compared to the rest of the book which was filled with a bit too too much fluff and filler. But overall, it's a good book for anyone looking to ignite their faith.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl is a tough book to review without giving away spoilers, but I will try. The plot revolves around a married couple- Amy and Nick. On their 5 year anniversary, Amy goes missing. The plot follows the search to find Amy. Quickly, the suspicions turn to Nick. But the story is much more complicated and Flynn surprises readers every step of the way. Gone Girl is well-written and a great read, but the book is very dark and twisted. If you don't mind dark and twisted, definitely pick this up.

3. Insurgent by Veronica Roth - Insurgent is the follow up to Divergent, which I highly recommended last month. But, Insurgent suffers from the middle book of a trilogy syndrome- it's slow and nothing seems to happen in portions of the book. The pace picks up the last quarter of the book, but overall the book's plot goes in circles. On the character front, I grew tired of the strained Tobias and Tris relationship. But, the overarching dystopian theme and the secrets kept me reading and I will pick up the final installment when it is released this spring.

4. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo - I had a tough time reading this book because the author definitely makes you think about the world's poorest, corruption, and capitalism in a new light. The author tells the story of a few families lives over the course of a few years. They live in a slum just outside the Mumbai airport. On the positive side, the details in this book are incredible. I could picture the sewage lake, the slum, and the airport. However, at times, I wished the author focused more on the narrative of the families. I think the author could engage the readers more by less details and more emotion in her writing.

Those are my four books I read this month. I'm not sure what book I am going to pick up next. My to-read list on Goodreads currently has 67 books on it and I'm always adding more. Yikes!

What have you read lately?
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